"Mmm, I slept so well."
Early in the morning, Kather Lin woke up and stretched lazily. Facing the direction of the rising sun, her expression looked downright blissful.
"Hey, what's with those faces? Why are you staring at me like that?"
After basking in her good mood for a moment, she finally noticed Shirakawa and the other three looking at her with weird expressions, like she was some kind of alien.
"Are you okay?" Shirakawa walked up to her and placed a hand on her forehead, checking if she had a fever.
"What are you doing?" Feeling the warm touch on her forehead, and that strangely pleasant scent coming off Shirakawa, Kather Lin's cheeks flushed visibly. It was hard to tell whether she was embarrassed or annoyed.
"No fever… then why did you sleep so long?" Shirakawa muttered to himself. "Don't tell me your body mutated."
As he spoke, his hands started feeling around her again. If not for the seriousness on his face, he would have looked exactly like a shameless creep.
"That's enough! What are you doing? What even happened?"
Kather Lin felt like she was about to let out some kind of sound she absolutely shouldn't, so she hurriedly stopped him. She glared at him, furious and flustered.
"Do you know how long you slept?" Shirakawa leaned in close to her face.
"H how long?" Kather Lin unconsciously took a step back.
"Fifteen or sixteen hours," Shirakawa said. "You can really sleep. I'm officially awarding you the title of Sleeping God."
"Fifteen or sixteen hours? How could I possibly sleep that much? What am I, a pig?"
"But that's the truth," Shirakawa said with a straight face. "Maybe you really are a big old sow. Hahaha."
After saying it, even Shirakawa found it hilarious and burst out laughing. Buggy and Shanks got infected by his laughter too.
"Okay, seriously," Kather Lin asked, "what happened? Why did I sleep that long?"
She lowered her head, thinking hard. Then, all of a sudden, she remembered something. She snapped her head up, her face turning pale with fear.
"That Rog… what about him? We weren't killed by him, were we? This isn't hell, is it?"
The questions came pouring out, one after another, not giving Shirakawa any time to answer.
"Relax," Shirakawa said. "Rog is dead. Someone saved us."
He held her by the shoulders and gave her two firm pats, easing her panic.
"What did you just say?" Kather Lin stared at him like she hadn't heard clearly, or like she didn't dare believe it.
"I said Rog was killed," Shirakawa repeated. "We're safe."
"How is that possible? How could Rog be killed? He was the strongest!"
"The strongest?" Buggy cut in with a scoff. "Don't make me laugh. He was only the strongest on this island. Outside the island, people stronger than him are everywhere."
Buggy admitted Rog was strong, but he was still just Rog, not Roger. If someone said Roger was the strongest in the world, Buggy wouldn't argue.
"Really?" Kather Lin still couldn't believe it. She looked at Shirakawa, and even though her words sounded like a challenge, her tone was begging for confirmation.
"Really," Shirakawa said. "It was our companion who saved us. Rog is truly dead."
The moment she heard that, Kather Lin suddenly covered her face and began to cry, her sobs muffled.
"Huh? Why are you crying?" Shirakawa panicked. "Rog dying is a good thing, isn't it?"
Seeing a girl cry, the three inexperienced guys immediately got flustered. Shanks and Buggy especially had no idea how to comfort a girl, so the two of them instinctively stepped back, leaving Shirakawa some space.
Shirakawa wrapped his arms around her and gently patted her back.
Feeling his embrace, Kather Lin hugged him back, burying her face into his chest as she broke down completely.
"Alright, alright," Shirakawa coaxed softly. "What happened to you? Don't cry, okay?"
"Wuu… wuu…"
But his words didn't help at all. If anything, she cried even harder.
At that point, Shirakawa had no choice. He could only sacrifice his own clothes as tissues for her tears and snot.
After a long while, her sobbing finally started to quiet down.
"So," Shirakawa asked, "can you tell me now why you were crying?"
"Rog is our family's greatest enemy," Kather Lin said, her voice shaking. "My best big brother died by Rog's hands."
"Then we avenged you," Shirakawa said. "You should be happy."
"I know." Kather Lin nodded, tears still clinging to her lashes. "I was crying because I was overwhelmed. But the moment I think about my brother, I get so sad I can't stop myself."
As she spoke, her eyes started to redden again.
"Alright, alright," Shirakawa said, pulling her into another hug. "Then don't think about it. Think about something happy. Think about how you'll be home soon."
"Mm." With her face pressed against his chest, Kather Lin made a muffled sound.
"Eugh… I don't know why, but seeing that makes my whole body feel weird," Shanks muttered, staring at the two. "What about you, Buggy?"
"Same," Buggy said. "It just feels… not suitable for kids."
They hadn't gone far, so their words clearly reached Kather Lin's ears. She immediately pushed Shirakawa away, turned around, and stood there all shy and awkward, blushing hard.
"Those two idiots," Shirakawa thought. "They really know how to ruin a moment."
He didn't plan to take things too far with Kather Lin, but getting a little benefit was still nice.
Grrr… grrr…
Just then, Kather Lin's stomach growled loudly, and her already red face turned even redder.
"Hungry, huh?" Shirakawa said. "You slept fifteen or sixteen hours. Of course you'd be starving. And you cried for so long too. Come on, let's eat."
"Mm."
Her voice was so tiny it was like a mosquito. If Shirakawa's hearing weren't good, he might not have caught it.
After they bustled around the stronghold's kitchen for a while, everyone ate until they were full. Kather Lin in particular ate more than three times her usual amount.
"So… is this really the Kather Lin we know?" Shanks and Buggy exchanged a look, saying the exact same thing without words.
"Alright," Shirakawa said. "Let's set off. In a few days, we'll be out of this country's borders."
"Mm."
Before leaving, Shirakawa and the others set the mountain stronghold on fire. They burned everything, including the bodies, until nothing remained.
The bandit fortress that had run rampant for decades vanished into smoke and ash.
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