"Tonight, I'll be serving Sora...?"
Perona froze at Anna and Shalria's words. Her hands were bound, and her face went blank in disbelief. Then she began to struggle wildly.
"No! Let me go!"
"That bastard Sora killed Lord Moria! I'll never submit to him!"
"Let me—"
Thud!
Without a word, Shalria knocked her out with a clean punch. Then, together with Anna, she carried the unconscious Perona into the bathroom.
They had to help her wash up before preparing Sora's room, and they couldn't afford any delays.
As Anna and Shalria took Perona away, Kaya stepped out, carrying her medical kit.
"It's said that hundreds of years ago, the kings of the Land of Flowers were called Emperors, wielding immense power and commanding vast harems."
"Big Brother Sora really seems to be aiming to become the Emperor from those legends."
Murmuring to herself, Kaya returned to her room and resumed studying medicine.
Sora had gathered a collection of surgical and medical books from Hogback for her, and she needed to study diligently.
Whether Sora truly aimed to become an emperor or not, Kaya didn't care. As long as she could stay by his side and study her craft, that was enough.
Night fell again.
When Sora returned to the top-floor room of the castle, he found Perona already washed and dressed. She sat on the bed, her hair done up, a crown on her head, and black-and-white striped stockings on her legs.
"Heh, Anna and Shalria are really enthusiastic."
Seeing her there, Sora chuckled to himself.
He had been so caught up in planning how to remodel Thriller Bark and mapping out his next steps that he had nearly forgotten about Perona.
"D-Don't come any closer!!"
Lying in bed, Perona recoiled in panic as soon as she saw him enter.
Looking at her petite frame, Sora just laughed, then walked over to the desk and poured himself a glass of red wine.
He sat down, swirling the wine in his glass, studying the gothic-styled girl before him.
If memory served, Perona should be in her twenties now—older than Reiju, actually. But with her delicate figure and pampered upbringing, she still looked younger than Nami or Nojiko.
Feeling Sora's gaze, Perona stiffened. She stammered:
"You killed Lord Moria... I'll never give in to you!"
She had been raised by Moria since childhood and deeply respected him.
While joining Sora's crew to survive was something she could stomach, becoming his woman was out of the question.
Of course, that was just her stance. If Sora really wanted to do something, she couldn't resist.
She'd grown up under Moria's protection, but she understood full well that the world operated on survival of the fittest. Power ruled everything.
Sora wasn't surprised in the least.
Moria might've been the disgrace of the Seven Warlords, but he treated his handful of subordinates well. Perona's loyalty was no shock.
Still, he had his ways of handling stubborn girls.
From thin air, he pulled out a small plush bear wearing a blue-and-white striped cap.
"Kumashi!!!"
Perona's eyes widened.
Growing up on Thriller Bark, she'd had no playmates. Kumashi had been her only companion, making him second only to Moria in importance.
Just a few days ago, when she'd heard the corpses aboard the ship were all discarded, she had grieved, thinking Kumashi was lost too.
Sora said nothing. He simply placed the small Kumashi plush near the bed, with its eyes turned toward her.
"Give him to me!"
"Give Kumashi back!"
Perona reached out, trying to grab the plush, but her right hand was cuffed to the headboard with sea stone. Her range was limited.
Seeing her struggle, Sora chuckled and pulled out another plush from the void—this one two meters tall, an exact replica of her original Kumashi.
Made by Makino and Conis, the two bears—one large, one small—were perfect.
Perona's eyes lit up as soon as she saw it. It was just like the real one she remembered.
"Sora-sama! Please give him to me!"
Perona looked up at him with watery eyes, trying her best to be cute and pitiful.
"No can do," Sora said casually, sipping his wine and shaking his head.
Desperate, Perona jumped off the bed and tried to use her foot to hook the big Kumashi over.
But no matter how far she stretched, she couldn't reach it. She was still chained, and there was a frustrating gap between her foot and the toy.
"Sora-sama! Please, just give him to me...!"
Sora smiled, stood up, and walked over to the big Kumashi.
Then, right as Perona's eyes filled with hope, he nudged it—just enough so her foot could touch it, but no more than that.
Perona stared in stunned silence.
The look she gave him was the same one a person might give a devil who enjoyed toying with their prey.
You moved it just that much?! You might as well have not moved it at all!
That "so close yet so far" feeling was even worse than not having it at all.
And then, to make it worse, Sora picked up the small Kumashi and began playing with it—squeezing it in his hands and dangling it in front of her face.
It was infuriating.
Seeing how Perona's eyes were locked on the toy, Sora knew he had her hooked.
Then he smiled and said:
"Perona, if you agree to follow me, I'll make you a new Kumashi."
"One that walks, talks, and even has a soul."
Perona blinked in shock. "A Kumashi... with a soul?"
"Exactly."
With the Shadow-Shadow Fruit now in his possession, recreating Kumashi was a simple matter.
To drive the point home, he took out the Shadow-Shadow Fruit and held it up.
"That's... that's Lord Moria's fruit!"
Perona's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I can claim the Devil Fruits of the enemies I kill," Sora said calmly.
Then he looked at her and added:
"And your Hollow-Hollow Fruit... I will be taking it too."
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