The morning sunlight, like a golden veil, spilled through the glass onto a young girl.
The girl's pink wavy hair cascaded down her delicate features, with a few strands of purple hair accenting her forehead. A pair of singular purple eyes held a strange beauty that transcended gender.
Perhaps sensing the gaze of the early sun, the girl on the bed sat up. Her unadorned face carried a sleepy grogginess and an instinctive resistance to getting up.
"Tsk, time to get up. Now isn't the time to be lazy," a clear and pleasant voice came from the girl's mouth.
She was now called Charlotte Linlin, a 'lucky' transmigrator who had been reborn with memories of her past life as one of the future Four Emperors in the world of the Pirate King.
Having lived peacefully for sixteen years in an affiliated kingdom, she was now an innocent girl forced to join the Rocks Pirates because she refused to become a slave to the Celestial Dragons.
Having just joined the Rocks Pirates and already becoming one of the Core Members, she now faced a very difficult problem:
How to lead a group of beautiful girls she had saved when escaping the warship—none of whom had any combat power—and survive on Beehive Island, a place crawling with pirates.
Stepping her jade-like feet into the suede boots placed by the bed, Charlotte Linlin stood up, stretched, and walked toward a massive floor-length mirror in the room.
The girl in the mirror had perfect proportions and long limbs. Her translucent white skin shimmered with a jade-like luster under the morning light.
She wore a white off-shoulder bodysuit that outlined her full curves, with a black leather corset tied at her waist to further lift her chest. Below, she wore black leggings that made her legs look even straighter and longer, and on her feet were dark purple suede high heels.
The entire outfit was sharp and cold, creating a strong visual impact against her pink hair and snowy skin.
"As expected of me, I never get tired of looking."
After a moment of narcissism, Charlotte Linlin casually picked up a white cloak from the side and draped it over herself. Finally, she turned her gaze toward a long blade leaning against the wall.
The blade was nearly as long as she was tall, with a white scabbard of a peculiar texture. The material was neither metal nor wood, and it was covered in profound purple patterns.
As her fingertips brushed the cold, smooth scabbard, a hum that only Charlotte Linlin could feel resonated in her heart.
She fastened it firmly to her waist. The heavy weight of the nodachi hanging at her side gave Charlotte Linlin a strange sense of security.
Pushing open the door, she found a corridor outside covered in a crimson carpet.
"Lady Linlin! You're awake!"
A female voice rang out, filled with obvious flattery and nervousness.
Charlotte Linlin looked down. It was a woman with delicate features wearing the attire of a Rocks Pirates cadre. She was currently looking up, her face wreathed in a cautious smile.
Her black hair was meticulously pinned up behind her head, her face was coated in thick white powder, and her lips were dotted bright red. She was a minor cadre of the Rocks Pirates—Kurozumi Mushi.
Her stature was actually quite tall for an ordinary person, measuring nearly two meters. Her pale arms showed a bit of muscle definition. In Charlotte Linlin's previous life, she would definitely have been someone to look up to.
But now, this woman—who was considered tall even among the low-level pirates—only reached the calves of the high-heeled Charlotte Linlin. She had to tilt her neck back to the limit just to catch a glimpse of Charlotte Linlin's chin.
"Mm."
Charlotte Linlin gave a faint response. She felt nothing toward Kurozumi Mushi's fawning, but she didn't hate it either. At least she was a woman, which saved her from many irritating interactions.
"My Lady, breakfast has been prepared for you. Please follow me!"
Kurozumi Mushi immediately stepped aside to lead the way, her posture humble. She almost had to jog just to keep up with the pace of Charlotte Linlin's long legs.
As they walked, she stole glances at the massive purple blade at Charlotte Linlin's waist, her eyes a mix of awe and fear.
Catching sight of the slightly comical steps the person in front of her was taking due to the restrictions of her kimono, Charlotte Linlin slowed her pace slightly and asked:
"What is the schedule for today?"
As a newcomer to the Rocks Pirates, Charlotte Linlin adhered to the principle that less trouble is better than more. She intended to first listen to the advice of Kurozumi Mushi, a veteran of the Rocks Pirates.
She had no thoughts of replacing Rocks at the moment. Not only could she not beat Rocks right now, but her original reason for joining the Rocks Pirates was to hide from the pursuit of the Marine and the World Government.
If she fell out with the Rocks Pirates now, wouldn't she become a lone hero fighting against the whole world?
At the thought of the Marine, a surge of loathing involuntarily welled up in Charlotte Linlin's heart.
"Heh, a bunch of damned lapdogs, those hypocritical Marines."
She remembered how, just because she was beautiful, tall, and like a Small Giant, the King and the Marine had attempted to offer her to the Celestial Dragons as a slave.
A wave of disgust for this world's Marine rose within her, especially toward Sengoku, that hypocritical Marine commander whom she detested.
That hypocritical Navy Vice Admiral had claimed it was for her own good and for the peace of the country, telling her to obey the arrangements and become a slave to the Celestial Dragons!
Bullshit 'for her own good.' Wasn't it just because she was alone and weak that they planned to sacrifice one person to save many? They were even trying to protect the group of Marines who were escorting her and the Celestial Dragons' Heavenly Gold!
She was no saint, and she certainly wouldn't return good for evil! After stealing the Heavenly Gold that Sengoku was escorting, she had fled directly with others who shared a similar fate.
If not for her own great strength and the fact that Rocks happened to arrive, she would probably still be on the run from the pursuit of that Navy Vice Admiral, Sengoku.
As a transmigrator, she utterly loathed those who pushed victims into the abyss while claiming it was for their own good. What's more, that fellow Sengoku even branded himself as a Marine, a 'just' Marine?
The thought made Charlotte Linlin want to laugh. Since when did justice require the sacrifice of others to be maintained? This truly was a distorted world.
As for that King? On the day she fled the Marine ship, she had already gone back to 'visit' him. To this day, that King was still pinned to his palace hall.
Kurozumi Mushi, walking ahead, faintly sensed the rising aura from Charlotte Linlin. Thinking that Charlotte Linlin was annoyed by her slow response, she quickly said:
"Yes! The primary task is to confirm your Flagship! The shipyard is already prepared; it's a top-tier warship worthy of your status!
The keel is made from the adam tree! It has three gun decks and is even a size larger than the Flagship of an average Marine Giant Vice Admiral!"
Her tone carried a sense of shared pride, but she then rubbed her hands together, looking a bit troubled.
"However... My Lady, the ship is a fine ship, but currently... it is very empty."
"Oh?"
Charlotte Linlin didn't stop, merely raising an eyebrow slightly.
This was normal. Although she already had twenty-seven followers, on the massive warship Kurozumi Mushi described, they were just a drop in the bucket. This handful of people would likely find it difficult to even maintain basic sailing.
Charlotte Linlin rested her right hand on the hilt of her tachi, thinking to herself:
"I didn't expect my new ship to be ready so quickly. Could this be a ship Rocks prepared for a giant? Has that fellow Rocks made a move on the Giant Race? Or has he already done so?"
Normally, even rebuilding an ordinary pirate ship would take over a month. How could a ship suitable for someone with her Small Giant physique be completed just a few days after she joined?
Kurozumi Mushi said with a slight apology:
"This, I do not know. The matters of Captain Rocks are not for small figures like us to investigate. Only Core Cadres like yourself, My Lady, have the right to know."
Seeing that Charlotte Linlin's attention had clearly been diverted, she visibly breathed a sigh of relief and continued:
"Besides the necessary maintenance crew, My Lady, you also need a Chef, combat members, a Ship Doctor, Gunners... all of these require you to personally decide on recruitment or be assigned by Captain Rocks. Fortunately..."
"The hardest to find and most important member, the Navigator, has already been found by you, My Lady. As for the rest of the crew, if your requirements aren't too high, you should be able to gather them easily by recruiting around Beehive Island."
As they spoke, the two arrived before a massive wooden door carved with a skull pattern. From behind the door came the aroma of food, the smell of alcohol, and the unique salty sweat of pirates.