Outside the restaurant in Crescent Moon Village, sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering patches of light and shadow.
Pedro pulled Wanda and Lipo beneath a large tree, his expression serious as he lowered his voice.
"Listen to me. The Marines aren't heroes!
They're the World Government's army, and their job is to capture pirates!"
"Pirates?" Wanda tilted her head, her fluffy tail swaying gently. "What are pirates?"
"Bad people!" Pedro clenched his fists, struggling to recall what Cat Viper and Inuarashi had once told him.
"They burn, kill, and plunder. There's no evil they won't commit!"
"Then wouldn't Marines who catch bad people be heroes?" Lipo blinked her pink eyes and asked innocently.
Pedro was briefly at a loss, his ears twitching involuntarily. "Uh... well, I heard even adventurers get..."
"Hey! Pedro." Wanda's expression darkened. "You don't actually like pirates who burn, kill, plunder, and commit every kind of evil, do you?"
"No! Wanda." Pedro hurriedly waved his hands. "I... I..." Having tangled himself up in his own argument, he struggled to find the words.
"Lipo was supposed to treat him, but Gern paid for the meal first!" Lipo planted her hands on her hips and declared confidently.
"So he's clearly a good person! You said yourself that the Marines stand for justice."
"Lipo, it's not that simple!" Pedro scratched his head and tugged at his ears in frustration.
"Boss Nekomamushi said that even though the Marines catch pirates, they also..."
"Also what?" Wanda demanded coldly. She was now seriously beginning to suspect that her friend had fallen under a bad influence.
Pedro opened his mouth, only to realize that everything he knew about the Marines amounted to a few scattered remarks.
After stammering for a long while, all he could finally squeeze out was, "Anyway, they're not good people!"