"Awake?"
Five minutes after Nia and the others left, Rosse glanced at Otohime. Seeing that she seemed like she couldn't keep pretending anymore, he casually mentioned it.
"Mm… just woke up," Otohime blushed, slowly crawled up from Rosse's body, pretending like she really just woke up.
In reality, her eyes had long been drifting left and right, her spirit wandering.
Speaking of which, this was her first time lying.
But in that situation, how could she possibly just suddenly wake up?
She didn't want Nia to take risks for her, nor did she want Rosse and Neptune to have a conflict.
But these two, in the end, were doing it for her.
She couldn't bring herself to stop them.
"Your body constitution is too weak. Do you want to consider eating a Devil Fruit in the future?", Rosse could immediately tell what Otohime meant, but since she didn't want to mention it, he naturally wouldn't bring it up either.
Anyway, the plan had already started. He would teach Otohime what 'position' truly meant.
Sometimes, true or false, good or evil, is far less meaningful than position.
"It's better not to eat a Devil Fruit. The curse of the sea is just too heavy a price for a mermaid," Otohime hurriedly shook her head in rejection.
In her heart, she also felt deeply grateful that Rosse didn't bring up the earlier situation.
She actually knew.
Rosse had long realized she was pretending to be unconscious, but from beginning to end, he never exposed her.
"Since you're not eating a Devil Fruit, then train properly," Rosse lightly flicked Otohime's forehead, making her cover her head and cry out in pain.
"Look at you, I barely used any strength and your forehead's already red. If you ran into someone like Damon, even a light scratch could take you out."
This was his sincere opinion.
He really didn't want Otohime to be a porcelain doll.
She didn't need to be super powerful, but at least shouldn't die from one shot from a musket, that kind of death is too much of a joke.
"I'll train with Gion," Otohime held her forehead, teary-eyed, but still nodded her small head firmly.
She knew Rosse was doing it for her own good.
Rosse nodded, then glanced at the not-so-bright-looking Sanya nearby, and casually said,"By the way, your two maids said they're heading back to Fish-Man Island first, to eliminate the effects of the rumors for you."
"Huh?", Otohime was confused at first, but then following Rosse's gaze, she suddenly noticed the barely-present Sanya, and instantly realized what was going on.
Though she had heard the whole story, Sanya didn't know the truth.
At this moment, she should be showing concern about Nia's departure.
"If Nia went like that, will it be dangerous?", Otohime asked worriedly.
This was what she had wanted to ask anyway, so she just went ahead and said it now.
"Of course it's dangerous."
Rosse's words immediately made Otohime tense up.
"The greatest danger they face is that Neptune might make a move on them. At that time, even with CP9's protection, there's still a chance of danger," Rosse continued.
Upon hearing that only if Neptune makes a move would there be danger, Otohime couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, "That's fine then, Neptune definitely wouldn't make a move."
She understood Neptune. This whole situation with Nia probably wasn't something Neptune did.
Even though the Ammo Knights only obeyed Neptune's orders, the left and right ministers could also give commands.
They had just confirmed from Damon that the left minister, Holp, was not a good man.
In Otohime's eyes, this matter was likely something Holp did.
At most, Neptune just got angry and drove Nia out. Once things are clarified after going back, it should all be fine.
"As long as you know in your heart," Rosse smiled internally and didn't say anything more.
Sometimes, whether someone makes a move isn't up to them.
Especially someone in Neptune's position, it's way too easy to be pushed into the fire.
"Then what about now?", Otohime hesitated for a moment.
She was considering whether to return to Fish-Man Island, or maybe contact Neptune.
"Want to contact Neptune? I can get his contact info. You can explain things," Rosse considerately offered.
"Okay...", Otohime gently nodded. She felt she was innocent, and indeed needed to explain things.
"Nee-san!", Unexpectedly, Sanya, upon hearing Otohime agree, hurriedly stood up and stubbornly stood in front of Otohime.
"Sanya, what's wrong?", Otohime looked at Sanya in confusion.
Among the three sisters, Nia was lively and outgoing, Iya didn't talk much but was smart, and Sanya was both introverted and pure.
Usually, she listened to her older sisters and rarely took initiative to speak up.
"Otohime Nee-san, you don't believe us?", Sanya said angrily.
"I didn't...", Otohime started to explain, but her voice suddenly lowered.
She knew what Sanya was referring to.
Previously it was the three Nia sisters who said Neptune was a bad guy and the mastermind behind the trafficking of mermaids on Fish-Man Island.
Now Nia and the others had just left, taking CP9 with them to investigate in secret, and here she was, about to contact Neptune.
To Sanya, this might already count as a betrayal.
"That's not what I meant," Otohime shook her head and quickly changed her wording, "I just wanted to ask Neptune why he drove you all out of the palace."
"It doesn't matter to us, as long as Otohime Nee-san is safe," Sanya blurted out.
"Forget it, let's not explain for now," Facing Sanya's guarded gaze, Otohime sighed and gave up the idea of contacting Neptune.
Things were messy on Fish-Man Island right now too. She figured Neptune was probably still angry and wouldn't listen. Otherwise, he wouldn't have driven Nia and the others out.
Neptune now was probably mourning quietly in his heart.
"Mr. Rosse, can I continue carrying out the mission, rescuing the slaves on Sabaody Archipelago?", Otohime looked at Rosse pleadingly. Since she couldn't return to Fish-Man Island for now, she might as well continue dealing with Sabaody's matters.
"Of course. As long as you're willing, you can destroy all the slave industries here," Rosse smiled.
Anyway, it wasn't his industry. Let it all be destroyed.
The few of them chatted and laughed, continuing their mission to liberate the slaves.
———
[Meanwhile, Fish-Man Island]
In front of the Ryugu Kingdom palace gates—
Marco and Vista were huddled together, occasionally peeking inside.
"Is your plan even reliable?", Vista asked nervously.
"This is your fault. If you hadn't shouted so loud, we wouldn't have so much trouble," Marco glared at Vista, reeking of alcohol.
To get Neptune drunk, he had put in a lot of effort.
"I think Neptune's a man of the sea. So what if his woman left him? Out with the old, in with the new. When I was walking around outside yesterday, I finally spotted a pretty good candidate."
Actually, it wasn't someone he was looking for.
He just happened to run into a female mermaid at the mermaid tavern yesterday while drinking.
After chatting with her for a while, he came up with the idea to find Neptune a new wife.
After all, the whole Otohime situation, more or less, had something to do with them.
If Vista hadn't shouted, if he hadn't called for help to save Neptune, things wouldn't have gotten so exaggerated.
Now, the entire Fish-Man Island was full of discussions about Neptune, all filled with sympathy and pity.
Marco felt they had to handle this matter properly.
And the best solution, was to help Neptune forget the past.
Find a new mermaid, crown a new princess, doesn't that solve everything?
[T/N: On the occasion of my first book Completion, "Beast Taming: I Can See Evolution Paths", there is a DISCOUNT ongoing in Patreon. You are welcomed to join.]
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