Tom walking upright didn't attract much attention. Instead, Artoria's appearance and aura stood out, drawing many glances. Zhang Da Ye had some reputation on Island 59, and combined with his decent looks, he wasn't mistaken for a servant of the noble young lady.
"Good morning, Da Ye! This sister is new here," a little girl greeted Zhang Da Ye while holding an empty bucket.
"This is Miu Ke. And this is Artoria. She just arrived and will be staying with me," Zhang Da Ye introduced briefly.
Miu Ke, thirteen years old, energetic, delivered milk every morning in town. Zhang Da Ye met her during his morning runs.
"Ah~" Miu Ke glanced at Zhang Da Ye with a mischievous look, clearly overthinking. "Hello, Artoria! You seem even prettier than the Pirate Empress!"
Artoria appeared fifteen, her age frozen, her appearance still youthful. But her leadership aura made the young girl instinctively call her "sister."
"Hello," Artoria responded politely, not as familiar as Miu Ke.
After a brief chat, Miu Ke had to leave for her work.
"By the way, Miu Ke, make the morning milk three portions from now on," Zhang Da Ye called out to her back.
"Okay~" the girl replied energetically, dragging out the last syllable.
"Hey, Artoria, how do you know the language here?" Zhang Da Ye asked. Normally, in the Holy Grail War, summoned Servants gain basic knowledge of their era, including language. Here, there was no Grail War.
Artoria said, "It's the power of the contract. When I was summoned, I saw text saying [Consume 10% energy] to load language pack."
"So the extra 10% energy spent by summoned characters goes into language acquisition? I thought it was because characters are more special than objects." Tom never mentioned this… but he might have noticed it unconsciously.
"Anyway, we've explored this island enough. Let's check out other islands," Zhang Da Ye said. He had been timid on one island, now he wanted to explore more.
Artoria agreed; she wanted to understand the world better.
"Our target is the shopping street on Island 30. It's a bit far, so let's ride bikes and sightsee along the way."
He considered asking if her dress was suitable for biking but decided even riding a horse would be similar, so he didn't.
The bikes were unique Bubble Bikes from the Sabaody Archipelago. Renting one cost 500 Berries per day, buying one 10,000 Berries. Zhang Da Ye rented two for now.
"Artoria, you go first."
"Go in?"
With Zhang Da Ye's help, Artoria leaned into a large bubble, held the handlebars, and placed her feet on the pedals.
A propeller-like device outside the bubble allowed the bike to hover, maintaining balance. Pedaling generated forward motion.
Artoria quickly grasped the bubble bike mechanics, spinning a few circles around Zhang Da Ye: "Pretty easy, feels like riding a horse."
"You learned it immediately, smart girl," the shopkeeper said casually.
Zhang Da Ye got in next, adjusting to the bike, but still preferred normal bicycles. He wondered where to get one like Aokiji's.
Tom, wary after his previous "flattened cat" accident, stayed in Zhang Da Ye's arms. Poor kid.
Because Zhang Da Ye knew the shopkeeper, there was no deposit. Reflecting, when Luffy reached Sabaody and rented bikes, they were soon interrupted by Camie's kidnapping and the Celestial Dragons' scattering. If no deposit was paid, the shopkeeper lost out.
Zhang Da Ye and Artoria rode side by side, first north to Island 40, then west. Even biking, it took one to two hours, but sightseeing allowed a slower pace.
Islands 50–59 were similar: shipyards and residential areas. Islands 40–49 had more sightseeing and specialty shops.
Some islands had strange terrain, built on tree roots, high off the ground. Zhang Da Ye recalled cities with fifth-floor windows overlooking main roads.
After a while, Tom seemed to sense no danger, gradually enjoying the bubble bike.
Seeing Tom tug at his clothes, begging to try, Zhang Da Ye let him.
Tom excitedly pedaled. Given his height, he couldn't hold the handlebars properly, sitting or semi-reclined, but didn't mind. Floating while pedaling fascinated him.
Left and right, adjusting height, Tom soon caught up to Artoria, making a funny face before zooming ahead.
Artoria paused, then smiled: "A race, huh? Interesting, then…"
She accelerated sharply. Her A-rank riding skill maximized the bubble bike's performance, quickly catching up to Tom.
Tom, initially delighted, looked shocked as Artoria overtook him. His short legs pedaled frantically.
Zhang Da Ye chuckled. Tom could never outbike Artoria, but he always got cocky when mastering a new skill or feeling advantaged.
In short: no patience, rush straight into action.
But soon, Zhang Da Ye stopped laughing. Tom's legs spun like wheels, speed surged, overtaking Artoria by a body length. He sweated profusely.
Wait, do cats even have sweat glands on their foreheads?
Oh, this is Tom.
"Don't push yourself too hard, Tom," Zhang Da Ye advised; it wasn't an important race.
Tom didn't respond, but Artoria spoke sternly: "No! We can't give up before determining the winner! I will win this race!"
"Wind King Barrier!"
Zhang Da Ye: …
Was that really necessary?