A few minutes after waking up, I found myself face-to-face with a distinguished older man with salt-and-pepper blond hair, bowing deeply before me.
"I am truly sorry," he said. "Even if it was a misunderstanding, to treat Hachi's benefactor like that..."
"Hey, Sue, I'm sorry too," Hatchan chimed in. "Rayleigh just jumped to conclusions too quickly."
"N-no, not at all..." I stammered. "Don't worry about it. It's perfectly fine. I completely understand..."
This bespectacled gentleman bowing before me was none other than Silvers Rayleigh, the "Dark King," former Vice-Captain of the Roger Pirates, and a legendary figure in the One Piece world. He was also the protagonist's mentor, the one who trained him in Haki and other martial arts.
He was Shakuyaku-san's... well, her husband, more or less. So why was such an incredible man bowing to me?
Just a few hours earlier, I had been trying to free Hatchan from his cage by removing his collar.
Suddenly, I lost consciousness and collapsed... and the culprit was none other than Rayleigh-san himself.
I had managed to unlock Hatchan's collar, but a piece of it had gotten tangled in his hair, making it impossible to remove.
So, I was carefully trying to cut a few strands of hair near the collar with my knife to free it.
But to anyone watching from a distance who didn't know the situation, it must have looked like... some shady character approaching a helpless Hatchan, still wearing his collar (even though it was already unlocked), with a drawn knife.
Actually, that's exactly how it looked to Rayleigh-san.
Rayleigh-san and Hatchan were friends.
Years ago, when Rayleigh-san was shipwrecked at sea, a young Hatchan rescued him. Their friendship blossomed from this act of gratitude, and they'd been close ever since.
When Rayleigh-san heard that Hatchan had been captured by human traffickers, he rushed to his rescue. That's when he stumbled upon Hatchan and me in the compromising situation I described earlier.
Misunderstanding the scene completely, he unleashed a seriously intense blast of Conqueror's Haki, overwhelming me and knocking me unconscious.
Later, after Hatchan explained the misunderstanding, Rayleigh-san realized he couldn't just leave me there. He brought me back to this place—Shakky's Rip-Off Bar—to tend to my injuries.
Then Shakuyaku-san, who recognized me, told Rayleigh-san that I was an acquaintance of hers. Apparently, she gave him a quiet scolding, something along the lines of, "What do you think you're doing?"
Anyway, now that I was conscious, Rayleigh-san was apologizing profusely.
"I'm so sorry, Sue-chan," Shakuyaku-san said. "Rayleigh can be so reckless and impulsive, rushing into things without thinking, even though he's supposed to be a grown-up."
She casually referred to Rayleigh-san as "my man." They're definitely married, even if it seems like a common-law arrangement.
I reassured them again that I wasn't upset, and Rayleigh-san finally raised his head and relaxed his posture.
"But Shakuyaku-san," I said, "it's been so long. How did you recognize me so easily? I mean, not to brag, but I've grown up quite a bit since then."
"Hehe, you know, girls can usually tell, even if appearances change," Shakuyaku-san chuckled, sounding amused. "Especially since we always saw you as a little sister, or even a daughter."
Her laughter faded as she added, "Besides, even though it's been a while, we've been following your adventures, Sue-chan, all along."
She glanced toward a corner of the café, where a bookshelf stood. It was the kind of casual setup you often see in coffee shops, with newspapers and magazines for customers to browse and read freely. But upon closer inspection...
"Oh... my books..."
'Pirate Slayer', 'Kaisen', 'Hero of the Great Snow Mountain', 'Downtown Battleship'... Even my latest work, 'Funzanao Keith', which I'd just released a while ago, was there.
They bought them... That makes me so happy.
Fan Zanao Keith' is a wildly popular, cathartic story about a brilliant banker who's framed for his corrupt boss's mistakes and constantly sabotaged by those in power. Despite the odds, he outmaneuvers them at every turn, ultimately confronting his adversaries head-on and forcing them to publicly grovel in apology—a truly satisfying tale.
Though recently released, it's already one of my biggest hits. The iconic line from the story, "You mess with me, I'll repay you double!" seems to be catching on everywhere.
While it's thrilling to see my work embraced like this, I can't help but wonder: Did Shakuyaku-san know all along that I was the author of 'Fan Zanao Keith'? That is, did she realize that I'm Sue, the girl who used to sail on the Kuja ship?
"I noticed when my picture was in the newspaper after I won the award. Though by then, I'd already retired as Captain of the Kuja Pirates, so I don't know if the girls on Amazon Lily would have seen it..."
"Huh? But Shakky said there are some newspaper readers on Amazon Lily, right? They buy them during expeditions. If they read them, wouldn't they have noticed?"
"If they read them, yes. But there aren't many girls on that island who enjoy that sort of thing... Oh, speaking of which... When Sue-chan was on our ship, she used to summarize newspaper articles for us."
"Ah, that's right... Those were the days."
"After that, most of the girls Sue-chan had helped just stopped reading newspapers again... Honestly, even though they don't get many chances to see them, you'd think they'd understand that there's no harm in staying informed..."
We spent some time chatting, reminiscing about the past, laughing, and shaking our heads in disbelief. Time slipped away as we talked.
Suddenly, I noticed the sky outside the window was growing dim. "Huh? Is it already this late?"
"Oh crap, I need to find a place to stay."
"Why not just stay here? It's been so long, and I'd love to chat more. I'm dying to hear what Sue-chan's been up to lately."
I was relieved to hear that.
Since I'd been kidnapped and brought here, I hadn't booked any accommodations. To be honest, I didn't even know where to look for a place to stay. I was about to start searching from scratch when she offered.
I gratefully accepted her offer and stayed the night.
As dinnertime approached, a few shady-looking customers casually walked in, acting like regular guests. Apparently, the mangrove area around here had a pretty rough reputation, and the clientele reflected that.
Shakuyaku-san, as you'd expect from the former Empress of Kuja, didn't hesitate to charge those thugs exorbitant prices, living up to the bar's name.
If anyone refused to pay or got angry and tried to cause trouble, she'd retaliate with combat skills you'd never expect from her slender frame, leaving them sobbing and begging, "I'll pay... please, have mercy..."
I was quietly drinking and eating with Hatchan and Rayleigh-san in a corner of the bar, but I witnessed scenes like that about three times in one night.
It was like a regular show, almost a spectacle. Rayleigh-san said it was practically one of the bar's main attractions.
Watching those thugs tearfully pull out their wallets after Shakuyaku-san's beatdown, I saw Rayleigh-san enjoying his sake. 'Man, he really knows how to enjoy life.'
After closing time, I spent hours talking with Shakuyaku-san and the others, telling them all about my adventures, just as they'd asked.
I explained how I thought I'd be sold into slavery by pirates, but surprisingly ended up gaining various job skills and improving my abilities. I told them how I became a Devil Fruit Ability User while shipwrecked and even learned to use Haki.
I shared stories about befriending Marines, meeting members of the Shichibukai, reporting on a country torn apart by civil war, catching a cold on Winter Island, saving up to buy a new ship, and all sorts of other things.
Shakuyaku-san and Rayleigh-san seemed genuinely amused by my stories, but Hatchan kept reacting with shock, disbelief, and nervous anxiety at various points.
Come to think of it, Hatchan's reactions were probably the more normal ones. Shakuyaku-san and Rayleigh-san were just so unflappable, taking everything in stride, that they were the unusual ones. Probably.
Even I have to admit, my journey has been pretty wild, or rather, my "experiences" have been quite out there.
Sometimes, like when I was drumming or now, I've stumbled into these unexpected situations. But I see them all as invaluable experiences that enrich both my life and my work as a writer.
In that sense, meeting Shakuyaku-san, Rayleigh-san, and Hatchan here—sharing conversations and spending time with them—has become an experience beyond price.
Whether it'll turn into a novel idea, though? I can't say for sure.
***
The next day, I thanked Shakuyaku-san properly and left her shop.
When I set off, Rayleigh-san and Hatchan came to see me off. They told me, "If you ever come back to Sabaody Archipelago, be sure to stop by!"
Hatchan promised to show me around properly next time I visited.
Shakuyaku-san offered to spar with me again on my next visit, after it had been a while. She even suggested we go to Amazon Lily together sometime.
I wasn't sure how serious she was, but if she meant it, I'd be incredibly grateful.
Not just for the sparring, but for Amazon Lily too. I never could bring myself to join the Kuja Pirates, so I never got to go, but it sounded like an amazing experience.
After that, I managed to use the human trafficker's ship I'd seized the day before, along with the Eternal Pose for our base island that I always carry, to get back to my original island. Thankfully, I was able to recover my own ship safely.
I'd been using the "Windmill" ever since Elena built her, swapping out the sails a few times over the years, but I'd grown quite attached to her. I was so relieved to have her back.
Oh, and I sold the human trafficker's ship for cash. Good riddance.
One more thing: Before leaving Sabaody Archipelago, I did some shopping and managed to snag an Eternal Pose to the islands.
Technically, it's an Eternal Pose to the geological formation beneath Sabaody Archipelago. Sabaody itself isn't actually an island—it's a collection of mangrove trees, so it doesn't have any magnetic field of its own.
But whatever, let's not get bogged down in details.
Anyway, now I can use this to go see Shakuyaku-san and the others whenever I want.
I was worried about what would happen after getting kidnapped again, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, or maybe just dumb luck. You never know how life's twists and turns will lead to good or bad things.
To be continued...