Open and Honest

"Ain, you look like you're in a pretty good mood!"

Ain narrowed her eyes and smiled happily. "Yes, Big Brother Carl. Once my internship is over, I'll be able to become Staff Officer Tsuru's subordinate. I really admire her!"

"That's great! Though I suppose it's a case of gaining something and losing something."

Ain froze. She understood what she would gain, but what would she lose?

"W-What do you mean?"

Carl let out a long breath and flashed Ain a handsome smile. "Because you'll have a hard time seeing another Marine as handsome as me."

"Blegh! Carl, you're so narcissistic!"

Carl only smiled. He took the bounty poster for the target of their current internship mission from Ain's hands and began reading it with great interest.

"The Hunting Knife Pirates. Captain Zacur. Bounty: twenty-four million five hundred thousand Berries. Specializes in swordsmanship. Ooh, how scary~"

Huh? How come he was already talking like Kizaru before even becoming Kizaru's subordinate?

Ain seemed very dissatisfied with Carl's attitude. She raised her small fist and angrily declared, "Zacur has committed countless atrocities. Not only did he plunder Autumn Island, but he also killed more than twenty innocent civilians. I'll never let him off!"

"Hahaha, of course not. Under my leadership, we'll complete this internship mission perfectly. Don't worry!"

Ain looked suspiciously at Carl, then her gaze sharpened. "By the way, Carl, what exactly is your ability? You should be able to tell us now, right?"

"Well..."

"It's fine, Carl. You're Marines on the same ship now—comrades. It's best to let them know about your ability in advance."

Zephyr suddenly appeared behind Carl. Before Carl could answer, he called the recruits together again.

"Carl, it's your turn." With that, Zephyr retreated to the side with a beaming smile.

Seeing the curious and puzzled looks from the recruits around him, Carl took a deep breath and revealed a faint smile.

"I'm sure everyone has been curious about my ability these past two months. It's just that, for certain reasons, it hasn't been convenient for me to tell you."

"But it's time to come clean."

As soon as he finished speaking, Carl extended his right hand and condensed a golden ball of light. Even beneath the blazing sun, it still shone brilliantly.

"Everyone, this is my ability. I've named it the Power of Holy Light. For now, it has only two effects: healing and strengthening!"

Carl then took a pistol from behind his back, aimed it at Ainz, who was watching from the side, took careful aim, and fired!

Bang~

"AAAAAAAAH!"

A spray of blood blossomed from Ainz's thigh. Ainz looked at Carl in confusion. "Meow meow meow?"

He then let out a heart-wrenching scream, clutching his thigh and rolling around while howling in agony.

Zephyr frowned from the side, but when he considered that Carl's ability should prevent any serious problems, he said nothing and let Carl do as he pleased.

"Everyone, pay attention. Ainz has been shot. If he were hit during a battle, his combat power would drop sharply, and it would also take some time to recover after the fight."

"But..." Carl threw the Holy Light in his hand toward Ainz. Ainz immediately stopped screaming, his face filled with confusion.

The others only saw a black bullet fall from Ainz's leg and roll across the ground.

"What!" What kind of terrifying healing power is this? No, it must be Carl's... Holy Light!

The recruits swarmed around Ainz and tore open his pants to inspect the injured area. But after taking a careful look—

Aside from the blood left behind earlier, there wasn't the slightest sign of injury.

"This is the healing effect of Holy Light. Of course, the strengthening effect varies from person to person, and everyone feels it differently. Does anyone want to experience it?"

The recruits shouted excitedly at Carl, "Of course!"

Carl grinned. He clasped his hands together, and another golden ball of light condensed between his palms. As it grew larger, his hands slowly spread apart until the ball was about the size of a yoga ball.

"Holy Radiance Redemption!"

Bang~

The golden ball of light exploded, but it caused no damage. Instead, every recruit illuminated by the golden radiance felt their aura grow dramatically stronger.

Carl was slightly short of breath. Strengthening so many people at once placed a heavy burden on his stamina. Fortunately, Still as a Virgin provided him with stamina recovery, so the energy he had expended would be restored in about fifteen minutes.

"I-I feel like I could kill a bull with one punch right now!"

"This is incredible! I accidentally sprained my ankle yesterday, but after Carl's Holy Light shone on me, it healed immediately! It's amazing!"

Exclamations like these were endless. The recruits who had entered the academy alongside them instantly looked at Carl with burning eyes.

Who wouldn't want to become stronger?

As long as Carl was by their side, they could enjoy powerful medical support and physical enhancement at any time. How could that not excite them?

No wonder Carl kept his ability secret. No wonder Instructor Zephyr valued him so highly. No wonder the three admirals were fighting to make Carl their adjutant!

If they were in their place, they would definitely do the same!

Because Carl's ability was simply too powerful! He was practically the ideal teammate!

"Looks like everyone is quite satisfied with my ability! In that case, regarding this internship mission..."

Ainz, who had just been shot, immediately shouted excitedly, "Carl, leave it to us!"

"That's right! With your Holy Light backing us up, we have nothing to fear. The puny Hunting Knife Pirates are nothing special!"

Carl nodded in satisfaction. Very good. Excellent. Now he could finally loaf around without feeling guilty!

The only problem was Weevil. He was always a ticking time bomb in Carl's heart, and the worst part was that Carl had no idea when it would explode.

But when he saw Zephyr beside him, still walking with a powerful stride and radiating might, Carl temporarily set aside his worries. With Zephyr and himself together, they would definitely crush everything in their path. He would handle the cheering, while Zephyr handled the slaughter.

After who knew how long, Carl had already gone with Zephyr to a quiet place to chat and smoke cigars, while the recruits were still tirelessly challenging one another one-on-one to find out just how strong they had become after being enhanced.

Zephyr couldn't be bothered to stop them. Traveling was the most boring part of a journey, so letting them vent some of their excess energy was a good thing.

"Carl, you did well just now. To be honest, with your strength, you could easily deal with the Hunting Knife Pirates alone. But this is exactly the situation I wanted to see."

Carl smiled and flicked the ash from his cigar, speaking leisurely. "I think so too. Isn't this exactly how my ability should be used?"

"Hahaha, that's right. The reason the Marines are the Marines is that we are a whole. The strength of one person or even several people means nothing."

"Only by raising the strength of the Marines as a whole can we better deter those reckless fools."

Carl was just about to say something when Zephyr's Den Den Mushi suddenly began ringing.

"This is Zephyr. What is it?"

"Chief Instructor Zephyr, according to information from Marine Intelligence, the Musket Pirates, whose combined bounty totals thirty million Berries, have landed on Spring Island. Your internship ship is the nearest warship..."

"Rest assured. I'll head there immediately!" Zephyr hung up at once and rose, walking toward the lively deck.

Three minutes later, the internship ship began speeding forward!

The Pirate World's Great God Yudingling: Starting as a Navy Lieutenant, I Became Stronger by Slacking Off