At last, Ronn realized what had been off about Tea Dolphin.
Why his aura suddenly felt sharper, why his back was so straight and his eyes burned with that maddening confidence.
It wasn't training.
It wasn't enlightenment.
It was metamorphosis.
He had ascended from simp to wolf.
From licking one woman to licking ten… truly, evolution knows no bounds.
Ronn's jaw tightened.
"So this is what they mean by: A heart without love—draw your blade and become divine."
He could only sigh. "Master Zoro, your words were prophecy."
Tea Dolphin, oblivious to the danger crawling up behind him, took a slow drag from his cigarette.
His tone was unusually calm—too calm.
"That night, after leaving this bar," he began, eyes distant,
"I saw a house engulfed in flames. My home… my beliefs… both burned away."
"In that fire, I awoke."
He turned to Ronn, smoke curling between them.
"If licking Tashigi makes me a simp, why stop there?"
"Why not ten? Why not twenty?"
Ronn raised a brow.
"Well… congratulations, I suppose."
There it was—the final form of denial.
'I'm not addicted. I just appreciate variety.'
Tea Dolphin smiled faintly.
"I call it rebirth. I'm free now. I lick when I please—no fear, no regret."
He exhaled a slow stream of smoke, voice almost philosophical.
"And you know what's funny? When I stop licking… they chase me instead."
Ronn stared at him in disbelief.
This wasn't delusion.
It was a philosophy. A religion.
The man had transcended simphood into a higher realm of manipulation.
He couldn't help but clap.
"Well then, I have to say—you've achieved what no one else has.
A man who can both chase and be chased… a true balance of Yin and Yang."
Then, straight-faced, he added dryly:
"But remember what I told you before."
"You'll burn out. You'll drain yourself dry, body and soul. You'll lose your justice."
He leaned closer.
"So send me the women's numbers. I'll... 'investigate' them for you. You—keep the faith."
T-Bone glanced up from his water, visibly unimpressed.
Tea Dolphin frowned, half-dazed by Ronn's tone.
He sounds convincing… but something feels off.
Then the realization hit.
Wait. He said "behind you"?
The bar went dead silent.
A voice, low and heavy with heat, broke the air behind him.
"Gaji… seems I'll have to teach you a lesson."
Akainu's shadow fell over Tea Dolphin, the faint scent of magma hanging in the air.
"You'll be the first Marine to hear Queen Keisha's true justice."
Tea Dolphin froze. "S–sir, it's not what it looked like—"
Too late.
Akainu grabbed him by the collar like a stray dog and hauled him toward the door.
T-Bone stood immediately, bowed toward Ronn, and placed a few bills on the counter.
"Thank you for the meal. We'll return when duty allows."
Ronn smiled politely.
"Come again soon."
The door shut behind them, and silence washed through the tavern once more.
Then, the system's familiar tone chimed in Ronn's mind.
[Ding! Customer Meruem has completed his session.]
[Ding! Customers Tea Dolphin and T-Bone have completed their session.]
[Meruem: Chimera Ant bloodline, Specialist Nen ability — select one.]
[Tea Dolphin: Simp's Insight, Observation Haki, Hand-to-Hand Combat.]
Ronn sighed.
"Select Chimera Ant bloodline. Store as skillbook."
A pause.
Then he squinted.
"…Wait. What the hell is Simp's Insight?"
[Stored successfully.]
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Fine. Add Simp's Insight and T-Bone's swordsmanship. Whatever."
Dinner came not long after.
The tavern's warmth returned; laughter filled the air.
Ronn sat down, fork in hand, eyeing the steaming platter in front of him.
"What meat is this?" he asked.
Rem and Ram exchanged guilty glances.
Lucoa looked away.
Only Tohru beamed, tail swaying cheerfully.
"Just eat it! It's super tender!"
Ronn's eyes narrowed.
In one smooth motion, he stood, stepped behind her, and lifted the hem of her maid skirt—just slightly.
A pale scar where her tail met her spine.
Ronn's expression darkened.
"I knew it! This is your tail meat!"
Tohru's cheeks flushed crimson. She stabbed a chunk with her fork and shoved it toward him.
"Relax! I removed the poison! Just taste it!"
Ronn glared.
"…I swear, you're impossible."
He bit down.
It was tender.
And mildly venomous.
Dinner ended in chaos, laughter, and mild food poisoning.
The Grey Wolf packed up his roasted lamb and returned to his world.
The Holy Master and his son left in the afternoon—the younger insisting on carrying his father all the way home.
"Such filial piety!" the old demon sobbed as he clung to his son's back.
A beautiful scene.
Utterly embarrassing.
By nightfall, the tavern was quiet again.
The candles flickered low.
Rem and the others had retired to the back courtyard.
Ronn sat alone among empty glasses and fading warmth.
He sighed softly.
"Another failed random invitation, huh?"
Since the last upgrade, the tavern could summon a random guest from another world every day.
But failure was… common.
"Forget it. Let's fuse that Divine Body."
[Ding! Optimization complete. Fusion commencing!]
Light burst around him—brilliant and pure—before sinking back into his body, as if the glow itself bowed to him.
Then came the heat.
His blood boiled.
Every cell in his body shimmered, veins glowing faintly beneath his skin.
It wasn't pain.
It was evolution.
Ascension.
Even if his body were shattered into atoms, they would find each other again, reform, return.
Death itself had been rewritten.
"So this… is the power of Keisha's fourth-generation god body," Ronn murmured.
"Each one unique… tailor-made perfection."
He stretched, closed the tavern doors, and ended the day's business.
After washing up, he collapsed onto the bed, wrapped in warmth, and finally let his eyes drift shut.
Until—
A faint click.
The window latch lifted.
A whisper of fabric.
Footsteps—soft, deliberate.
Then, the doorknob turned.
Ronn's eyes snapped open.
"...Bad," he whispered.
The door creaked.
A shadow fell across the floor.
And the night… had only just begun.
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