!
There was no denying that Ottilia was remarkably versatile. Aside from cooking, which Sanji Meow claimed without question, she had pretty much taken over every chore aboard the ship.
Beyond the daily chores, Ottilia could not only help with navigation, but also look after Klee Meow while Xie Wen trained...
Well, Xie Wen still had to step in whenever Klee Meow was making her "toys." Otherwise, he could have left absolutely everything to the others.
On top of that, Ottilia knew about many of the islands in the West Blue, so they would not arrive completely unprepared.
Take their first destination after Explorer One set sail, for instance...
"There aren't any towns in the Shatterbone Islands, because the place simply isn't suitable for living," Ottilia explained to them. "They're called the Shatterbone Islands because there are lots of hidden currents and reefs between the islands, along with some vicious fish and sea beasts that attack ships. The 'bones' in the name actually refer mainly to ships' keels being smashed."
After hearing Ottilia's explanation, Xie Wen felt a chill of belated fear.
Thank goodness they had learned about the conditions ahead of time. With a little boat like Explorer One and his and Sanji Meow's half-baked navigation skills, they would have been in serious trouble even with Klee Meow's good luck.
"But now that we know what the Shatterbone Islands are like, things will be much easier." Xie Wen shrugged. "At worst, we can anchor outside and swim in... Oh, right, didn't you mention sea beasts? Beating one into submission and having it lead the way would be a good option too."
According to the setting of One Piece, Sea Kings and sea beasts were different. Sea Kings only obeyed the Sea Sovereign, while sea beasts could be tamed, like the bull-headed sea beast with the Arlong Pirates, or the pair of horse-like sea beasts kept by the Franky Family.
Ottilia could not understand this at all...
"There's nobody there. What would you go there for?"
A Pirates crew had once taken advantage of the terrain and made the islands their base, but they later discovered that returning to resupply was a hassle every time, and gradually abandoned it. That meant there was unlikely to be any treasure there either. The only resources worth anything were probably the fish and sea beasts, which counted as fairly rare ingredients.
"You already know we're called the Palico Research Commission," Xie Wen patiently explained. "But to be precise, we should actually be called the Exploration Team or the Search Team. Our goal is to find Palicoes scattered out there. That place might not be suitable for humans, but that isn't necessarily true for Palicoes."
Naturally, this was an excuse Xie Wen had come up with long ago, though it was not exactly wrong. After all, traveling around really did let them add new Palicoes to their ranks.
Besides, exploring this world was not just about summoning more Palicoes...
As mentioned before, Xie Wen had little interest in the One Piece or becoming Pirate King. As for overthrowing the Celestial Dragons, he would certainly lend a hand if he had the opportunity and ability, but he was not invested enough to make it his life's work or personal goal. Still, now that he had arrived in such a fantastical world, claiming he did not want to look around would have been an outright lie.
So even without his current Cheat Ability, Xie Wen would have toured the Four Seas once he was strong enough, and eventually entered the Grand Line.
The Palicoes merely gave him one more reason to do so.
Ottilia looked at the two cats beside Xie Wen, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then finally gave a soft sigh. "I understand. They really are worth doing all this for."
Although Ottilia's mood seemed a little odd, Xie Wen did not pay it much mind. Gently scratching Klee Meow's chin, he teased her. "You heard her. Once we reach the Shatterbone Islands, we'll have to swim ashore. You can't swim, Klee, so how about staying behind to watch the ship?"
"No way, meow!" Little Plushie, who had been enjoying Xie Wen's massage, immediately bristled. "Klee wants to explore the islands too! Big Brother Sanji is the chef cat. He should stay behind to watch the ship, meow!"
Faced with her second-favorite activity, Klee Meow sold Sanji Meow out without a moment's hesitation.
Yes, Klee Meow's favorite activity was, of course, tinkering with all kinds of explosives.
Naturally, Xie Wen would not really leave Klee Meow behind to watch the ship. Even setting aside her innate treasure-hunting talent, if he left her alone aboard, he worried that Explorer One would be nothing but a pile of splintered wood when he returned.
But if you had cats and did not tease them, wasn't that as good as not having cats at all?
No matter how much Xie Wen doted on Klee Meow, he still had to tease her when the occasion called for it!
"Hmm, but I need Sanji to come along and pick out ingredients," Xie Wen argued, with perfectly "sound reasoning." "So you're the better choice to stay and watch the ship, Klee."
When it came to teasing Klee Meow, Sanji Meow was firmly on Xie Wen's side. Rather than speaking up for her, he chimed in with a thoroughly "sincere" expression. "Xie Wen is right, meow. Besides, we're landing on a group of islands, so we'll have to keep swimming from one to another. You'll be safer staying aboard, little sister Klee, meow."
"Klee used to be able to swim too!" Little Plushie began throwing a tantrum and rolling around. "It's all because Big Brother Xie Wen tricked Klee into eating that weird, nasty fruit, meow! And now you won't let Klee come play! You're both bullying Klee, meow!"
Ottilia, who had been smiling as she watched their antics, paused in surprise and asked curiously, "Unable to swim after eating it... Did Klee eat a Devil Fruit too?"
"Yeah."
Xie Wen nodded casually in answer, then, feeling that he had teased her enough, turned to soothe Little Plushie, who was rolling around on the deck.
"All right, all right. I was only teasing. How could I bear to leave you all alone, Klee?"
Xie Wen scooped Klee Meow up and rubbed his cheek against her little head, his voice unconsciously rising into a sweeter pitch.
But Sanji Meow, who had just been his accomplice, switched sides and undermined him. "You're worried little sister Klee will blow up Explorer One, aren't you?"
You just had to open your mouth!
Xie Wen shot the little brat a fierce glare.
Fortunately, Klee Meow still loved him. Though she grabbed his arm and gave it a hard bite, she immediately licked the tooth marks with great care, afraid that she might have hurt him.
After that, the little angel Klee Meow naturally forgave Xie Wen just like that, much to the disappointment of Sanji Meow, who had hoped to enjoy the show.
A while later, they arrived near the Shatterbone Islands. Following their original plan, Xie Wen dropped anchor at the outskirts, had Klee Meow lie against his back with her arms around his neck, then brought Sanji Meow to the side of the ship.
"We'll leave watching the ship to you, then," Xie Wen said, looking back at Ottilia. "There's plenty of fresh water and food aboard. Besides, at our speed, it shouldn't take us long to get back."
"Aren't you afraid I'll take the chance to sail away with your ship?" Ottilia asked with a complicated expression.
"Oh, right..."
Xie Wen scratched his head, only now realizing the problem.
Come to think of it, they had known each other for less than a week. There really was no reason to trust her to this extent.
Xie Wen had assumed that surviving alone at sea would be difficult for Ottilia, so she would not do it unless she was an idiot. But he had overlooked the fact that this was not Earth. Most people in this world had experience surviving at sea... and sturdy bodies that would not drop dead so easily.
Still, since she had brought it up herself, she clearly had no intention of doing it. Most likely, she was testing how much he trusted her...
So that whole maid story really was fake, wasn't it?
In fact, if her skin tone had not been a little off, Xie Wen would have thought she was Nico Robin. After all, the combination of the West Blue and Cipher Pol made it hard not to think of her.
Xie Wen looked at Ottilia, and sure enough, he saw tension and wariness in her eyes.
If Xie Wen said something like "I trust you" now, even if it did not prompt Ottilia to reveal her true identity on the spot, it would at least make her lower her guard a little. So Xie Wen shrugged and answered-
"Don't worry. If you really do that, you definitely won't get far."
She was just a temporary teammate. Xie Wen had no interest in grinding affection points.
Yet Ottilia's reaction was rather strange. First, she blinked in a slight daze, then let out a laugh. "I still need you to help me evade the Capone Family's pursuit. Of course I wouldn't do something that stupid."
Hmm... Somehow, Ottilia suddenly seemed much more sincere.
So this was the right way to grind affection points with the Pirates?
I didn't get a site notification yesterday, so I probably lost the second-round recommendation contest. There won't be any more recommendations coming my way. (ω`)
Before you continue