Pirated One Thousand and One Nights (1)

Chapter 009: The Pirate Version of One Thousand and One Nights (1)

When the Empress and Gloriosa arrived at the tavern, it was already buzzing with noise, with over a hundred Amazon women inside listening to the story, and more Amazon warrior women outside, itching with curiosity, queuing up for their turn to enter.

The tavern's runner stood at the door, collecting fees one by one, but the place was simply too packed inside; some people couldn't be bothered to pay and instead leaned in from the second floor, craning their heads to hear the tale.

With the arrival of the Empress and Gloriosa, everyone parted to make way, allowing the Empress and her two sisters to step into the tavern.

The atmosphere inside the tavern was lively, with nearly everyone holding a bottle of liquor—clearly, today was bound to make the Innkeeper a fortune.

The Innkeeper, Ren, sat in the VIP seat, not leaving. She held a bottle of wine in one hand, propped her chin up with the other arm, and tilted her body, gazing at the man sitting in the center, speaking with ease, her eyes full of admiration.

That man sat right in the middle, under the gaze of countless Amazon warrior women, yet he showed no sign of stage fright, speaking freely: "That female slave was once a princess of a certain kingdom. But the royal family of that kingdom was kind-hearted and unwilling to exploit their own people to obtain Heavenly Gold and become a member of the World Government. Because they had no Heavenly Gold and weren't a member of the World Government, their country struggled greatly, and the Navy did not protect nations that didn't pay Heavenly Gold."

"So, under the constant harassment of pirates, this princess was captured and taken to the Sabaody Archipelago, where she was sold to a Celestial Dragon."

"As we mentioned before, this Celestial Dragon, after being betrayed by his slave wife, became extremely cruel. He no longer trusted slaves, but he still had certain needs. Every day, he would demand a new virgin slave, and the next morning, he would kill her."

"He went on like this, one each day, for a month, until finally, it was the princess's turn."

"She refused to die so easily, so she said to the Celestial Dragon: 'Why don't I tell you a story from my homeland? After I finish, we can share the bed.' The irritable and brutal Celestial Dragon agreed, and the princess slowly began to tell the story of her homeland..."

"And the name of this first story is: The Story of the Fisherman and the Fishman."

That's right, he was telling the story of One Thousand and One Nights.

Though One Thousand and One Nights was a tale from over a thousand years ago, these stories contained profound truths, their condemnation of foolish rulers and dark realities no less sharp than modern classics. However, after being processed by various religions, they were filled with tedious praises of gods. When Leo stripped away those elements, the stories became concise and sharp. Combined with Leo's localized narration, the whole tale was packed with explosive highlights.

A thousand people see a thousand Hamlets, and in Leo's story, a thousand Amazon warrior women saw completely different things.

For example, the Empress saw the princess and her identity as a slave, while Sandersonia and Marigold saw their own tragic experiences. Others were moved by a shared female resonance—as everyone knows, women are especially prone to such resonance. That's why many online marketing accounts deliberately stir up female-centric narratives, highlighting the female angle in news stories to easily achieve their performance targets.

It was precisely because of this that when Leo told this story, every woman present felt it deeply. They truly immersed themselves in the identity of the female slave as they listened. When the first story came to an abrupt halt, everyone let out a disappointed sigh. Because it was so synchronized, it created a massive wave of sound that startled everyone.

"Why stop there? Keep going," said the Empress, Hancock, standing in the middle of the path everyone had cleared, naturally becoming the center of attention. She placed her hands on her hips, her red dress blazing like fire, large expanses of her fair skin exposed, so pale it was dizzying.

Many Amazon women showed fervent looks, clutching their chests and shouting, "Empress-sama!"

Hancock remained calm, ignoring them entirely, and simply looked at Leo, asking, "Why aren't you continuing?"

"This story is called One Thousand and One Nights, and this is just the beginning. When the maiden kept telling stories, each morning she would stop at the most thrilling part. So the Celestial Dragon neither touched her nor killed her, but kept her alive, preparing for the next day's story."

"In the end, she used these one thousand and one nights to buy 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, I'll leave you with a cliffhanger and some fun." His face was full of a knowing smile, radiating the smugness of a modern man.

"Ah, you're going to stay?" the Empress asked, covering her mouth in surprise.

"You haven't agreed to work with me yet..." Leo's heart skipped a beat as he saw the joyful flush on the Empress's face, feeling like he'd overlooked something.

Gloriosa stood behind the Empress, watching him with a smile. She was beginning to believe that this guy wasn't really a spy infiltrating Amazon Lily Island—a spy with so many flaws would probably be dead in a few days.

"In that case, you can stay here," the Empress said, her intelligence suddenly kicking in as she smiled, instead of giving him a definite answer.

The nearby Amazon warrior women instantly fell into a trance at her smile, shouting in unison, "Empress-sama!"

Neither of them paid them any mind. Leo smacked his forehead in frustration, realizing he'd made another "common sense" mistake—thinking everyone was too "utilitarian." In reality, this was an agricultural society. Most people, once moved by you, would trust you wholeheartedly. In One Piece, the shift between villain and hero often only required a single touching gesture.

Leo had brought in a modern mindset, viewing the Empress's choices too rationally and coldly, and ended up making a fool of himself again.

Clearly, his departure would be delayed. But that was fine.

After running through it in his mind, a smile spread across his face: "It just so happens that my body hasn't fully recovered yet. I'll rest for a while in the Amazon Lily Kingdom."

PS: To be honest, I haven't shaken off my old bad habits, and I've been forcing myself to fix my sleep schedule. Now, sleeping at night feels like taking a nap—I usually wake up around 5, 6, or 7 in the morning, make breakfast, eat, and then can barely write a few words before I'm daydreaming. After lunch, I take a nap, and it feels the same as sleeping at night—I sleep until 6 PM, eat dinner, rest for an hour, and then start writing.

It's already better than before. Back when I was rushing deadlines, I'd write until 3 or 4 AM every night, sleep until noon the next day, and my hair was falling out in clumps—I was almost bald. Anyway, I'm still fixing my schedule, so low efficiency is inevitable. I kneel and beg for forgiveness, dong dong dong.

Dong dong dong, please forgive me.