[But speaking of irony, Moda's parents both served in the Marines and yet Moda's country ended up destroyed by the World Government behind those same Marines.]
[After Moda was taken to the Revolutionary Army's base by their Chief of Staff, Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Comil could no longer get fresh milk from her.]
[That milk-trade route that Fire Fist Ace had secured for her with Comil was all for nothing, what a shame.]
Whitey Bay: "Huh? This woman knows Ace? But how is she also connected to the Marines?"
Doll: "Ace helped Moda set up a milk trade route with Vice Admiral Comil? What's that all about?"
Makino: "Ace is such a good kid—perhaps he took the risk of contacting the Marines on Moda's behalf out of gratitude. If Vice Admiral Comil was willing to work with Moda through Ace, then likely he's a fine Marine. Too bad Moda's kingdom ended up destroyed."
Gion: "Moda is one of Arton's heroines, so she definitely has a copy of his Diary. We have to track her down before anyone else does. If she already knows Lulusia's fate… that's trouble."
Smoothie: "The folks in Lulusia who get advance warning of their country's doom might well rebel sooner—haha. Also, Arton says he'd like to bury his face in the Revolutionary Army's East Commander's chest? I guess that Commander is quite… endowed."
Smoothie: "Good thing my figure is ample as well, plus I've got these long legs. Surely that'll attract Arton!"
Moda: "What do I do now? Ace is going to die, Lulusia's going to be destroyed—what do I do? Right, the Revolutionary Army!"
Moda: "If I can find the Revolutionary Army, then through them I might find Arton. That must be the way to save Ace and stop Lulusia from being annihilated."
Moda: "Thankfully, in Arton's work, there's me with Belo Betty and Koala and Arton all together… Ugh, no time to get embarrassed."
Moda: "Though the illustrations differ from real life, I can search for Betty and Koala by comparing their looks. I'm sure to find them."
Moda: "But… if I really do meet Arton, do I really have to do everything described in those drawings…?"
…
East Blue. Belo Betty and Koala's Ship.
"So Moda is also one of Arton's main heroines, meaning she has a Diary as well?"
"Interesting! Now that we know about her, we'd better locate her first, so the Marines or World Government can't beat us to it."
"That milk girl from Arton's works—the blonde who sells milk—that must be her."
"In Arton's works, there are scenes of me, Moda, and Koala together with him… Actually, now I have one more reason to find her."
"And… as for burying yourself in my bosom hehe—I certainly wouldn't mind letting you do that, Arton!"
Belo Betty read Arton's Diary with a dazzling smile.
Koala folded her arms, face turning red as she admonished.
"Come on, Betty—what's with you? Shouldn't we be focusing on why you and Sabo supposedly turn up in Lulusia in the future?"
"And we need to find this Moda."
She'd long since suspected that because she and Betty were among the few prominent beauties in the Revolutionary Army, Arton had drawn them into his works. Now, hearing Moda would later join the Revolution, Koala felt that guess was right. Arton, so fond of drawing pretty women, would of course put the attractive ladies of the Revolutionary Army in those suggestive scenarios.
Belo Betty chuckled.
"Relax, Koala. I'm definitely going to find Moda. If she truly has a Diary, she'll want to come with us. After all, she'll know the fate of herself and Lulusia Kingdom from it."
"You said you're curious why Sabo and I show up in Lulusia in the future, right? Me too. If I or Moda appear before Arton, he'll probably spill more details in his Diary, right? And if Moda and I show up together, he'll be even more likely to talk."
"If Lulusia's destruction is the work of Imu's secret power, and Sabo and I got involved, we want to know how it all fits. Arton claimed Imu wiped it out partly to deter revolution. But from his words about 'If Imu finds out I know they exist, I'd get a Light-Extinguishing Operation', we can guess maybe Lulusia's destruction wasn't purely to warn other nations…"
"Maybe someone in Lulusia found out Imu's secret. So Imu eradicated the kingdom to silence them."
Betty's face turned serious. Koala grew pensive and nodded.
"Yes, that's likely. If your future self and Sabo ended up in Lulusia, maybe the one who learned Imu's secret was either you or Sabo."
She paused, eyes growing wide.
"That means… could you or Sabo end up killed by Imu's mystery power?" Koala looked alarmed.
Betty gave a light laugh.
"Don't worry, Koala."
"How can I not worry?"
"Remember, we have Arton's Diary now. If Arton keeps exposing secrets, we can avoid certain doom. Even if I or Sabo was 'destined' to die, that's a fate we can still change. Arton arriving in this world has already changed many fates, right?"
Koala exhaled, tension easing slightly.
"Right, we still have Arton… As soon as we find him, and earn his goodwill, maybe we'll gain enough power to face anything. Even Imu… we won't fear them."
Koala clenched a fist spiritedly, as though ready to pummel Imu.
"Fufu, keep that confidence, Koala—now we'd better keep looking for Arton. But first, let's send our people to hunt down Moda. Maybe they can bring her here to meet me."
Belo Betty said, pulling out her transponder snail.
"Yes, exactly! If you and Moda show up together in front of Arton, he'll be far more willing to share bigger information. Also… also…"
Koala's words trailed off as she recalled the scenes in Arton's works featuring her, Betty, and Moda together with Arton. Once again, her face burned crimson. Belo Betty smiled knowingly.
"Hehe, if Moda, you, and I all face Arton at once, maybe he'll be happy to accept us as crewmates."
"Don't worry about it, Koala. Arton might depict all sorts of steamy stuff in his books, but in reality he won't force any of us. Judging by how he treats Nami, Carina, Uta, Kaya, he respects his companions."
"Otherwise, shy Kaya would've ended up compelled to do all sorts of things with him. Actually, that's not the case; it's more that they themselves want the points and let him film them for photos and videos."
"So if we do meet Arton, you and Moda needn't feel pressured. If Arton wants to experience how Revolutionary women feel, I'd be happy to satisfy him—especially since I hear he's quite fond of these…"
Belo Betty said with a grin, placing her hands provocatively over her generous chest.