After explaining everything, Ross didn't bother Zephyr any further and left the stern with Robin.
The marines on the ship were a little flustered, but they were all marines who followed Sakazuki. Sakazuki was basically a hot-tempered person who would hurt his friends, so these people adapted quickly.
Finding a secluded corner, Ross put Robin down, but still held onto her arm.
"Hold on tight to the railing, I don't want you to fall down by accident."
"Okay!"
Robin quickly reached out and grabbed the railing. The warship was moving at a very high speed, and with the entire ship tilting, she could easily be thrown out if she wasn't careful.
"Ohara is destroyed. What do you plan to do after that?"
Ross didn't treat Robin like an 8-year-old child and asked the question directly.
Although Robin was young, she had experienced the ups and downs of life and was no less a historian than Olvia.
"Can you let me leave?"
Robin pursed her lips, her eyes filled with hope.
"You alone, or you and Olvia?" Ross asked with a half-smile.
"I..."
Robin hesitated for a moment, then, thinking of Olvia's actions, her eyes finally hardened:
"Just me!"
"You alone?" Ross chuckled, ruffling Robin's hair. "Do you have family on the high seas?"
"No."
What skills do you have that can support you?
"I can read history…" Robin said softly.
"Not everyone likes storytellers, and besides, knowing history and storytelling are two different things."
Ross chuckled and shook his head, ignoring Robin's disappointed look, and pressed on:
"Do you have the ability to protect yourself? You are no longer a citizen of a member state. Undocumented immigrants from non-affiliated countries are mostly captured and enslaved."
"I..."
Robin was speechless.
How could she possibly protect herself? With her current Devil Fruit abilities, she couldn't even defeat Olvia, let alone the pirates who were everywhere.
Now, she realized that her ideas were somewhat naive.
Yes.
Even if Ross let her go, would she be able to take care of herself?
Looking at the bewildered Robin, Ross's lips curled into a subtle smile:
Why do you want to leave?
"I want to get away from Olvia!" Robin said without hesitation.
She didn't dare say she hated Ross; in fact, her feelings for Ross were complicated.
Even though everyone knew Ross was the culprit behind all this, if you thought about it carefully from Ross's perspective, it seemed like he hadn't done anything wrong.
Those historians in Olvia were insane; no wonder the World Government had carried out a Buster Call on Ohara.
She had learned yesterday that the civilians of Ohara had all been evacuated, and only the historians had died.
Furthermore, the World Government hadn't killed anyone at all; only Ross had killed Dr. Clover and Saul, who were also her closest people.
Even though Ross was acting under orders and had treated her fairly well, Robin still couldn't forgive him for the time being.
As for the others, they had all been killed by Olvia.
Olvia had gone mad in her desire to study the Poneglyphs.
"Escape Olvia, and then what? Let her continue studying the Poneglyphs?" Ross raised an eyebrow.
"Why is she so obsessed with the Poneglyphs?" Robin's expression was rather unpleasant.
If we let that madman Olvia continue studying the Poneglyph, then all those historians would have died in vain.
Robin had no intention of getting Ross to do anything; she had nothing left to offer in exchange, and besides, it was something Ross had promised Olvia.
In her eyes, Ross was a man of his word, and she hoped that Ross would always remain a man of his word.
At least that way, she would feel much less guilty.
After all, it was she who had volunteered to save Olvia in the critical moment, which led to Saul's death.
Saul didn't have to die; if she had chosen to save him back then, things would have been different.
Robin thought dejectedly, her mind a complete mess.
With her limited knowledge and experience, she simply couldn't process too much information, especially now that such a major change had just occurred.
"Why are you so obsessed with Poneglyph?" Ross looked at Robin with amusement. "You were the youngest historian who understood Ancient Script. You're asking me this question? I'd like to ask you all the same thing. Why do you have to study taboos of all things?"
"Ah, how did you know I know ancient language?"
Robin didn't hear the rest of what Ross said; just hearing Ross's words made her realize she was a historian, and she trembled with fear.
Ross and the others hadn't hidden their conversation from her, even though she knew that the World Government had issued an arrest warrant for all Ohara historians who spoke ancient languages.
"You think you've hidden it well?"
Ross chuckled and shook his head, placing his hand on Robin's head as he spoke earnestly:
"Robin, you must remember that in this world, only things that are not known by others can be called secrets. Once a second person knows them, they will eventually become common knowledge."
"I see..."
Robin seemed to be deep in thought.
Dr. Clover always said that their research was very secretive and would not be known to the World Government.
But as Ross said, there was no secret that would never be discovered.
If the World Government discovered it, the powerless Ohara would surely be reduced to a sea of fire.
"It all comes down to strength..." Robin muttered.
The power Sakazuki had displayed yesterday made her vividly imagine a certain possibility.
Unfortunately, Ohara could not possibly have a fighter comparable to Sakazuki.
"You still haven't answered me. Why do you want to study the Poneglyph?" Ross pressed on.
Chatting with Robin was always a relaxing experience; you didn't have to think too much about it.
He had always liked Robin, and now that he had the chance to raise her from a young age, he was even less likely to miss it.
"Grandpa Clover said that those 100 years were a blank period in history, and the duty of historians is to unravel all the blanks in history," Robin repeated, pursing her lips.
She didn't understand the significance of unraveling the blanks; she simply memorized it as a rule for historians.
But the fate of Ohara proved that Dr. Clover was wrong.
"So what do you think?" Ross countered.
Robin was a very smart person. Even though she was young, she had experienced so much and had her own ideas.
His job was simple: just guide.
Even if Robin really turned evil... he'd like her even more.
"I think Grandpa Clover is wrong."
A resolute glint flashed in Robin's eyes. She wasn't actually that wary of Ross, since it would be too easy for Ross to kill her.
Actually, she herself wanted to know if her thoughts were right or wrong.
Especially everything that had happened yesterday that completely changed her previous thoughts.
"Saint Ross, I believe that history is never blank or true or false; only those who survive have the right to record history."
"And the history we see is the history they recorded. Trying to reconstruct the so-called blank century is meaningless."