"Lord Karl, this is the Hard-Shell Tower where Princess Shirahoshi is."
Leading Karl to the end of a corridor, Jinbe stood before a massive door over ten meters high. It was incredibly thick, plated with iron, and had several weapons stuck in it. He said, "Vander Decken IX throws a weapon at regular intervals, so I can only use a door like this to protect Princess Shirahoshi."
"Lord Karl, please wait a moment. I will open this door for you now."
"No need, I can go in directly."
Just as Jinbe was preparing to open the door, Karl suddenly spoke, interrupting his actions.
A blazing blue-white electric current flashed around Karl's body, and then he turned into a bolt of lightning, disappearing from Jinbe's sight.
Releasing his Observation Haki, Jinbe found that Karl's presence had passed through the door and appeared inside the Hard-Shell Tower.
"Teleportation that ignores all obstacles... is that the strongest Logia-type, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
Seeing this kind of teleportation for the first time, Jinbe's eyes were filled with shock.
Indeed...
If he held any ill will towards Princess Shirahoshi.
He wouldn't even need King Neptune's permission to break directly into Ryugu Palace and forcibly take Princess Shirahoshi.
I hope he truly isn't a bad person.
If so, Princess Shirahoshi can be saved from the darkness.
Jinbe thought to himself.
He then turned and returned to his residence to get the Fish-Man Karate scrolls for Karl.
Inside the Hard-Shell Tower.
Unlike the exterior door, which looked like it was for imprisoning a high-level criminal, the room inside the Hard-Shell Tower was filled with a girly pink style.
Karl, who had used his electric field to teleport through the door, was now in this room, where he saw the legendary mermaid princess whose beauty was said to be no less than that of the Pirate Empress.
She was a twelve-year-old mermaid, still growing, with a body about nine meters long.
Her species was a giant whiting mermaid. She had long, flowing, curly pink hair, and wore a taiyaki-shaped hair accessory.
Because no one ever came in and she had lived in this room for years, her ample bust was covered only by a shell-like bra, and her lower body was a pink fish tail with varying shades.
Her cute cheeks were adorned with a light blush, revealing a youthfulness that was apparent at a glance, despite her enormous size.
At this moment, the young girl was lying on her side, fast asleep on a specially made large bed.
"Shirahoshi... Shirahoshi..."
After sensing that Shirahoshi's pet, Megalo, was apparently not in the room.
Karl teleported to Shirahoshi's pillow. Looking at Shirahoshi, whose head alone was bigger than his entire body, he suddenly spoke softly, pulling her from her slumber.
"Mmm... Megalo, is that you?"
Karl's voice successfully woke Shirahoshi from her sleep.
But having only had Megalo for company for years, she mistook Karl's voice for Megalo's.
"...Eh?!"
As Shirahoshi opened her bright, beautiful blue eyes and groggily tried to sit up.
The unfamiliar figure standing before her suddenly made Shirahoshi pause.
.........
In the next instant, Shirahoshi's cute face turned pale. With a powerful flick of her fish tail, her massive body recoiled into the corner of the headboard in a flash.
Hugging a giant custom-made pillow prepared for her by her royal brothers, Shirahoshi looked at Karl timidly, her voice trembling with nervousness, "Who... who are you?!"
"Don't be afraid, Shirahoshi..."
Karl sat down cross-legged, looking up at the mountain-like Shirahoshi, and said soothingly with a smile, "Your ability should allow you to sense that I have no ill will towards you."
"I actually have your father the king's permission. I am also the knight who will save you from the darkness and help you fulfill your wishes!"
Hearing Karl's words, Shirahoshi, who hadn't seen a stranger besides her family in years, calmed down a little. Her innate Observation Haki indeed did not sense any malice directed at her from Karl.
On the contrary, under Shirahoshi's Observation Haki, Karl's body emanated a warm glow like sunlight.
It was goodwill towards her!
Seeing this effect, Shirahoshi's heart was instantly put at ease.
She then lowered the pillow in her arms and tentatively called out to Karl, "Sir... Knight?"
"Just call me Karl."
Karl grinned and said, "My friends and my family all call me that."
"A friend... really?!"
Shirahoshi leaned down in front of Karl, her beautiful sapphire-like eyes staring at him as she asked excitedly, "Lord Karl, do you mean... you want to be Shirahoshi's friend?"
With her last sentence, Shirahoshi's excitement gradually turned to a lack of confidence.
Clearly, the girl was filled with anxiety even at the thought of making a friend.
"Yes... that's why I'm here."
Karl nodded. Seeing Shirahoshi's eyes well up with tears of excitement at his reply, he promised, "Not only will I be your friend, but I will also take you to visit the Sea Forest, and then to the surface to feel the real sunlight, to see the islands of the land with their flowers and trees, and the animals and humans, and everything else..."
"R-really?"
Looking at Karl, who had spoken all of her wishes, the mist that blurred Shirahoshi's vision finally condensed into droplets and fell as a stream of tears.
Plop! Plop! Plop...
Each teardrop was as big as Karl's fist.
If they were to hit Karl on the head, they would surely drench him instantly.
"Of course... because I am your knight!"
Karl flashed a brilliant smile, dealing a final, decisive blow to Shirahoshi's heart.
"Lord Karl..."
Shirahoshi looked at Karl with tear-filled eyes.
She could see into a person's heart. She had a gentle and kind personality. She clearly knew who had assassinated her mother, the queen, but because of her mother's last words, "Do not hate the killer," she had hidden the truth all this time, staying alone in the Hard-Shell Tower for six years without any contact with outsiders besides her family...
Shirahoshi, who was at an age where she yearned most for friends, was captured in an instant by the tall figure before her, a figure who radiated a golden light and vowed to save her from the darkness and fulfill all her wishes.
BANG—!
Just then, a loud crash suddenly shattered the atmosphere.
"He's finally here?"
Turning to look towards the door, Karl suddenly said to a frightened Shirahoshi, who was clearly shaken by the sudden noise, "Shirahoshi, wait here for me for a moment."
"When I return, your nightmare will be over."
Whoosh—
As his words fell, Karl turned into a bolt of lightning and vanished before Shirahoshi's eyes.
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