After a few more words with the little girl Robin, the relationship between them seemed to have eased considerably. Diarmuid stood up again and said to Gion, "Since Robin-chan wants to become an excellent Marine, you should take good care of her in that regard."
"I know that without you telling me. Robin and I get along great," Gion replied, smiling.
"Alright, go read your book," Diarmuid said, patting Robin's head before turning and leaving.
As she watched Diarmuid and the others disappear down the corridor, Robin touched her hair. The anxiety buried deep in her eyes seemed to have faded significantly.
Although she was determined to become a Marine to save her mother, she knew her 'background' was not good, and she wasn't sure if the Marines could truly accept her. But now, she had a direct promise from a Marine Admiral.
At the very least, no one would make things difficult for her because of it. All she had to do now was work hard!
With that thought, Robin hugged her book, Command is also an Art, and walked away with a determined stride.
Diarmuid didn't go to Gion's office. Instead, he went straight to the reception room. He pushed the door open and saw three little girls, about the same age as Robin, sitting neatly on the sofa. They looked very well-behaved. But if he looked closely, he could see traces of crumbs on their mouths, and the snacks on the coffee table in front of them were a mess.
Seeing this, Diarmuid couldn't help but smile.
The three little girls were all very cute and pretty. One in the middle had long black hair and was looking at Diarmuid with her big eyes.
'A beauty even as a child,' Diarmuid thought.
There was no doubt that the girl was Boa Hancock, who would one day become the Empress of Amazon Lily and the Pirate Empress, widely recognized as the 'most beautiful woman in the world.'
As for the other two, one had long green hair and the other long orange hair. They must be Hancock's two younger sisters. Diarmuid remembered their names but couldn't tell which was which.
He remembered Hancock being devastatingly beautiful, but her two sisters were a bit... lackluster. In reality, that was because of their Devil Fruit side effects and their gluttony in pursuit of power. As Hancock's sisters, how could they be ugly? A quick look now confirmed that both were also destined to be beauties. While they might not be as stunning as Hancock, they would definitely grow into beautiful women.
As Diarmuid observed the three sisters, they were also observing him.
'A Marine Admiral?' Hancock felt a little uneasy.
After being captured by the slave traders, Hancock had fallen into despair, but because she had her two sisters with her, she had remained calm. When the slave traders were defeated and the Marines rescued them, she had felt some relief. But when the Marines found out their identity, Hancock's heart had started to panic again.
Even though they were just little girls, Hancock knew that there was a long history between the Marines and Amazon Lily. The two sides had been enemies for hundreds of years. In other words, as citizens of a pirate nation, and even as its princesses, they were objects to be eliminated by the Marines.
However, after that, despite her fears, the Marines had treated them well. They weren't given a hard time or treated harshly. This had, to some extent, changed their ingrained hostility toward the Marines.
And today, they had been notified that a high-ranking Marine would be coming to see them personally. When Hancock saw the emblem on Diarmuid's shoulder, she realized this 'highranking' person was a real big shot—a Marine Admiral!
At this point, Hancock had been through the slave trader incident, but she hadn't yet experienced the tragedy of being sold into slavery in Mariejois. So, she wasn't completely broken yet. As a result, her personality hadn't become twisted or overly arrogant to hide her inferiority. At this stage, Hancock was a mature and composed young girl.
"Are you three the royal bloodline of the Boa family from Amazon Lily? I hear you are the heirs to the throne of Amazon Lily," Diarmuid asked with a smile. He sat down naturally on the sofa across from the three sisters.
Gion sat down next to him. Saul had already left. Hina, understanding the situation, poured tea for both Diarmuid and Gion. She then kindly refilled the cups of the three Hancock sisters.
Marigold and Sandersonia were visibly nervous about the subtle aura Diarmuid was giving off. Hancock, however, forced herself to remain calm. She leaned forward slightly, instinctively protecting her two sisters, and then said cautiously, "Yes." She didn't try to lie; there was no point.
"How interesting. As the heirs to the Amazon Lily throne, how did you get captured by slave traders?" Diarmuid asked, finding it a bit funny.
Hancock was silent for a moment, and Marigold suddenly spoke up. "It was my fault. I saw a sailboat and was curious. I secretly went to the port, and I dragged my sisters down with me..."
After a brief chat, Diarmuid understood the situation. In short, Marigold had been a mischievous kid who got Hancock and Sandersonia into trouble. But luckily, the kid knew she had made a mistake, so there was hope for her.
"It's not her fault. I failed in my duty as a big sister," Hancock said softly.
Diarmuid looked at Hancock, a little surprised. Maybe his original impression of her was too strong, but seeing her act so maturely and with such a big-sister attitude made him feel a bit offkilter. Even though he could tell that this was just Hancock's way of holding it together, it was still strange.
"You can think what you want. But it's quite a surprise that you three ended up in our hands. Amazon Lily... a pirate nation with a history of several hundred years. As its heirs, you are a very important bargaining chip for the Marines," Diarmuid said with a smile.
A look of panic flashed in Hancock's eyes. She quickly said, "Amazon Lily won't submit because of this. If you want to use us to threaten them, their final choice will be to find a new royal family."
"Maybe. But how can we know for sure without trying? Or do you think the Marines are just going to happily send you three back?" Diarmuid asked with a smile.
After all, Hancock was just a little girl. Hearing this, she opened her mouth, trying to say something, but she didn't know how to respond.
Seeing this, Diarmuid smiled and then asked, "Boa Nero, is she still alive?"
Boa Nero was the current captain of the Kuja Pirates and the Empress of Amazon Lily. She had been missing from the seas for many years, and due to Amazon Lily's isolation, the Marines couldn't get specific information. They only knew she had fallen ill.
A hint of sadness appeared in Hancock's eyes. She shook her head. "My aunt passed away four years ago."
"Aunt?" Diarmuid was surprised; he thought she was their mother. From the looks of it, Boa Nero didn't have any children, which was why the three sisters became heirs. "Is that so? That's a shame. Did she die of a lovesickness?" Diarmuid asked.
Hancock was surprised that Diarmuid knew about "lovesickness" but quickly nodded. "Yes. I heard that after my aunt met those scoundrels, she came back and fell ill until she died four years ago."
"Those scoundrels?" Diarmuid asked, gossiping. "Who were they?"
"The Roger Pirates... It seems my aunt fell for Rayleigh, but Rayleigh rejected her affections. After that, our Kuja Pirates never went out to sea again. A few years later, my aunt passed away," Hancock said, her voice filled with anger. Especially when she mentioned Rayleigh, she gritted her teeth, as if she wanted to tear him to shreds.
Diarmuid finally understood. No wonder Rayleigh was so familiar with the people of Amazon Lily. So that's where it all started. Perhaps out of guilt, Rayleigh had helped Gloriosa, the previous Empress of Amazon Lily, find the three Hancock sisters. It was probably because of this that the Hancock sisters owed Rayleigh a huge debt, so they couldn't seek revenge.
This was likely why Hancock's attitude toward Rayleigh, who was almost a half-savior to her, was never good.
He hadn't expected Rayleigh to have so many romantic stories, but on second thought, Rayleigh was elegant and handsome. Even twenty years later, he was still charming. It was only natural that he would attract Boa Nero, the former Empress of Amazon Lily, given his strength and status as a pirate.
But that was as far as it went. Diarmuid didn't pry further into Rayleigh's love life. After all, it involved Hancock's deceased aunt, and it would be inappropriate to keep asking.
"Boa Nero died four years ago, and for these past few years, Amazon Lily hasn't engaged in any pirate activity or plundering. Is that why?" Diarmuid asked.
Hancock didn't hide anything and nodded. "Something like that."
"In other words, Amazon Lily is in a very bad state right now?" Diarmuid asked again.
A flash of caution appeared in Hancock's eyes. She quickly said, "Before my aunt died, she was very powerful and led the Kuja Pirates to plunder many countries. So Amazon Lily is quite wealthy. Even if we don't go out to sea for ten years, we have enough supplies stored up!"
'You're full of it...' Diarmuid muttered in his mind. The population of Amazon Lily wasn't large, but it was at least tens of thousands. What did Boa Nero plunder to sustain tens of thousands of people for over a decade?
"All talk and no substance. It seems Amazon Lily is in a very bad situation. This might be a good opportunity for the Marines to eliminate you, especially since you three have fallen into our hands," Diarmuid said with an evil smile.
Hancock's eyes immediately filled with panic.
But Diarmuid ignored them and looked at Gion. "Did you contact Amazon Lily?"
"Of course. We've sent a letter to Amazon Lily. Their current leader, Gloriosa, has promised to come to G-7 as soon as possible to meet with us. And she hopes we won't harm the three sisters," Gion nodded.
Diarmuid smiled. "Even though these three little girls are the heirs, it's not their turn to make decisions yet. It's only fair that this Gloriosa person comes to negotiate with us..."
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my patreon ——— patreon(.)com/AlexandrusTL [remove the parentheses ( )]