That was the thing Blake liked most about Stella's personality.
Whether it was simply going with the flow or adapting to whatever came her way, Stella always seemed to adjust to her surroundings and face life with an optimistic attitude.
But now was not the time to tease Stella, because there was someone in the ship's cabin who interested Blake even more.
As he walked into the cabin, Blake seemed extremely familiar with the layout. He passed through the corridor and stopped in front of the door to a storage room.
Aramaki, quick to read the situation, stepped forward, pushed the door open, and stood in front of Blake on guard.
Blake patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't be so tense."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Aramaki stepped aside, and Blake entered the room.
It was called a storage room, but in truth, the commonly used tools on the ship were kept elsewhere for easy access, so there was not much stored here.
Blake walked over to a section of the floor, raised a hand, and flipped it open while shouting,
"Wah!!!"
An obviously startled cry came from beneath the floorboards.
Back on deck, Blake smiled a little helplessly and handed the little girl in his arms over to Stella.
"This child is way too timid. Take care of her for a while. We'll deal with the rest after she wakes up."
Stella let out a soft laugh. Blake shot her a glare.
She shrank her neck slightly, but she was not particularly afraid. After giving Blake a respectful bow, she carried the little girl away.
As she turned around, she muttered softly,
"His Highness is actually a very gentle person..."
After spending a year with him, Stella had gained a rough understanding of Blake's personality.
In daily life, Blake was not much different from other Celestial Dragons.
But Stella had noticed keenly that Blake did not actually like all the pomp and ceremony that came with that status. More often, he seemed to go through the motions simply because of his identity.
And Blake was very tolerant toward the maids around him. Even if someone made a small mistake, they were never punished.
In fact, over the course of the entire year, Stella had never once seen Blake punish a maid.
From the way he had just frightened that little girl, Stella had even concluded that Blake had a rather childlike side.
Blake, on the other hand, felt a little depressed.
The reason he had boarded that merchant ship was naturally because someone on it had caught his interest.
During his Observation Haki scan just now, Blake had discovered that there was actually a hidden compartment inside the storage room on the merchant ship, and inside it was a little girl around two or three years old.
She had a head of pink hair and a pair of big, blinking eyes that made her look especially lively.
Combined with the fact that Thriller Bark had appeared there, Blake easily guessed the girl's identity.
The Ghost Princess — Perona.
Thinking of Perona's terrible personality in the original story, Blake had decided to scare her a little.
He had not expected her to be so timid that she would roll up her eyes and faint on the spot.
No matter what, running into Perona had put Blake in a good mood. Even Aramaki's constant laziness after boarding the ship did not bother him much.
Lying back down in his reclining chair, Blake ordered the guards to continue sailing and began thinking about something.
"At Perona's current age, she probably hasn't obtained the Hollow-Hollow Fruit yet. So where is it?"
"In the original story, Perona was raised by Moria like a daughter. Could the Hollow-Hollow Fruit be in Moria's hands?"
Thinking of this, Blake called out.
Aramaki appeared in front of Blake almost instantly and dropped to one knee.
Blake looked a little helpless.
"You're a retainer, not a guard, and definitely not a slave."
Slaves were one thing, but when it came to important fighting power, he still preferred to be more relaxed.
Retainers were actually similar to Marines in that respect. When dealing with Celestial Dragons, they did not need to kneel.
If the retainers under other Celestial Dragons had not rebelled, it was only because the brainwashing had been very effective.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The moment he saw Aramaki's expression, Blake knew he had not listened at all.
Every single time, this guy put on the same "next time for sure" look.
But now was not the time to dwell on that. Blake's expression turned serious.
"Go back to that merchant ship and search it. See if there's a Devil Fruit on board. If there isn't, then check the island ship."
After a pause, Blake added a warning.
"Be careful. The great pirate Moria is living on that island ship. With your current strength, you should be able to handle him. Don't disappoint me."
Aramaki immediately replied solemnly,
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will do everything in my power."
After saying that, he bowed deeply to Blake, turned around, and left, kicking off into the air with Geppo as he flew toward the merchant ship.
Moria was around ten years older than Aramaki and, under normal circumstances, should have been in his prime.
But Aramaki's talent ceiling was obviously much higher than Moria's. On top of that, Moria had just been beaten by Kaido to the point of mental collapse. He might not even be able to use Haki anymore. Sending Aramaki to deal with him was more than enough.