Puffing Tom, Steam Princess Kokoro

"Come aboard my ship and come to the New World with us."

Kokoro's eyes widened at Lin Nuo's sudden, blunt invitation.

"...Huh?"

She repeated it instinctively, her cheeks quickly flushing crimson.

Come aboard? Go to the New World? On a night when it was just the two of them, with the sea breeze blowing, saying something like that...

Th-this sounded so much like... like a confession about running away together!

Kokoro's mind was instantly flooded with all sorts of thoughts.

But she was no ordinary girl who only knew how to blush and let her heart race. As Tom's Workers' secretary, Kokoro had spent years making her way through human cities and had long developed her own way of handling things.

She tried her best to suppress her chaotic thoughts, turned her green eyes toward Lin Nuo, and spoke with a hint of anticipation.

"Wh-why are you inviting me aboard? Your crew already seems pretty complete, doesn't it?"

"I'm not particularly strong in combat. My professional skills aren't bad, but on the Grand Line, they're not exactly unique, are they?"

She listed them one by one, yet her heart only beat faster.

Lin Nuo looked at her attempt to remain composed and suddenly smiled.

"What crew composition, what being strong or not? I didn't think that far."

"I like you, so I invited you aboard."

Like...

Kokoro felt as though something had struck her head. The temperature in her cheeks soared, and steam nearly rose from the top of her head.

"Y-you like me?!"

"I mean you suit my taste. Don't tell me you don't understand?"

"No..."

Kokoro had imagined that Lin Nuo might say things like, "You swim fast, so you can help rescue people," or, "You have plenty of work experience, so you're useful." He might even have