Charlos raised his hand and gave a gentle toss. The little mermaid cried, "Ah!" and landed straight in the sea.
A moment later, a tiny head poked above the surface. It was the little mermaid.
"Go home now. Don't come ashore again."
The little mermaid blinked up at Charlos.
Just then, Charlos hurried over with his guards, panting heavily. "Hey, hey, Brother Charlos! If you didn't want her, you could have given her to me! Why did you let her go?"
Shalria leaped up and delivered a fierce kick. With a thud, Charlos toppled straight into the water.
A nearby guard shouted in panic, "Oh no! Saint Charlos has fallen into the sea! Hurry and save him!"
The guards jumped into the sea one after another.
Charlos did not look their way. He told the little mermaid floating on the surface, "Go home. The shore isn't somewhere you should be. Do you understand?"
The little mermaid quietly studied Charlos's face and softly answered, "Okay." Then she dove beneath the water and vanished.
Shalria looked at Charlos in bewilderment. "Brother Charlos, why did you let her go?"
"I'm planning to put together a squad of guards."
"But what does that have to do with letting her go?"
"Everything, Shalria. Let me ask you something. If I were in danger one day, on the verge of death, and they weren't wearing slave collars, would they still risk their lives to protect me?"
"Of course they would! We're Celestial Dragons!"
Charlos raised his hand and lightly tapped Shalria on the head.
"Then would you still protect me without a slave collar?"
Shalria thought for a moment, then answered earnestly, "Yes, because you're Brother Charlos."
Charlos pointed toward the pirate ships out on the sea.
"Then do you think the people aboard those ships would?"
"Yes."
"Then how about a bet, Shalria? Change out of those clothes, and Akali will protect you from the shadows. During that time, you mustn't reveal that you're a Celestial Dragon. Let's see whether anyone is willing to protect you. How does that sound?"
"Sure, Brother. But if I win, those two can't follow you around anymore." Shalria raised her hand and pointed at Amira and Amina.
Charlos turned to the sisters. "They're my companions. Do you two agree to this?"
Amira nodded gently. "I agree."
"Then I agree too."
Shalria lifted her chin. "Good, it's a deal! If I win, neither of you is ever allowed near Brother Charlos again."
"Then let's begin."
Shalria stepped aside, quickly changed into ordinary clothes, then turned and ran off.
Charlos turned to Akali. "Akali, follow her."
"Yes."
At the same time, Charlos swept his gaze over the guards in the distance. Several dark figures suddenly darted out of their ranks.
He murmured flatly, "Just as I thought. There are plenty of CP0 agents hiding here."
Amira spoke up. "Saint Charlos, I really don't understand why you let the little mermaid go."
Amina echoed her question. "Exactly. Owning a mermaid or a Fish-Man would earn us considerable prestige among the Celestial Dragons. Why let her go?"
Charlos took a gold coin from his pocket and flicked it with his fingertip, sending it spinning through the air.
"Because of this."
Amira and Amina tilted their heads in unison, their eyes settling on the gold coin.
"Before entering the auction house, I tossed this coin. If it came up heads, I would bid on any Devil Fruit I found. If it came up tails, I would let someone else buy it, even if one appeared."
Amina stared at the coin and asked, "But what does that have to do with the little mermaid?"
Charlos picked up the gold coin and placed it in Amina's palm.
"When Akali was holding the little mermaid just now, I tossed a coin too. I thought, heads, I keep her; tails, I let her go. Guess how her fate turned out?"
Amina looked at the coin in her palm, then casually tucked it into her pocket.
"So it came up tails in the end?"
Charlos smiled. "That's right."
"All right, let's find somewhere to rest."
The moment he finished speaking, the guards behind him sprang into action and erected an enormous, spacious canopy in an instant.
Charlos settled leisurely into his seat, produced another gold coin between his fingers, and gently tossed it up and down in his palm.
Amira asked softly, "Saint Charlos, what are we waiting here for?"
"For Shalria, to test her answer."
Meanwhile, beside the Sabaody Mangrove District.
Standing alone beside a pirate ship, Shalria deliberately softened her voice and asked timidly, "Sir, I'm hurt. Could you help me?"
Several pirates looked down and saw only a frail child. Greedy smiles instantly spread across their faces as they answered casually, "Of course, little girl."
Shalria secretly gloated. Hmph, Brother Charlos, you're going to lose.
A pirate reached down and scooped her up.
Shalria kept up her pitiful act. "Sir, my foot really hurts."
"It's all right. It won't hurt with me carrying you."
Holding her, the pirate turned and strode toward a group of approaching merchants. His tone suddenly turned cold and mercenary. "Gentlemen, take a look at this child. How many gold coins is she worth?"
At those words, Shalria went rigid, the truth hitting her all at once.
She dropped the act and lashed out, slamming her little fist into the pirate. The instant his grip loosened in pain, she wrenched herself free and took off running.
The pirate's furious roar came from behind her. "You rotten brat!"
Clutching his nose, the pirate clumsily wiped his face and shouted, "Boys, get after her!"
Several pirates instantly drew their swords. Some raised muskets, aimed at the fleeing Shalria, and opened fire.
Shalria's pupils contracted. Not daring to look back, she plunged into the district's maze of alleyways. The pirates followed close behind, refusing to lose her trail.
A passing merchant who had witnessed the whole thing shook his head and sighed. "Good grief, these pirates really are useless. They catch a child and don't even know to put her in a cage. They just let her get away."
Deep in the alleys, Shalria ran for her life as the pirates' shouts kept ringing out behind her. "Stop right there!"
She fled blindly, calling to the passersby along the street as she ran. "Help me! Please, someone, help me!"
People streamed through the streets, all hurrying along with their heads lowered. They turned away, not one willing to spare her another glance, and pretended not to see her pleas for help.
Shalria had never seen anything like this, and it shook her to the core. In her panic, she reached out and swept her arm hard across a roadside fruit stall.
A whole basket of apples tumbled to the ground, scattering across the road. Taking advantage of the chaos, she kept fleeing without looking back.
The fruit seller flew into a rage, pointing at her retreating figure and cursing, "You rotten brat!"
The pursuing pirates had no time to spare for the fresh fruit scattered everywhere. They trampled over the rolling apples as they raced after her.
Seeing this, the stall owner hurriedly shouted, "Stop! Don't run off! Those are my apples!"
One pirate turned at the shout, his eyes vicious.
The stall owner instantly lost his nerve and hastily corrected himself. "N-no, it's nothing..."
"Damn it! Your babbling let that brat get farther away!"
Seething with rage, the pirate raised his musket, and a gunshot erupted with a bang.
The helpless fruit seller fell at the shot, killed on the spot.