The farming region along the Sandora River basin was designed with the river's flooding in mind, so the main levee was naturally built some distance away from the river itself. This levee served as the boundary between the fields and the residential areas.
Of course, a smaller, lower levee existed right alongside the Sandora River. Its primary purpose was to prevent people from accidentally falling in, so it wasn't particularly tall. Since rain was scarce outside the rainy season and flooding was not a concern, this was sufficient.
"Alright, Feiyun. We need sand to reinforce and repair the levee."
"Right! We're making sandbags?"
"Exactly. But even though there's sand everywhere in the desert, transporting it is a real chore. The desert sand is hot, and we need a massive amount of it."
"Am I the one carrying it? I mean, I'm fine carrying tools, but even for me, touching the sand directly is a bit..."
Even a giant feels the heat. Kanata had no intention of telling her to carry the scorching sand with her bare hands.
"Don't worry. I'll make the tools."
The one explaining the construction work to Feiyun was Kanata herself.
The reason she, who hated the heat, was even here was because of what Georges and the others had told her when they returned the previous day: "The person in charge we met was the country's prince..." She had nearly dropped her glass of juice and, in fact, had spilled a little.
It wasn't unusual for the state to lead this kind of water management project. And for the construction of a levee on a major river that was the country's lifeline, it was somewhat expected that the person in charge would be a national leader. But normally, they would only be the supervisor in name and wouldn't actually show up on-site.
And yet, for some reason, he was here.
So, she had no choice but to show her face as the captain. It was a bitter decision.
"Think of this as practice for imbuing things with Armament Haki, too," she added.
She was fully protected from the sun, holding a parasol and dressed from head to toe in traditional Alabastan clothing. She was constantly cooling the air inside her clothes with her powers, so as long as she avoided direct sunlight, it was surprisingly comfortable. To onlookers, however, she just looked incredibly hot. The heat rising from the ground was neutralized by her own cold aura, causing the light around her to refract strangely.
"You're going to make them?"
"It's simple for me."
Kanata created an ice shovel sized for Feiyun and handed it to her. She made another for herself and, to demonstrate, coated it with Armament Haki.
"This is ice. Since I made it with my powers, it won't melt from a little heat. But it's still just ice. With your strength, it'll break after just a few swings."
"So I use Armament to reinforce it so it doesn't break... I see."
She could have made the shovel stronger, but she decided to make it slightly weaker to give Feiyun some practice. Feiyun could already harden her own body with Armament, but imbuing an object required a different kind of sense. The more skills one had, the better. Having more tools in your toolbox always broadened your options.
"I can make as many as you need. So practice without worrying about it."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Feiyun replied energetically and, with a determined grunt, began to struggle with coating the ice shovel in Armament Haki.
In the meantime, Kanata went with Georges to greet Cobra and his men, who had arrived at the site. A makeshift command post, which also served as a first-aid station, had been set up in a large tent.
Seriously, why is he here? Kanata wondered. Isn't he just supposed to be the supervisor in name only, the one who reads the reports?
"A pleasure to meet you. I've heard the details from Georges. I'm Kanata, the captain."
"Ah, what a surprise. We were short-handed, so your help is most welcome. However... forgive my rudeness, but for a captain to be so young, may I ask about the nature of your group?"
"We're just a ship of curious travelers who have gathered together. We entered the Grand Line hoping to see the end of the sea."
"I see... It must be a perilous journey. I pray for the safety of your voyage."
"Thank you."
Kanata, who was usually so brazen she didn't even use polite language with someone like Chinjao, was now speaking to Cobra with a forced smile and formal speech. The veteran crew members like Scotch watched this unprecedented sight with indescribable, fidgety expressions. She must have decided that a prince warranted a different approach. Then again, Georges or Scotch usually handled negotiations, so Kanata rarely appeared in public.
"May I see the construction plans?"
"Of course. Igaram! Bring the documents!"
"Yes, right away!"
A man with a distinctive curly hairstyle scurried out from the back of the tent with several documents. Kanata's eyes widened slightly at his hair as she accepted the papers and gave the construction schedule a quick look.
The work itself wasn't complicated, but the levee was incredibly long. It seemed that a series of troubles this year had forced them to mobilize the Royal Army just to try and meet the deadline, and even then, it was going to be a close call. With their crew's help, they would surely finish on time.
"...I see. We'll leave the technical aspects to the specialists, but for the physical labor, my crew should be more than sufficient."
"Excellent. We're counting on you."
She returned the documents, concluded her discussion with Cobra, and left the tent. Scura was not doing manual labor but was on standby in the first-aid station. Though they were being careful, you never knew when someone might suddenly fall ill or get injured. It was always better to have a doctor present.
The moment she stepped out of the tent, she was hit by a wave of sweltering heat and deadly sunlight.
(So hot... I want to go back...)
Her stoic expression betrayed a desperate desire to return to the ship. She walked over to where Georges was talking with the site foreman, muttering to herself that the parasol made things somewhat bearable.
Kanata wasn't counted among the manual laborers; her job was to coordinate and supervise.
"Hey, Kanata. You done talking with Prince Cobra?"
"All sorted. How about you?"
"The general work assignments are decided. Anything else?"
"I've ordered fifty bento lunches from the tavern we went to, and drinks as well."
"Are you staying here all day? And aren't you hot in that outfit?"
"The first day always has its share of problems. If everything goes smoothly, I'd like to stay on the ship from tomorrow, but it depends on how Feiyun does. And this outfit is actually quite cool."
As the foreman gave her a strange look, she flapped her clothes, and a cool breeze wafted out from the gaps. As long as she avoided direct sunlight, she was fine. She could neutralize mere hot air by cloaking herself in cold.
"Is that so," Georges said, stroking his chin.
"Alright, I'll be in the command tent. Come find me if anything happens."
"Roger that. Let's hope for a trouble-free day."
She gave a small wave, turned on her heel, and headed for the tent—but first, she went back to check on Feiyun.
This wasn't a technique one could master instantly. Dorry and Brogy had taught her the basics on Little Garden, but back then, she was just starting to learn how to use Armament Haki at all. She should be a bit better now, Kanata thought, as she stepped onto the desert sand.
"Feiyun, how's it going?"
"Well, it's not going so well..."
"That's how it is at first. You can already harden your arms, so try to gather the Haki in your arm first and then imagine it flowing out."
This was similar to the principles of Ryuo. A technique for "flowing" out unnecessary Haki. It made her think that no matter how different countries and cultures were, people often arrived at similar ideas.
While Feiyun slowly practiced, muttering "Gather and flow, gather and flow," Kanata looked over at the other crew members preparing for work. Led by Samuel and David, they were making sandbags and loading them onto sleds. Apparently, the wheels of a normal cart would get stuck in the sand instantly, so they were using sleds instead.
Watching the amount of sand Feiyun could dig up at once in her giant form compared to the number of sandbags Samuel and the others made over time, the difference in scale was undeniable. In fact...
"...Wouldn't it be better if Feiyun moved the sand, and the others filled the bags over there to make the sandbags?"
The crew all looked at her as if to say, "Why didn't we think of that?" and she couldn't help but press a hand to her forehead. If the plan was to gather the sandbags in one place before taking them to the levee, this would be far more efficient. The giant lizard, the Sandora Giant Lizard, that had appeared the other day would also be no match for Feiyun, so there was no danger. At least, not as far as Kanata's Observation Haki could tell.
After a final check, she made a few spare shovels and left Feiyun to her trial-and-error practice with Armament. All that was left for her was to wait in the command tent.
☆
Evening.
Cobra was smiling, pleased that the construction was progressing much faster than scheduled. Igaram, who was standing by his side, explained that Cobra was also handling some of his other paperwork here. Apparently, the king was ill, and Cobra had been forced to take over many of his duties in a hurry. He had come to the site because he was still new to the job. He was currently out inspecting the site, leaving only Kanata and Igaram in the tent, aside from Scura who was on standby in the separate first-aid station.
It must be difficult for someone so young to be thrust into such a position, forced to rush what should have been a gradual learning process. When Kanata asked, she learned that Cobra was only a year older than her. Igaram, she found out, was both his childhood friend and his bodyguard. Over the course of the day, Kanata had become quite friendly with him while chatting in the tent.
"Normally, the levee construction should have been finished much earlier, but... things just didn't go as planned."
"Unexpected events happen in any endeavor. I'm just a traveler, so I don't know the details, but... seeing everyone working so hard to fix this together, it seems the king is well-loved."
"Yes, our countr— Ahem! Ma-ma-ma-ma-maaa~♪ He is the pride of our nation."
Unexpected problems, such as the crack discovered during construction and the damage caused by the Sandora Giant Lizard, had eaten away at their once-ample schedule. Yet, no one complained; they were all determined to finish on time. When Cobra went to the site, there was no confusion, as his presence was already well-known, and some workers even called out to him casually. It was rare to see a ruler so well-liked.
"By the way, I was wondering... are you, perhaps, a noble from some country?"
"No, I'm an orphan. I don't know my lineage."
"Is that so..."
Igaram had observed her briefly during lunch and had noticed that her table manners were impeccably better than any of the other crew members. He had judged her etiquette to be on par with that of a noble, and he looked puzzled to learn that wasn't the case.
Sensing Igaram's probing gaze, Kanata pretended not to notice and spoke.
"I'm not the noble type. I have no interest in power."
"Are you sure? You seem accustomed to leading people. I should think you could use power effectively."
"If it's a matter of whether I can handle it, then I probably could. But when people gain power, they tend to become obsessed with it... Power should be a tool to achieve a goal, not a goal in and of itself."
Leading people on a ship was, in a way, a form of power. But it was a power used for the purpose of reaching the next island, not for the sake of maintaining that power over the crew. Too much power never leads to anything good. The Celestial Dragons were a prime example.
"...I see. I think I'm beginning to understand why they follow you."
"That's their own choice. I've never forced them to do anything... not once."
She recalled her first encounter with Georges, then promptly erased it from her memory and made her declaration. Well, they could have escaped if they had wanted to, so the fact that they hadn't must have meant they had decided in their hearts to follow her.
As they were talking, the workday came to an end, and everyone gathered in front of the command tent. The foreman reported that they were much further along than scheduled and would likely finish with some time to spare before the two-week deadline.
After being told to assemble at the same place tomorrow, Kanata got the foreman's signature of approval for the day's labor costs. Due to the number of people and the hours worked, the total was substantial, so they had arranged to be paid in a lump sum after the project was completed.
"Alright, let's head back to the ship. I'll cook tonight. We'll buy ingredients on the way back."
The cooks were exhausted from the day's work, so she had considered eating out, but Igaram had given her a recipe for Alabastan cuisine, and she had decided to make it herself. The new members, like David and Scura, were worried to hear that Kanata, who rarely cooked, would be in the galley.
"Is this going to be okay?"
"Don't worry, her cooking is better than the cooks'," a veteran assured them.
She was basically a superhuman who could do anything. Having lived alone on Marx Island, she was proficient in all domestic chores. The only things she was bad at were swimming and being in hot places.
When they heard her food was better than the cooks', Scura looked over at them, but they seemed to be the most pleased of all. They were only the cooks because they were the only ones who could cook at all among a crew of men who couldn't; it wasn't that they were particularly good at it, so in a way, it was to be expected.
"We need ingredients, but more importantly, alcohol. Let's grab some local Alabastan liquor on the way back."
"Just don't drink so much that you're useless tomorrow."
"I know, I know," Georges said, lighting a cigarette. He was in a good mood, as the large-scale, lengthy project meant a substantial payday.
Kanata, on the other hand, had already decided in her heart, "I'm staying on the ship tomorrow."
☆
Two weeks later.
It had been a hectic period, but the levee construction was finally complete, and just in time, Alabasta entered its rainy season.
***
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