Chapter 646 – He’s Back

Robin knew that both Nami and Carina were extremely clever women. The fact that neither of them had noticed anything unusual yet was simply because they cared too much about anything involving Arton.

If that weren't the case, Nami and Carina would have already started questioning things.

Sure enough, after Robin had only been thinking for a little while, Carina suddenly narrowed her eyes and spoke.

"Something's not right. If that woman named Kalifa really is the kind of person who's loyal enough to the World Government to that extent, then she shouldn't be begging Captain for mercy like this, should she? Her acting can't possibly be so good that she's actually fooling us."

Carina narrowed her eyes at the photos of Kalifa.

In all thirty photos, Kalifa was begging so pitifully that she looked almost too miserable to continue.

That sort of expression didn't look like something mere acting could produce—unless Kalifa happened to be some kind of actress capable of delivering an Oscar-worthy performance.

"You're right. That really is strange."

Nami nodded and said, "This woman named Kalifa should already know from Captain's diary that something will happen between the two of them in the future. Under those circumstances, would she really still be willing to remain completely loyal to the World Government?"

"When Ain learned what Zephyr intended to do in the future, she reacted very strongly. It's hard to believe Kalifa would stay devoted to the World Government even after finding out that her own future is a tragedy."

Uta listened from the side, blinking as she watched Robin, who looked as though she were trying to come up with another explanation.

After thinking for a moment, Robin said, "Maybe after reading about her future in the Sea Diary, Kalifa felt there was some way she could avoid that kind of fate. And besides, perhaps the World Government really does have agents who are completely loyal to it. You know how many strange things exist in the World Government, don't you? If even someone like a Celestial Dragon can exist, then one or two fanatically loyal people shouldn't be impossible."

The moment she heard that, Uta gave Robin another thumbs-up.

She even managed to explain her way out of that. As expected of Robin.

Carina and Nami fell into thought again after hearing Robin's explanation.

At that moment, however, a sudden commotion outside the ship caught everyone's attention.

"Is that… Captain's voice?"

Nami blinked uncertainly.

"You're right. That really is Captain's voice. He's back."

Carina finally let out a breath of relief.

Although she still didn't know why Arton had taken those photos of Kalifa, now that he was back, surely nothing else would happen between them after the pictures were taken.

What Carina didn't know was that Arton truly had not done anything to Kalifa after taking the photos.

But before taking them, he had already fought Kalifa properly once.

He had even handed over all the Bubble-Bubble Fruit to her and let her use its power against him to her heart's content.

"Captain, you're back."

Kaya smiled brightly when she saw Arton leap onto the Sylvan.

"Are you on duty today, Kaya?"

Arton looked at Kaya, who was standing at the ship's rail enjoying the breeze, then naturally pulled her into a tight embrace and took a deep breath against her shoulder.

The faint fragrance from her golden hair drifted into his nose, leaving Arton pleasantly relaxed.

"Captain…"

Kaya's cheeks instantly turned red under his affectionate treatment.

No—more accurately, Kaya had already been blushing, but Arton's actions made the color deepen even further.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you caught a cold?"

"That's not it. You have a model with the Web-Web Fruit, don't you? I shouldn't catch colds anymore."

Arton rested a hand on Kaya's shoulder and asked curiously.

Although Kaya looked delicate, after being properly tempered by Kaya's training model, she had become just like the other members of the Flame Blade Pirates.

That much, Arton had known for a long time.

Under those circumstances, there was no way Kaya would catch a cold.

"I… I'm just blushing because you're standing too close to me, Captain."

Kaya lowered her head and answered shyly.

"Hehe. You really do get embarrassed easily, Kaya."

Arton patted her shoulder and smiled.

Kaya kept her head lowered, unable to explain the real reason for her blush.

It was true that having Arton stand so close contributed to it, but there was another much more important reason.

Kaya had carefully looked through the photos involving Kalifa that Arton had uploaded to the Sea Diary.

Seeing such bold pictures was already enough to embarrass Kaya on its own.

Worse yet, after seeing them, images kept surfacing in her mind of Arton and Kalifa doing all sorts of rather stimulating things together.

Kaya didn't even know whether Arton had really done anything intimate with Kalifa.

"Captain, did you discover anything on this trip?"

Kaya asked.

"Of course."

Arton nodded repeatedly.

This trip had been a tremendous success. He had managed to take Kalifa completely into his grasp—practically the equivalent of receiving an entire shipment of goods.

The moment he thought about the moves Kalifa had used on him, Arton could feel his longsword starting to show signs of drawing itself again.

Damn…

As he stared at Kaya in front of him, certain ideas suddenly surfaced in Arton's mind.

There was no helping it. Earlier, when he had been with Kalifa, he had not been able to enjoy himself to his heart's content.

Even though Kalifa and Raki had worked very hard, the sheer gap in strength between them was not something effort alone could make up for.

"C-Captain… are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Kaya looked at Arton's expression and felt the sharp sensation against her abdomen, making her cheeks turn even redder.

"Hehe, how could I be uncomfortable when I'm here with you?"

Arton smiled. "Actually, you don't need to force yourself to endure it. If you're feeling unwell, I can treat you."

Kaya took a deep breath. As if trying to prove her resolve, she turned around and, with her back to Arton, placed her hands against the ship's rail.

Moonlight poured down in front of Arton, illuminating Kaya in her white dress and filling him with a wave of emotion.

Who would have thought such a sweet girl could one day end up becoming his companion?

Before he knew it, Arton had already wrapped his arms around Kaya from behind.

...

For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.