Vivi and I came down from the clock tower and moved to the royal palace. In the meantime, more Baroque Works remnants attacked, but I handled them all. There was no choice since Ace didn't come.
"I didn't know there would be this many remnants."
"Baroque Works has many members. And while Crocodile prepared meticulously for them to grow this numerous, the king not noticing that many people had gathered inside also played a part. If this many people were mobilized and moved, information would definitely have leaked somewhere. He didn't listen to his surroundings enough. This situation might have been foreseen."
"That... I see."
Though I blamed her father's incompetence, since it was all true, Vivi couldn't say anything. Meanwhile, we arrived near the kingdom. Then a loud sound came from the royal palace, and Crocodile was seen rising high into the sky. It seemed Luffy had won the second fight.
Seeing that, Vivi said tearfully.
"Sniff... It seems Luffy did it."
"Seems so."
We hurried into the kingdom. Then I saw Luffy urgently running toward me, holding an unconscious Elodi.
"Bro! Please save Elodi."
Elodi's condition was very serious - one arm was withered from being hit by Crocodile, and her leg was bent in a strange direction as if the bone was completely shattered. Plus, she seemed poisoned too.
"What happened?"
"Well..."
Listening to the story, Elodi had been holding off Crocodile alone until Luffy's crew arrived. Even Chopper shook his head saying he couldn't save her. I first put Vivi down, picked up Elodi, and urgently went into the treatment room. She was almost at death's door.
I immediately used [Heal] and [Detox] as much as possible and treated the poisoning. Then I restored the damaged arm and leg to their original state with [Transmutation]. Then vitality began returning to Elodi's face.
"Phew..."
Now that the dangerous moment had passed, I took out an IV drip I had prepared in my inventory, injected it into Elodi's arm, disinfected and sutured the wounded areas. Then I bandaged them. Perhaps because of the [Slippery-Slippery Fruit], fortunately there were no major tears.
After finishing the treatment, I came out.
"Whoa!"
Clatter~!
When I opened the door, Luffy's crew had all gathered in front of the door, and when I opened it, they were all surprised and fell over.
"What about Elodi??"
Worried about Elodi, Luffy asked while still fallen.
"Saved her. But she needs rest - she's still unconscious and exhausted."
"Ah... That's really a relief..."
"Chopper."
"Yes!"
Perhaps because I saved a patient he had given up on, Chopper answered briskly, even using honorifics.
"She's still in a dangerous state, so keep an eye on her."
"Understood!"
'No need to salute though...'
Since Chopper went to see Elodi, I treated Luffy's crew one by one. Everyone seemed tired, as they fell asleep as if fainting during treatment. When the treatment ended, rain came. People rejoiced and ran around. The timing was a bit off from the original, but it seemed fine.
The next day, Chopper urgently came looking for me.
"Cassian! Elodi woke up."
"Really? Let's go see."
I went to the room where Elodi was being treated. Elodi was awake, so I checked her physical condition here and there.
"Fortunately, nothing seems wrong."
"Th-thank you. Boss."
"Elodi, you almost died this time. There will be many more incidents like this in the future. Will you still keep following Luffy?"
"Yes! I'm already Luffy's crewmate."
Elodi said confidently without hesitation, as if her resolve hadn't changed.
"I understand. Then rest well."
I came out of Elodi's room. Chopper followed me out, crying as he spoke to me.
"I, I... thought I couldn't save Elodi and gave up... I'm disqualified as a doctor. But hearing Elodi's words, I resolved! That I'll never give up on a patient again!"
"Good. You must have been tired watching Elodi all night, so rest now."
"Okay."
Chopper wiped his tears and went to his assigned room. I had a simple meal and went to the room where King Cobra was since he called for me. King Cobra also seemed injured as he was receiving treatment and sitting on a bed.
"Oh~ You came. Thank you for stopping the war."
"No problem. We made a deal."
"That deal... Can't it be settled with money? Vivi is this kingdom's princess."
"No, there's a reason. I'll tell you along with it now. Call Vivi too."
King Cobra called someone outside to summon Vivi. After waiting a while, Vivi entered.
"Did you call for me, Father?"
"Yes, Cassian has something to say."
Vivi seemed to brace herself, thinking it was about the deal, but the story she was about to hear was completely different.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Just listening to what I'm about to say will put your life in danger. That's why it's difficult to have this conversation here."
I opened the window and summoned the Talaria camper.
"Gasp! What is that..."
King Cobra seemed surprised as the Talaria vehicle suddenly appeared.
"Let's talk while riding. First, inform people. It would be chaotic if the king suddenly disappears."
King Cobra called someone, said he was going out for a while, and boarded the Talaria vehicle with Vivi.
"Talaria, increase altitude."
[Understood. Master.]
"Gasp! 'Klabautermann'?"
"Father, what's 'Klabautermann'?"
"There's a rumor among sailors. That a fairy called 'Klabautermann' dwells only in ships truly cherished and loved. This is my first time actually seeing one."
"So there's a fairy dwelling in this ship?"
"Seems so."
It seemed like a strange misunderstanding like with Niko Chunja before, but since it was hard to explain, I just left it.
"Fairy! Please let me hear your voice."
Vivi said with sparkling eyes, clasping her hands. She seemed somewhat moved hearing a fairy's voice for the first time.
[Nice to meet you. Master's guest.]
"Wow~ It's a real fairy~~ Talking with a fairy feels like a dream."
Since she seemed like she'd keep saying strange things, I decided to get to the main point.
"Ahem... First, no matter how much we talk here, the outside can't hear, so let's talk now."
"Understood."
"I reached Laugh Tale with Nico Robin."
"What!!!??? Is that true!!!!????"
"What!!!???"
King Cobra and Vivi were so surprised they shouted and asked again.
"Talk quietly. It hurts my ears."
"Ahem... I was too surprised... That makes sense. Why it's dangerous..."
"Good that you understand quickly. To get straight to the point, this world will sink into the sea. There aren't many years left."
"Is that true?"
"Yes, think of it as the sea level rising 200m higher than now."
"If that's true, then there will be almost no place where people can live! Is there any evidence to believe that? It's an unbelievable story!"
"The evidence is the Celestial Dragons. Do you know the Celestial Dragons are currently building bridges connecting Mariejois and important strongholds using slaves?"
"Yes, I heard. That if you make even a small mistake, you're dragged there for forced hard labor..."
"Have you seen that bridge? They're building it very high. Why are they building it so high? For show? Spending that much money?"
"No way! Knowing the land will be submerged..."
"Yes. And there are witnesses too. Nico Robin who reached Laugh Tale with me, and the still-living crew members of the Pirate King."
"That's..."
King Cobra had a despairing face knowing the truth. Vivi was the same.
"If such truth is revealed, the kingdom will be attacked by the World Government and fall that very day."
"This is maddening... Then what's the reason for telling us this?"
It seemed the groundwork was done to get to the main point.
"To get cooperation. The Merchant's Island is building a kingdom in a safe zone for the future. A place that will be safe even if the sea level rises 200m or 300m."
"That means..."
"Yes, we will step forward to save people when the world becomes dangerous."
"Then we'll actively cooperate too."
"And there's one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Erase Vivi from the kingdom. It would be better to say she died."
"No, what does that mean??"
"Currently, a monster called 'Im' lives in the head of the World Government. That being has long ruled the World Government since it was established."
"Such a person exists?"
"Yes, that person wants Vivi."
"What! Even assuming such a person exists, why would that person want Vivi..."
"To be precise, they want 'Queen Nefertari Lily', but the problem is Vivi looks too much like 'Queen Nefertari Lily'. I don't know why they want her, probably because of obsession or possessiveness."
"Ha... Whether to believe this or not..."
Receiving so much unbelievable information at once, King Cobra seemed greatly shocked.
"Choose here. Entrust Vivi to the Merchant's Island, hide information about Vivi, and ensure her safety, or leave her in the kingdom and have the kingdom fall or suffer tremendous damage from World Government attacks."
Vivi was equally shocked hearing that.
"The kingdom will be attacked because of me?"
"Yes. That's why I made you choose now since we can't talk about this outside. If you decide to leave things as they are, I'll leave without receiving payment for stopping the war."
I served coffee to the two.
"Give me some time."
After being quiet for a while, Vivi spoke first.
"Father, I'll just go with the Merchant King. He's definitely not someone who would lie."
"But... It's too hard to believe."
Then Pell flew over in animal form and knocked on the Talaria camper's window.
Knock knock!
"Time's up. I'll just return."
Then King Cobra urgently shouted.
"Wait! I'll believe you. Take Vivi. But I want you two to have an arranged marriage to guarantee Vivi's safety."
"What??"
"Do you perhaps not like Vivi?"
"That's not it, but it's too sudden. And shouldn't we hear Vivi's opinion too?"
"I'm fine with it!"
Vivi answered immediately without hesitation. I wondered why she was like this. Whether it was for the kingdom's safety, or if she really fell for me.
"And there's another problem. There are several women who trust and follow me."
"Someone of your stature can have multiple wives. I don't mind."
"Does Vivi think so too?"
"That... I'm a bit dissatisfied but... I think there's no choice."
"Sigh... I understand."
I told Talaria to descend by the window.
"I repeat, don't disclose what you've heard until now. The kingdom itself will be in danger."
"Understood."
With those words, we got off the Talaria vehicle. Then Koza, the rebel leader, was in the room.
"I greet King Cobra."
"Yes, Koza. I'm glad the misunderstanding is resolved."
"I came to say sorry for my apology and to inform the rebels of this fact as soon as possible."
"Yes, please do."
Worried Koza might be targeted by Baroque Works remnants again, I told him in advance.
"As soon as you go, capture anyone with a Baroque Works tattoo on their arm first. They spread false rumors and damaged the canal during this incident. If you go without any countermeasures, they'll probably try to assassinate you again."
"Understood."
Thus Koza left, and Luffy's crew also seemed sufficiently rested and were about to leave.