It had to be said that Barieka's nose, enhanced by Jackal powers, was incredibly sharp.
Before Vikengam and the others had even finished their drinks, Cobra and Barieka pushed open the door and entered.
"Hm?" Roger paused mid-drink when he saw the two of them, his eyes filled with confusion.
After looking around, Cobra spotted Vikengam and the others as well. However, instead of coming over directly, he went to speak with the tavern owner.
Before long, the tavern owner announced that the place was closing. All drinks for the day were free, and everyone was to leave.
Although the patrons were reluctant, they were not completely clueless. Grumbling under their breaths, they quickly cleared out.
The tavern owner then left through the back door, showing no interest whatsoever in staying to watch the excitement.
"Are you booking the place out to buy us drinks, Prince Cobra?" Vikengam joked with a smile.
Cobra walked up to them with a grave expression and said, "I have already reported today's events to my father. He asked me to bring you a bank note worth five billion Beli. It can be redeemed at any World Bank branch on any island at any time."
As he spoke, he handed the five-billion-Beli bank note to Vikengam.
Perhaps it was because his first encounter with Roger's group had been rather strange. The first thing he had seen was Vikengam lying around drinking juice, while Roger and the others had been miserably digging through the sand.
Coupled with learning afterward that Vikengam was a member of a Five Elders family, as well as the remarkably relaxed atmosphere within the Roger Pirates, where Roger normally had little captainly dignity at all—
Cobra had instinctively treated Vikengam as the person in charge here.
Vikengam found it amusing. After taking the bank note, he did not even look at it before tossing it directly to Roger. "Put it away. It's Prince Cobra's gesture of goodwill, after all."
Roger did not find anything strange about being treated like an underling. He had always been an easygoing sort. Happily pocketing the five billion Beli, he said with a grin, "You really are something. A few words from you, and someone sends us five billion. Honestly, after being a pirate for so many years, this is the first time I've ever experienced something like this."
In the past, they either kidnapped people for ransom or robbed them outright. When had they ever gotten money like this?
Sure enough, being a pirate required some education too!
"You came looking for us in such a hurry. It wasn't just to give us money, was it?" Vikengam asked again.
"Of course not." Cobra shook his head, then took out a copy of the letter and handed it to Vikengam. "Just as you said, our Nefertari Family has passed down a letter left behind by Queen Lily through the generations. However, it is written in the Ancient Language. My father does not know what it means, but he believes it may help you uncover the truth. He had me make a copy and deliver it to you."
As a scholar, Vikengam was deeply interested. A gleam flashed in his eyes as he accepted the letter from Cobra. "Please convey my thanks to His Majesty Wadiye. This is indeed very important to us."
Cobra nodded at first, but then could not help asking, "Can you read it now?"
"Are you curious about what's inside as well?" Vikengam asked with a smile.
"How could I not be? It's a letter from my ancestor," Cobra said without hesitation.
Everyone else looked at Vikengam with equally expectant expressions.
Seeing that, Vikengam did not waste any time. He quickly opened the envelope and began to read.
Aside from the signature at the end, it was indeed all written in the Ancient Language. That left Vikengam slightly puzzled, because he remembered that in the original story, Cobra had recited part of its contents before his death. That was rather strange.
Could it be that the Nefertari Family also possessed the ability to decipher the Ancient Language? That did not seem very likely either... Forget it. There was no need to dwell on that too much.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Vikengam read aloud softly, "Brother, by the time you receive this letter, I will already be unable to return. Great darkness has engulfed us, and many have been corrupted by it. But fortunately, 'sunlight' shone upon me, allowing me to temporarily break free from this control. That bastard Imu betrayed us. Back then, in order to fight the tyrant David, we spared no effort in borrowing every power we could, including the contract formed through his ability. That contract did grant us immense strength and abilities close to immortality, but it also planted the seeds of betrayal. Only the blazing sun can disperse all darkness. Imu had controlled me and tasked me with gathering and destroying the Poneglyphs left behind by Joy Boy, but I hid them in every corner of the world instead. One of them remains in the royal mausoleum.
"You must protect that Poneglyph at all costs. It records Pluton's location. Then wait in silence for the Sun God's revival. He and I sealed the power to fight the darkness within those ruins. Whenever the Sea King awakens, the sun will cast down its light. On the day the blazing sun shines upon the seal, laughter will become the key and release both his seal and mine. That will be the moment when the world raises the Dawn Flag!"
This letter had probably been written by Queen Lily to her younger brother.
And clearly, her younger brother could decipher the Ancient Language. Perhaps Cobra would discover something left behind by that "brother" in the future and thereby learn the contents of the letter?
Just as Vikengam was considering this—
Roger smacked his lips. "Looks like not all of the Twenty Kings were people blinded by greed and ambition. Some of them were probably like Queen Lily, unknowingly falling into Imu's trap..."
"The power of contracts..." Rayleigh recalled Saint Sommers, whom he had cut in half with a single slash, only for him to revive afterward.
"Waiting for the Sun God's revival... Based on what we've learned so far, this Sun God is Joy Boy, right? The so-called Warrior of Liberation? David Jones enslaved the land, and Joy Boy led his companions to liberate the world amid laughter and joy. But darkness quickly devoured the fruits of that victory. The sea swallowed everything, and the world became what it is now..." Gaban rubbed his chin. "Waiting for his revival means he died? Or perhaps he fell asleep?"
"The Sun God does not necessarily refer to a person. It could also refer to some kind of power. Queen Lily did not avoid mentioning Joy Boy, yet she still used 'Sun God' to distinguish it from Joy Boy. So I am more inclined to believe that the Sun God is a term for some sort of power," Shakky analyzed.
"'He and I'—that 'he' should refer to Joy Boy. They sealed the power to fight darkness within the ruins. Where are these ruins? I think they could be Laugh Tale. But what does it mean that the sun will cast down its light when the Sea King awakens? And that laughter becomes the key?" Roger muttered, completely baffled.
Vikengam remained silent, continuously sorting through his thoughts and reasoning.
When the Sea King awakened, the sun would cast down its light?
A seal?
It was as though he had grasped something crucial, yet he could not quite catch hold of it.
Could it be that the Nika Fruit would only appear after the Sea King awakened? Was this a seal set by Joy Boy and Queen Lily?
In the story, Roger and the others clearly could not have known about this letter.
After arriving at Laugh Tale, they had all laughed until they cried like complete idiots.
Then they had left behind that damn cryptic line: "We came too early."
What did coming too early mean?
Could it have been because the Sea King of that era had not yet been born, so there was no Nika power and Laugh Tale's seal could not be broken?
And since Roger did not have long to live, he could only place his hopes on the chosen one of the next era.
Before you continue