(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work. Check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly.
https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)
Ps: Leave reviews and comments, thank you
****************
The market already bustled with activity. Most of the crowd consisted of tourists from outside the archipelago rather than locals.
Thanks to its unique location and environment, the Sabaody Archipelago had become a famous tourist destination along the Grand Line.
Colorful bubbles floated through the air while airships occasionally glided past overhead. Pedestrians filled the streets endlessly, and bubble cars, a local transportation specialty, darted between them. Klee couldn't tear her eyes away from the spectacle.
Kyoma felt it necessary to take a day in the future and bring her and Kagura to the amusement park. He remembered the park that Luffy and his crew had visited in the anime. It looked impressive, with facilities basically identical to those in modern cities, though even wilder and more exciting.
Not long after walking, the four of them arrived at the breakfast shop Kyoma frequented.
"Hey, young man, are you here for breakfast again today?"
The boss's wrinkled old face broke into a smile when he spotted Kyoma. This was a valuable customer who bought dozens of items every morning.
"Yes, the same as the previous few days, but there's no need to pack today. My friends are all here."
Kyoma greeted the boss familiarly and arranged for Kagura and the other two to sit at an empty table in the breakfast shop.
"Alright, I'll have it ready soon."
The boss nodded contentedly, but suddenly noticed that only three people accompanied Kyoma, and two of them were young girls.
How could four people finish breakfast meant for dozens of people? The boss felt somewhat confused.
However, when he brought the food to Kyoma's table, he witnessed the young girl with orange hair devour an entire plate in one bite. Her speed was astonishing. She'd already cleared nearly ten plates in the blink of an eye.
'Does this girl have a bottomless stomach?'
The boss stood shocked. Even the strong shipyard workers couldn't match her appetite. He truly couldn't comprehend how such a small stomach could hold so much.
This scene wasn't only noticed by the breakfast shop owner but also attracted the attention of many customers and passersby.
Kyoma, who'd been practicing [Observation Haki] recently and possessed keener senses than before, could clearly sense that as the empty plates on their table piled up, more and more eyes focused on them.
With so many people watching, Kyoma worried that Klee's identity as a wanted criminal might be exposed. He pushed down her hat brim to completely cover her hair and the upper half of her face.
"Kyoma-ni..." Klee knew he was hiding her identity, so she allowed him to do it, but with her vision and most of her face covered, eating breakfast became inconvenient.
"Uh..."
Kyoma also noticed this problem. Then an idea struck him.
He picked up a piece of food with his hand and held it to Klee's mouth.
"Should I feed you?"
"Okay," Klee's voice rang with happiness. Her mouth beneath the hat brim slowly opened, biting the food at the side of her mouth. She squinted her eyes to savor the food.
It was a very warm scene, but Kagura grew angry with the attention.
She felt she could no longer enjoy her food. She slammed the table in anger, producing a loud bang that nearly scared the guests at the next table into choking.
"Why are you suddenly acting crazy?" Kyoma looked at her disapprovingly; he was even ready to flick her forehead.
"Hmph, I won't eat anymore." Kagura turned her head away, though her eyes kept glancing at Kyoma's hand feeding Klee.
"..." Kyoma instantly understood what upset her and sighed helplessly.
Ten minutes later, Kyoma finished his busiest breakfast so far.
****
Seaside.
Under Drake's guidance, they arrived at a ship rental place in the port. In order to transport Sea Kings, they rented a medium-sized fishing ship measuring more than ten meters in length.
The rental fee wasn't expensive, but the shop owner collected a deposit from Kyoma, which would cover any damages to the ship.
At first, the shop owner had noticed Kyoma and the others were young, so he'd quoted a rental price several times higher than the actual rate. He'd even selected an old ship for them, one with no visible problems on the outside but outdated facilities inside.
At this moment, Drake, an experienced seafarer, demonstrated his expertise. He casually strolled around the old ship, then immediately disembarked and pointed out dozens of problems in front of the shop owner. The shop owner broke into a cold sweat, realizing he'd encountered someone who knew the business.
Thus, under the blue sky, a fishing ship set sail.
"Woo-hoo!"
Standing in the middle of the bow, Kyoma positioned himself behind the rustling sails. He opened his arms and greeted the sea breeze with his face.
Cool and comfortable.
He felt like a seagull soaring through the sky. He'd never experienced such freedom before.
The only regret was that the ship wasn't his own. He anticipated sailing his own vessel a month from now. What a wonderful thing it would be to sail across this sea.
"Wow. It's so cool."
Like him, Klee was also riding a ship for the first time. She ran happily across the deck.
Kagura unexpectedly became quiet. She sat on the edge of the ship, not far from Kyoma, holding her umbrella. Her legs dangled over the side of the vessel, swaying gently. Her blue eyes stared blankly at the sea.
"What are you thinking about, Kagura?" Kyoma approached her.
"I'm not thinking about anything specific, but I have an indescribable feeling in my heart. I don't know how to express it."
Kagura shook her head, her orange hair fluttering in the wind. Because she sat covered by the umbrella, Kyoma could only see her profile.
"Is it shock, excitement, exhilaration, and then calmness?"
These were the emotional changes Kyoma himself had experienced after boarding the ship. At first, he'd been shocked by the boundless sea, excited and exhilarated while sailing, and finally became calm under the breeze.
Another decisive factor had prompted his emotional change: disorientation.
Of course, the proud Kyoma would never admit this.
"It seems that's exactly what you described."
Kagura thought about it carefully and found she felt almost the same way, but she also experienced a kind of expectation for the future. This feeling came not from the sea but from Kyoma.
"Kyo-chan, will we keep sailing in the future?"
"Of course. We'll go out to sea after the ship is built in a month. It was not easy to come to this world, so we should see all its scenery."
****
As the ship sailed onward, the distance from the Sabaody Archipelago grew farther and farther, until only the outline of the island remained visible. Drake asked Kyoma to retract the sails and stop the ship.
"Isn't this too far?" Kyoma looked at the barely visible outline of the Sabaody Archipelago in the distance. They'd been sailing for nearly an hour.
"Not far at all. The farther from the island, the more Sea Kings there are. Besides, if you don't travel far from the island, won't people recognize your 'bomb' companion when they see her throwing explosives?"
Drake answered matter-of-factly.
He was a man who differed from Luffy and other pirates in terms of rigor and careful consideration. Perhaps this was the difference between the strict military discipline of the Marines and the free-spirited nature of pirates.