"Hm?"
Lightly leaping, Esdeath grabbed the giant axe, then was carried by the axe further in the direction of the Dragon Palace.
"???"
Shark Star looked at this scene in disbelief.
He had thought that Esdeath would directly stop the giant axe, but she just flew away with it instead?
"Lady Esdeath!"
Tashigi, holding Little Yoru Shigure, panicked as she watched Esdeath fly away, and started to run, wanting to chase after her.
"Tashigi, you stay with Shark Star for now, I'll go see where this axe is flying."
Hearing Esdeath's words, Tashigi stopped, looking at Shark Star somewhat nervously.
"This..."
Shark Star looked at Tashigi beside him, then at Esdeath flying away; this was too unconventional.
"You..."
"Lady Esdeath told me to follow you, so wherever you go, I go."
She looked at Shark Star seriously. Although she didn't know what kind of merman he was, if Esdeath told her to follow him, it must be right.
"Then, you come with me to the Dragon Palace. I'll take you to find Lady Esdeath."
Hearing Tashigi's words, Shark Star waved his hand and began to talk about his sister Shirahoshi.
He also reassured Tashigi to follow him, so that it wouldn't be too awkward, and Tashigi would also know where Lady Esdeath was going.
...
On the other side,
Esdeath stood on the giant axe, flying towards the Dragon Palace, a slight smile on her lips.
She had been wondering how to bring up seeing Shirahoshi, and now the opportunity had arrived! A direct ride on the giant axe, trustworthy indeed.
The legendary Sea King Poseidon.
Just thinking about Shirahoshi awakening, with countless Sea Kings thousands of meters long appearing, even the Four Emperors would be powerless, wouldn't they?
This was the real bug!
After flying with the giant axe for a while, Esdeath leaped down from the axe and landed on the ground.
A black high tower appeared before Esdeath's eyes. Its color was pitch black, and she didn't know what material it was made of.
Numerous weapons and countless signs of damage were embedded in it; describing it as 'battered and bruised' would not be an exaggeration.
Clang!
The giant axe violently struck the hard-shell tower.
"Ah!"
A startled female voice came from inside the hard-shell tower.
"Oh? Is that Shirahoshi's voice?"
Even though it was a startled scream, the voice still deliberately suppressed itself, afraid of being heard and then worrying.
Creak!
The door of the hard-shell tower opened, and it was pitch black inside.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The intimate contact of leather boots with the floor was exceptionally clear in the dark and quiet hard-shell tower.
"Excuse me, who are you?"
The voice was incredibly soft and sweet, sounding like a gentle girl.
Could these footsteps be a soldier?
Her father and brothers all had merman tails, so how could there be footsteps?
And also!
Why wasn't this soldier speaking?
"Me?"
"Esdeath, Marine Rear Admiral."
"May I ask your name?"
Listening to Shirahoshi's question, Esdeath smiled. She wanted to see how the naive Shirahoshi would react.
"H-hello!"
"I'm Shirahoshi, nice to meet you, please take care of me!"
As if realizing there was a stranger in front of her, Shirahoshi became nervous and quickly bowed to Esdeath.
Her voice couldn't help but carry a hint of a sob.
She was a little scared now, but also a little curious, or rather, curiosity occupied a larger part.
It had been so long since she had seen a stranger. Normally, if there was nothing wrong, very few people would come to her place, but now a stranger had actually come.
Esdeath spread her hands helplessly and said, "Shirahoshi, you can see me, but I can't see you. This doesn't count as a first meeting."
Fish could see things at night, but she couldn't; she could only perceive through Observation Haki.
"Ah! I'm sorry, I'll turn on the light right away."
Shirahoshi waved her hands in a flurry. Only then did she realize that the person in front of her couldn't see, and she hastily turned on the lights.
Immediately, the entire interior of the hard-shell tower lit up.
Shirahoshi's huge body was revealed before Esdeath's eyes, and Esdeath couldn't help but praise her.
"So beautiful!"
Her enormous size not only didn't expose any flaws of Shirahoshi, but her entire body showed no trace of pores.
Her skin was snow-white and delicate, two huge shells covered her ample chest, and a large pink and white tail, its scales shimmering under the light.
Her pink hair made Shirahoshi look even more adorable!
However!
When Esdeath looked at her eyes, Shirahoshi's eyes instantly filled with tears, falling one by one onto the ground.
"Thank you, you're beautiful too! Waaah!"
Even though she was crying, upon hearing Esdeath's compliment, she still politely complimented her back, tears falling in large drops onto the ground.
She was crying, but still suppressing her voice.
Bang!
The door of the hard-shell tower closed, startling Shirahoshi, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Just as the tears were about to fall again, Esdeath spoke in a menacing tone, threatening, "If you cry again, I'll go tie up your brothers."
"Ah!"
She quickly wiped away her tears with both hands, looking at Esdeath pitifully, not daring to say a word or cry again.
But the tears wouldn't stop, so Shirahoshi could only wipe her tears tearfully, but dared not speak.
"Alright, as long as you don't cry, I won't tie them up."
Esdeath suppressed her laughter as she looked at the aggrieved Shirahoshi. She was too cute like this; Esdeath wanted to take her back to Shambles and keep her.
"Okay!"
Shirahoshi nodded stubbornly, trying her best not to let her tears fall, for the sake of her brothers.
"Shark!"
A shark suddenly appeared, attacking Esdeath, opening its large mouth to bite her.
Buzz!
Haoshoku released!
Megalodon looked at the person in front of him with fear in his eyes, sweat dripping from his forehead, slowly backing away.
"Lady Esdeath, please don't hurt Megalodon, Megalodon means no harm."
Seeing this, Shirahoshi quickly swam over, spreading her arms to block in front of her companion, looking at Esdeath and making a request.
She didn't know why.
Even though this Marine was threatening her, she didn't feel any malice from her.
Instead, she felt kindness.
"Alright, but my shoulders are really sore right now. Can you give me a massage?"
"No problem!"
Shirahoshi's face lit up with joy; she knew that the person in front of her had no ill intentions.
Then Esdeath lay down on Shirahoshi's bed, and Shirahoshi carefully extended a finger to massage Esdeath.
Curiously, she looked at Esdeath and asked weakly, "Lady Esdeath, are you human?"
"That's right."
Hearing Esdeath's answer, Shirahoshi instantly became excited, her expression becoming animated, and she asked happily, "Then, Lady Esdeath, have you ever seen the sun!"
"And flowers, trees."
"Can you tell me about them?"
Her voice slowly grew softer again, as she looked expectantly at Esdeath lying on the bed, her hand still massaging Esdeath.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!