— — — — — — —
Hearing Katakuri's question, Joey couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
"What do you mean? Why am I getting married?"
He silently glanced at Katakuri before contemplating his response. "But to answer you, once Totto Land is officially established, I plan to get married."
Katakuri nodded in agreement. "That sounds about right."
The timing made perfect sense to him. Founding a nation and holding a wedding at the same time would only help strengthen Totto Land's reputation.
As for letting Gion go?
The answer remained the same.
Since his brother Cracker had brought her back, there was absolutely no way he was letting her leave. That was simply not an option.
Sometimes, maintaining one's dignity was far more important than anything else.
After some time, Katakuri went to sleep. After all, he had endured six brutal months of training.
To put it bluntly, despite eating well every day, he hadn't had a single good night's sleep in all that time. The exhaustion was overwhelming.
Now, at least, he could finally rest and prepare for the upcoming festivities.
After Katakuri left, Gion stepped into the room with a serious expression. "Charlotte Joey… Are you really planning to marry me when Totto Land is founded?"
Joey set down the book he was reading and poured himself a cup of tea, smiling. "That's right. It'll be a double celebration. Besides, my siblings will be thrilled."
His preparations were already complete—everything was meticulously planned.
"I refuse!" Gion declared without hesitation. "I will never agree to this!"
Joey, unfazed, simply shrugged. "Agree or not, it doesn't matter. I'll say it again—you can refuse all you want, but no one will listen to you."
"Remember your position. You weren't brought here as an honored guest. You have no rightful status here."
Standing up, he approached Gion, casually patting her shoulder. "You belong to me. And just like everything else I own, you don't have the right to refuse… unless—"
Gion's body trembled slightly at his touch. Hearing him trail off, she immediately pressed, "Unless what?"
Joey chuckled. "The next World Summit is in four months. If the Charlotte Family is destroyed within that time, you'll be free. But if not… you'll have no choice but to accept your fate."
"Oh, and don't even think about escaping. Here in Totto Land, not even a mosquito moves without my permission."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Gion clenched her fists tightly, but at that moment, she felt utterly powerless.
She sighed deeply, falling into silence.
Unless she could regain her strength…But that was impossible.
Every three months, she was injected with a special suppressant—administered personally by Amande. Escape wasn't an option.
Joey might act indifferent, as if he didn't care about her, but in reality, the surveillance on her was relentless.
"Sigh…"
Shaking her head, Gion knew she had to find another way.
Stepping out of the castle, she decided to take a walk to clear her mind.
No one followed her.
There was no need. If she tried to dive into the waters surrounding Whole Cake Island, she would undoubtedly drown. And as for escaping through the mirror portals?
Not a chance.
Every mirror portal was heavily guarded. In her current weakened state, she was nothing more than a delicate, fragile woman—easy to handle, no matter the situation.
Just as she stepped outside, the sunlight above her suddenly vanished.
She slowly lifted her head, eyes widening in shock at the sight above her.
A massive cloud formation—shaped like an island—hovered in the sky.
Dumbfounded, she whispered, "What… is that?"
No one answered her.
But one thing was certain: this was no ordinary phenomenon.
Moments later, the floating island settled in place mid-air.
Then, Gion caught sight of figures peeking down from the island—humanoid beings with wings.
Her heart pounded. "Angels? A Sky Island? They actually exist?!"
"Huh?"
Custard ran over, looking at her curiously. "Sister-in-law, you didn't know Sky Islands were real?"
Tilting her head in confusion, Custard added, "That's odd… Given your status and strength, I thought you'd be aware of them. Though, I guess reaching one isn't exactly easy."
Shaking her head, she didn't press the matter further.
Still in disbelief, Gion asked, "What is this?"
Custard explained without hesitation, "Big Sis has been on a Sky Island for a while now. After subjugating the Angel Tribe, she's been working on creating a mobile floating island. It took nearly ten months, but it's finally complete. It's incredible, isn't it?"
His voice was full of admiration. "An entire island made of clouds—it's absolutely stunning."
Gion stared at the spectacle above, struggling to process the reality of what she was seeing.
So this… was a Sky Island?
Just then, Effilée ran over, excitedly shouting, "Sis! Big Sis is coming down! Let's go see her! But ugh… those goblins are so ugly!"
Smack!
Custard lightly knocked Effilée on the head.
"Waaah!" Effilée let out a pitiful little whimper.
Custard then lectured sternly, "Effilée! You can't talk like that. Do you understand? The Goblin Tribe is part of Totto Land, just like everyone else. Whether they're beautiful or ugly doesn't matter. We treat all our citizens equally. Got it?"
"…Oh."
Effilée pouted but nodded obediently, realizing her mistake.
Even a careless remark could cause problems—after all, some races were incredibly sensitive about such things.
Gion simply shook her head and followed them, curious to see what was happening.
Before long, Amande arrived with the Goblin Tribe.
"The construction of Rustwater Island and Hot Sand Town is complete," she informed the goblins.
"Both locations contain an extensive collection of engineering and alchemy materials—enough to meet all your needs."
The goblins were overjoyed.
"Thank you so much!"
"We're truly grateful!"
But more than anything, what moved them the most was the way Amande looked at them—with genuine equality, free of prejudice.
For the Goblin Tribe—who were often treated as filth—this meant everything.
In truth, they were incredibly ugly.
But Amande didn't care. To her, whether it was the beautiful Elven Tribe, the rough Beast Tribe, or the hideous Goblins, they were all the same.
She continued, "If any of you have a talent for business, you can head to Memory Island's True Town and join my second brother's Dark Trade Union."
"In fact, I'll arrange for a branch to be set up in Hot Sand Town—one you can manage yourselves."
With that, she led the goblins away from Cake Island.
Gion watched Amande in stunned silence. She handled the situation so effortlessly, so naturally—as if it were nothing.
Just then, a tall woman approached with a charming smile. "You must be our sister-in-law. I'm Charlotte Compote, the eldest daughter."
Gion nodded. "Nice to meet you."
Of course, she knew who Compote was.
A pirate with a bounty of 350 million berries, one of the top fighters in the Charlotte Family.
Still, Gion hadn't expected their first meeting to be under such circumstances.
Compote, however, didn't linger. "Sister-in-law, I won't be keeping you company. I have some matters to handle. I just brought Cloud Island back and need to report everything to Big Brother."
With that, she turned and headed toward the castle.
Gion shook her head, telling herself not to overthink things. But her curiosity as a woman got the better of her—she wanted to know more about Cloud Island.
So, without much hesitation, she followed along into the castle.
No one seemed to mind her presence.
After all…Gion's status was clear—she was their sister-in-law.
As for whether she could escape and leak any information? Not a chance.
As long as the Charlotte Family remained standing, Gion could never escape.
---
Before long, Perospero, Amande, Katakuri, Compote and the others had all arrived.
Everyone took their seats.
Joey glanced at Gion but didn't pay her much attention before sitting down himself.
Amande spoke first. "Second Brother, I think you should set up a branch of the Dark Trade Guild in Hot Sand Town. The goblins are incredibly skilled in trade."
Perospero nodded. "I agree! But the goblins have a major weakness—they're too physically weak. If they go out for business, they'll be in danger."
Cracker leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed. "In that case, why not have Daifuku or Oven handle security?"
Daifuku shook his head. "That's not something we can handle alone."
Oven nodded. "The family business is too large. If it's just us, we won't be able to keep up."
Everyone fell into thought.
There was no denying it—Perospero was talented at managing business.
However…When it came to trade, goblins were like gods.
Trading, engineering, alchemy—That was their domain.
Amande pondered for a moment before saying, "In that case, we can form an army from the Fishmen and Longarm tribes. Keep the numbers around 50,000 and put them through elite training. If we equip them with Cracker's biscuit armor, they'll become a powerful force to provide security."
"That's a good idea!"
"Makes sense!"
"Yeah, that could work!"
Everyone suddenly realized the obvious.
They had always treated Totto Land's citizens as, well… citizens.
They weren't just trophies to be displayed.
With so many unique races under their banner…Did they really need to worry about combat strength?
Joey finally spoke up. "We'll discuss this in detail after the new year. Right now isn't the time. Alright, Compote, tell us about Cloud Island."
Compote nodded. "Big Brother, Cloud Island is about the same size as a regular island, but it currently lacks developed structures. The goblins have modified it so that it can fly. The highest altitude it can reach is 10,000 meters, and its lowest altitude is what you see now. Essentially, it's a mobile island."
Joey smiled in satisfaction. "A flying island… That's a massive advantage!"
There was no denying it.
A mobile island was an invaluable asset in this era.
Air superiority meant near invincibility!
Just like Shiki the Golden Lion—If he hadn't insisted on a final battle, no one would have been able to capture him.
Whenever he wanted, he could simply fly away.
One thing was certain—Cloud Island was an invaluable strategic weapon.
Opera nodded. "Big Brother! If we install a massive arsenal on Cloud Island…"
Considering the possibilities, he was instantly excited.
This island…
It had the potential to become something truly terrifying.
.
.
.