"So you deliberately kept him from writing down what happened on Enies Lobby."
Kalifa sighed as she looked at Conis and Raki.
"We did do a little something."
To be precise, Ain had done it.
Raki smiled as she looked at Kalifa. From what she could tell, Kalifa didn't seem the least bit upset that Spandam had been captured.
That actually made Raki like her a little more.
After all, if Kalifa wasn't bothered by Spandam's capture, there was an even greater chance that she would choose their side.
"Since you've already captured Spandam and Arton plans to publicly deal with him here, if I show up when the time comes and pretend to rescue him, only to fail right in front of everyone, wouldn't that give Arton a reason to take me in?"
Kalifa rested her chin on one hand, murmuring thoughtfully.
"Tell us exactly what you have in mind."
Raki looked at her curiously.
Kalifa nodded and slowly explained her plan.
"Spandam is going to be dealt with. When that happens, I'll pretend to step in and save him, but of course there'll be no way for me to rescue him from you."
"Once Spandam has been dealt with, his father will definitely think I didn't do everything I could and will take his anger out on me."
"That part doesn't really matter. What matters is that I can use it as an excuse to tell Arton that the World Government definitely won't let me go."
"Then I'll tell him I want him to take me in. My reason will be that I know Arton can make his companions stronger quickly, and I want to become stronger."
Conis was a little surprised after hearing the plan.
Raki sighed with admiration. "That really is a straightforward and honest approach."
"Do you think Arton will accept me if I tell him all that? When the time comes, I can even offer myself to him directly to prove my sincerity."
"Well... it's not impossible."
Raki rubbed her chin.
Both she and Conis knew Arton cared quite a bit about Kalifa. If Kalifa genuinely used that excuse to ask to join them, Arton would probably take her in first and observe her for a while.
Once he was certain she sincerely wanted to join, he would give her the power of a mold.
"That would be wonderful."
A smile appeared on Kalifa's face.
"Don't get too excited yet. We're only saying there's a possibility. Besides, we're still trying to decide what to do with you right now."
"What do you mean, what to do with me?"
Kalifa tilted her head in confusion.
"Right. You have a voyage diary copy, so we don't dare simply let you leave. If you leave, you might reveal information about us. After all, we still don't completely trust you."
"Then what am I supposed to do?!"
Kalifa's eyes widened.
At that moment, the door suddenly swung open and Arton stumbled into the room, reeking of alcohol.
"Raki, Conis, I'm back."
"Huh? Why is Kalifa here? Am I drunk?"
Arton swayed as he entered, staring at Kalifa in confusion.
"Captain, how did you end up drinking so much?"
Conis hurried over and supported him.
"That bastard Iceburg was way too enthusiastic. I had no choice but to drink a few glasses with him. I've got to say, though, that bastard's liquor stash is pretty impressive. Even I couldn't quite handle it."
Arton grinned at Conis.
"Maybe this is an opportunity."
Raki leaned close to Kalifa's ear and whispered, "Captain is drunk right now. If you're willing to offer yourself to him right now, we'll believe you and let you leave."
"...Fine."
Chapter 815: Anyway, Let's Add Each Other as Friends First
"W-Will this really work?"
Kalifa blinked several times and looked at Raki in surprise.
Logically speaking, shouldn't someone as powerful as Arton be difficult to get drunk?
If she really did something with Arton later, wouldn't he notice that something was wrong?
Thinking about that possibility, Kalifa voiced her concerns to Raki.
Raki smiled.
"Three, three, seven."
"Even Captain gets drunk sometimes. Of course, if he wanted to, he could force the alcohol out of his body."
"But there are times when Captain wants to enjoy being drunk, so he doesn't always do that. For example, if he could get intimate with you in a wonderful dream, do you really think he'd force the alcohol out of his body and wake himself up?"
Kalifa's eyes immediately lit up.
Thinking about the various works Arton had created with her as the model, she was confident that if Arton truly became intimate with her, he absolutely wouldn't want to sober up.
A confident smile instantly spread across her face.
She pushed up her glasses and smiled at Arton, who was talking with Gion and Conis.
Looks like it's finally time to show what I'm really capable of.
Raki watched Kalifa's expression and listened to her words, and her trust in Kalifa grew a little more.
Kalifa wasn't hiding her anticipation toward Arton at all. If she wasn't extremely skilled at concealing her emotions and deceiving others, then her feelings right now were undoubtedly genuine.
"Still, we should play it safe."
After she offers herself to him, I'll keep an eye on her for the time being.
That was Raki's plan.
In any case, Arton's original arrangement was for Conis to meet with the CP9 agents first. Then, once Iceburg had Kalifa, Rob Lucci, Kaku, and the others build Arton's ship, Raki would go there to supervise their work.
Normally, Rob Lucci, Kaku, and the others didn't know Raki.
Even if she went there to oversee the construction, they wouldn't know they were actually building a ship for Arton.
Unfortunately for them, the voyage diary system was exceptionally intelligent.
Since Kalifa also possessed a voyage diary copy, she would naturally recognize Raki. After all, back on Skypiea, Arton had repeatedly used the voyage diary system to record Raki's appearance.
Under those circumstances, Raki didn't believe Kalifa would fail to recognize her.
Besides, even though Kalifa hadn't seen the images of herself that Arton had uploaded to the voyage diary system for certain reasons, the two women had now met face-to-face and could be considered thoroughly acquainted.
Fortunately, Raki would be able to stay beside Kalifa and keep an eye on her. If Kalifa developed any ulterior motives, Raki was confident she could stop her in time.
At that thought, Raki's smile grew even brighter.
"Here, Miss Kalifa. Anyway, let's add each other as friends first. I think we'll need it to chat later."
Raki leaned close to Kalifa's ear and whispered.
Kalifa blinked several times, then quickly understood what Raki meant by "it."
Something that couldn't be explained openly here could only be the voyage diary copy possessed by those with a deep connection to Arton.
...
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