Chapter 25: It’s All Lies!
Elus stood leisurely at the ship’s bow, holding a telescope and gazing at the island in the distance where sea met sky.
After a long sea voyage, he inevitably missed the solid, steady feeling of feet on land. Specifically, he was tired of these days of sea drifting; lately, he had been constantly traveling at sea.
He first went to the Whitebeard Pirates to pay the protection fee, then hurried north after returning home, severing Umit’s outstretched claws. Before he could rest at the royal palace for a few days, Umit sent an invitation from Dressrosa, so he boarded ship again, heading toward Dressrosa.
Calculating carefully, from the beginning of the year until now, over four months, he had basically spent them all on ships.
This made him especially nostalgic for life on land.
“Dressrosa, whew! We’re finally here. Fran, let’s have a good time here for a few days and rest. Dressrosa’s gourmet food and clothing are pretty good, and we can also check out that bullfighting arena. Lovers Avenue is famous too······” Elus turned his head and spoke to the maid standing beside him as if reciting from memory.
“Land of Love, Passion, and Toys?”
The maid stood at the ship’s side, and like Elus, she seemed quite looking forward to the upcoming playtime in Dressrosa.
She looked good today, her crimson long hair shining with a brilliant luster. Her bright red eyes lacked their usual coldness, now filled with a girl’s anticipation and excitement, and her pink lips bloomed with a rare gentle smile.
“I heard that Dressrosa’s toys are alive, Your Highness. Is that true?”
Probably very excited about the pleasant time ahead, Fran’s tone was exceptionally soft.
“Yeah, it’s true, although······ well! Never mind. Once we go ashore, you’ll soon see all sorts of toys living together with humans.” Elus held back from revealing the truth about the so-called living toys.
It was better not to mention such unpleasant things now and ruin the mood.
He was not a justice emissary.
He wasn’t coming to Dressrosa to deliver justice from above; he was here to rob things, to seize Umit’s position and wealth. The newspaper called him the ‘Black Prince’—not to mention that it was an obviously lazy nickname—but that ‘Black’ was no joke.
Even to make it more fitting, King of Maritime Transport—he was determined to have it!
“Toys living together with humans? Can’t imagine it!”
“Could toys and humans even form families?”
“Then how do they reproduce? Do they give birth to humans or toys?”
Fran threw out one strange question after another.
“······Fran, aren’t you focusing on the wrong thing? Shouldn’t normal people doubt the reality of living toys?” Elus looked at his personal maid and couldn’t help but complain.
“Eh? Is that so?”
“Well, generally speaking, normal people would think that way!”
“Ah! So the living toys are fake?”
The maid clearly showed disappointment.
“It’s not exactly fake, it’s just······” Seeing the girl’s dejected expression, Elus remembered the multitude of stuffed toys in her private bedroom. He almost forgot—his maid’s hobby was collecting all sorts of toys.
Well, though many were weirdos, like a brown bear doll bound with a gag ball and rope, a drooling cat with a particularly unfortunate appearance, a long-legged rabbit in a one-piece swimsuit······
Getting off track. Back to the point: in short, Fran, who appeared cold-eyed, was actually a severe toy fanatic.
If she learned the truth about the so-called living toys, but on second thought, it was better to tell her in advance. Otherwise, who knew what those cute-looking toys really were—maybe a cute doggy toy was actually a pirate who didn’t like bathing······
Can’t think about it, can’t think about it—this stuff gives chills just imagining it!
“Fran, listen up. Dressrosa’s so-called living toys are actually······” Elus paused, brewing his emotions, then continued: “Those living toys are actually humans. They were turned into toys by an ability user.”
“Humans?”
Fran widened her eyes, looking at Elus in disbelief. “Your Highness, you’re not fooling me, are you?”
“Use your head. Do you think living toys sound reliable?”
“But giants and fish-men exist, so why can’t living toys be real?”
“That’s true, but living toys······ anyway, what I’m saying is real. And once we’re ashore, don’t let it slip—this is a Donquixote Family secret. If it leaks out accidentally, we’ll have to fight another Seven Warlord.”
Fran carefully observed Elus’s expression and, based on her past experience, concluded it was indeed true.
She immediately became dejected, looking greatly shaken.
She had been looking forward to it for so long—the toy country······ turned out to be fake, fake······
The sea wind blew fiercely, the snow-white sails billowing high, propelling the warship to cut through waves like an arrow from a bow, speeding forward on the sea. Flocks of beautiful seagulls circled in the sky, letting out clear calls, as if welcoming guests to Dressrosa.
Before the maid could recover from the blow, Dressrosa, once distant, was now right before them. From the ship’s bow, they could see the long coastline covered in numerous mushroom-shaped rocks, and the thousands of white sails crowded in the port, looking like a sea of clouds from afar.
“Fran, don’t be sad. We’ll be ashore soon. How about we go try Dressrosa’s gourmet food first?”
“Not interested!”
The greatly shaken maid instantly lost her previous gentleness, reverting to her cold and curt attitude.
“Also, Your Highness, please don’t forget that King of Maritime Transport. He’s been waiting on the island for five days—maybe he’ll attack as soon as we disembark.”
“He wouldn’t be that rude, would he?”
Elus raised an eyebrow.
Then,
He looked at the suddenly chaotic port for some reason, lightly scratching his chin. “Looks like there really are no manners at all······ but that’s fine too. We can settle it early and focus on playing!”
