He climbed the steps and entered through the main doors.
The once-bustling casino had been completely cleared out. Gambling tables stood in silent rows, the roulette wheels still, the card tables empty, chips still neatly stacked at the dealers' stations. The mingled scent of cigars and perfume lingered in the air, but not a single voice could be heard.
Only the echo of soles striking the marble floor.
Boer looked up at the cloudless sky beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. Alabasta's sky was always like this, a pure, translucent blue without a trace of any other color, sunlight pouring down unobstructed.
He gently squeezed Robin's hand.
"The atmosphere of this sky..."
There was a hint of distaste in his voice:
"Doesn't suit my mood at all."
Robin turned her head, but before she could say anything.
A deep blue arc flashed in the depths of Boer's eyes.
But the next second, the distant sea began to change.
Vast quantities of seawater evaporated into visible vapor and rose high into the sky. Carried by an invisible force, the vapor surged toward the Royal City in a mighty tide, as though summoned.
Convective clouds heavy with rain spread in mere seconds.
One moment, the sky had been cloudless.
The next, dark clouds had already obscured half of it.
Rain poured down in a sudden, drenching rush. Fat raindrops struck the glass, the palm leaves, and the earth that had been dry for far too long, sending up countless tiny splashes.
"And then there's this."
Boer lifted his chin slightly.
A circular opening parted in the very center of the dark clouds. Sunlight streamed through it, piercing the drifting vapor and casting a complete rainbow between heaven and earth.
The rainbow rose outside the windows of Rain Dinners, spanned half the sky, and finally