One Piece: The Silver Sovereign

"Miss, those people are gone now. Could you please get off me?" Shirakawa said stiffly. In his past life, he had never been held so closely by anyone before.

"Mm-hmm."

Hearing Shirakawa's words, the young woman lifted her head from his chest and let out a deep sigh of relief.

"They're finally gone. Thank you, handsome."

When she lifted her head, Shirakawa found himself briefly stunned. He hadn't seen her face before, but now that he did, it was worth it. Maybe he even profited a little.

"No need to thank me."

"By the way, my name is Kather·Lynn. What's your name, handsome?"

"Adolf K. Shirakawa. Just call me Shirakawa."

"Shirakawa, huh? That name suits you. You can just call me Lynn."

"So, Lynn, why were they trying to catch you? Judging by their uniforms, they looked like the country's soldiers. Did you commit a crime or something?"

"Of course not. It's because I'm not from this country, that's why they're after me."

"Oh, I see."

But just from that line, Shirakawa could tell she was lying, or at least hiding something important. After all, they weren't from this country either, yet no one was chasing them.

"Hey, could you two lovebirds be a little more considerate? We're still standing right here, you know."

Rayleigh's voice floated over, quiet but sarcastic. Aside from being a drunkard, he was also a bit of a lecher.

"Haha, sorry, forgot you guys were there."

Shirakawa smiled awkwardly. Of course, he hadn't forgotten them; he was just teasing.

Grrr~

At that moment, a strange sound echoed in everyone's ears, and all eyes turned to Kather·Lynn.

"Hehe… It's been a while since I've eaten. Sorry, I'm a little hungry."

"Well then, let's go get something to eat. We've only been drinking so far."

"Alright, let's go."

The group headed out into the street. But before they left, they gave Lynn a bit of a disguise, so she wouldn't be recognized and cause more trouble.

"This is so ugly."

Lynn didn't know exactly what she looked like now, but she was certain it wasn't good.

"Just bear with it. Better than being chased all over the place, right?"

"You're not wrong."

During the meal, even though Lynn was quite hungry, she was still just a regular woman and couldn't eat much. She got full rather quickly.

So the rest of the time, she just watched the four guys devour food like maniacs, the dishes stacking up higher and higher on the table.

"Are you guys… human?" Lynn asked in shock.

"Watch your tone. Is that how you talk to your savior?"

Shirakawa mumbled through a mouthful of food, words barely intelligible.

Although the ship had a cook, the food they made was only average, nothing compared to a real professional. Faced with such delicious food, Shirakawa felt it would be a crime not to eat until he burst.

"Sorry, it's just… I've never seen people eat like you before."

"That's because we're strong. The stronger you are, the bigger your appetite."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

BUUUURP~

After eating and drinking their fill, the four of them let out synchronized burps. Buggy and Shanks smiled contentedly.

"This place is great. We should come here again sometime."

Shanks said with satisfaction.

"Wait, so… you're not from around here either?"

Lynn asked in surprise after hearing Shanks.

"You just realized that now? I thought you already knew."

Shirakawa picked up a toothpick and started poking his teeth.

"Seriously? You guys didn't say anything, how was I supposed to know?"

Lynn's roar startled the other diners in the restaurant.

"S-Sorry. Please continue…"

She quickly realized she'd raised her voice and apologized sheepishly.

"Be careful, alright? You're probably a wanted criminal in this country now."

"And whose fault do you think that is?!"

"Hey, you can eat whatever you want, but don't talk nonsense. What do you mean, our fault? It's your lack of intelligence."

"Huff… Huff… Huff… I can't get angry. I must stay calm…"

Lynn took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"If you're not from this country, then where are you from?"

"We're not from any country. More precisely, we're not even from this island."

"You mean… You came from outside the island?"

Lynn's face lit up with astonishment.

"Obviously."

"You're not serious, are you?"

"Of course we are. What would we gain by lying to you?"

"Wow! You're alive!"

Lynn walked up to Shirakawa and poked his face; it felt soft.

"Of course I'm alive. What, did you think I was dead?"

Shirakawa swatted her hand away, annoyed.

"Is that kid's nose real, too?"

Lynn pointed at Buggy's red nose. "You outsiders are so weird."

"I don't know if it's real. You can ask him yourself. We don't see people like him very often either."

"Wait… you mean you've never seen anyone from outside this island before?"

"Nope. Not living ones, anyway. I've seen plenty of dead ones, people who died at sea and drifted over here."

"So you've never been on a ship and left?"

"My father says the sea around this island is extremely dangerous, with horrible weather, not suitable for sailing. We've sent people to explore the outside world before, but none of them ever came back."

"Well, that makes sense. Weak people can die at sea at any time."

"Then how did you get here?"

"We sailed. What, you think we swam?"

Shirakawa looked at her like she was an idiot.

"Of course, I know you came by ship. I meant, how come you're all fine?"

"Because we're strong. No kind of hardship can stop us now."

"Then… could you tell me what the outside world is like?"

"Sure."

Shirakawa told her about what he had seen over the past three months. Shanks and Buggy occasionally chimed in as well.

"Wow… I want to go outside too."

"Don't you guys have any way to communicate with the outside world?"

"Nope."

"In places with bad weather, News Coo can't even get through."

Rayleigh explained to Shirakawa.

"Just like this island, the weather in the surrounding seas must be terrible."

After hearing that, Shirakawa remembered: half a day before reaching the island, the sea conditions had been extremely rough.

Even a trained News Coo wouldn't have survived flying in that weather.

"Well then, if there's a chance, I'll take you out to see the world."

"Really?"