Banquet

Li Mingyuan now understood why so many people's female secretaries were young, beautiful, and pleasing to the eye. After all, just looking at someone attractive could brighten one's mood.

Unfortunately, although he had been the nominal ruler of a unified land in his previous life, his two chief secretaries had both been stinking men. One could unleash Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, while the other could use Armored Susanoo. Back then, he had been an upright man, his mind filled with thoughts of accomplishing great things to live up to his good brothers' trust. He had never considered such crooked ideas, and only now did he suddenly realize there was another kind of pleasure to it.

"Judging from her behavior just now, Carina is still very wary of me. That's natural, but it won't do if this keeps up."

"I still need to think of a way to raise Carina's favorability toward me faster before she pays the ransom."

As Li Mingyuan pondered, his gaze fixed on Carina's retreating back gradually deepened.

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Once the ransom matter was over, Carina would leave the ship if he could not find a suitable reason to keep her. But before it ended, she would continue to feel psychologically burdened around him, and her favorability would rise very slowly. Finding a balance between those two things would be a difficult problem.

Hopefully, he would find a solution before things reached that point.

Li Mingyuan and Carina stood on opposite sides of the ship. In the quiet night wind, neither spoke, each lost in thoughts about the future.

Yet neither Carina nor Li Mingyuan could have imagined that the thing they were both desperately racking their brains over was the same: how Carina could remain on Li Mingyuan's ship.

Their positions were clearly opposed, yet their thoughts had strangely overlapped. Was that not another kind of mutual pursuit?

Another hour passed.

At the far end of the pitch-black night, a faint glimmer gradually appeared in sight.

Leaning in the crow's nest and enduring the cold wind, Li Mingyuan yawned. He rose stiffly to his feet and stretched.

The round-trip sailing time had been longer than he had expected. Fortunately, the season was fairly mild. If it had been winter, half his body might have frozen stiff by now.

"Are Fish-Men just too tough? This crow's nest is way too primitive. Who can stand bracing against the wind like this? If we're heading for the Grand Line next, this ship needs a thorough renovation... At the very least, it needs to evolve from a crow's nest into an enclosed lookout room, like how the Straw Hat crew went from the Going Merry to the Thousand Sunny."

Glancing back, Li Mingyuan looked over the crow's nest with dissatisfaction and silently resolved to tear this part down eventually.

Without hesitation, Li Mingyuan jumped directly from the crow's nest.

His toes tapped against the mast several times for leverage, and he landed lightly before walking toward the bow.

"Wake up. We're about to reach shore, Carina."

Li Mingyuan tapped Carina on the shoulder with his right hand as he spoke.

Carina, who had been watching their course in the sea breeze, had apparently fallen asleep against the railing at some point. She wore a silly expression, with drool still running from the corner of her mouth, when Li Mingyuan suddenly woke her.

"I wasn't asleep! I wasn't!"

Carina instinctively protested.

She quickly wiped the drool from her mouth and stared wide-eyed at Li Mingyuan beside her, seemingly trying to prove that she had been diligently watching their direction the entire time.

The corner of Li Mingyuan's mouth twitched slightly.

It was a miracle this ship had made it to shore safely.

"I didn't ask whether you were asleep. I came to tell you it's time to get off the ship, Carina."

Li Mingyuan sighed.

"Huh? Ah! You're right!"

Only then did Carina seem to notice that the ship was almost at shore. Looking at the patch of lamplight and firelight on the island ahead, she immediately looked surprised. "We actually made it back so quickly. I thought we wouldn't make it in time for tonight's banquet."

"Wow! We can't just stand here watching. Let's hurry over!"

As she spoke, Carina sprang up excitedly, grabbed Li Mingyuan, and seemed ready to charge straight onto the island.

But just before they could go, Li Mingyuan yanked her back hard.

"What are you thinking? Do you think this is some tiny cargo ship where you can just leave whenever you want? This big ship belongs to us now. Even if we don't drop anchor, we still need to dock and tie the mooring lines properly."

Li Mingyuan looked at Carina speechlessly and could not help rubbing his forehead. "If we just leave it alone, who knows where the ship will drift by tomorrow."

"Uh!"

Carina stared at Li Mingyuan as though she had only just realized the issue he had raised, her face going blank.

"Ah, sorry. I'm used to traveling alone."

She looked at Li Mingyuan awkwardly and gave an embarrassed laugh.

"Besides, Carina, don't forget that you're not only penniless now, you're also my prisoner. Without my permission, you're not allowed to run around. Don't think that just because I've been lenient with you, you can truly do whatever you want."

Li Mingyuan shook his head. "Even letting you have your freedom has limits."

With that, Li Mingyuan stepped ahead of Carina.

He seemed to intend to secure the mooring lines somewhere along the shore once the ship docked.

Carina followed behind Li Mingyuan listlessly. After getting scolded, she knew she had messed up again. But what could she do? She had experienced so much today, and her mental energy had been steadily drained. She was already exhausted. Li Mingyuan had at least rested for a while at Arlong Park, but she had not dared relax her tightly strung nerves even once.

When they had been on the ship earlier, the surroundings had become quiet and Li Mingyuan had been keeping watch, allowing her whole body to relax. Somehow, she had then drifted off into a daze.

Still, even if she had her reasons, Carina did not dare argue with Li Mingyuan. She could only swallow her words and silently follow him as they got to work, hoping to show that she was sorry.

Quite a while passed.

After a round of exhausting work that left them panting, Carina and Li Mingyuan finally finished docking and securing the ship.

"With that, everything's taken care of!"

Carina put her hands on her hips and looked at the pirate ship before them with satisfaction.

Li Mingyuan was sorting through his pockets, mixing the bounty money pouch with his earlier pouch. He checked the amount again, and after confirming there was no mistake, tied them back around his waist.

Then it was time to enjoy this wild banquet with the villagers.

Turning to look at the distant island glowing red, Li Mingyuan wore a relaxed expression.

Just then.

"Huh? You are...?"

Not long after Li Mingyuan and Carina finished docking the ship, rustling sounds suddenly came from the forest along the shore, drawing closer. Soon, a figure emerged from the bushes.

It was a villager with a flushed face, holding a flask of liquor as he walked down to the shore.

Li Mingyuan recognized the villager before him.

Though he was not from Cocoyasi Village, Li Mingyuan had seen the sailors from the cargo ship talking with nearby villagers when he returned to them after dealing with Arlong Park. This man had been one of those villagers.

His thoughts raced. Once he confirmed that the man posed no threat, Li Mingyuan's expression returned to normal.

There was no need to say much.

Since this uninvited guide had appeared, he could ask him where Cocoyasi Village was.

Li Mingyuan and Carina exchanged a glance and silently understood each other's thoughts.

Meanwhile, in Cocoyasi Village.

The villagers drank to their hearts' content, ate delicacies they normally could not bear to indulge in, and vented the emotions that had been suppressed for so many years.

No one knew how much pain they had accumulated in their hearts over the years. The Fish-Men's iron-fisted rule had been far crueler and colder than anyone could imagine. Even Cocoyasi Village, where Nami had promised to buy back the village, was no exception. On the contrary, because of Nami, Cocoyasi Village had received even more attention. Dozens of villages across the island had lived under a cloud of fear, without a single peaceful day.

But precisely because that pain was so hard to forget, they needed to savor their present joy even more when liberation finally arrived.

Every villager laughed, cried, and let themselves go. Dancing, chatting, singing—anything they could think of, the drunken villagers displayed to the fullest beneath the light of the bonfires.

That was the sight that greeted Li Mingyuan when he stepped into Cocoyasi Village.

It was so lively and noisy that it was almost unimaginable.

"So many people."

Carina kept looking around. "But everyone seems drunk. Just how much did they drink?"

"Who knows?"

Li Mingyuan could smell the alcohol and food filling the streets. He had no idea what treasured supplies the villagers had brought out, but the aroma was enticing enough to make his mouth water.

Still, he did not immediately throw himself at the banquet tables to feast.

Li Mingyuan remained polite. He first turned to bid farewell to the villager from the neighboring village who had guided them, then led Carina slowly into the village.

Even after entering the village, he did not immediately reveal who he was. Instead, he and Carina moved through the crowd of unfamiliar villagers, wanting to simply experience the atmosphere of the village as visitors first.

This was not unusual. The entire island was celebrating, and many people from neighboring islands that had also been oppressed had come to confirm the situation at Arlong Park, only to remain before they could leave. Villages everywhere were filled with people celebrating together from other villages. Even Li Mingyuan and Carina would not be recognized at once by the thoroughly drunk villagers as long as they did not announce themselves.

And so.

After eating and drinking their fill, Li Mingyuan and Carina both had a warm flush on their faces.

Carina could hold her liquor better, and her face was only slightly red. But Li Mingyuan had not fully adjusted to the flavor and aroma of alcohol in the One Piece world. With a beautiful woman beside him as well, he had already started to feel tipsy without realizing it.

Just as Li Mingyuan was becoming pleasantly intoxicated.

"Hey! Why are you just drinking here quietly?"

Some sharp-eyed villager apparently recognized Li Mingyuan's face and immediately cried out in surprise.

Before Li Mingyuan could reply, an arm landed over his shoulder. The next second, the villager shouted excitedly, "Everyone, look who's here!"

"He defeated the Arlong Pirates all by himself, destroyed Arlong Park, and saved us from those Fish-Men—it's him, our island's benefactor!!"

The excited shout rang across the village in an instant.

Before long, as though in response, shocked cheers rose from every direction around Li Mingyuan.

"Did he just say he's the benefactor who defeated Arlong?!"

"Wow! It's him! I saw his face before, there's no mistake!"

"I can't believe it! He alone crushed the Arlong Pirates!"

Along with the voices that flooded in from all around came the villagers' enthusiasm.

Li Mingyuan was surrounded so tightly that not even water could pass through. Even Carina was squeezed aside by the frenzied villagers. Villagers kept reaching out to grab Li Mingyuan's clothes, and moments later, they began tossing him repeatedly into the air.

Amid the villagers' fervent welcome, Li Mingyuan was passed along and crowded toward the bonfire at the center of the banquet.

Being a popular man really was troublesome.

The drunken Li Mingyuan looked at the scene before him, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from lifting. He laughed lightly, relaxed his body, and let the villagers carry him away until he was forcibly placed in the innermost seat at one of the banquet tables.

"When did you get back? If I'd known, I would've gone to pick you up."

A somewhat familiar voice drifted into his ear, seeming to complain about something.

Li Mingyuan looked to his side and saw a familiar dark-skinned beauty.

Nojiko.

"Isn't Nami here?"

Li Mingyuan leaned naturally against the back of his chair, casually swept his gaze around, and asked.

"Hm? What, do you care that much about Nami?"

"Unfortunately, Nami has something to do and isn't here right now. I'll keep you company for the time being."

Nojiko smiled as she spoke.

At the same time that Li Mingyuan was talking with Nojiko, a villager near the bonfire was loudly saying something. He seemed to be introducing Li Mingyuan to the other villagers, letting everyone know who had defeated the Arlong Pirates.

The noisy background clamored in his ears. Li Mingyuan drew his gaze away from Nojiko and looked ahead.

Faced with the villagers' excited introduction and the countless eyes fixed on him, Li Mingyuan accepted it all calmly, occasionally nodding to the villagers in greeting.

"Everyone here today has experienced the terror of the Arlong Pirates. Who would have thought that we would live to see the day we were liberated..."

"Everyone, enjoy the banquet to your hearts' content! That is the only theme of tonight!!"

After a long speech, a drunken uncle standing before the bonfire finally raised his bottle high and, amid the villagers' cheers, declared the official start of the night.