Ace's eyes slowly widened as he looked at Barn, who sat beside him with a smile.
There was something profound in Barn's smile, as though he were remembering something.
"Actually, I didn't see it myself. Rayleigh told me about it. Ah, Rayleigh was your father's first mate, an old friend of many years. He's a good man, too. If you get the chance, you can look for him in the Sabaody Archipelago."
Barn spoke with a smile, as though he could see that old fellow again, wandering around with a bottle of booze and conning everyone he met.
"Even when the enemy before him was too powerful to fight, Roger wouldn't run. He's a lot like you in that respect, isn't he?"
As Barn spoke, Ace watched the smile on his face, then silently lowered his head. He drew in his crossed legs and hugged his knees to his chest.
"I was still young back then. Rayleigh told me this after my showdown with Roger in the Sabaody Archipelago. I didn't understand Roger's thinking, either, so I asked Rayleigh, 'Did he want to die that badly? Running away is a way of fighting, too.' Looking back, I was shallow then. I've always remembered what Rayleigh said afterward."
"Even so, if he 'refused to run' because the people he loved were behind him, then fleeing would put his companions in danger."
"To be precise... he 'couldn't run.' To keep the enemy before him from catching his companions, what he was really doing was 'not letting the enemy escape.'"
Barn still wore a smile as he faced the silent Ace, and his unfocused eyes softened.
"Roger was practically a 'devil' at times like that. If someone bad-mouthed his companions, he would even wipe out an entire country's army over it."
"It's true