"Hadn't you already fulfilled your dream, Roger!!!"
Shiki's rebuke rang out amid the waves crashing against the coastal rocks.
Roger looked up at his old rival, his lips curling into a grin. He burst out laughing and opened another bottle of rum.
Then he tapped the bottle lightly with his finger, producing a crisp clink. "Take a guess."
"Stop speaking in riddles, you bastard!" Golden Lion shot to his feet, his cloak snapping in the wind.
"Roger, we were enemies, but we've known each other for years. Tell me the truth!"
Roger finally raised his head, a complicated light flickering in the eyes beneath his hat. "The truth... can sometimes be crueler than a lie."
"Hmph!" Golden Lion snorted. "You think that would scare me?"
Roger stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. "Fine. Since you want to know so badly..."
He stood up and brushed the sand off his trousers. "Laugh Tale holds the 'answer' to this world."
"The answer? What answer?"
"The answer is that we aren't the people 'it' needs..." Roger spoke softly, yet his words pierced Golden Lion's heart like a sharp blade.
Golden Lion's pupils abruptly contracted, and his breathing stopped for an instant.
"Heh. So that's how it is." But he soon regained his arrogant expression. "I never thought even you would deny yourself, Roger."
Roger shrugged. A sudden wave of sickness swept through him, but he couldn't let Golden Lion discover his terminal illness.
So he chose to tough it out, pretending he had choked on his drink.
"Cough, cough... Shiki, my adventure is already over."
"So what?" Sure enough, Golden Lion failed to notice anything wrong with Roger. Instead, he grinned fiercely, the flames of ambition burning in his eyes.
"You're the Pirate King now!! I acknowledge your strength."