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The Celestial Dragons' slave ship had been attacked when it docked yesterday.
According to reports, the bomb thrown by the girl pictured on the bounty poster bore a childish name: "Jumpy Dumpty." It was hard to imagine that an explosive with a name reminiscent of a child's toy could detonate with such terrifying power.
The vessel had shattered instantly.
Celestial Dragon subordinates and slaves aboard were blown into the water one after another, creating massive splashes dozens of meters high. The entire port had seemed to experience a brief but violent rainstorm.
The slaves who'd regained their freedom took advantage of the chaos to escape, causing considerable commotion throughout the harbor district.
The Celestial Dragons had dispatched a large force to recapture many escaped slaves, but more than half had still managed to flee. Worse yet, they'd been unable to locate the attacker.
The Celestial Dragons had been furious. If they hadn't been assaulted by a man wearing a straw hat some time ago, they would have come to vent their anger on the residents of Island No. 53 in person.
Instead, they'd been forced to inform the Marine Headquarters of the incident and order them to find the culprit.
Hence, the bounty poster.
After entering the house, Uncle Neil delivered all this information in one breath, his expression openly gleeful.
He was clearly delighted to see the Celestial Dragons, who typically relied on their status to commit evil acts with impunity, suffer a defeat.
He spread the bounty poster flat on the table where Kyoma and the others were eating breakfast.
"The fishermen on the beach witnessed the entire incident. According to their accounts, two young girls worked together to commit the crime."
"One of the girls who didn't directly participate but served as an accomplice had orange hair, similar in color to Kagura's. It's quite a coincidence that such a rare color would match. As for the other perpetrator, the mastermind, she was younger." Uncle Neil studied the bounty poster. "Looking at this image, she appears to be very young. It's difficult to imagine that such a young girl would..."
His words trailed off abruptly.
He'd suddenly noticed an unfamiliar young girl with golden hair sitting beside Kyoma.
Her hair color, apparent age, distinctive clothing, everything matched the bounty poster exactly.
And Kagura, seated on Kyoma's other side… wasn't she the "accomplice" the fishermen had described?
"This... this..." Uncle Neil stammered, staring at Kyoma with wide eyes.
Yesterday, when Uncle Neil and Rayleigh had visited, Klee had already run off with Kagura.
The two hadn't met, so he'd been unaware that Kyoma had gained a new companion.
As for Drake, Kyoma had already mentioned him to Uncle Neil.
Though this was their first meeting today, the two men had simply exchanged nods and greetings, neither showing surprise at the other's presence.
"It's exactly as you're thinking," Kyoma admitted with a resigned sigh.
"These two were responsible. I rushed out yesterday specifically to stop them, but then you and Rayleigh-san arrived unexpectedly, and events unfolded as they did."
He rested his hands on the two small heads flanking him, one on each side.
Internally, he was still processing the information about the Celestial Dragon slave ship Uncle Neil had mentioned.
Yesterday, he'd learned from Klee and Kagura that they'd accidentally destroyed a vessel carrying numerous "prisoners" in shackles, allowing those captives to escape. Both he and Drake had immediately realized they'd blown up a slave ship.
Neither of them had imagined the ship actually belonged to the Celestial Dragons.
Kyoma glanced at Drake and found his expression appropriately solemn.
"Hello, uncle. I'm Klee. It's nice to meet you."
Klee simply assumed Kyoma was introducing her to a new friend. Though still tired from her late-night bomb crafting, she rallied her energy and offered a sweet smile.
The combination of that gentle voice and adorable face melted Uncle Neil's heart instantly.
He couldn't help wondering if his daughter, whose memory had been stolen away from him, would smile at him just like this.
"Hello, lovely girl. You can call me Uncle Neil, just like Kyoma and the others do."
"Okay, Uncle Neil. May Klee ask why your beard is so long?" She tilted her head curiously. "It's perfectly fine if you'd rather not answer. Klee is just curious, nothing more."
"Uh... why is it so long?" Uncle Neil stroked his unkempt facial hair thoughtfully. "No one's ever asked me that before. It does seem like I haven't shaved in quite some time."
Unexpectedly, the two people with the greatest age difference at the table began chatting comfortably with one another.
Perhaps driven by curiosity about this new world, Klee wanted to ask countless questions.
Uncle Neil proved remarkably patient with her, reminded of his daughter, and answered each query in considerable detail.
For a while, Kyoma and Drake found no opportunity to interrupt the conversation.
Meanwhile, Kagura continued devouring food by herself. While Kyoma was distracted, she'd secretly consumed some of his portion as well.
Kyoma naturally noticed.
He reached out and pinched her bulging cheek in retaliation.
Breakfast concluded soon after.
Uncle Neil had enjoyed their conversation, but duty called.
He still needed to work on Kyoma's ship at the shipyard.
After bidding farewell to everyone, he hurried off.
****
Klee had finally spotted the bounty poster on the table.
"Kyoma-ni, is that Klee?"
Though the image showed only the outline of a girl's face, she recognized herself immediately based on her hair color and distinctive outfit.
She noticed a series of numbers and text below the picture.
The bounty read fifty million Berry. She'd never studied the written language of this world, yet somehow she could understand it through her mysterious connection to Kyoma.
"Well, you're now a wanted criminal by the Marines," Kyoma confirmed, unable to resist teasing despite the gravity of the situation.
"A full fifty million Berry bounty. If we turned you in at the Marine base, it would cover Kagura's food expenses for a long time."
He watched Klee's expression shift from confusion to dawning comprehension with barely suppressed amusement.
"A wanted criminal? Me?"
Klee sat stunned in her chair, completely motionless.
She'd never expected that the impressive string of numbers which had initially caught her attention actually represented her own bounty.
What shocked her even more was that she'd been in this world for only a single day, yet had already become a wanted criminal.
She understood it must be because she'd blown up a ship yesterday.
The realization made panic surge through her.
She feared that now that she'd become a wanted criminal, Kyoma-ni and Kagura-nee would stop playing with her.
They might even send her back to Mondstadt.
She hadn't finished playing here yet, hadn't explored enough of this fascinating new world.
Klee's eyes reddened with distress.
Tears welled up, threatening to spill at any moment.
Kyoma's heart sank with alarm as he realized his teasing had gone too far.
Just as he was about to speak and comfort her, he felt a sharp, stinging pain in his arm.
"Ah!"
After his yelp, Kagura released her bite with obvious satisfaction.
"Why did you bite me so suddenly?" Kyoma stared at the clearly visible teeth marks on his arm, his face contorting with pain.
"Because you scared Klee to tears, you mean Kyo-chan."
Seemingly angry that Kyoma dared question her actions, Kagura opened her mouth again.
She revealed her white, sharp teeth and made as if to bite him once more.
"Stop, please don't bite again! It was my fault for scaring her just now." Kyoma quickly surrendered.
He gave in immediately.
If she really bit down again without controlling her monstrous strength, the consequences would be disastrous.