Early in the morning, Diarmuid's stable biological clock caused his eyes to open naturally. He then felt a heavy weight on his body. Looking down, he saw that Gion had wrapped herself completely around him. She was sleeping in a very messy position.
After wiggling for a while, Diarmuid couldn't break free from her tangled embrace. He could only sigh and reach out to pinch her cheek. "Hey, hey, can you lie on your side a bit? I need to get up!"
Gion kept her eyes closed, slapped his hand away, and frowned slightly. She mumbled, "Don't bother me. I just fell asleep..."
"Did you have a nightmare?" Diarmuid asked with a laugh.
"How is that possible, you idiot? It's all because of you..." Gion instinctively retorted. But before she could finish, she suddenly realized what she had said. Her eyes shot open, and her face instantly turned red. She quickly rolled up the blanket, wrapping herself completely inside like a rice dumpling.
Hiding in the blanket, Gion muttered, "I'm taking the day off today!"
"Hahaha, I, a Marine Admiral, officially grant it," Diarmuid said with a smile.
With that, Diarmuid stood up and walked toward the bathroom. He looked back at Gion, who was acting like an ostrich, and teased, "You were so fierce last night. Why do you look like a little lamb waiting for the slaughter now?"
"Take this!" Gion suddenly reached a hand out from the blanket, grabbed a pillow from the bed, and, without even looking, threw it and hit Diarmuid perfectly.
Diarmuid just laughed, picked up the pillow, and tossed it back on the bed. He then turned and went into the bathroom to get ready. After that, he poured a glass of milk, warmed it up, and placed it on the nightstand. "Drink it while it's hot," he said.
He then went to the closet, took out his fishing gear, which had been stored away for years, put on some casual clothes, and left the room with his gear.
Five minutes after Diarmuid left, Gion cautiously poked her head out from under the blanket. Once she confirmed he was gone, she let out a sigh of relief. She rubbed her lower back slightly and looked at the warm milk on the nightstand. A smile appeared in her eyes, and she said honestly, "He's not completely heartless."
She had known Diarmuid for so many years and had been through so much with him. After all the back and forth, she had finally won over the scoundrel. Just thinking about her bold actions last night made Gion feel a little shy and nervous.
Meanwhile, Diarmuid carried his fishing gear and a bag of fresh bait and walked all the way to the port.
The port was quiet in the early morning, with hardly anyone around.
Diarmuid jumped from the pier onto the beach, found a rock, set up his stool, and sat down to leisurely start fishing. Fishing was one of his few hobbies. He had gone from being a beginner to an expert.
He pulled his sun hat down to shield himself from the morning sun, leaned against the rock, and pulled out a cigar. After lighting it, he slowly exhaled a long-overdue "post-coital cigarette."
To be honest, even though Diarmuid looked calm at the moment, he was actually completely dazed. How had he so confusedly ended up sleeping with Gion?
In fact, Diarmuid had always felt a certain resistance toward romance. He couldn't quite put his finger on why.
Maybe it was the subtle feeling that his journey might not end in this world. After all, he had already transmigrated once, so it wouldn't be surprising if it happened again.
Or maybe it was some other random reason. As a result, even though he had many chances to take their relationship to the next level, he never did.
Until last night, when Gion boldly came to him. In that moment, Diarmuid knew he couldn't back down. If he had tried to fool her or reject her in that situation, it would have been an unspeakable insult and blow to Gion, and not something a man should do. So he went along with it...
But it was truly a moment worth remembering. And in that moment, Diarmuid suddenly realized that even though he had been subconsciously resisting it, he had already developed a deep affection for Gion. He just never thought about it or faced it.
For some reason, Diarmuid suddenly thought of the charming Queen Stussy. Gion had probably heard about the rumors between him and her during their two months in Mariejois. She didn't react at all, but thinking about it now, her sudden 'aggressiveness' might have been a result of that.
It was still hard to believe. Four years ago, Diarmuid and Stussy spent a wonderful night on a battleship. Before that, Diarmuid had assumed Stussy was an experienced woman. After all, her unintentional charm and her status as a CP agent always made people fantasize and guess. And Stussy's techniques were indeed very impressive, and they almost made Diarmuid lose control.
But when things got serious, Diarmuid realized that she was also a theorist. All her so-called techniques were things she had heard about, but she had indeed been trained in that area. Or maybe she was just naturally gifted, so she was a quick study.
Later, he found out that Stussy's charming and experienced persona was just a disguise. She had always climbed the ranks in CP with her hard work and strength, and never used her beauty. Or rather, Stussy had considered it and admitted it honestly. But she had never found a suitable target to use her beauty on before meeting Diarmuid. That was all.
As a CP agent, she didn't take it too seriously, but she also knew that it was a valuable bargaining chip, so she was waiting for the right target. After all, Stussy was an arrogant woman who had a strong desire for power. How could she so easily give away her bargaining chip? In the end, she set her sights on Diarmuid.
From a transactional perspective, there was no emotional connection. It was just an exchange of benefits.
In fact, what Diarmuid didn't know was that Stussy was even more shrewd than he thought.
There were many people in CP who were more powerful and influential than Diarmuid, but Stussy never considered anyone from CP because she knew what a dark organization it was. Even if she gave up her purity, she would never get real value or a real commitment. She would most likely be used and discarded.
So from the very beginning, she had no intention of choosing a target from CP. Before she met Diarmuid, her target was a high-ranking World Government official.
But Diarmuid, as a Marine, was different. He wasn't as unprincipled as the CP organization. So Stussy slowly developed this idea after getting to know Diarmuid.
What truly made her decide was when Diarmuid shared Roger's information with her. From that moment on, Stussy decided to give this bargaining chip to Diarmuid. The facts showed that Diarmuid didn't disappoint her.
This whole situation sounded very pragmatic, but in reality, there was nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, Diarmuid wasn't on the losing end.
Stussy had now put all her money on Diarmuid, the Marine Admiral. With her understanding of men, she knew what to do and what not to do. So ever since she gave her purity to Diarmuid, Stussy had never maintained a relationship with any other man.
She knew very well that she had given her bargaining chip to Diarmuid, but if she did anything suspicious, that chip would quickly lose its value in Diarmuid's eyes. She wasn't going to make a losing deal like that.
As he thought about all these messy things, the fishing rod in Diarmuid's hand twitched, but he didn't react at all. When he came to his senses, the fish that had been on the line had already swallowed the bait and was gone.
Seeing this, Diarmuid smiled. His mood suddenly relaxed, and he whispered to himself, "Just let things happen naturally."
He fished until noon. Since his mind had been preoccupied, he hadn't had breakfast, so Diarmuid was very hungry now. Just as he was about to reel in his line, his little secretary, Hina, came rushing over.
"Admiral, so this is where you were hiding! You didn't even bring your Den Den Mushi. I looked for you for so long..." Hina complained as she walked over.
Diarmuid patted his pockets. Since he had put on a change of clothes, he had indeed forgotten his Den Den Mushi. He laughed and said, "My bad, my bad. I forgot."
"Be more careful next time," Hina instructed.
"Okay," Diarmuid nodded, then asked, "Did something happen?"
"Yes, the former Empress of Amazon Lily, Gloriosa, has arrived. Her ship just came into the port. Didn't you see it?" Hina said, pointing to the port in the distance.
Diarmuid looked in the direction she was pointing. Sure enough, a pirate ship was moored there, and it was indeed the flagship of the Kuja Pirates he remembered. It looked very strange to see it docked in a Marine port with the fortress in the background.
Diarmuid scratched his head. "I was lost in thought just now, so I didn't notice."
Hina didn't dwell on it and instead asked, "Do you want to see her now?"
"Yes, arrange it. Tell the restaurant to prepare some lunch. I'm very hungry. Tell that Gloriosa person to wait for me there," Diarmuid nodded.
"Okay, I understand," Hina said softly.
At the same time, Diarmuid stood up, packed up his fishing gear, and followed Hina back toward the base.
After a few steps, Hina suddenly thought of something, and her face turned a little red. "Last night, I wanted to go sleep with Gion-nee, but she never came back. Admiral, do you know where she went?"
Diarmuid gave Hina a look. "You know the answer, so why ask? Don't tell me you didn't check my room when you were looking for me..."
"Hmph," Hina grumbled, tossing her pink hair and walking quickly ahead, ignoring Diarmuid.
Diarmuid watched her go and laughed. He then said, loud enough for Hina to hear, "Sigh, I'm a truly wicked man..."
Upon hearing this, Hina yelled back, "Shameless!" without turning around and ran away in a flash.
"Hahahaha," Diarmuid laughed at Hina's retreating back.