Cat Burglar

Gawain's expression froze.

Queen!

Queen!

My Wang Nima's queen!

"HAHAHAHAHAHA~"

The pirates gradually gathering around witnessed the scene and immediately burst into laughter.

Even Akin, who usually wore a cold expression, could not help turning away, exerting great effort to control his emotions.

Yet the slight upward curl of his lips still revealed how he truly felt.

Nami looked at everyone suspiciously.

"What's wrong?"

Kuro glanced at Gawain almost imperceptibly and explained, "Nothing. We all just really love this movie~"

"Really?"

Nami's eyes lit up. She immediately pulled Kuro aside and began discussing the plot in detail.

When she reached the emotional parts, Nami's eyes even reddened as tears of weakness streamed down her face.

So you actually liked it?

No, what was even good about that kind of thing?

For a moment, Gawain did not know where to begin mocking her. Noticing the pirates around him looked like they wanted to laugh but dared not, he simply walked into the cabin.

Nami, meanwhile, dragged Kuro into discussing the plot for several hours, going from the movie to the novel and even the related merchandise.

Kuro's expression shifted from barely suppressing laughter to calm indifference, until he finally went completely numb and became a nodding machine.

The two talked until late at night before Nami finally stopped.

Kuro had just breathed a sigh of relief when Nami's voice rang out beside him.

"First Mate, you're not pretending to be a fan. You really love this movie~"

"We'll continue tomorrow~"

Kuro stumbled, answering weakly, "As long as you're happy."

The night deepened.

Under a crewman's guidance, Nami entered the room assigned to her.

Creak~

The door opened.

It revealed a somewhat simple room.

There was a table directly opposite the porthole, a single bed, and a desk parallel to the bow, piled with books related to navigators.

The dim oil lamp flickered, swaying constantly with the rocking of the ship. Its warm light fell upon Nami's face, illuminating her complicated expression.

Seeing Nami's slight surprise, the crewman explained, "The captain had this room specially prepared for a navigator. But there aren't any other empty rooms on the ship right now, so it's been temporarily assigned to you. If you don't like it, I can ask the captain to move you."

"No."

"I like it very much."

The crewman nodded. After reminding Nami of a few more things, he turned and left.

After washing up, Nami sat directly on the bed. She reached out to stroke the soft, dry blanket, then turned to look out the window.

No one knew what she was thinking.

Over the next few days.

Nami officially became part of Gawain's crew.

She had always been a notorious thief in the East Blue, and social skills were one of the most essential abilities in her line of work.

Over the past few days, she had pried nearly everything from the crewmen except for the identities of Gawain and the other two, as well as their recent experiences.

"A pirate captain who treated his subordinates with the utmost warmth and kindness, who had never harmed civilians, yet was betrayed by his crew at the most dangerous moment and had no choice but to draw his sword in resistance..."

"A First Mate who had fought for over a decade and wanted to become an ordinary man living a stable, peaceful life, only to find his wish impossible to fulfill. Once a pirate, always a pirate..."

"A most loyal officer who took a blade for his leader, only to be ruthlessly abandoned by him anyway..."

Recalling everything she had experienced in recent days, Nami's gaze grew increasingly complicated.

But as the faces of everyone in her village surfaced before her, Nami's resolve gradually hardened.

It was not that she had never considered shifting the disaster onto them and letting the two pirate crews fight each other, but her interactions with them over the past few days had made her abandon that thought.

In her eyes, Gawain and the others could never be a match for Arlong. If they truly faced Arlong, they would only be throwing away their lives for nothing.

And now.

She no longer wished to watch Gawain and the others die.

Whooo—!

With a blast of the horn.

The Pirate Ship gradually came to a stop. Nami lied to Kuro, who had come to ask her to go to the port and purchase supplies with him, claiming that she was unwell, and chose to remain aboard.

Once everyone had gradually disappeared into the port, she followed the information she had coaxed from the pirates over the past few days. After knocking out the pirate guarding the door, she quietly slipped into the place where the treasure was stored.

And what lay inside did not disappoint her.

A dazzling array of gemstones and glittering gold.

Even without counting it carefully, she could accurately judge that its value would surpass all imagination.

After packing up the treasure, Nami initially intended to leave immediately. But Gawain and the other two's faces surfaced in her mind again. She looked up at the weather over the port, then quickly returned to her room.

After leaving a letter for the three of them, she took the treasure, changed into men's clothes, and quietly slipped away.

At the port.

Gawain and the other two watched Nami's retreating figure disappear with blank expressions.

Akin and Kuro were both seasoned veterans, while Gawain had seen through Nami's plan from the start. How could they fail to see through such clumsy acting?

"Captain, I don't understand why you've indulged that woman to this extent."

Kuro looked at Gawain, his tone teasing. "Could it be that you no longer love the Queen and now love young girls instead?"

"Mention that again and I'll split you in half with one slash!"

Gawain's mouth twitched. He felt the urge to draw his sword becoming nearly impossible to suppress.

He immediately led the two back to the ship. Upon pushing open the door to the navigator's room, they found a letter sitting on the desk.

The contents were extremely simple, consisting of only two lines.

"Tomorrow night at eleven thirty, a storm will strike Dia Port. Leave as soon as possible after finishing your purchases. As payment, I'll be taking the treasure aboard the ship~"

She had even thoughtfully drawn a windmill at the end.

Kuro read the letter and immediately reacted.

"This woman is the navigator you were looking for?"

"With all due respect, if there is any position aboard a ship where experience matters most, it can only be navigator."

"The sea is unpredictable. Even the most precise calculations can go wrong. Down to the minute?"

"How could that be possible!"

Kuro shook his head.

"She's only fifteen or sixteen. When I first went to sea, she was still a baby."

Then he glanced at Gawain again.

"And you were still courting the Queen~"

"Wang Nima!"

Gawain's eyes immediately reddened, and he drew his sword on the spot. Fortunately, Akin was quick enough to press down on the blade.

"Captain, don't do this!"

"Hmph!"

Gawain sheathed his sword with a dark expression and said flatly, "She can't escape."

Then Gawain looked at Kuro and said, "How about we make a bet? We'll stay here for one day. If there really is a storm tomorrow night, you'll wash everyone's socks on the ship!"

"For a month!"

Akin sucked in a cold breath and looked from Gawain to Kuro.

"Captain, isn't this a bit too much?"

"Fine!"

Without even waiting for Gawain to refuse, Kuro agreed immediately.

"I refuse to believe that a teenage girl can reach such a level in Navigation Skills!"

"Estimating a storm is one thing, but she can even determine its exact arrival time?!"

"Gawain, I'll be waiting for you to wash my socks!"