Chapter 47: Living Righteously Under the Sun
For Amphelite, words like "sick" or "medicine" were very distant concepts.
Her race had evolved an exaggerated physique capable of surviving in any natural environment; it was no joke.
Unless it was a fatal injury caused by external forces, for a Lunarian, sleeping was basically enough to relieve any discomfort.
The drug researched by Saturn was also developed based on human experiments conducted on Lunarians captured by the World Government in the past.
The skills of Nereus's ship doctor were not low, but this task was still a bit difficult for him.
"Lord Nereus asked me to check on the situation. People outside are clamoring for a welcome banquet."
At this moment, Hermes's body squeezed in through the crack of the window nearby. It had a special role on the ship as the exclusive messenger for Nereus and Nanamo, sometimes delivering verbal messages.
"The patient's physical condition is fine, just a bit malnourished. Nourishing her a bit more will do. Please tell Lord Nereus I won't be attending the party; I need to research something."
The ship doctor waved his hand at Hermes and returned to the medicine preparation room.
"Got it. I'll go report to Lord Nereus right away."
Meanwhile, outside, the two warships had been connected by specially made hooks and were being dragged by several Sea Beasts into the Calm Belt.
This was the propulsion method most commonly used by Nereus and his group in windless environments.
Although the Calm Belt was the nest of Sea Kings, Nereus knew very well how to deal with this situation. As long as the ship's bottom was inlaid with Seastone and they didn't linger too long, they wouldn't attract the attention of the Sea Kings.
Not only the ship's bottom, but even the specially made reins on the Sea Beasts were inlaid with Seastone. This way, in the perception of the Sea Kings, this was just a patch of seawater with a different flow rate.
Inlaying Seastone wasn't complicated; it was just that no one in the outside world knew about it yet. Even Vegapunk, who discovered this in the original timeline, hadn't focused his research direction on this matter at this time.
Nereus himself wasn't afraid of Sea Kings. Even if discovered, he could drive them away. But this method saved a lot of trouble.
When Amphelite came to the deck, the banquet had actually already begun. Kaido and Babel were drinking heavily on the side.
While she was still in the infirmary, Kaido was the most persistent about holding a banquet. His pirate philosophy was much stronger than Nereus's group; for a pirate, any random reason was enough to start a carnival.
"Today's protagonist has arrived! This is our new comrade, Amphelite..."
Nanamo was hosting the banquet. At this moment, Hermes had also turned into atmosphere lighting mode. But when it focused the light on Amphelite, what it saw was a mummy.
While in the infirmary, she had changed her clothes. However, after the ship doctor went back to isolate himself, she swiped a few rolls of bandages and wrapped all her exposed skin.
Except for a pair of eyes, not a single bit was exposed. Even her hair was tied up and tucked into a hat.
"Is she injured that badly..."
"Those bastards from the World Government are getting worse and worse. Looks like another poor soul..."
Except for the few executives who had seen Amphelite's true face at the time, the first impression of the ordinary crew members was that this person was pitiful, having been hurt so badly by the World Government.
The people on this ship already had no goodwill toward the World Government. In their eyes, the World Government was the truly evil existence. Seeing their "heavily injured" new comrade, they couldn't help but start cursing the World Government people.
However, those who knew Amphelite's situation had a different thought.
"Haha... our new comrade seems a bit shy... Anyway, let the banquet begin!"
Nanamo had never encountered this situation before. After thinking about it, she didn't know what to say. Finally, she announced the start of the banquet ahead of schedule, threw away the microphone, and pulled Amphelite over to Nereus.
Nereus didn't drink alcohol himself. Moreover, if he were in the crowd, some people wouldn't be able to let loose. Therefore, during banquets, Nereus often kept watch alone, staying in a relatively quiet spot.
Of course, if someone came to toast him, he wouldn't ignore them.
"Big sis... what are you doing? Is this your preferred fashion style?"
"No, it's just that this reduces some trouble... I got used to it in the past."
"Is there a possibility that this dressing style actually makes you look more distinct and easier to attract attention?"
"..."
Actually, Amphelite used to dress like this too, habitually wrapping herself up tightly. It was only after being targeted and continuously pursued by those CP9 agents that she discarded those wrappings.
Thinking back now, that kind of attire... did seem very suspicious.
"Many people on this ship have unbearable pasts, so no one will ask about anyone else's history. I don't know what your life was like before.
But now, everything is different. No one will discriminate against you, and no one will look at you strangely. You can live righteously under the sun without needing any cover.
If you're not used to it, take your time."
Compared to Nanamo focusing on Amphelite's strange attire, Nereus understood the source of her actions better, but he didn't force her to do anything.
Although she didn't remove the bandages in the end, under Nanamo's lead, she gradually integrated into the banquet.
...
Dawn of the next day.
The group crossed the Calm Belt and returned to the New World.
The undulation of the waves gradually increased. Kaido, who seemed hungover, was the first to open his eyes.
"Nereus, since we've reached the New World, I won't disturb you anymore."
"Decided what to do?"
"Of course. You reminded me. Ships and such aren't important; if I need one, I'll just go take one from the Marines.
I still need to find a comrade first. Someone from the Lunarian race... might be a good choice."
Saying this, Kaido leaped lightly, transforming into an Azure Dragon and flying into the sky.
"Nereus, next time we meet, I will challenge you again."
"Suit yourself. I'm not interested in what you do, but let me warn you: don't get in my way."
Nereus wasn't sure if Kaido heard his sentence. When he said this, Kaido had already rushed into the sky, flying off to who-knows-where.
After that, following several more days of sailing, the group appeared before a unique island.
The entire island was divided into three parts by three straits, with a circular sea area in the middle.
Clusters of buildings could be seen on the island; it seemed quite a few people had settled there.
On the watchtower by the coast, the person on duty also spotted the approaching ships. When he saw Nereus's flag through the telescope, he immediately rang the large bell beside him.
Then, picking up a loudspeaker nearby, he shouted:
"Lord Nereus is back!!"
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