First, one thing must be made clear.
The Demon King of Songs was summoned by Uta.
Although it was completely unintentional on her part, without her, the sealed Demon King of Songs could never have been resurrected.
Regarding the tragedy that happened in Elegia, this young girl must bear at least some secondary responsibility.
For a girl who is only nine years old this year, this secondary responsibility is already quite terrifying.
After all, the current situation is that the entire country of Elegia was destroyed, with over one hundred thousand lives lost.
If this kind-hearted little girl were to learn the truth, she would probably collapse on the spot and lose all courage to continue living.
Therefore, to protect her, Shanks would never reveal the truth of what happened.
Even if they meet again, Red-Haired Shanks would undoubtedly take all the blame upon himself.
Thus, the conflict between this father and daughter would never be resolved.
Shanks is like Li Xunhuan, desperately trying to push Uta away from himself for her own good.
Ian sighed when he thought of this — he could only play the role of Long Xiaoyun now.
How awkward that is.
"I'll go pack my things first! Let's hurry and set off!"
After deciding to leave with Ian, Uta's energy seemed to return immediately.
She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and sprang to her feet.
She even turned around to urge Ian to hurry up and depart.
It was clear that she truly longed for a reunion with Red-Haired Shanks.
But in the end, the outcome was somewhat different from what she had hoped for.
However, it was at that moment—
"Uta? Who are you talking to?"
A man walked up from the other side of the stage, looking at Ian with great surprise, then at the many companions below the stage.
Especially at the two enormous giants.
"Ian??"
The man's body trembled suddenly as he recognized Ian's identity.
One could say Ian's reputation now truly resonated across the world.
Anyone who had ever read a newspaper would never find his appearance unfamiliar.
That was the presence of a Pirate Emperor.
"Why is the Beast Pirates crew here??"
The man was very confused.
"And you are?"
Ian began to play dumb.
"He is Gordon!"
Uta quickly introduced him to Ian, "He's the king of Elegia. He barely survived that night too, and he's been taking care of me all this time!"
Ian, of course, was not unfamiliar with this man.
Not only was he the king of Elegia, but he was also an exceptional musician.
Besides the Red Hair Pirates, he was the only other person who knew the truth.
In the original story, he was both Uta's second foster father and her music teacher.
"Gordon!"
Uta also introduced Ian and the others to the lone king. "This is Ian. You should know him—he's that bastard's friend. I've known him for a while."
Gordon's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out.
Trouble!
How did they manage to attract the attention of a Pirate Emperor?
Ian looked at the king politely and nodded. "I thought something special had happened here, so I came to take a look."
"But after hearing Uta's words, I'm even more confused. Shanks doesn't seem like the type of person to do something like this."
He really seemed like a close friend of Red-Haired Shanks. Although, in some ways, they were indeed friends.
Gordon pressed his lips together, feeling completely unsettled.
"So, I'm genuinely curious, King Gordon," Ian asked, "Is there some hidden treasure in this country that even Shanks couldn't resist? Or is this all just a misunderstanding?"
"Well—"
Gordon suddenly felt dry-mouthed and tongue-tied, unable to say anything.
He and Shanks had agreed never to reveal the truth to Uta.
A real man must keep his promises.
"This all happened so suddenly," he could only say, "I didn't react in time. But the Red-Haired Pirates did indeed take the country's treasure."
"I see," Ian nodded. "As expected, we need to find Shanks to get to the bottom of this."
Gordon's eyes widened in disbelief, exclaiming, "Ian—Lord Ian, you mean you're going to find the Red-Haired Pirate?"
"Not just Ian!"
Uta said seriously at that moment, "Gordon! I'm going too! I have to find out what really happened!"
"No! You can't, Uta!"
Gordon almost shouted instinctively.
Immediately realizing he had lost his composure, he quickly tried to fix it, "It's too dangerous, isn't it?"
"Dangerous?"
Uta looked surprised. She glanced at Ian, "But Ian is stronger than that bastard!"
She had always believed Shanks was the strongest, but now, that idea had changed.
"Since you're on my ship, you're my comrade."
Ian said at the right moment, "Don't worry, King Gordon, I will protect little sister Uta."
"I'm not your comrade!"
Uta said instinctively.
"Always welcome."
Ian chuckled lightly.
The little girl hummed in response.
After what happened this time, she no longer had any good feelings toward pirates.
King Gordon just felt his scalp tingling.
This is bad—there's no way to stop Uta now!
What should he do?
Let Uta leave with this group of pirates?
Even though everyone says the Hive Island area, ruled by Ian, is the safest sea region in the world, and that he's a different kind of pirate.
But pirates are pirates, after all — there's no shortage of crazy things they do!
Just as King Gordon struggled with his inner conflict, Ian smiled and looked at him.
"If you, King Gordon, really can't stop worrying about Uta, then come with us."
"Huh?"
Gordon was taken aback.
Ian said, "Aren't you curious why your country has fallen into this disaster?"
"Yeah, Gordon!"
Uta also spoke seriously, "Come with me. Let's go find that bastard and get some answers together!"
What am I curious about? I know all the causes and consequences perfectly fine!
But I just can't bring myself to refuse.
Seeing Uta's determined expression, Gordon's heart sank completely.
There was no stopping her now.
What kind of reason could possibly stop Uta from doing what she wants?
The king, who had already lost his own country, took a deep breath.
Then he said, "Alright, I'll go with you too!"
Ian's lips curled into a smile.
Having this guy tag along didn't really matter.
Like Shanks, he would never reveal the truth.
Like always, it was enough for him to just play dumb.
Gordon and Uta each went back to pack their things.
So, when the Golden Dragon set sail from the island, two more passengers joined the ship — now, Elegia was truly empty.
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