Chapter 612 - 830 – The CP9 Agents Have a Pretty Good Relationship [BONUS]

"I... I was right from the start. You really are strong."

Kalifa's arms dropped limply as she hung from Arton's hands and longsword.

There was nothing she could do. After that battle, she had completely run out of strength. Trying to stand on her own now would be nothing short of a fantasy.

At first, Kalifa had intended to go head-to-head with Arton.

Whenever he attacked, she would counter with Six Powers.

But as time passed, she gradually lost the strength to respond to his attacks and could only defend passively, enduring each successive assault.

"Thanks for the compliment. You're pretty impressive yourself."

Arton smiled.

Although Kalifa hadn't lasted long before running out of strength, Arton felt that given her constitution, she had already held on long enough to save herself.

If nothing else, she had certainly lasted longer than Conis.

"That may be true, but you still haven't had your fill, have you?"

Kalifa sighed.

Even without looking at Arton's weapon, she could tell from the sensation alone that he still hadn't gotten enough out of the battle.

She wanted to keep trying and properly help Arton deal with the problem of his weapon, but she had already run out of strength. In her current condition, there was simply no way she could continue helping him.

Fortunately, Kalifa wasn't alone.

Raki and Conis seemed to sense her predicament and hurried over to help. One supported each side of Kalifa, helping her free herself from Arton's weapon.

Once they had settled Kalifa properly on the floor, Raki and Conis returned to Arton's side, either sitting or crouching beside him.

Seeing the two of them start eating again made Kalifa realize that she was a little hungry too.

Before she could follow her instincts, however, Arton spoke first.

"I think I can believe now that you're someone who's fairly interested in this sort of thing. But this really has nothing to do with it, does it? You should know I'm a wanted criminal pursued by the Marines."

Arton rested one hand on Raki's head and the other on Conis's as he questioned Kalifa.

...

"Precisely because I know you're wanted by the Marines, I know that sparing our lives was already an extremely rare act of mercy. With your strength, you could easily defeat and kill all of us."

Kalifa placed a hand over her chest and spoke solemnly.

To be honest, through my voyage diary copy, I learned long ago that Arton's strength had already reached an extraordinary level.

She had also learned certain things about the future and wanted to join the Flame Blade Pirates Arton had formed.

However, because the voyage diary system made it inconvenient to tell Arton about those things directly, Kalifa could only choose an explanation that made enough sense.

"If you feel I gave you an enjoyable experience, I hope you won't hurt my companions afterward."

"You really care about your companions."

Arton was somewhat surprised.

Then again, it made sense. Although CP9's agents bickered with one another on the surface, their relationship with each other was actually quite good.

That also lined up with the original story.

"Of course I won't hurt your companions. We've already become this intimate, after all. If I still went on to hurt them afterward, that would make me seem far too heartless."

Arton nodded at Kalifa.

Truthfully, Arton had never planned to hurt Kalifa's companions in the first place.

He had intended to use this opportunity to win Kalifa over and bring her into the Flame Blade Pirates.

Although circumstances had changed somewhat and Kalifa had already become intimate with him, Arton still had no intention of harming the other CP9 agents.

Besides, Arton was perfectly aware that his current relationship with Kalifa amounted to little more than an initial physical connection. He hadn't truly established a deep bond with her yet.

If he still wanted Kalifa to willingly board his ship in the future, he would need to proceed according to his original plan.

Of course, what Arton didn't know was that Kalifa already wanted to join his pirate crew.

She was currently searching for a reason to join the Flame Blade Pirates that Arton wouldn't misunderstand.

Although Kalifa knew Arton wanted to invite her, if she couldn't find a sufficiently convincing reason to join, Arton's personality would inevitably make him suspicious.

Kalifa didn't want Arton to doubt her. She wanted things to remain simple and stable.

"I'm relieved to hear you say that."

Kalifa patted her chest and let out a breath.

Although she had already decided to leave CP9, she still hoped her former companions would be all right.

Even if those people most likely wouldn't join the Flame Blade Pirates.

After all, given Arton's personality and the size of his crew, anyone who wasn't a beautiful girl had basically no chance of joining the Flame Blade Pirates.

"Arton, you're planning to stay here for a while, right? How are you going to handle my situation next?"

Kalifa asked.

"Well, I think it'd be better to let you go back for now. That'll keep your companions from worrying about you. But I need Raki to stay by your side."

"I hope you understand. I can't allow even the slightest possibility of my information being leaked."

"Zephyr is still on this island right now, and I don't plan to come into conflict with him for the time being."

"I understand."

Kalifa nodded.

Although she was a little disappointed that Arton hadn't directly invited her aboard, having him arrange for Raki to remain by her side was still a pretty good outcome.

Afterward, she could discuss things properly with Raki, tell her that she had completely fallen for Arton, and planned to board his ship.

Kalifa felt that even if Arton became suspicious later, considering how close the two of them had already become, he would still be willing to let her aboard.

If she wanted Arton to truly accept her, she believed her best option was to become stronger while staying by his side.

Just imagining herself obtaining a powerful mold from Arton and regularly doing enjoyable things with him made Kalifa feel another wave of heat rush through her body, leaving her mouth dry.

Unable to help herself, she crawled in front of Arton, tilted her head up, and said, "Let me have something to eat too, Arton."

"..."