Chapter 17: Chapter 18: The Nun's Deadly Fate
"Everyone, do you like my gift?" The nun smiled as she looked at the children.
"Yes!" The children all responded joyfully, each of them eyeing Roy's package with envy.
How greedy this guy is!
"Since you're all so happy, what song should we sing?" The nun took a puff of her cigarette and smiled.
"Binks' Sake!" The children shouted in unison.
Roy joined in the cheer. The nun was planning to sell the children to the World Government, where they would all eventually be trained to become Navy or CP members.
A group of future CP members and Navy sailors, happily singing pirate songs.
I wonder how CP0, the ones who are actually paying, will feel when they find out.
"Ah~ this is a pirate's song!" The nun said, surprised, as she looked at the children.
"That's right, one day we will become pirates!" A little handlong boy put his arm around Roy's shoulder.
"That's right, we'll form a great pirate crew with Roy as captain, one that can accommodate all kinds of races!" A little fishman shouted excitedly from behind Roy.
"Mm-hmm, we'll listen to Roy!" A little furry child whispered in support.
"Baka, baka! Roy's going to follow me and restore my country!" The downcast prince glared at them angrily, "Don't make decisions for me, you idiots!"
"Smack!"
Roy was the first to lightly tap the boy's head. "Don't make decisions for me either, idiot!"
"…!" The downcast prince sulkily held his head. A light tap had left a huge bump. He's so strong!
"And you guys," Roy looked at the cute, somewhat shy little furry child and affectionately ruffled his head.
His idea was to build a big ship for himself, one where beautiful women from all races could live together in peace and harmony.
Mm, this idea is a bit dangerous and hard to achieve.
But still, one needs dreams in life, right?
The path to becoming a sea king is long; this is what he truly seeks.
Before long, beneath the deep blue sky, amidst the lush green mountains, the rhythm-filled voices of children rang out.
Their innocent and clear voices echoed through the mountains, singing "Binks' Sake." The children linked arms, smiling brightly as they circled around Roy, their "big brother," and sang joyfully in front of the "gentle" nun.
Such pure and melodious voices—this group of lambs in the mountains, perhaps this will be the last time their song will be heard.
Years later, this island would no longer have the familiar figures and the touching song.
Lingling happily sang along, admiring how well-liked Roy was.
But what did it matter? Roy's friends were her friends.
Little did she know, the tragedy was one she had created herself.
"Send you Binks' Sake, riding the wind and waves~"
"The waves surge, the sunset stirs, the bird songs cut through the sky~"
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was February. The beautiful sound of children's voices still seemed to echo in the air.
The children were living happily, with Lingling spending her days eating and chasing after the other children.
"Ahhhh, Lingling is going to kill me~"
The sound of children chasing and teasing her could be heard in the background.
The warm breeze blew through the trees, causing Roy's red hair to sway as he lay on a Pandora pillow, reading a nautical book, learning knowledge, and preparing for his eventual departure.
Pandora pouted as he teased her.
After lunch, Roy didn't take a nap like the other children. He sat on the floor, holding a longsword, flipping through a collection of famous swords, searching to see if his sword was listed.
"Whew~" Roy sighed as he finished flipping through the entire collection. His sword wasn't listed.
Maybe the collection was incomplete, or maybe his sword had never been recorded.
Being in the world of One Piece, it would be impossible for him not to be interested in famous swords.
The Supreme Great Blade, the Twenty-One Great Swords, the Fifty Good Swords—if he could get a few, that would be amazing!
"Roy, aren't you going to sleep?" A soft voice came from the doorway. It was the nun.
"I can't sleep. Tomorrow's my birthday that you're celebrating for me. I'm so excited," Roy smiled at the nun.
February 14th—Roy's fabricated birthday.
He remembered the general flow of the plot but sometimes had to recall the details carefully.
Let alone all the characters' birthdays and hobbies.
It was a coincidence that the birthday he had made up was one day before Lingling's.
Roy seriously doubted that Lingling might go crazy on his birthday and get rid of the nun beforehand.
"I see. I'll go prepare for the birthday. You should get some rest and be ready for tomorrow's celebration!" The nun smiled softly and left the room.
The nun walked into the living room and sat down at the empty dining table, stuffing her savings into a bag.
Because the World Government would pay her and send someone on February 15th, she decided to celebrate Roy's birthday first. After Lingling's birthday on February 15th, she would give them all a big surprise and deliver the children, including Roy and Lingling, to the World Government.
As she stuffed stack after stack of bills into her bag, she thought about the big payday she'd receive the day after tomorrow and how she would finally live a life of retirement.
She smiled more and more sinisterly, silently thanking the children.
Above, a cute squirrel was nibbling on a nut, glancing down at the old woman below who was grinning maliciously.
Around the corner in the bedroom, Roy stood quietly behind, peeking at the nun's money, then silently returned to his room.
Time passed quickly, and soon, the day of separation had arrived.
Roy looked at the sleeping children and sighed to himself.
He felt that, besides scheming for the nun's savings, he could also try his best to save as many children as possible.
The next day, Roy's suspicion was proven wrong.
To his surprise, the nun only prepared a normal-sized cake for him, with each child getting just a small piece.
The nun apologetically told him that all the money had gone into preparing a special Samura for Lingling.
As for his birthday gift… it was an empty shell?
"This is a shell I got through someone who went to Skypiea. It can record sounds. Let's record the happiest song inside it!" The nun smiled as she handed Roy the sound-recording shell.
Roy looked at the sound shell. The nun's gift was actually pretty nice!
After all, going to Skypiea was quite a hassle.
The sound of children singing echoed as the shell recorded the music.
Roy smiled as he sang along with them, even though the cake was so plain that even Lingling didn't get excited by it.
Sigh… the nun had temporarily avoided a disaster.
On the third day, on Lingling's birthday.
The grass was covered with logs, used as seats for everyone.
In the center, a table was covered with a large pink cloth, hiding something.
The little chubby boy with a crew cut and black sunglasses, wearing a purple plush cloak, pulled Lingling over to sit down.
The chubby boy and Roy stood by, grabbing the cloth.
"1, 2~" Roy called out, and the other children joined in, pulling the cloth off to reveal a large plate piled high with Samura.
"Lingling, happy birthday!" Roy smiled as he spoke.
The nun slowly walked over and stood behind Roy.
Look at this mountain of Samura. Lingling would definitely eat it and forget herself.
Nun Carmelro, you escaped on the 14th, but you won't escape on the 15th~!
[•———•——•———•]
𝙥𝗮𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣(.)𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧
✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 35+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.