The third time was this [Erudite] advancement quest. (Continued)

Adrian frowned slightly, his gaze naturally drifting downward.

A mischievous dagger had poked out at some point and was about to slip free of its sheath.

"A dagger! It's a dagger!"

Adrian drew the blade at his waist and showed it to Gion. It was the [Brave's Dagger], which had accompanied him through years of battle.

Back in Dressrosa, Miss Elizabeth, the singer, had borrowed this dagger several times and given it the positive review of being "very comfortable to handle."

Gion looked at the ornate dagger in Adrian's palm, its sheath decorated with yellow spiral patterns, and relaxed a little.

Yet for some reason, a faint, inexplicable sense of disappointment welled up inside her.

No!

You should be ashamed!

Gion's cheeks flared red once more, this time because of the lewd assumption she had just made.

Adrian put away his dagger, flicked his right hand, and tossed the famous sword Kompira back to her.

Ignoring the shame that kept welling up inside her, Gion hurriedly reached out and caught Kompira. Only after carefully inspecting its edge did she feel comfortable returning it to its sheath.

"White Ghost! What exactly are you doing aboard a Navy recruit ship?"

The flushed rear admiral questioned the great pirate with righteous indignation.

Adrian raised his right index finger. A tiny White Hollow slowly emerged from his fingertip, an eerily radiant smile on his simply drawn face as he fluttered around the finger.

Gion's pupils contracted slightly, and she took a frightened half step backward.

After several years, she had once again experienced the terrifying effects of Positive Hollow: Universal Panacea firsthand.

She did not want a repeat.

But the cold, hard railing behind Gion stopped her retreat.

Kompira's sheath struck the warship's railing with a soft clank.

Like someone caught stealing, the rear