The crowd gaped, stunned. They hadn't expected it to actually work.
"Mama—truly the choice of fate!"
"From now on, our family will command a giant army under complete control. Then the Pirate King's throne will be yours for certain, Mama!"
The Charlotte children erupted in cheers.
"Mamamama! A banquet—right now! I want a grand banquet!"
Staring at the deferential homie before her, Big Mom was ecstatic.
"And why, you ask? Because I'm just too excited!"
"While we're at it, I'll announce one more thing. From today on, Dr. Hughes may mobilize any and all family resources to serve him—so long as it doesn't endanger the family."
"All of you—you will show him the same respect you show me. Understood?"
"Yes, Mama!" This time, no one objected.
Even Perospero kept his mouth shut, without a hint of dissent.
After everything they'd witnessed today, their horizons had broadened—and the Charlotte family had scored an immense gain.
From now on, only within the Charlotte family could the giantification drug unleash its true power—
Monsters with giant strength and no fear of death, lick-lick—
And besides, he was their dearest brother-in-law.
Whenever that man produced another world-shaking invention, who would reap the rewards if not the Charlotte family?
Perspective—opened in an instant.
At the banquet, his three future brides—the Custard sisters—sat at his side, helping him get acquainted with the rest of the family.
Big Mom sat with the Giant Homie, who served her as she ate.
Compared to her usual gluttonous scenes, Big Mom was uncharacteristically demure.
Moments earlier, in front of everyone, she'd dropped a thunderbolt of news:
She would hold a world-shaking wedding with the Giant Homie—on the very same day as Hughes's wedding.
A capricious matriarch, through and through.
She'd already married over forty times in her life.
Beings of many races—even rare beasts—had fallen under her skirts.
But the one she prized most—"giants"—had always been missing.
Giants were proud and stubborn, single-minded to a fault.
Ever since Big Mom's falling-out with Elbaf, all giants had branded her "ominous" and refused to approach her.
It was a bitter thorn in her heart.
Now, at last, an opportunity.
Even if the giant was man-made—a man-made giant was still a giant.
The wedding would also serve another purpose: a declaration to the world.
The Big Mom Pirates had mastered giant power.
Ambitious powers would flock to that banner, swelling the might of the Big Mom Pirates.
After the full family feast, there was a smaller gathering:
Hughes, the Custard sisters, and their full siblings—true "insiders."
Among them, Custard's brother—Charlotte Cracker, the "Biscuit Knight."
As for why he was called "Thousand-Hands"? Likely because he could spawn a legion of biscuit soldiers.
At the party he appeared in person: over three meters tall, powerfully built.
At his waist hung the famous blade "Pretzel," a massive double-edged sword with a cookie-shaped guard.
Purple hair; three tufts total—one long-loaf tuft atop his head, and two behind, each with a sparking tip.
A fearsome face, with a scar over the right eye.
Off to the side, the sisters clustered together, whispering.
The two big men—Hughes and Cracker—were left out in the cold.
Hughes read quietly, sipping chilled black tea.
The book? Borrowed from Mont-d'Or—one of the family's rare scholars. His collection was excellent, just the thing to pass the time.
Cracker sat across from him, gaze shifting dark and bright, never leaving Hughes.
"Brother-in-law, if you've got something to say, say it. Staring like that is terrible for my reading mood," Hughes said, annoyed.
If a great beauty watched you with soft eyes, it might be a pleasure.
But a hulking man with a knife-edged stare? That was… less pleasant.
Cracker's feelings, for his part, were complicated.
He hadn't expected his adorable sister to be getting married—ever.
In this family, from as early as he could remember, there'd been no father.
They grew under Mama's wing; as the eldest, he shouldered a father's role as well as a brother's.
Elder brother as father.
Joy. Relief. Unease. Or the anger of raising cabbage for thirty-plus years only for the pig to carry it off…
He felt everything at once and had no words for it.
His sister liked the man; Mama had sealed the alliance on the spot. What could he do?
He could only watch, helpless, as the sister he'd guarded since childhood tripped over herself to give herself away.
Custard—where was your aloof grace, your pride?
Sharing a man with your sisters?
So much for that.
He was tired. Bone-deep.
He wanted to beat Hughes bloody—but the man was just a scientist with no combat power.
One punch, and he might kill him.
If he did that, not only would his sister lose her happiness and grieve—Mama might widow him on the spot.
For his own life's sake, he couldn't provoke this.
So he could only sit there, seething in silence—damnably suffocated.
In the end, all he could do was let out a long sigh.
"You know my standing in this family," Cracker said quietly.
"Of course. The famed Charlotte Cracker—Biscuit Minister, one of the top Sweet Commanders."
"So you're here to warn me—Custard is your sister."
"If I make her suffer, if she sheds a tear, you as her brother won't let me off. Something like that, right?"
Hughes flipped the board, speaking Cracker's lines before he could.
"You… As long as you understand," Cracker muttered, at a loss.
"Relax. Hurting women isn't in my repertoire—I barely have time to cherish them. Bed matters aside," Hughes added, just a bit cheeky.
"You damnable bastard!" Cracker snapped, rage flaring—the sparks on those twin hair-tufts behind his head crackled brighter.
Hughes clicked his tongue in fascination. Bioelectricity?
All he could do, finally, was sigh in resignation.
(End of Chapter)
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