Chapter 35: Merfolk Are Real
At dusk the next day, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the sea surface, leaving a golden reflection.
The warship Nereus was on approached the island where the others had stayed before heading to God Valley.
Beneath the surface, a massive shadow was swimming alongside the warship. Although it carefully used the twilight to hide itself, Nereus still spotted it.
Judging by the shifting shadow on the surface, it wasn't hard to tell that the underwater entity was gradually approaching the surface.
"Stand down! It's me! The one on patrol at this hour today... is Rachel, right? I saw your shadow!"
Nereus shouted toward the sea surface. His powerful voice penetrated the water and traveled below. Before long, a creature resembling a plesiosaur emerged halfway out of the water.
"Moo!"
It wasn't a plesiosaur, but a Sea Giraffe. Ignoring the fearful retreat of others on the ship, it stretched its neck right up to the ship's side and greeted Nereus affectionately.
After all, this was only the West Blue. The Sea Beasts and Sea Kings living here were smaller in size; a creature of ten-odd meters was enough to rule a patch of sea.
People who rarely went on long voyages had never seen such a massive Sea Beast, but this size was quite common on the Grand Line.
On the Sea Giraffe's slender neck was a saddle. A beautiful figure with short black hair, holding a long spear, was brought out of the sea along with it. She was the Rachel Nereus had mentioned.
"Lord Nereus, welcome back."
"Mer... Mermaid! It's a mermaid!"
"So beautiful... Is this what mermaids really look like..."
Unlike humans, Rachel's lower body was a fishtail covered in light blue scales—the most prominent feature of the Merfolk race.
Although the inability to split their tails before age 30 limited merfolk's mobility on land, they possessed unrivaled speed in the sea, being the fastest swimmers in the ocean.
Unless a mermaid's brain short-circuited or some accident occurred, predators in the deep sea couldn't catch them.
This speed was also why most merfolk under Nereus's command were assigned patrol duties alongside Sea Beasts.
Nereus had simply recalled the duty roster earlier to confirm the identity of the patrol personnel.
"Oi, oi, Rachel! Do you only have eyes for Big Bro?!"
"Oh my, Bishop Babel, how could I miss someone as big as you?~ But compared to Lord Nereus, you are just less eye-catching. I'm going back to patrol now. See you later~"
Compared to titles like "Lord" or "Big Bro," Babel preferred others to address him as "Bishop," since he always considered himself a monk.
It was just that this monk didn't follow any precepts; even a rule-breaking monk followed more rules than Babel.
However, Babel was just saying it casually and didn't really mean to be angry.
Although these merfolk and Fish-men partnered with Sea Beasts were his direct subordinates, if they truly ignored Nereus and only had eyes for him, Babel would actually have a bigger headache.
With that, Rachel flipped back into the water and continued her patrol with the Sea Giraffe.
"The island ahead is our temporary stop. If you want to stay here, we part ways now. Those who want to come with me, rest for the night, and we set sail again tomorrow!"
After explaining the subsequent arrangements to the people on board, the warship continued toward the island ahead. Although it was an uninhabited island, it had a natural deep-water harbor, making it a good place to anchor.
Here, Dragon also saw the two large warships that had been repainted. If it were before, seeing hijacked warships would only make Dragon feel ashamed. But now, everything was different.
He was still wearing that somewhat tattered marine uniform, but the people on the island didn't look at him with strange eyes.
A Marine who could walk off Nereus's ship alive must have something different about him.
The people originally living on God Valley, however, were attracted by the appearance of the people in the island base.
Nereus didn't have many Fish-man features, and although Babel was massive, his overall appearance was relatively similar to a human's.
Sebastian, on the other hand, was a Fish-man with much more prominent features. Combined with the merfolk active in the bay, for a moment, these people felt the world was a bit dreamlike.
Small Sea Beasts could still be seen in the waters of the Four Blues, but Fish-men were much rarer, and merfolk existed only in legends.
"Sebastian, get a few people to arrange for them to rest. Also, pay attention to security issues and keep an eye on them."
"Don't worry, Big Bro. I know how to handle this kind of thing."
Protection was mutual. If these rescued people behaved themselves, the night patrol would protect their safety. If there were anyone with bad intentions, Nereus wouldn't be soft-hearted.
His own people were the highest priority.
"We got three Devil Fruits from God Valley this time. They were all prizes from the Celestial Dragons. Although the types of two are still uncertain, they won't be trash fruits. Are you interested?"
"Forget it, Big Bro. I'm not like you; I can't coat myself with a film. Devil Fruits don't suit me. I don't want to sink to the bottom as soon as I enter the water."
"Then we'll talk later. Where's Nanamo? Why don't I see her?"
"Nanamo? She's holding her concert over at Sunbell's side."
Sebastian pointed in another direction. A grove of coconut trees happened to block the view that way.
When Nereus walked over, the first thing he saw was a karaoke atmosphere light.
More accurately, it should be an atmosphere cloud. Who knows what was in Hermes's stomach, but various colored lights were shining through its body onto the makeshift stage on the ground.
Judging by the surrounding applause and Nanamo's movements, the performance was over, and the audience was starting to leave.
Singing was Nanamo's personal hobby. Her talent in this area was decent, but she was still a ways off from holding an independent concert.
Current concerts like this were more of a "playing house" nature. However, the members of the Fish-man Pirates were very willing to play along with Nanamo.
It was just listening to someone sing, clapping, and providing some emotional value. Her singing wasn't bad, not to mention she was the Big Bro's daughter.
"Papa? You're back?"
"Things over there are done. I've prepared a very interesting job for you. You'll like it."
"Job?"
Before Nanamo could ask further, a blood fountain emerged beneath Nereus's feet. The massive package was taken out by Nereus again, and then he tossed it directly at Nanamo.
The huge package could fit several Nanamos inside, but she didn't dodge. Instead, she opened her arms wide and caught the oversized bundle.
"This is the treasure brought back. Your task is simple: count these treasures, register them..."
"No problem!"
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