By the time Norton woke in the soft bed, the sun was already high. His defeat of Redbeard had been yesterday.
These nobles certainly knew how to enjoy themselves, and the duke was a master at it. The bed in his private cabin was covered in white wool, and the pillow was stuffed with cotton. It wasn't quite as soft as a cloud, but it was still the softest bed Norton had ever slept in.
Norton stretched lazily, climbed slowly out of bed, washed up, and opened the door.
Outside sat a breakfast prepared in advance by the nobles' team of hired cooks, set on a serving tray.
A grilled sausage, two fried eggs, and a little vegetable salad-on the resource-scarce sea, this was already an excellent meal.
After leisurely satisfying his taste buds, Norton headed to the deck.
The pirates moved about on deck, while the nobles and their ladies gathered on the other side to chat. Neither group bothered the other.
Under the rules Norton had announced yesterday, both groups were free to move around the ship, but they had to maintain basic respect for one another. They were forbidden to hurt, insult, or harass each other.
Anyone who broke the rules would be thrown into the sea, just like Redbeard.
The pirates feared Norton's strength and dared not disobey.
The nobles and their ladies were more than happy to comply. Without Norton's rules to protect them, heaven only knew what the pirates would do to them.
Sanosuke sat cross-legged in a corner of the deck, practicing his ninja training. He seemed to wear his forehead protector and mask at all times, and his stealth outfit was exactly the same as yesterday's. Norton had reason to suspect the man disliked bathing.
Sensing Norton's approach, Sanosuke slowly opened his eyes.
"Where did Nami go?" Norton asked.
"I don't know. I didn't see her when I woke up this morning," Sanosuke replied.
Norton nodded and swept his gaze around. The pirates and nobles all tensed.
But Norton didn't trouble them. He wasn't that bored. At present, Nami and Sanosuke were the only people on this ship worth his attention.
"How much longer until we reach land?" Norton asked.
"I don't know. I don't know the first thing about navigation," Sanosuke said.
"How come you don't know anything I ask? You're useless."
Sanosuke was momentarily speechless. I'm a ninja. How am I supposed to know the answers to questions like that?
"Why don't you ask whether I can use Shadow Clone?"
"Then can you use Shadow Clone?" Norton's eyes lit up.
"No."
"Then Fire Release..."
"Fire Release? What's that?" Sanosuke asked in confusion.
"What about the Sharingan?" Norton refused to give up.
"What's the Sharingan? Never heard of it."
"Tch. How boring." Norton lost interest. He'd thought he had found a treasure.
What kind of ninja are you?
"I'll go find Nami instead." Norton drew a deep breath.
He left the deck and entered the ship's interior.
Arriving outside Nami's room, he knocked on the door.
No one answered.
Where did she go?
After thinking for a moment, Norton headed deeper into the ship.
A few minutes later, he reached the room where the treasure was stored. Sure enough, he heard faint noises inside.
So she really is here...
With that thought, Norton pushed the door open and walked straight in.
Nami jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Y-you... why did you come in?!"
"What are you doing? You're not stealing, are you?" Norton looked at the bundle at Nami's feet, answering her question with one of his own.
"Haha! You're such a joker. Of course not!" Nami hid her guilt behind a smile and tried to kick the bundle aside.
Norton glanced at Nami, then looked away.
He knew Nami was only pretending to obey. Given the chance, she would steal the money and run at any moment. Getting her to join him willingly would take some work.
But he didn't expose her. He turned and walked out.
Nami froze for a moment. She looked at Norton's retreating back, then at the bundle full of Beli behind her. After a brief hesitation, she followed him.
"Do you trust me?" Nami asked on impulse.
"What do you think?" Norton didn't turn around.
Nami faltered. She found this man increasingly impossible to read.
The two continued in silence. Norton's expression was inscrutable in the shadows, while Nami walked on tenterhooks.
Only when they emerged from the ship's interior and returned to the deck did Norton's strong features come back into the sunlight.
"How much longer until we reach land?" Norton turned back.
"Soon. Judging by our position on the chart, we should arrive around noon tomorrow." Nami gazed out at the distant sea, the breeze lifting her short orange hair.
Norton nodded and headed toward the bow. Feeling guilty, Nami stayed close behind him.
Just then, a duke approached and looked at Norton with a conflicted expression. "What do you intend to do with us?"
The duke didn't know whether to resent or feel grateful to this man with his cold exterior and warm heart.
It was true that Norton hadn't rescued the nobles, but his rules had nevertheless protected everyone.
What's more, if Norton hadn't defeated Redbeard, the people aboard this ship could never have survived this crisis.
Even if Norton intended to take the nobles' treasure and ship.
What came next? Another crisis, or a chance to escape with their lives? The duke didn't know, so he decided to muster his courage and ask Norton.
"I almost forgot about you. Once we reach land, you can leave the ship. The cooks have to stay, though."
"L-leave the ship?" The duke was overjoyed.
"Yes, leave the ship. People like you, who can't do anything, would only waste food by staying aboard," Norton said.
"Waste food? Are you saying we're useless? You're insulting us!"
"Am I wrong?"
"We compose poetry and understand etiquette..." The duke's face flushed with anger.
"Stop, stop, stop." Norton cut off the duke's lengthy speech. "Can you farm?"
"Farm? Leave that sort of meaningless work to the lower classes! We must devote our energies to more important matters!"
Norton smiled. "Listen to that. Such arrogance. You can't even respect other people's labor. How can you call yourselves useful?"
"So knowing how to farm makes someone useful? Farming..." The duke fumed.
But Norton had no desire to argue with him and simply walked away.
Seeing the duke's furious expression, Nami burst out laughing. It was the first time she'd seen a high-ranking noble look like that. No amount of money she'd stolen before had ever managed it.
Once they were some distance away, Norton felt someone poke his shoulder from behind.
Norton turned to look at Nami.
"Are you really going to let those nobles go? Won't they come after you? You did steal their money, after all," Nami said.
"Let them come. I never worry about revenge from the weak." Norton remained perfectly calm.
"I never thought there could be a pirate like you." Nami's gaze was conflicted.
"Being a pirate is only the starting point. My goal is to build a country of my own," Norton said.
"Then why do you look down on nobles?" Nami was puzzled. How could someone who wanted to become a king stand against the nobility?
"Because the country I want to build has no need for a rotten noble class. Positions should go to capable people," Norton said softly.
Nami fell into a daze. Suddenly, the deck jolted, and the entire ship began to rock violently. Caught off balance, Nami pitched forward and crashed into Norton's solid, warm back.
"What happened?" someone shouted.
"Looks like we hit a reef! Damn it, why are there reefs in these waters?" the helmsman shouted back.
"It's all Sanosuke's fault! That guy's bad luck must have struck again!" one of the pirates yelled.