Stussy and Ortoren were not alone for long.
After Ortoren promised that he would deal with Buckingham Stussy as soon as possible, Her Majesty the Queen took her leave from the cabin.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Hina waiting by the door. The two exchanged a brief glance. Queen Stussy let out a soft chuckle and, under Hina's vigilant gaze, disembarked from the warship.
As she went down, she seemed to catch sight of Germa's Vinsmoke Judge.
"So Germa wants to board this great ship as well?" Stussy murmured quietly to herself. She didn't linger to look any closer and simply left.
From here on, she would be stationed at Golden City for quite some time, remaining until its construction was completed and it officially began operations.
According to the current estimates from Tesoro and the others, the construction period would be around a year and a half.
That meant that by roughly the year 1507, Golden City would be open for business.
Given the sheer scale of Golden City, this construction speed was astonishing. Building a super-sized entertainment city in just a year and a half was truly outrageous. Still, since Tesoro and his team had reached this conclusion, it meant they were confident they could make it happen.
...
Inside the cabin, Ortoren finished everything on his own plate, then glanced at Queen Stussy's untouched dish and shrugged.
"What a waste."
As a frugal, upright, and incorruptible Navy Admiral, Ortoren naturally had to lead by example and cherish food.
After hesitating for a moment, he reached out to pick up food from Queen Stussy's plate.
Just as he did, Hina pushed the door open and said, "Admiral, you really mustn't be—"
She hadn't even finished speaking when she saw Ortoren in what could only be described as a perverted-looking scene, eating from Stussy's plate. She froze on the spot.
Ortoren also stiffened awkwardly. Seriously, why didn't this girl knock before coming in?
Fortunately, Ortoren's skin was thick enough, and he had plenty of experience with awkward situations. As long as he didn't feel embarrassed, everything would be fine.
So he calmly put the food into his mouth and muttered to himself without batting an eye.
"Didn't eat a single bite. Such a waste. What, was she worried I poisoned the food?"
This little solo performance snapped Hina back to her senses. She glanced at the plate and, sure enough, the food hadn't been touched at all.
Hina let out a sigh of relief. Our Admiral isn't a pervert… he was just hungry. No, no, no. He was just being mindful about wasting food.
What a clean, upright, and thrifty Admiral!
At that moment, Ortoren acted as though he had just noticed Hina. Chewing calmly, he asked casually,
"I mustn't be what, exactly?"
Hina quickly spoke up.
"Admiral, you absolutely mustn't be bewitched by that fox spirit…"
"Fox spirit? You mean Stussy?" Ortoren burst out laughing.
"Yes! The way that woman looks at you is completely off. It's obvious she has improper intentions. You really have to be careful and not fall for her beauty trap!" Hina walked over to his side, casually poured him a glass of red wine, and pouted as she complained, looking rather cute.
"Relax. I know exactly what kind of person she is," Ortoren said, amused as he looked at her.
But honestly speaking, Her Majesty the Queen showed zero sincerity. She made plenty of little moves, yet never gave Ortoren the slightest advantage.
And truth be told, Ortoren was actually looking forward to her trying a beauty trap or something like that.
Even if I'm firm-willed and upright, if you don't even try, how would you know I wouldn't fall for it?
He kind of wanted to test his own weak spot.
Unfortunately, Her Majesty wasn't giving him the chance.
Seeing Ortoren say that, Hina seemed to finally relax. She smiled brightly and said,
"That's true. Admiral, you've seen every kind of storm there is. How could you possibly be bewitched by a woman like that?"
"You sure have a lot of confidence in me," Ortoren remarked dryly.
Hina nodded as if it were only natural, then smoothly changed the subject.
"Vinsmoke Judge wants to see you. Do you have time?"
"Oh?" Ortoren raised an eyebrow. "So he's ready to give me an answer?"
Back when Ortoren had just returned from Punk Hazard, he had already met with Judge and talked things over.
Judge did want to board Ortoren's ship, but Ortoren had set several conditions. Only if Judge agreed to them would he be given the chance.
Judge, however, had been somewhat hesitant and asked for time to think it through.
Ortoren hadn't pushed him and had agreed. Since then, Judge had stayed with Ortoren, and along the way, they had arrived at Golden City together.
"Probably," Hina said after thinking for a moment. "He looks like he's made up his mind."
"I happen to have something I want to ask him too. Let him come over. I'll meet him here," Ortoren said after a brief consideration.
Hina nodded and quickly left. Before long, she returned with Judge.
By the time Judge arrived, Ortoren had already cleared every dish on the table and was sitting on the sofa, sipping tea.
It wasn't just Stussy who had noticed Judge earlier. When Judge had asked Hina whether he could see Ortoren, he had also learned that Ortoren had been having a meal with Queen Stussy of the Pleasure District.
So when he saw the table that hadn't been cleared yet, he immediately knew Ortoren had just eaten with Stussy.
What puzzled Judge, however, was how thoroughly everything had been eaten.
"Does that Stussy really have such a huge appetite?" Judge wondered to himself as he looked at the completely empty plates.
It felt like he'd picked up another small piece of information. If he ever had to invite Stussy to a meal in the future, he'd better order more solid dishes.
Putting those random thoughts aside, Judge walked over and greeted Ortoren respectfully.
"Admiral Benn, good afternoon."
"Hahaha, no need to be so formal. Sit down, Judge," Ortoren said with a cheerful smile.
Judge didn't stand on ceremony and sat properly on the sofa opposite Ortoren. When Hina refilled Ortoren's tea, she also poured Judge a cup.
"Thank you, Miss Hina," Judge said as he accepted the teacup, making sure to thank her.
Even though this young girl didn't hold a high rank, Judge didn't dare underestimate her. After all, she was the Admiral's personal secretary and stayed by his side at all times. Over this period, he had also noticed that Admiral Benn would occasionally ask her for her opinion.
That alone showed she could influence the Admiral. How could someone like that be offended casually?
What if she whispered something bad about you behind your back?
"If you hadn't come to see me today, I was about to look for you myself. Talk about a coincidence," Ortoren said with a smile as he drank his tea.
Hearing that, Judge didn't bring up his own matter right away and instead asked proactively,
"Oh? Is there something the Admiral wants to ask me about? I'll tell you whatever I know."
"You're from the MADS research group as well. We even met there back then," Ortoren said casually. "Though you were pretty decisive. You left without a word."
Judge gave a slightly awkward smile.
"I was worried at the time. Even though the World Government hasn't come after me all these years, I still felt uneasy."
Ortoren nodded and didn't dwell on the topic. He shifted the conversation.
"Since you're also from MADS, how's your relationship with Buckingham Stussy?"
"Buckingham?" Judge frowned and thought for a moment before answering. "Not very good. To be precise, aside from Caesar, none of us got along with her. That woman was a fraud. At first, everyone thought that since she'd come off Rocks' ship, she might actually be capable in research. Turns out… she wasn't anything special. I never thought much of her."
"Is that so?" Ortoren stroked his chin, then asked, "Can you still contact her or find her now?"
"We've hardly been in touch, but if you need it, Admiral, I can try," Judge replied immediately.
"Alright, give it a try," Ortoren said calmly, nodding.
"What does the Admiral want her for? Do you need my help?" Judge asked casually.
"That won't be necessary. I was asked to take her out. That's all," Ortoren said with a smile, not hiding anything.
Judge froze for a moment, then immediately thought of Stussy. As someone who had once been part of MADS, he naturally knew about her situation.
Still, this had nothing to do with him. Since the Admiral had already made his decision, there was nothing for him to say.
"Buckingham herself isn't anything special, but the man by her side, Edward Weevil, is someone you might want to be a little careful of. That guy seems to have something going for him," Judge offered a friendly reminder before saying no more.
Ortoren nodded and didn't pursue the topic further. He changed the subject instead.
"By the way, you came to see me today. Have you made your decision?"
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.