After Sephiroth, Jinbe, Yamato, and Reiju exchanged greetings and introductions, the four of them got along quite well.
Sephiroth had originally intended to keep Yamato's identity secret for now, but considering her personality... he simply gave up on hiding it.
Still, he only said that she was "Kaido's child," accompanying Sephiroth as a hostage.
At the moment, Reiju and Yamato were sitting on a bench by the window.
Reiju was telling Yamato stories about the sea, almost as though she were entertaining a child. The two seemed to get along quite well.
Meanwhile-
"Lord Great Angel, thank you so much for what you did. After returning to their homeland, those people missed you dearly. Allow me to thank you on their behalf!"
Jinbe was a straightforward man. Once he finished speaking, he knelt on the floor and bowed his head to Sephiroth.
Then, before Sephiroth could react, he continued.
"Of course, I've also prepared a few modest gifts as thanks. They'll arrive here shortly."
The modest gifts Jinbe mentioned were anything but modest.
Some were ordinary treasure recovered from sunken ships.
The rest were specialties from Fish-Man Island: pearls, coral, and the like.
"All right, understood. I'll accept the gifts."
Sephiroth's ready acceptance pleased Jinbe. He disliked people who went back and forth over matters like this.
Of course, he wouldn't take this as greed on the Great Angel's part. After all... well, the Great Angel's reputation for throwing money around the world was no less prominent than certain aspects of Jinbe's own reputation.
"However, there's something I'd like your help with."
"What might that be? So long as it doesn't violate my principles, I'll see it done."
"I simply hope to establish a trading partnership with Fish-Man Island."
Sephiroth's proposal was quite considerate of Fish-Man Island. Broadly speaking, he