Carlmand was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Tell me, Kazu! What's this great idea?"
Kazu took a set of cosmetics out of his independent space. Makino had bought them, but carrying things while shopping was too much trouble, so she had handed the whole lot over to Kazu.
"These are..."
Carlmand pointed at the cosmetics, then at himself.
"That's right. Exactly what you're thinking."
"After all, you can't exactly wear a mask to comfort those fallen girls."
"Wouldn't they just take you for a pervert?"
"I'll give you a makeover with these cosmetics. As long as people don't think of that wanted poster when they see you, you'll be completely free."
Kazu wore a smug expression beneath his mask. Though Carlmand couldn't see it, he could just feel it.
It was a feeling.
That's right-the sense of accomplishment that came from helping a good buddy come up with a plan.
Kazu really wasn't talking nonsense. Having been immersed in modern society, he had seen this sort of thing all the time.
This was one of Blue Star's sorceries: the art of makeup.
With makeup, a woman could make it impossible to tell she was the same person as before.
Even some feminine-looking men could use makeup to make people mistake them for girls.
Carlmand wrestled with himself for several seconds. Finally, amid protests from his little brother, he made a momentous decision.
"Come on, Kazu! I'm entrusting this handsome face of mine to you!"
"Hahaha! You've come to the right person."
Kazu yanked the scarf off Carlmand's face, then went to town. Through his unique technique, Carlmand successfully became a genuine eel!
"Pfft... d-done... pfft...!"
Kazu struggled hard to hold it in. Looking at Carlmand's rather seductive face, he encouraged him to boldly pursue his hobby.
"Kazu, you can't even stop laughing! You definitely didn't do it right!"
Carlmand wasn't stupid either. Seeing Kazu like this, he knew without even thinking that he had failed.
People would definitely still recognize him.
"I did a great job! If you don't believe me, go find Makino. Just greet her normally as a stranger and see if she recognizes you."
"Really?"
Seeing how confidently Kazu swore to it, Carlmand began to waver.
"I'll trust you this once."
Carlmand wasted no more time and went straight to Makino, who was picking out clothes in a nearby clothing store.
"Hi, beautiful miss. Are you looking at clothes?"
Makino turned around in confusion and found a face that defied description before her.
"Yes, I'm looking at clothes. Um, may I ask who you are?"
Makino had no idea who he was. Had he taken a liking to the clothes over here too?
But this was a women's clothing store, and he was clearly a man.
Though she couldn't tell his gender from his face, both his voice and his prominent Adam's apple proved he was male.
Could it be...
Was he one of the okamas Kazu had told her about?
That made sense. She had seen an okama a while ago too, wearing feminine clothes and makeup despite being a man.
Makino thought of Ivankov, who had been with Dragon, and felt there was nothing unacceptable about it. After all, it was his preference.
"Nothing, nothing. I was just asking. Sorry to bother you."
When Carlmand saw that Makino actually hadn't recognized him, he immediately felt that Kazu really was a dependable buddy.
This art of makeup really was good. It had solved his problem in one go.
Carlmand promptly slipped away, but just as he reached the entrance, he spotted a mirror beside him, intended for people trying on clothes.
He stopped, wanting to admire this convincingly deceptive makeup, only to...
"Ka... zu!!!"
Carlmand roared and hurriedly fled the scene in fury.
His inward curses were now every bit as vicious as his gratitude toward Kazu had been strong just moments ago.
He found a pool in a street-side park and hurriedly washed all the makeup off his face.
Then he took off his coat, wrapped it around his face as a scarf, and headed straight for a nearby cosmetics store.
That was right. Though he was inwardly cursing Kazu for being unreliable, he had to admit that makeup really did work.
The only thing that didn't work was Kazu's makeup technique.
"Damn it, that idiot has no artistic talent."
"I'll have to rely on myself after all."
After buying a mirror and some cosmetics, Carlmand took matters into his own hands to provide for himself.
"Damn it, how is this so hard?!"
After several hours of applying makeup, the used makeup-remover wipes beside him had piled up into a mountain.
Carlmand finally managed to find this attempt barely acceptable.
"This is the one!"
There was no helping it. It was already dark, and if he didn't act now, he would have to wait until tomorrow. That was something he could not allow.
First, he would have a meal. Then it would be time for his great charitable undertaking.
He, Carlmand, was duty-bound to help those poor, beautiful young ladies!
"When I was in the women's clothing store earlier, I think I heard Carlmand calling you, but I didn't see where he was."
Makino was still sharing the afternoon's amusing events with Kazu. Neither of them planned to go back to sleep on the ship. Since they finally had a chance to be on land, they would naturally find an inn.
There was no need to worry about the ship. Kazu had used the Space-Space Fruit's ability to envelop the entire vessel, so ordinary people couldn't get inside at all.
Anyone capable of getting inside would alert Kazu, and he could simply use his Space Mark to teleport straight over.
"Quick, hide!!"
"This is bad! Those pirates are back! Everyone, run for your lives!"
"Damn it, it's the Silco Pirates again! This is already their fourth visit this year!"
"We can't afford to mess with them! Hurry and hide! Staying alive comes first!"
Following the first person's scream, the civilians all around scattered in every direction. In just over ten minutes, the streets were completely deserted.
"Looks like the ones who made this town's residents fear pirates like tigers have shown up."
Kazu had no liking for pirates like these either. Since he had nothing else to do anyway, he might as well get some exercise.
"Kazu..."
Makino took hold of Kazu's shoulder. She knew what he intended to do, and she agreed with it.
"Let's go. We'll deal with them outside town."
Kazu wrapped an arm around Makino's waist and used a Space Swap to reach the woods outside town. Just over a hundred meters ahead was the main body of the pirates.
"Boys, same as always. Just kill a few stubborn ones."
"If we kill them all, there won't be any valuables to loot next time."
The captain of the Silco Pirates, the heavily bearded Silco, walked at the front, followed by over a hundred underlings. Every one of them carried a large saber or a gun, their eyes gleaming viciously. One look was enough to tell they had done this plenty of times.
"Heeheeheehee! Don't worry, boss. This isn't our first time. We know the drill."
"Exactly, exactly! These civilians are our treasure basins! Shilalalala!"
"Treasure, beauties, here we come!"
The group chattered as they advanced toward town. Suddenly, a sharp-eyed underling off to one side spotted Kazu and Makino ahead.
"Boss, there are actually fat sheep right on the road! Let's kill the man first and take the woman. She's really pretty!"
Silco spread his wide mouth in a vicious grin and said, "Lahahaha! Then that's what we'll do. Darugu, take ten men over there. Make sure you bring that beauty to me."
"No problem, boss!"