Honored Guest, Eating the Fruit

"Stop!!!"

A voice rang out from the distance.

Then a shadow flashed before Roya, blocking Amazon Lily's current Empress.

"Granny Gloriosa?"

Amazon Lily's current Empress stared at Gloriosa before her in disbelief.

Gloriosa was the former former former Empress of Amazon Lily. Although she had stepped down, her influence far exceeded that of the current Empress.

Only the future Hancock would be able to surpass Gloriosa.

Gloriosa looked at Amazon Lily's Empress and said, "You cannot attack this man!"

Seeing this, Roya narrowed his eyes beneath his cloak.

He simply stood there, quietly watching everything unfold.

Amazon Lily's current Empress said, "But Granny Gloriosa, he's a man!!! Amazon Lily forbids any man from setting foot on this land!"

Gloriosa said, "He saved the people of Amazon Lily!"

The current Empress said, "Even so, according to our ancestral laws, men must never be allowed to leave alive!"

Hearing the current Empress speak so resolutely, Hancock uneasily tugged at Roya's sleeve.

At that moment, Gloriosa continued, "What if I told you that this man killed the Deep-Sea Sea Serpent from Amazon Lily's legends? According to our ancestral laws, anyone who kills the Deep-Sea Sea Serpent must be treated with courtesy and honored as a distinguished guest, regardless of gender!"

As Gloriosa's words fell, every Amazon Lily warrior present, along with the current Empress, was stunned!

"How is that possible? That terrifying serpent-like Sea King was killed by this man?"

"That's too unbelievable! It was a Sea King thousands of meters long!"

"Wonderful! Our ancestors have finally been avenged!"

The Amazon Lily warriors around them were all incomparably shocked, but upon learning this news, they were also overjoyed!

The current Empress asked Gloriosa for confirmation, "The Deep-Sea Sea Serpent was really killed by this man?!!"

The Deep-Sea Sea Serpent had always been the nightmare of Amazon Lily's successive Empresses.

Since Amazon Lily's founding, it had been a pirate nation that needed to put to sea to obtain supplies.

But going out to sea always carried a certain amount of risk.

And the greatest risk was the Deep-Sea Sea Serpent.

Many Empresses had never returned because of that terrifying Sea King!

This kind of Sea King lived far too long. They could only watch helplessly as its strength and size continued to grow!

They could do nothing at all!

Thus, Amazon Lily's sixth Empress had left behind this rule: anyone who killed the Deep-Sea Sea Serpent must be treated with courtesy and honored as a distinguished guest, regardless of gender!

From then on, this rule had been passed down and become an ancestral law.

After hearing Gloriosa's words, Roya looked at Hancock beside him and asked, "Hancock, could it be that you only knew the Deep-Sea Sea Serpent was a legendary creature of Amazon Lily, but didn't know about this ancestral law?"

Hearing Roya's words, Hancock nodded shyly.

If she had known, she would have said so immediately.

Then what had just happened would not have occurred.

After receiving Gloriosa's confirmation, Amazon Lily's current Empress walked up to Roya and said, "I'm sorry. We were presumptuous. Please attend the banquet at our imperial palace!"

Hearing her words, Roya shook his head and said calmly, "As I said before, I merely brought them back to this island. If you wish to thank me, then treat them well."

At that moment, Gloriosa took over from the current Empress. "Don't worry. We will devote all of Amazon Lily's resources to nurturing them properly!"

Amazon Lily revered strength!

Gloriosa had seen Hancock's ability just now. With proper training, she even believed Hancock could become the strongest Empress since Amazon Lily's founding!

Of course, what Gloriosa valued most was still the relationship between Hancock and Roya.

She had traveled the seas for many years, but lately, all she had heard about was this mysterious man.

So she had deliberately investigated him.

Yet as her investigation went deeper, Gloriosa found that Roya seemed to have appeared out of thin air, and his origins were exceedingly mysterious.

That was why Gloriosa had assured Roya that she would pour all the island's resources into helping Hancock grow stronger!

Roya was very satisfied with Gloriosa's answer.

"Hancock, even when I'm no longer around, you must train your abilities diligently. Do you understand?"

Hancock nodded vigorously. Then she looked at Roya and said, "Roya, if I become Empress, I will definitely make you my Empress!"

Seeing how serious Hancock was, Roya burst into laughter.

It was the first time he had laughed so happily since coming to this world!

"You're the Empress!"

After saying that, Roya froze. Had he just meant that he would make Hancock his Empress?

Realizing it, he promptly flicked Hancock on the head.

"You're really mischievous." Roya added, "Hancock, we'll meet again on the seas someday!"

Roya turned and walked toward the warship.

The night breeze blew gently, and the jungle rustled.

The bright moon and sparse stars reflected off the sea, making the waves shimmer.

As Hancock watched Roya's receding figure, tears finally slipped from the corners of her eyes.

"Roya, c-can I come find you someday?!!"

Hearing Hancock's words, Roya stopped. He answered, "Mm, of course you can."

Though Roya's voice was soft, it carried an immensely heavy strength in Hancock's heart.

"Roya, then you have to wait for me, wait for the day I come find you!!!"

When Hancock said those words, her voice had already taken on a faint sob.

Roya said nothing more. He merely waved his hand, activated his talisman ability, and returned to the warship.

Because he knew that if he stayed any longer, Hancock would find it even harder to let him go.

Watching Roya leave before her eyes, Hancock made up her mind: she had to train her abilities diligently and reach the Fruit Awakening realm Roya had spoken of as soon as possible!

--

A day had passed since leaving Amazon Lily.

Roya had already left the Calm Belt.

Inside a room on the warship, Roya took out the fruit he had obtained earlier from the system space—the Illusion-Illusion Fruit!

This fruit could create illusions. The illusions possessed a certain degree of strength and could be used for disguise, combat, and group battles. It was a fruit useful in every aspect!

And now, Roya decided to eat this fruit...