Sherlock looked at the cup filled with fine wine in his hand with a pained expression, then glanced at the funny, curious faces surrounding him.
He thought to himself that it was truly terrible that these chaos-loving troublemakers had found out about his secret: that he couldn't handle alcohol.
(To drink, or not to drink?)
In reality, he could simply transport the liquid into the Mirror Dimension the instant he drank it. However, when it came to his companions, Sherlock didn't want to pull such deceptive tricks.
(What exactly happens when I get drunk?) Sherlock actually found himself quite curious about this as well.
He recalled the bizarre expression Anna wore after he sobered up back then, as well as her resolute refusal to mention a single word about what had occurred while he was intoxicated. It made him feel that something truly terrible must happen when he got drunk.
"Don't make things hard for Sherlock."
Perhaps sensing Sherlock's current predicament, Princess Vivi, who was sitting beside him, spoke up, unable to bear it. "If he really can't drink, then don't make him."
"If it really doesn't work, how about I drink it for him!" Vivi blurted out.
As soon as the words fell, everyone turned their heads to look at the blue-haired girl.
When a man drinks for a woman, it can be said that he has gentlemanly manners. But when a woman wants to drink for a man, there are usually only two possibilities:
The woman has fallen for the man and her heart aches for him.
The woman is a boisterous, "tough girl" who likes to help her bros out of a jam.
However, the strong and beautiful Princess Vivi was clearly not the latter.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Why are you being so good to Sherlock? Vivi~~~"
Nami rubbed her smooth chin, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Vivi's gradually reddening cheeks with a gossipy expression.
"Come to think of it, I noticed it back at Little Garden. After you and Sherlock went for a stroll in the jungle, your attitude toward him became completely different."
Saying this, the orange-haired girl leaned her mouth close to Vivi's ear and whispered in a teasing voice that only the two of them could hear:
"You... couldn't have fallen for Sherlock, could you?!"
Boom!
Having it stated so bluntly by Nami, Vivi's face instantly flushed bright red, resembling a fresh, delicious red apple.
"No, it's not like that... I, I..." She stammered for a good while but didn't know what to say.
"Ma ma, you don't need to be so shy."
Nami waved her hand, then smiled as she patted Vivi's aqua-blue hair, leaning in again to whisper:
"After all, Sherlock is so handsome, has such a good temperament, and is so powerful. It's perfectly normal for a princess like you to fall for a 'Prince Charming' like him..."
"Uuu..."
The blue-haired girl let out a cute whimper. It was a testament to her strong mental fortitude that Vivi didn't flee the scene right then and there out of sheer embarrassment.
Sherlock cast a subtle glance at Vivi, who looked ready to bury her head in the ground. He pushed up his glasses with a calm expression, though the look in his eyes behind the lenses shifted slightly.
For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.
(What did Nami say? Why is Vivi's face so red?)
Luffy and a few others tilted their heads in confusion. Being simple-minded, they didn't understand what the two girls were whispering about—with the exception, of course, of a certain curly-browed cook.
Bang! A keg filled with fine wine was slammed heavily onto the table.
"Drink it! You four-eyed bastard!"
Sanji looked at the bespectacled man with a dark face, patting the wine keg. His right eye, uncovered by hair, seemed to burn with a flame named jealousy.
"I'm definitely going to drink you under the table today!"
(Oi oi, wasn't it that idiot who just said not to force people?) X2
Zoro and Usopp looked at the lovesick cook, who was currently flying into a rage, with dumbfounded expressions.
Chopper blinked, then looked at Sherlock. He was very interested in a sentence the Warlock had said earlier.
"Um, Sherlock, when you mentioned your former companions, did you mean..." Chopper asked, extending a little hoof.
"He must mean his companions from the Goldglint Trading Company."
Usopp beat him to the punch, explaining to the little reindeer, "Before this guy became a pirate, he was one of the top merchants in the East Blue. The very, very rich kind!"
"Eh? That sounds amazing."
Chopper, who hadn't seen much of the world, actually had no concept of money, but he still wore an expression that said, 'I don't get it, but it seems cool,' and subconsciously continued to ask:
"Then why is Sherlock a pirate now?"
"That's because he... huh?"
Usopp froze halfway through his sentence because he realized that he didn't know clearly either.
(That's right, why did Sherlock run off to become a pirate?)
The group looked at each other again and fell into silence.
They realized that they actually didn't know much about Sherlock, a companion they trusted deeply. Conversely, through living together and talking during this time, Sherlock knew Nami and the others' pasts like the back of his hand.
(I never noticed before, but this guy with glasses is really mysterious~)
Everyone turned their gaze toward Sherlock in unison, their eyes filled with scrutiny.
"Speaking of which, since you joined, we've never heard you talk about your own affairs, Sherlock." Nami narrowed her eyes, revealing a playful smile.
"That's right, yet you know everything that happened to us before," the green-haired swordsman said with a serious face.
Luffy also nodded with rare solemnity. "It's unfair, Sherlock. You're too cunning!"
"Judging by the reports in the newspaper, it seems that shortly after you left the Baratie back then, you went and attacked a Marine base."
The curly-browed cook also put away his frenzied expression. He stubbed out his cigarette butt and asked in confusion, "What exactly happened? What kind of grudge or grievance do you have against the Marines?"
At this moment, Princess Vivi also raised her small head, stealing a glance at the Warlock who remained calm. clearly, she was also very curious about this matter.
Sherlock pushed up his glasses, his calm gaze sweeping over everyone in turn, and let out a light sigh.
"What? Did I not tell you guys before?"
The group shook their heads in unison.
After all, when they communicated with Sherlock, this perfect "listener," they would involuntarily turn into "speakers." This could be considered a unique part of the Warlock's charisma.
"You are very curious about this?"
The group nodded in unison.
Sherlock narrowed his eyes slightly and said faintly, "Do you want to hear it? My past."
Instantly, it was as if a switch had been flipped for these guys. They nodded like chickens pecking at rice, their eyes flashing with excitement and faces full of curiosity.
"Is that so..." Sherlock smiled slightly, then patted the wine keg Sanji had brought to the dining table. "Then help me finish this keg of wine first."
Everyone: "..."
Meanwhile, East Blue, Hot Springs Island.
As the name suggests, this is a small island famous for its hot springs. At the same time, it is also one of the assets under the Goldglint Trading Company.
There is a high peak in the center of Hot Springs Island; the summit is covered in heavy snow year-round, wrapped in silver.
On a platform at the summit, white steam rose in curling mists. Combined with the surrounding pavilions and pagodas, it looked just like a fairyland.
This was actually a private hot spring that was never open to the public. The reason the mountain peak was shrouded in clouds and mist was due to the gurgling flow of the hot springs.
However, in this rather large hot spring pool, only two people were enjoying it at this moment. To be precise, it was two women, and rather beautiful women at that.
Anna soaked her entire body in the hot spring, letting out a soft moan of comfort that would make any man's blood race. A white bath towel wrapped her hot figure, and her pale blonde hair was bundled up in a towel, revealing a slender neck like that of a swan.
"Sure enough, soaking in the hot spring here at night is the most comfortable!" Anna took a sip of wine, then narrowed her eyes in relaxation.
The distant mountains were pure white, and fine snowflakes danced in the air. To be able to soak in a hot spring and drink fine wine on the summit in this icy, cold region was indeed an incomparably pleasant thing.
"..."
Koala, soaking nearby, did not reply. Instead, she stared straight at the two snowy white semi-circles wrapped in the bath towel floating on the water's surface on Anna. The deep cleavage in the middle made the orange-haired girl feel very envious.
(Damn it, she's not that much older than me, how can the difference be so big...)
At 21 years old, her figure was actually very graceful, but compared to the fullness of President Anna's chest, there was still a certain gap.
Anna didn't seem to sense the resentment-filled stare from the girl beside her. She asked calmly, "Koala, do you have any of the latest intelligence on Sherlock?"
"The Warlock?" Mentioning business, Koala immediately adopted a serious attitude. "He has already entered the Grand Line and stopped at Whiskey Peak. Furthermore, it seems he is currently with the Straw Hat Pirates."
"Straw Hat Pirates??" Hearing this, Anna put down her wine glass and fell into deep thought.
"Um, President Anna."
Koala asked with some confusion, "Didn't the Warlock already hand the Goldglint Trading Company over to you? He doesn't have anything to do with the Goldglint Trading Company anymore, so why do you still care about his affairs?"
"Pff, hahahaha..."
Hearing the orange-haired girl's words, Anna immediately laughed out loud without restraint.
"Nothing to do with him?" Anna reined in her smile. "How is that possible? Don't look at me as the nominal President; the true master of the Goldglint Trading Company is still him. That point has never changed."
"The reason he forgave a traitor like me is simply because me being alive has more 'value' than me being dead."
Saying this, Anna revealed a bitter smile.
"He has always been like this, using absolute rationality as his guideline for action. He always attempts to figure out everything around him, yet he covers himself in a thick layer of fog, terrified that others might know his actions, his thoughts."
"All along, I thought I was the person who understood him best. But I didn't expect that he had already made contact with you guys five years ago, and I knew nothing about it."
"I really don't know what else Sherlock has done behind my back."
"Uh..."
Koala's expression was a bit awkward. Their Revolutionary Army had hoped to establish an underground base in the East Blue five years ago, so they privately approached Sherlock hoping to cooperate. The result was that not only did they not get a shred of benefit, but Sherlock also swindled a lot of intelligence out of them.
It could be said that if Sherlock were still the President of the Goldglint Trading Company, the Revolutionary Army wouldn't cooperate with this four-eyed man even if it killed them.
"Your leader, Mr. Dragon, said this to me at the time: The world is waiting for our answer..."
"...And Sherlock, isn't he also waiting for my answer?"
Splash... The sound of water.
Anna stood up from the hot spring pool. As she rose, the white bath towel quietly slipped off, and a stunningly beautiful, snowy-white body was thus exposed to the air without any concealment.
A strange shade of pink rose on Koala's face. Even though they were both women, facing such a stimulating scene made this tender-faced girl rather shy.
Seeing Koala's current embarrassment, Anna's vermilion lips curled up slightly.
She slowly walked up to the orange-haired girl, whose breathing had obviously become rapid. Extending a slender, tender finger, she tapped Koala's chin, making the girl lift her pretty face which was flushed with a slight blush.
"What do you think of my figure? Koala..." Anna's lips moved lightly, her face flushed with a strange pink, possibly due to the heat of the hot spring.
Koala, being teased, forcibly held back the impulse to blast this woman—who seemed to have awakened some extremely terrible attribute—away with a Fish-Man Karate tile-breaking punch. She stammered in reply:
"President Anna's figure is, naturally, excellent!"
"Is that so?"
Anna giggled. Lifting her lotus-root-like arms lightly, she leaned her body forward, her chest's fullness immediately pressed into two cakes. She wrapped her arms around Koala's neck and rested her smooth chin on the girl's fragrant shoulder, her eyes looking somewhat distant and gloomy as she said:
"Then why has he never looked at me properly after all these years? I'm clearly so beautiful, and my figure is so good. Why..."
Koala blinked her large, bright eyes, then reached out to hug Anna. Feeling the hot body trembling slightly in her arms, a complex look flashed across her face.
"Anna, you really like Sherlock, don't you..."
"But I don't understand. Since you like him so much, why did you do that sort of thing back then? Although he is also a Celestial Dragon, the people who destroyed your hometown had nothing to do with him."
At the mention of Celestial Dragons, Koala's expression changed slightly; it seemed to have evoked painful memories for her.
"Maybe that was just a reason I found for myself, a reason to be able to 'hate' him."
"Sherlock... is a man with heavy sins," Anna smiled bitterly, then suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.
"Speaking of which, Koala, do you have someone you like?"
"Ah?! Someone I like... Probably not. No, I don't. I don't have anyone I like."
Koala answered with great certainty, only the tone of her reply at this moment was somewhat subtle.
"Is that so... Then in the future, when you fall in love with someone but receive no response for a long time, perhaps you will be able to understand this feeling."
Anna sighed faintly. She let go of the girl in her arms and looked up at the sky. In the silent night sky, a bright moon hung high overhead, radiating silvery-white light. It was very beautiful.
"Hating someone is far more forgiving to oneself than liking someone."
"Because sometimes, falling in love with someone is really too tiring, too tiring..."
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