Chapter 45: Princess, You Have to Trust My Judgment
The reason Nereus could decipher these Ancient Texts wasn't complicated.
If one had to summarize the reason simply, it was: the more the enemy opposes something, the more correct it is for us to do it.
Nereus didn't know exactly what happened during the Void Century, but he knew very well that within that blank hundred years, there was something the World Government feared.
Perhaps it contained details about Imu's weaknesses or something similar.
If one were to name the island with the strongest historical research capabilities, it would undoubtedly be Ohara in the West Blue, which had gradually become a holy land for archaeology.
But those scholars had gathered there from all over the world. In this era, research on ancient texts was actually happening in various places.
During his voyages, Nereus would collect some of these materials. In the eyes of the World Government, Nereus was just a tyrannical pirate; no one imagined he was conducting cultural research.
Plus, Nereus didn't make a big fanfare about it, so he didn't attract too much attention.
Over time, he learned the gist of it. However, translating those ancient texts was actually quite complex; for Nereus, it was similar to reading classical Wenyan.
A single character could have several meanings depending on the combination. This was also why Amphelite only memorized the translation by rote. After losing their heritage and constantly being on the run, they didn't have the energy to reverse-engineer the language.
"We found the item. If you trust me, come back to my ship to rest for a while. Once you've recovered, you can stay or leave as you wish."
"I am a Lunarian. Aren't you afraid of trouble?"
"Trouble? If you mean the World Government, I've caused countless troubles already. Your identity as a Lunarian is nothing compared to that.
If you choose to join me, there's a higher probability that the World Government won't continue investing energy in hunting you."
In the original timeline, the only known Lunarian was Alber, also known as King.
Alber later joined Kaido's crew, took the alias King, and covered himself completely in black clothes.
With that outfit revealing only his eyes, outsiders indeed found it hard to identify his race.
But King was taken by Kaido from a World Government research facility. After that, a masked man who could fly and use fire appeared by Kaido's side.
The identity of this masked man was self-evident.
Yet, the World Government didn't launch any large-scale pursuit against King; they just pretended not to recognize him.
Ultimately, Kaido's strength at that time was already considered troublesome. The effort required to take King back outweighed the benefits of capturing a Lunarian.
Since he was neither Joy Boy nor Davy D. Jones, he obviously couldn't attract the attention of the seemingly senile Imu, so the matter was left unsettled.
If King had remained a lone wolf, or if the people around him weren't strong enough, the result might have been different.
And now, Nereus was far more troublesome than Kaido in the original timeline. Expending massive resources for a single Lunarian would be a loss for the World Government.
"Amphelite, Lunarian race. From now on... please take care of me. If I bring you trouble, I will leave."
"Nereus, Fish-man race. Welcome aboard. Trouble isn't something you need to consider. I won't abandon any comrade."
...
"Ah, Papa has been gone for so long. Why isn't he back yet? Hermes! Have you seen Papa yet?!"
In the sea area where Nereus's group was originally located, Nanamo was at the top of the lookout tower, searching for Nereus's shadow.
She felt Nereus had been gone for a bit too long this time. Never mind Nereus; Nanamo felt even she could handle any opponents encountered in the West Blue.
She couldn't figure out what could have delayed Nereus for so long.
"Reporting to Princess Nanamo! Not yet... I see him! Lord Nereus is back! But he brought someone else back with him!"
"Isn't it just bringing someone back? There must be dozens of people saved by Papa on this ship. What's so strange about that?"
"No! This time is different! Lord Nereus carried a woman back this time!"
"So what? Why are you acting so weird? It's not like Papa hasn't brought back injured people before. Didn't you see a CP agent ship earlier? She must be injured."
Nanamo still didn't take it seriously. Seeing Hermes floating in front of her, its cloud body shape-shifting constantly, it seemed to be trying to express something with rich body language.
"I hate riddlers! Riddler Homies too! Just say what you want to say!"
Nanamo rubbed Hermes's face. Under the external force, Hermes's features became abstract, but for a cloud Homie, this felt like nothing.
Hermes compressed its body to slip out of Nanamo's hands, cleared its throat, and formed a pair of glasses with cloud vapor on its face, seemingly trying to express its erudition.
"It's about status! My Princess! You have to trust my judgment. The way that woman looks at Lord Nereus is definitely problematic!"
"Huh? That's all you wanted to say? Why do you think a woman would shake my status? He's my Dad, not anything else. As a cloud, think fewer strange thoughts!"
With a chop of her hand, Nanamo split Hermes in two, then slid down the mast of the lookout tower, ignoring the strange thoughts in Hermes's head.
"Sigh, Princess Nanamo still doesn't understand the adult world."
"But it doesn't matter. No matter what happens, I am Princess Nanamo's most loyal servant!"
The split Hermes muttered to itself, then merged back into one and flew down as well.
...
"Let me introduce you. This is Amphelite, our new comrade. Arrange a room for her, then have the ship doctor come over to check on her."
Back on the ship, Nereus first introduced Amphelite to a few nearby executives. As for the others, he planned to introduce her himself after she recovered.
At this moment, Nanamo had already walked over, pushing a wheelchair.
"Papa, leave it to me! You go busy yourself with other things!"
Wheelchairs were actually the most common transport tool on Nereus's ship, mainly because the Merfolk subordinates had difficulty moving in waterless environments.
Although they could use bubbles created by Bubble Coral for aerial movement, those bubbles, like the resin bubbles from Yarukiman Mangroves, could only be used within the range of the mangroves.
Beyond that range, the bubbles wouldn't work. Coupled with occasional injuries, wheelchairs were certainly not in short supply.
While Nanamo was taking Amphelite to the infirmary, Amphelite was pondering the term "Papa" used by Nanamo, when she suddenly heard Nanamo ask a question.
"Um... Amphelite, right? are you short on money?"
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