Early in the morning, Diarmuid pushed open the window of his hotel room and glanced at the sun already beginning to radiate intense heat. He couldn't help but smack his lips. "This wretched place… it's freezing cold at night, but hot enough to roast a person during the day. The temperature difference is just too extreme, isn't it?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Hina walked out of the washroom, wearing a fluffy set of pajamas. She stood brazenly behind Diarmuid and began changing her clothes openly, completely unselfconscious.
As she dressed, Hina commented, "Admiral, haven't you noticed something?"
"Noticed what?" Diarmuid turned around, briefly glimpsed Hina's charm, and then asked.
"We've been in Alabasta for so long, and this country genuinely hasn't had a single drop of rain," Hina stated.
"Oh, right! Didn't someone say a person in Alubarna was using Dance Powder? Why didn't it work? I haven't seen any rain," Diarmuid muttered, smacking his lips again.
After a moment's thought, Diarmuid stopped dwelling on the issue. He picked up a cup of camel milk from the table, took a sip, and then said, "Come on, finish getting dressed and let's go eat. We should call Vergo, too. Heheheh..."
"Why are you laughing like a pervert?" Hina asked, finding his tone odd.
"Last night, I went downstairs to throw out the trash, and guess what I saw?" Diarmuid raised an eyebrow, asking with a playful, teasing air.
"What did you see?" Hina grew curious.
"I saw some strange woman being reluctantly, half-coaxed, half-pushed, led back to his room by Vergo! Hahahahaha!" Diarmuid roared with laughter.
Hina had watched Diarmuid act all mysterious only to give such a boring answer, and she rolled her eyes helplessly. "You really are so boring. What's so strange about that? Everyone's an adult. Vergo has been out with me for so long..." Hina's face flushed slightly here, and she trailed off.
Diarmuid paused, then jumped in to finish Hina's thought: "You mean he's been out with me for so long, constantly watching us... cough cough... and he finally couldn't hold back?"
"You are truly boring!" Hina glared at Diarmuid again, then grumbled as she put on her shoes, opened the door, and walked out.
"Hey, hey, clarify that! Is that it? Is it?" Diarmuid shamelessly chased after her, pestering her with two more questions.
When the two came downstairs one after the other, they saw Vergo sitting alone at a table in the open-air restaurant downstairs, with a selection of breakfast items and pastries in front of him.
Judging by the butter on his face, he had already eaten quite a bit.
However, he was still sitting all by himself; the woman they had seen yesterday was not present. It seemed the two had not developed their relationship into anything more 'intimate,' like, say, booking her for the whole month.
"Ahem..." Diarmuid and Hina walked over, pulled out chairs, and sat down. At the same time, Diarmuid casually asked, "Hmm? You're by yourself?"
Vergo looked at Diarmuid strangely and replied, "Could I turn into a dog?"
"Hahahaha..." Hina was genuinely amused by Vergo's dry joke.
Evidently, Vergo had already arranged breakfast for Diarmuid and Hina as well. As soon as they sat down, a waiter pushed a cart over and placed some expensive-looking and exquisite breakfast items on the table.
Diarmuid casually picked up a mochi ball, popped it into his mouth, and then asked, "You know I don't mean that."
Vergo looked at his Admiral again and asked, "Then what do you mean?"
"Oh, you're trying to play dumb, are you?" Diarmuid swallowed the mochi ball and then raised an eyebrow. "I saw everything last night. Hehehehe..."
Vergo had always been a very calm person, but after hearing Diarmuid's teasing remark, his face uncharacteristically turned red, and he said somewhat flustered, "Saw what?"
"Hahahaha, why are you nervous?" Diarmuid laughed loudly.
Vergo seemed a little embarrassed and annoyed. "It's nothing, alright? And don't misunderstand! I was just out wandering all day and was a bit tired, so I specifically found someone to give me a foot massage..."
"Right, right, a foot massage," Diarmuid earnestly agreed.
Hina, standing nearby, covered her mouth, shaking with silent laughter.
Vergo, who seemed a little simple-minded in this regard, couldn't tolerate Diarmuid and Hina's teasing anymore. He stiffly changed the subject: "What should we do today? Want to visit the Mummy Museum? I heard they have six-hundred-year-old desiccated corpses in there..."
"What's so good about dead people? If you want to see a desiccated corpse, go find Crocodile—he'll give you a Great Mummy Transformation show in minutes," Diarmuid grumbled.
Hina, however, followed up on Vergo's suggestion: "I want to go see the Royal Jewelry Exhibition. I heard they have a 'Heart of the Desert,' which is a perfect, pale-yellow, fist-sized gemstone that shines beautifully in the sun..."
But it was obvious that both Diarmuid and Vergo looked utterly disgusted and had no desire to go to any jewelry exhibition.
Seeing the expressions of distaste on Diarmuid and Vergo's faces, Hina felt quite displeased and questioned them, "What's with those expressions? Are you saying you don't want to go?"
"Can I not go?" Vergo nodded and said seriously.
"That's why I say you have no luck with women! Think about it, who goes to visit a jewelry exhibition? They're definitely beautiful and wealthy women! There might even be daughters of major nobles there! Is that a jewelry exhibition? For you, that's a gathering place for destiny! Maybe if you go once, you won't need to find someone for a foot massage anymore!" Hina lectured him earnestly, frustrated by his lack of ambition.
Vergo froze for a moment, then raised his hand and said, "Admiral, I want to see the Heart of the Desert too!"
Diarmuid: "???"
"Can you have some decency, you bastard?" Diarmuid swore.
After a slight pause, Diarmuid asked, "Are there really a lot of wealthy women?"
Seeing Hina's suddenly deflated expression, Diarmuid quickly clarified, "Don't misunderstand, I have no interest! I just think guys like Momonga, Yamakaji, and Doberman, who only know how to fight and kill all the time, aren't getting any younger. They really should find a partner, right? With their rank as a Marine Vice Admiral, shouldn't they be paired with a young lady from a wealthy family??"
"Isn't a wealthy family a reference to the Pleasure District?" Vergo asked in surprise.
"You know that?! And you still claimed you were getting a foot massage last night!?" Diarmuid swore.
"You two! That's enough!" Hina glared at both Diarmuid and Vergo.
After a round of arguments, Diarmuid, due to Vergo's insistence, reluctantly agreed that they would all go to the jewelry exhibition today.
"What is this Heart of the Desert, and what's the price tag in Berries?" Diarmuid, Hina, and Vergo quickly arrived at the entrance of the jewelry exhibition after finishing breakfast.
It was an exhibition hall leased by the organizer, with numerous security personnel maintaining order inside. It seemed to be an open-style museum exhibition with no fixed route. In the massive hall, there were dozens, even hundreds, of display cases, each seemingly containing a priceless jewel.
"I heard it's one hundred and twenty billion Berries," Hina replied softly.
Vergo, meanwhile, was already scanning the exhibition center for potential targets and had no intention of paying attention to Diarmuid.
"One hundred and twenty billion Berries? That's about fifty battleships... Holy cow," Diarmuid said, somewhat surprised.
He had thought it would be around ten or twenty billion at most. Sure enough, the most profitable business in this world is selling things to women.
"Is one hundred and twenty billion Berries very expensive? That is the treasure of the entire desert, a perfect fist-sized pale-yellow gemstone! What do you know!?" Hina said in dissatisfaction.
"If you like it so much, why don't you buy it and wear it around your neck every day? Let's see if it gives you whiplash," Diarmuid rolled his eyes.
"Hmph, if you bought it for me, I'd wear it even if I got whiplash!" Hina huffed.
"You said that yourself! One hundred and twenty billion Berries is nothing, right?" Diarmuid declared in a very wealthy tone.
Seeing his attitude, Hina smiled and shook her head. "Forget it. As a Marine, and your secretary, Admiral, it wouldn't look good for me to wear such a gem. The impact would be too great. I might even get audited by the Inspector General's office..."
All she really wanted was for Diarmuid to show his willingness.
As for the gem itself, she was merely interested, but buying it was out of the question.
Hina didn't wear any conspicuous accessories whatsoever.
Furthermore, for a high-ranking Marine officer to be wearing over one hundred billion Berries worth of jewelry was indeed highly inappropriate. Anyone who saw it would immediately assume corruption.
Just as the two were chatting and laughing, Diarmuid turned his head and saw that Vergo was already standing in front of a display case, chatting happily with a young woman nearby.
"What's wrong with that guy? He's so experienced! Why is he still single?" Diarmuid asked in surprise.
Hina thought for a moment and replied, "Perhaps it's because, before, he was a man on 'missions.' Dating and looking for a partner would only affect his performance?"
"That makes sense," Diarmuid nodded.
The thought crossed his mind that Donquixote Doflamingo would soon be arriving. What would he think if he saw Vergo like this? Would he be able to accept it?
Before Diarmuid could dwell on that thought, the Den Den Mushi in Hina's handbag rang.
Hina quickly took it out, her eyes lighting up. "Admiral, it's Lucci."
Taking the Den Den Mushi, Diarmuid immediately asked, "Lucci?"
"It's me, Admiral. I've arrived at the Oasis Hotel in Alubarna. Are you here?" Lucci asked with a chuckle.
"I didn't expect you to be so fast. I'm not here. Hmm, how about this: wait for me at the hotel. I'm heading back right now," Diarmuid chuckled and ordered.
"Understood. I'll wait for you in the lobby," Lucci quickly responded.
"Is Jinbe there too?" Diarmuid asked again.
"Ah, no. After dropping me off at Port Nanohana, Boss Jinbe separated from me. He's heading to Rainbase to meet Crocodile. I came directly to Alubarna," Lucci quickly explained.
"Is that so? I'm coming over now." Diarmuid replied and quickly hung up the Den Den Mushi without saying anything else.
After Hina put the Den Den Mushi away, Diarmuid remarked, "'Boss Jinbe'? Heh, it looks like Lucci and Jinbe are getting along well. I thought they might have some..."
"Some what?" Hina asked.
"Some unpleasantness, you know. After all, Jinbe used to have a good relationship with the Whitebeard Pirates," Diarmuid said softly.
"But all of that ended on Jam Island, didn't it?" Hina said just as softly.
Diarmuid's gaze became somewhat distant, then he nodded. "Yes, it did. Alright, let's go."
At this moment, the two had a mutual understanding and completely ignored Vergo. Diarmuid and Hina quietly slipped away.
Two minutes later...
"So, from the perspective of color and luster, this gem undoubtedly possesses..." Vergo was busy bragging to the pretty young woman beside him, but his eyes glanced toward the spot where Diarmuid and Hina had been standing. He paused, his words catching in his throat, and he turned to scan the venue again.
Huh? Where's my Admiral?