"Is this the Kingdom of Oykot?" Lynn looked at the ruins in front of him with curiosity in his eyes.
Nami gazed at the desolate land and felt a bit overwhelmed for a moment. This was her first time setting sail!
She had been thinking about making some berries, but in such a barren place, there might not even be a single one!
Seeing Nami's dejected look, Lynn immediately knew what she was thinking.
"Well, Nami, maybe there's still some treasure left behind? Let's go on a treasure hunt!"
"Treasure hunt? Yes! There must be treasure here! Let's go! Lynn, we have to find it!"
With Lynn's reminder, Nami became convinced. There had to be treasure somewhere in this abandoned kingdom!
Excited, Nami grabbed Lynn's arm and dragged him along to start searching immediately!
"Slow down, Nami, there might still be people living here. We should be careful!" Lynn reminded her, seeing how eager she was.
Hearing this, Nami immediately stopped and hid behind Lynn.
"Lynn, you go first! You promised Bell-mère that you'd protect me!"
"Hehehe, no problem! Just follow me—stick with me, and you won't go hungry!"
The two kids dashed through the dilapidated ruins, searching for treasure, both busy and thrilled.
After over an hour of searching, Nami was exhausted. After all, she wasn't even ten yet, and her stamina had its limits.
"Lynn, what do we do? It looks like there's nothing here..." Nami suddenly felt discouraged.
She had thought she could find a fortune and bring it back to Bell-mère.
"How about this, Nami? Let's head deeper inside and take a look. We should find the old royal palace of the Kingdom of Oykot first—there might be treasure there." Lynn said, pinching his chin thoughtfully.
"Hmm… wait a minute. I'll map out the area first, then we'll go find the palace!"
Nami found Lynn's idea reasonable. She immediately took out her mapping tools from her backpack, found a relatively flat surface, and started sketching a topographic map of the area.
Lynn stood quietly beside Nami, waiting. Watching her focus as she carefully drew, Lynn couldn't help but feel fond of her.
The only sounds in the surroundings were the occasional gusts of wind and the soft scratching of Nami's pen on paper.
Every now and then, Nami would climb up to a higher spot for a better view, using her measuring tools to note down the terrain. Lynn admired how meticulous and serious she was at that moment.
Half an hour later, little Nami puffed out her cheeks and let out a small breath. She had finally finished her topographic map, even recording some climate data based on her observations.
"Done! Hehe!" Nami beamed happily. This was her second map, after the one of Coco Village.
"You worked hard, Nami. Here, have some water. I'll help you pack up." Lynn offered her a water bottle.
"No, I'll do it myself! What if you ruin my drawings? You're too strong!" Nami refused his help.
She carefully put her completed map and tools back into her backpack, one by one.
"Okay, now you can drink." Lynn said gently.
"Hehe, thanks, Lynn." Little Nami slung her backpack on, took the bottle from his hand, and took a few small sips.
"Ahh~ That's refreshing. Now let's go find the palace treasure!" Nami closed the bottle and handed it back to Lynn.
"Alright! Onward to more treasure hunting!"
Lynn held Nami's small hand as they ventured deeper into the island.
"There's really no one here… It feels a little eerie. Lynn, you have to protect me." Nami held his hand tightly, glancing nervously around.
"Don't worry, Nami, I can lift a thousand-pound boulder now!" Lynn said proudly.
However, he remained alert. The road ahead was eerily quiet. Aside from a few low bushes and broken buildings, not even birds could be seen.
Thinking about Lynn's incredible strength, Nami felt reassured. Her big, bright eyes darted around, scanning her surroundings.
They walked for who-knew-how-long before finally spotting a large complex of ruins resembling a vast city.
Most of the houses had crumbled, but in the center, some grand buildings still retained traces of their former magnificence.
"Wow~ What a huge city! Lynn, this must've been the capital of the Kingdom of Oykot, right?" Little Nami exclaimed in awe.
"Hmm… it should be. Look at the ruined structures in the middle. Don't they look just like the remains of a royal palace?" Lynn pointed toward the half-destroyed palace in the center.
"Then let's get to work—I must find treasure here!" Little Nami declared fiercely, her cheeks puffed out.
"Yeah! The treasure here is ours! Let's go!"
Lynn led Nami as they started searching from the outskirts of the ruins. He refused to believe that this place had been looted completely.
The small figures of the two children darted around the ruins, appearing and disappearing among the crumbling structures.
"Lynn! Over here! Look what I found!" Nami waved excitedly in front of a collapsed house.
"I'm coming!"
Lynn rushed over, eager to see what had Nami so excited.
He arrived at the building—a relatively large one. Though battered, it still had two floors.
"What is it, Nami? What did you find?" Lynn asked as he reached the entrance.
"Come with me quickly! I found a hidden mechanism inside, but I'm too scared to open it alone!" Nami grabbed Lynn's hand and dragged him inside.
A hidden mechanism? Lynn was surprised. Then, he got excited—could it be a secret chamber? The kind filled with treasure?
Nami led Lynn into what looked like an old study and pointed at a bookshelf.
"It's right here! There's a hidden switch behind this statue, but I can't push it. Lynn, you try!" Nami said, pointing at a small stone figure concealed behind the bookshelf.
The statue wasn't large, only about forty centimeters tall. Nami had managed to shift it slightly, revealing the outline of a hidden door on the otherwise flat wall.
"It really is a hidden mechanism… Nami, step back while I try to push it open."
"Yeah, yeah! Be careful! I heard treasure hoards sometimes have hidden traps!"
"Don't worry, I'll be careful!" Lynn assured her, patting his chest.
Scanning the surroundings, he grabbed a sturdy piece of wood from the bookshelf, using it to prop up the stone statue before slowly pushing it.
The moment he applied pressure, Lynn frowned—something felt off.
Why is this little statue so heavy?
But he pushed through, and as the stone figure shifted, the hidden door on the wall creaked open!