Chapter 647 – Sometimes It Can’t Be Helped

"Sure enough, your hair smells really nice."

Arton rested his chin on Kaya's shoulder and murmured softly.

"I'm glad you like it, Captain."

Hearing his praise filled Kaya with delight. After all, praise from the captain she respected so much was something any crewmate would be happy to hear.

Thinking of that, Kaya unconsciously tightened the muscles around her hips. Since she had managed to master the Web-Web Fruit, she naturally wanted to thank Arton properly as well. That included using the two whetstones behind her, which had become even better thanks to her training, to help Arton sharpen his weapon thoroughly.

Once Arton's weapon had been honed to a proper edge, she could become his opponent.

"Wow. As expected of Kaya."

Arton let out an involuntary sigh of admiration at her movements.

"Thank you for praising me again."

Kaya smiled brightly as she continued helping Arton polish his weapon through the fabric of her dress.

Little by little, Kaya herself began to enter the mood.

At that moment, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the side of the ship.

Kaya and Arton both instinctively lowered their heads and saw Nami, Carina, and the others running out from inside the ship.

"Kaya, please help treat me after Captain is done with you."

Arton slowly released Kaya and patted her shoulder.

He was secretly rather glad that both he and Kaya were still more or less presentable. Otherwise, Nami and Carina might have misunderstood what they were seeing.

The moment Arton thought that, however, he suddenly felt something was off.

After all, what they had done earlier really was not some kind of misunderstanding.

"Captain, you're back!"

Nami spotted him and immediately waved excitedly.

That crisp voice instantly pulled Arton out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm back."

Arton smiled and nodded before jumping down from the railing.

Kaya stayed behind and continued her watch. Besides, she wanted to keep standing there for a while anyway. Her face was still very red, and if Nami or Carina asked her something right now, Kaya had no idea how she would answer.

"Captain, you weren't bullying Kaya just now, were you?"

Carina asked.

"Why would you say that? Kaya is my companion. Why would I bully her?"

Arton looked genuinely puzzled.

"Well, even your blade was about to pierce through its sheath."

Carina gestured downward with one finger.

Arton followed her gaze and immediately fell silent.

For a moment, he had no idea how to respond.

Nami and Carina saw this and instantly began brainstorming all sorts of possibilities.

Arton must have gotten worked up after seeing those photos of Kalifa, so when he came back, he started bullying Kaya.

That was what they assumed.

As for Kaya, given her personality, if Arton asked for her help, she certainly was not the kind of person who would refuse him.

"Ahem. This is a perfectly normal reaction, so don't make such a fuss about it."

"You know I'm a normal man. Sometimes it simply can't be helped, right? It's just like how women sometimes feel physically unwell for a day or two every month."

Arton cleared his throat lightly as he spoke.

…

Nami and Carina were both left speechless after hearing Arton's explanation.

They could tell immediately that he had merely been teasing Kaya.

Still, why couldn't he come tease them instead? They were both quite good-looking too.

Of course, that was only something the two of them thought to themselves.

What they really wanted to know was what exactly had happened between Arton and Kalifa in Water 7.

"Captain, did you run into anything exciting in Water 7? Is that why you came back reacting like this?"

As Carina spoke, she moved to Arton's side and pulled his longsword free from its sheath.

Seeing that, Nami's eyes widened and she hurried forward to grab Arton's weapon together with Carina.

Arton frowned slightly at the two women.

Weren't these two constantly wary of each other? Why are they suddenly working together again?

Even though both of them were merely using some of the skills they had practiced, when two people who had always been at odds suddenly acted in unison, Arton still found it rather strange.

What he did not know was that Nami and Carina were both thinking about getting the upper hand on him first.

After seeing Kalifa's photos, both of them were feeling somewhat anxious. And now Arton had suddenly returned brimming with fighting spirit, leaving the two of them unsure how best to respond.

Off to the side, Uta and Robin smiled when they saw the scene.

Maybe the two of them will gradually stop guarding against each other so much from now on.

If Nami and Carina could spend less time competing against one another, things aboard the ship would become much more harmonious.

As women who had already become close to Arton, both Uta and Robin hoped that everyone else on board could develop the same kind of closeness with him.

That way, whenever they needed Arton's help dealing with certain physical problems, it would be much more convenient.

"Arton, what's wrong? Didn't you hear my question?"

Carina glanced at Nami with some annoyance before turning back to Arton with a smile, all while continuing to stroke his longsword.

Nami was doing the same. Fortunately, Arton's weapon was a longsword rather than a dagger.

Even with both Nami and Carina tending to it at the same time, there was still enough room for them to hold it together.

That was the only reason they had not started fighting over it.

"What else could I say? With both of you acting like this, I barely have the energy left to remember what happened earlier."

Arton smiled bitterly.

"We'll deal with the issue of your fighting spirit first. You can answer our questions afterward."

Nami glanced at Carina.

Carina sighed. If possible, she truly did not want to cooperate with Nami.

But now that things had reached this point, there was nothing she could do.

"All right. Then let my fists show you some of my best techniques too, Captain."

"Of course. I've still got my fists as well."

Nami followed up immediately.

She had no intention of letting Arton forget that she was here too.

...

For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.