"Welcome to Cake Island, His Majesty Nero!" Perospero bowed deeply, performing the noble gesture with great skill.
"Hmm, so you're still the one hosting, Pe... Pepe!" Nero disembarked, intending to greet him, but embarrassingly, she had forgotten his name.
And Hathaway, for some reason, didn't offer a reminder.
"Perospero, I apologize, His Majesty Nero. Kaido has already arrived, and Mama is currently with him inside, which is why I'm here to welcome you."
Fine cold sweat beaded on Perospero's forehead. As expected, she still cared about that, didn't she?
"Hmm, then I'll trouble you, Pepe!"
Nero still couldn't recall his name, and after waiting for a long time, he didn't introduce himself, so Nero decided to just call him Pepe.
"Not at all. Esteemed guests, please follow me."
Nero's words made Perospero feel like he had escaped a predicament, no longer caring if the name Pepe was inappropriate.
He quickly bowed and gestured with his hand, inviting them to follow.
Walking along the road, they saw all sorts of strange sights: candy houses, talking and singing hills, trees, and flowers, and rivers of juice.
Most of the pedestrians also wore smiles, looking very happy as usual.
"It really is like a fairy tale kingdom!"
Stella exclaimed. She had originally worried that her lack of experience might embarrass Nero.
But seeing Nero break off a piece of chocolate wall here and pinch a flower-shaped candy there, she immediately relaxed a lot.
"Is this your first time here too, Nero?" Stella asked with some curiosity.
"Hmm, before, the relationship between I and Linlin on the New World was more adversarial than friendly."
As she spoke, Nero curiously licked a glass window. It was made of hard candy!
"So this is my first time here too. Hmm, it's more interesting than I imagined! Chew... chew... This is so delicious! Stella and Hathaway, you two should try some too."
Nero broke off a cookie branch and handed it to Stella and Hathaway, while still munching on one herself.
"Oh! It really is delicious!"
"It is indeed very tasty."
Perospero stood by, waiting quietly, without any urging, just silently imprinting Stella's appearance into his mind.
A woman he hadn't seen before, but judging by her intimacy with Nero, it seemed another person not to be trifled with was appearing on the New World.
Walking leisurely like this, the group finally arrived at the Tea Party's gathering place.
By then, many people had already arrived. Nero couldn't remember the names of any of the Underworld's six kings, except for Morgans.
However, she heard that this group of people was quite powerful, but now that she saw them, none of them seemed capable of fighting.
Morgans, on the other hand, looked quite extraordinary. The Morgans News Coo flying all over the world seemed a bit like a Devil Fruit awakening.
Well, in any case, it was time to greet the host here: "Hmm, Yah-hah-loh! Linlin!"
"Yah-hah-loh! Nero, you've finally arrived! Mama, Mama!"
Seeing Nero, Charlotte Linlin immediately left Kaido, dropping all pretense and walking over very amicably.
"Hathaway too, long time no see!"
"Ah, thank you for your concern." Hathaway nodded slightly, responding politely.
"Mama, Mama, you haven't changed at all! This... is...?" After greeting Hathaway familiarly, Charlotte Linlin looked at Stella with some curiosity.
Stella, on the other hand, was a little nervous. An eight-meter-tall giant standing before her was still very intimidating.
"Hmm, this is Stella, my fiancée!" Before Stella could introduce herself, Nero hugged her waist, her tone full of pride.
"Eh?" xN
Nero's single sentence shocked everyone present, even Kaido couldn't help but glance over.
"Is... that so? Mama... Mama, this Miss Stella is actually your fiancée?"
I didn't expect you to be like this, Nero?
"Hmm, I and Stella plan to get married next year. At that time, Linlin, you all must come. I will give Stella the grandest wedding in the world!"
Nero, as if unaware of the stares around her, continued to extend invitations.
"Hmm, I'll send you an invitation then, and you're not allowed not to come!"
"Mama, Mama! For such an important event as a wedding, of course I'll be there! I'll be sure to prepare a grand gift to bless you both."
Charlotte Linlin smiled gently, re-evaluating Stella's importance in her heart. She had originally thought she was just a plaything, but she didn't expect Nero to value her so highly.
It seemed the gift would need to be carefully chosen then.
Everyone else present thought the same. Although two girls were a bit... but everyone there had seen a lot of the world, and these were just personal little hobbies.
The reason for their shock was only because a big shot like Nero would also have such hobbies.
It was like unique celebrity gossip, just a temporary novelty.
Coming back to their senses, they were already thinking about how to get to know this future queen of Nicuss.
"But this is really a big move this time, Linlin! Hmm, almost all the major forces in the New World, except for the Marine and the World Government, are here!"
"Ah, after all, the New World has been too chaotic these past two years. Continuing like this would only be meaningless internal strife, so it's better for everyone to sit down and have a good talk first."
Nero looked at her in surprise. Is she that official?
"Hmm, so Newgate will also be coming later?"
"He should be arriving soon. Why, Nero, don't you want to see Newgate?"
"That's not it. Hmm, actually, I quite like his strange mustache, but no matter how many times I asked, he wouldn't let go of it."
Nero recalled that strange mustache, and her voice unconsciously became a little angry: "It's clearly just unimportant hair, hmm, that stingy guy wouldn't even part with a single strand!"
"This is an important symbol of this old man, how could I just casually give it to you to play with?"
A deep voice came from behind, and Whitebeard walked over, carrying his large blade.
Nero wasn't surprised. With her Observation Haki level, she naturally detected Whitebeard as soon as he approached. These few sentences were clearly said on purpose for him to hear.
"Hmph! Stingy guy! I can't hear what you're saying!" Nero covered her ears, not intending to communicate with Whitebeard at all.
"Gurararara! Still just a brat, aren't you?" Whitebeard wasn't offended by Nero's attitude; instead, he laughed heartily.
His gaze swept over Stella, and a hint of understanding flashed in his heart. He said to Nero with a bit of mischief: "This blonde young lady is your companion, isn't she?"
"What are you going to do about Whitey Bay? She's still holding a grudge about that matter from back then!"
But he found Nero looking utterly bewildered: "Hmm, who is Whitey Bay?"
Whitebeard: "..."
If you were a man, my blade would have already fallen!!!
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!