The Tentative Steps of Love!

Though Zoan-type Devil Fruits were considered exceedingly rare in a remote sea like the East Blue, their rarity was far less remarkable in the vast ocean teeming with monsters~

Moreover, for Rayson, obtaining a Devil Fruit was not all that difficult~

With the Strongest Trait System assisting him, he could not only convert Fruit abilities into traits to Plunder, but also bestow the Plundered ability traits upon others~

Just as Marshall D. Teach could use it to build an army of ability users,

Rayson, with his even more superior system, could naturally accomplish the same~

However, since others did not possess a miraculous Trait System like his, anyone who accepted traits bestowed by him would become a genuine Fruit ability user, gaining power while also being burdened with the curse of being unable to swim~

There were benefits and drawbacks. That was the price of a Devil Fruit~

Unlike Rayson, who could use his powers through the system while perfectly avoiding every side effect~

"Devil Fruits... Those legendary treasures, even if they truly exist, are not something I could ever dare to hope for~" The girl's eyes lit up for an instant before dimming again~

"How about this? The next time we meet... I'll give you a Devil Fruit as a gift?" Rayson smiled and made the offer~

"!!!" The girl's beautiful eyes widened as she stared incredulously at Rayson's warm smile, frozen where she stood~

"Rayson... How could I accept... something so precious..." the girl stammered, suddenly at a complete loss~

"It's only a Devil Fruit. It's nothing much~ Besides, haven't you already paid for it? A token of affection personally delivered by a young lady... is far more precious to me than any Devil Fruit~" Rayson teased, pointing at the now-empty food cart beside them~

"..." The girl bit her lower lip, her beautiful eyes fixed steadily on Rayson~

Plagued by illness since childhood and confined indoors for most of her life, the girl had spent countless dull hours passing the time by reading all kinds of books~

At the age when young love first blossomed, she naturally read plenty of romance novels filled with poetry and sentiment, dreaming of a romance of her own~

Her favorite scenes were always those where the heroine found herself in danger, only for her destined hero to descend from the heavens and shelter her from the wind and rain~

For a young lady who considered even going outside for a stroll an impossible luxury, such stories held a fatal allure~

Yet she had always been firmly convinced that such perfectly timed coincidences could never exist in reality~

And yet, this absurd scene had truly entered reality~ Rayson had indeed appeared out of nowhere, shattered Kuro's scheme, and saved the entire estate~

When they first met, she had stubbornly refused to believe Rayson's warning about the butler's betrayal and had even lost her temper with him~

Yet Rayson had not shown the slightest displeasure. Instead, he gave her a gentle smile before swiftly taking care of every threat~

That gentle smile had surfaced in her mind again and again throughout the time she spent recuperating in bed, impossible to drive away~

Having never experienced romantic feelings between men and women, the girl did not know whether this strange emotion was what the books called "admiration"~

But this fluttering feeling was completely different from how she felt when listening to Usopp tell his bizarre stories~

She and Usopp were very good friends, and she understood perfectly how it felt to be with a friend~

But when facing Rayson, despite knowing him for only a single day, the feeling was vastly different from simple friendship~

She wanted to learn everything about Rayson, wanted to talk to him a little longer, and even when she saw him devouring food at the table, all she could think about was preparing more for him...

Even just watching Rayson eat made her unable to hold back a smile~

This feeling... must be the longing described in those books~

She recalled a line from one of them: whether two people were destined to become lovers or merely passersby was decided the moment they first brushed past each other~

Thinking of how Rayson would set sail tomorrow, the girl had been so eager to speak with him more tonight~

And because she had been thinking about Rayson's enormous appetite during the day, afraid that he might go hungry in the middle of the night, she had gathered the courage to push open this door~

"Let's make a pinky promise~" Rayson said softly with a smile, extending his little finger~

"Mhm..." Seeing the gentle curve at the corner of Rayson's lips, the blonde girl's cheeks flushed~

A little shyly, she extended her little finger and gently hooked it around Rayson's~ The instant their fingers touched, that strange warmth made her heart tremble, and she hurriedly lowered her blushing face~

At that moment, the girl was incomparably certain in her heart~

This was affection~

The next morning, the young lady and Merry accompanied Rayson and the others to the harbor~

"Everyone, this is your new ship! I have named it... the Going Merry!" Merry announced excitedly as he forcefully pulled away the enormous cloth covering the ship~

Rayson gazed at the vessel before him. Seeing this ship that had once moved countless pirate fans on Earth to tears, a gentle smile could not help appearing on his face~

The Going Merry was a two-masted sailing ship, with a slanted triangular sail at the stern and a central rudder. Its most eye-catching feature was the adorable sheep figurehead at its bow~

The ship was equipped with four cannons: one at the bow, one at the stern, and one on each side~

Though it could not compare to those enormous pirate ships, compared to the crude little boat Rayson and the others had traveled on before, this was at least a true pirate ship~

"Shishishi! This is amazing!" The instant Luffy saw the new ship, his face overflowed with pure delight~

This was the first proper sailing ship their pirate crew had ever owned!

"Finally, something decent~ With this ship, we should be able to cross the Grand Line safely~" Nami commented happily~

For a navigator, owning a fine ship was like growing wings~

"Hmph~" A relieved smile also appeared on Zoro's face~

Rayson had once pointed him in the right direction, and Zoro knew that only on the vast Grand Line could he pursue his dream~

"Rayson, why are you looking at me like that?" Nami keenly noticed Rayson's focused gaze. She blinked, and a faint blush involuntarily rose to her cheeks~

"Nothing. I just think your smile looks beautiful right now. You seem much more relaxed than before~" Rayson replied with a smile~

In the past, Nami had smiled as well, but there had always been a lingering worry buried deep within her eyes~

It was the heavy shackle she bore for her hometown, Cocoyasi Village~

But now, her smile was soft and lovely, exceptionally sincere and pure~

"..." Hearing Rayson's words, Nami lightly bit her red lips and said nothing~

Have I... become happier?