When the Empress and Gloriosa arrived at the tavern, it was already packed with noise and chatter. Over a hundred Amazon women were inside listening to the story, while impatient Amazon warrior women lined up outside, waiting to get in.
The tavern runner stood at the entrance collecting fees one by one. But it was far too crowded inside, so some people could not be bothered to pay and simply lay on the second floor, poking their heads in to listen.
As the Empress and Gloriosa arrived, everyone quickly made way, allowing the Empress and her two younger sisters to enter the tavern.
The atmosphere inside was lively. Almost everyone had a bottle of alcohol in hand; the proprietress was clearly going to make a killing today.
The proprietress, Ren, sat in the VIP seats without leaving. Holding a bottle of wine, she propped her chin on one arm and leaned to the side, gazing admiringly at the man speaking animatedly from his seat, her eyes full of affection.
Though the man was merely sitting in the middle of the room beneath the gaze of countless Amazon warrior women, he showed no stage fright at all. He spoke eloquently. "That female slave had once been the Princess of a certain country. But that kingdom's royal family was compassionate and unwilling to exploit its own people to obtain Heavenly Gold and become affiliated with the World Government. Because they had no Heavenly Gold and were not affiliated with the World Government, their country had always struggled terribly. The Marines did not protect countries that failed to pay Heavenly Gold."
"Thus, amid the endless harassment of pirates, this Princess was abducted to the Sabaody Archipelago and sold to the Celestial Dragons."
"As we mentioned before, this Celestial Dragon became extremely violent after being betrayed by his slave wife. He no longer trusted slaves, but he still had those needs. Every day, he would take a different virgin slave, and at dawn the next day, he would kill her."
"He went through one each day, and after a month, it was finally this Princess's turn."
"She was unwilling to die like that, so she said to the Celestial Dragon, 'How about I tell you a story from my homeland? We can share a bed after I finish.' The Celestial Dragon, already irritable and cruel, agreed. And so, the Princess slowly began telling the story of her homeland..."
"And the name of the first story was: The Story of the Fisherman and the Fishman."
That was right. What he was telling was none other than One Thousand and One Nights.
Though One Thousand and One Nights was a story from over a thousand years ago, its tales contained profound truths. Its condemnation of foolish rulers and dark realities was no less powerful than that of modern classics. It was simply that, after being altered by various religions, it had become filled with tedious praise for gods. After Leo removed those parts, the stories became concise and sharp. Paired with Leo's localized phrasing, they became packed with all sorts of gripping elements.
There were a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people, and the thousand Amazon warrior women heard entirely different stories in Leo's tale.
For example, what the Empress saw was the Princess's identity as a slave. Sandersonia and Marigold saw their own miserable pasts. The others were moved by a shared sense of womanhood. As everyone knew, women were especially likely to empathize with such things. That was why so many online marketing accounts deliberately pushed narratives aimed at women—once the facts of a news story were framed around a woman's perspective, it was easy to get enough reposts to meet their targets.
That was precisely why, as Leo told the story, every woman present felt as though she had lived it herself. They truly put themselves in the place of the female slave as they listened. Then, just as they heard the first story, he suddenly stopped. Everyone let out disappointed sighs, and because they did so so uniformly, the sound swelled into a tremendous wave that startled everyone.
"Why did you stop? Keep going." Hancock stood in the path everyone had cleared, becoming the center of attention without question. With her hands on her hips, she wore a fiery red dress that exposed broad stretches of skin, so fair it was almost dizzying.
Quite a few Amazon women clutched their chests with fanatical expressions and cried out, "Empress!"
Hancock remained calm and paid them no attention. She only looked at Leo and asked, "Why didn't you continue?"
"This story is called One Thousand and One Nights, and this is only its beginning. As the girl continued telling stories, she always stopped at the most exciting part each morning. So the Celestial Dragon neither touched nor killed her, instead keeping her alive so she could prepare the next day's story."
"In the end, she used those one thousand and one nights of stories to win herself time and a chance to survive."
"I can't tell you all these stories in one go. Since I'll be staying on Amazon Lily Island for a while anyway, I might as well leave you in suspense and give you something to enjoy." His face was full of a knowing smile, and his entire demeanor carried the smugness of a modern man.
"Ah, you're going to stay?" The Empress covered her mouth and asked in surprise.
"Didn't you still have to agree to work with me..." Leo's heart skipped a beat when he saw the delighted flush on the Empress's face. He felt as if he had overlooked something.
Gloriosa stood behind the Empress and looked at him with a smile. She truly began to believe that this fellow was not an enemy spy who had infiltrated Amazon Lily Island. A spy with this many flaws would probably be dead within days.
"Then stay here," said the Empress, who had intended to give him a definite answer but suddenly became sharp-witted, smiling as she spoke.
The nearby Amazon warrior women instantly became intoxicated by her smile and shouted in unison, "Empress!"
Neither of them paid attention to the women. Leo knocked his head in frustration. He realized that he had made another "common-sense" mistake by viewing everyone as too "utilitarian." This was, after all, an agrarian society. Once most people were moved by someone, they would believe in that person wholeheartedly. In One Piece, the difference between villains and good people often came down to a single act that moved them.
Leo had brought modern thinking into it and judged the Empress's choice too rationally and coolly, making a fool of himself again.
Clearly, his voyage would have to be delayed. But that was fine too.
After thinking it over, a smile appeared on his face. "My body hasn't fully recovered yet anyway, so I'll rest in the Amazon Lily Kingdom for a while."
PS: To be honest, I still haven't gotten rid of my old bad habits. I've been forcing myself to correct my schedule. Sleeping at night now feels like taking a nap—I usually wake up around five, six, or seven in the morning, make breakfast, and eat. But after that, I can barely write a few words before I start sleepwalking through the day. After lunch, taking an afternoon nap feels just like going to bed for the night. I sleep until six, get up for dinner, and only start writing an hour after resting.
It's already much better than before. When I used to rush drafts, I would basically write until three or four in the morning every night, then sleep until noon the next day. My hair was falling out in clumps, and I was nearly bald. Anyway, I'm still trying to fix my schedule. Low efficiency is inevitable, and begging on my knees for forgiveness is necessary too.
Knock, knock, knock. Please forgive me.
Before you continue