"Cheers!" came the boisterous voices of the giants in unison.
Before the Winter Solstice Festival arrived, the giants of Elbaf would consume massive quantities of highly nutritious food to sustain themselves through the grueling twelve days of fasting that lay ahead. Even the children participated in this preparatory feast without exception.
It was fortunate that people in this world generally possessed robust physical constitutions. Otherwise, enduring so many days without eating, subsisting on nothing but water, would inevitably lead to serious illness even if starvation did not claim them first.
Among everyone gathered at the enormous feast, the one eating with the most unbridled enthusiasm was undoubtedly Charlotte Linlin.
"So sweet!" she exclaimed between massive bites.
"So delicious!"
The giants sat around a colossal table, sharing what should have been their final communal dinner before the Winter Solstice Festival began. But Linlin alone had already devoured most of the food spread across the vast wooden surface, her small hands moving with mechanical efficiency.
"Linlin, wait, you're eating too fast. There's nothing left for everyone else," one of the nearby giants pleaded gently.
Giants on both sides of her tried to intervene diplomatically, but terrified of accidentally harming the small girl with their massive hands, they found themselves completely helpless to stop her relentless consumption.
This disturbing scene had actually occurred repeatedly over the past half year. Whenever Charlotte Linlin encountered delicious food, she would behave as if she had lost all capacity for reason, with eating becoming the only imperative driving her actions. Even Mother Carmel, whom she respected above all others, found herself powerless to halt these episodes.
Silas could not turn a blind eye to this escalating pattern.
"Linlin!"
A calm but unmistakably authoritative voice cut through the jovial atmosphere at the dining table. The instant Charlotte Linlin heard that familiar tone, her mechanical motion of shoving food into her mouth stopped completely.
Not only did Charlotte Linlin freeze, but the two giants sitting closest to her broke out in cold sweat across their massive foreheads.
Conqueror's Haki.
After half a year of dedicated training and refinement, Silas had developed the ability to concentrate his Conqueror's Haki within a precisely controlled range, allowing him to target specific individuals without affecting everyone in the vicinity.
At this moment, in Charlotte Linlin's young eyes, Silas appeared exactly like a stern but caring father figure. His presence compelled her to unconsciously cease her frenzied actions.
"Linlin, do not eat so quickly. As a proper young lady, your table manners should be more elegant and refined."
"Ah... okay," Linlin responded in a small voice.
She did not fully understand what "elegant" meant, but she clearly recognized that Silas was instructing her to slow down her eating pace. After awakening from her gluttonous trance, despite the fact that the remaining sweets on the table looked incredibly appetizing, Linlin reluctantly set them aside.
"Truly delicious food is meant to be enjoyed together with others to bring shared happiness," Silas continued, his voice gentle but firm. "Linlin, consuming all the food by yourself without consideration for others is fundamentally wrong."
Taking full advantage of Charlotte Linlin's impressionable young age, Silas recognized that it was absolutely crucial to cultivate proper moral values in her now, rather than allowing her to develop into the ruthless villain who would one day burn, pillage, and destroy without the slightest restraint.
Of course, this moral guidance came from a pirate's unique perspective, clearly defining for Charlotte Linlin what behaviors she could engage in and which actions were strictly forbidden.
After receiving Silas's gentle but unmistakable rebuke, Charlotte Linlin instinctively turned her gaze toward Sister Carmel, seeking some form of support or contradiction. When she saw Carmel nodding in complete agreement with Silas's words, her small shoulders sagged in obvious dejection.
"I understand," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
In many previous situations when Charlotte Linlin had misbehaved, Carmel had chosen the path of tolerance and forgiveness, consistently using the girl's tender age as a convenient excuse for her problematic actions.
But Silas refused to follow that permissive approach.
Right was unquestionably right, and wrong was undeniably wrong. There could be no compromise on fundamental principles.
If Charlotte Linlin were merely an ordinary little girl, then her mistakes and poor choices would at most affect herself and those in her immediate vicinity. The consequences would remain manageable and contained.
But Charlotte Linlin was anything but ordinary.
As a future Emperor of the seas, Charlotte Linlin had been blessed with natural talents that countless individuals could only fantasize about possessing. Compared to her extraordinary gifts, even Rocks's impressive abilities seemed almost insignificant by comparison.
After the solemn conclusion of their final feast, Silas called Rocks and Ripley aside for a private discussion.
"During these twelve critical days before the Winter Solstice Festival officially begins, the giants will be at their absolute weakest point," he explained seriously. "To guard against potential external threats during this vulnerable period, the giants will be significantly strengthening their patrol schedules and security measures."
"I will personally assist the giants in their patrol duties."
Although Silas was a transmigrator with knowledge of future events, that advantage did not grant him the ability to predict everything that might occur. The detailed plot of this world that he was familiar with would not unfold for another sixty years. If this period were depicted in a manga, then their current story would essentially serve as the prequel to the prequel.
Regarding what major events might potentially occur at this specific point in the timeline, Silas possessed virtually no useful knowledge or insight.
Furthermore, Silas's very presence and actions had already begun to throw this world's established order into chaos. Even the smallest change could have massive, unforeseen consequences. A butterfly flapping its wings in one location could trigger a devastating storm thousands of miles away.
His sometimes reckless interventions might completely alter the future plot direction in ways he could never anticipate.
The simplest example: if when Silas first encountered Rocks, he had chosen to kill the young man simply because he found his attitude disagreeable, then there would never be a future sea overlord bearing the name Rocks D. Xebec.
So although his memories of the original plot suggested that during this particular Winter Solstice Festival, aside from Linlin's inevitable rampage caused by her eating disorder, no other major incidents occurred, Silas still chose to participate actively in the giants' patrol efforts.
This decision also served as a crucial test for both Rocks and Ripley.
"If nothing unexpected occurs during this period, when we eventually depart from Elbaf, I fully intend to invite Linlin to become the fourth crew member aboard our ship," he announced. "Your current assignment is to take comprehensive care of Linlin throughout these twelve challenging days."
In the original plot timeline, Charlotte Linlin's eating disorder rampage had resulted in the complete destruction of most of the giants' village and had accidentally caused the death of Yoruru, the perpetually grumpy old giant who had always harbored deep suspicion toward Silas.
Consequently, to protect Charlotte Linlin from the giants' inevitable wrath and desire for revenge, Carmel had been forced to abandon the safety and protection that Elbaf provided. She had no choice but to rebuild the House of Lambs in some distant, unprotected location.
Silas was absolutely determined to prevent that tragic sequence of events from unfolding.
"Charlotte Linlin? You mean letting that chubby girl join our crew?" Rocks asked, his expression clearly showing his displeasure and confusion.
"Captain, although I acknowledge that the girl possesses some degree of natural talent, she is only five years old right now. If she joins our pirate crew, will we not be forced to take care of her every single day like nursemaids?"
Seeing Rocks's skeptical and somewhat dismissive expression, Silas could not help but chuckle quietly without offering any detailed explanation.
While Rocks's remarkable progress over the past six months was genuine and impressive, Silas would confidently wager everything he owned that if the young man went head-to-head in single combat with Charlotte Linlin, she would emerge victorious without breaking a sweat.
That was correct. Twenty-one-year-old Rocks could not defeat five-year-old Charlotte Linlin in a fair fight.
The outcome would not even be close enough to debate. First, Rocks would need to find a way to break through her seemingly impenetrable natural defenses.
Although Charlotte Linlin's legendary special constitution known as "Steel Balloon" had not yet fully matured due to her tender age, Rocks stood no chance of penetrating her defenses. Even Silas himself might struggle to breach Charlotte Linlin's natural armor if he was not fighting with complete seriousness and using his full power.
Throughout all the countless epic battles that Charlotte Linlin would experience during her future career, as far as Silas could recall from his knowledge of the original timeline, except for that one unique occasion when she accidentally made her own defensive ability temporarily ineffective, her natural armor had never been successfully penetrated even once.
Therefore, Silas harbored no illusions about Rocks being capable of physically stopping Linlin when she inevitably descended into one of her destructive rampages.
"Ripley, I am counting on you to handle this responsibility!"
"Yeah, leave it to me!" Ripley responded with a confident grin and an enthusiastic nod.
Although she did not fully understand why Silas placed such tremendous importance on what appeared to be just another little girl, she could not help but notice that as time continued to pass, his spirit and energy seemed to grow stronger and more vibrant with each day.
Now, he had completely returned to the impressive state she remembered from their first meeting ten years ago. This was the legendary pirate captain she had always admired and dreamed of serving under.
However, it seemed possible that Silas might be worrying unnecessarily about potential problems. Seven consecutive days passed without any notable incidents or disruptions. Even Charlotte Linlin, who theoretically should have descended into a hunger-induced rampage during this extended fasting period, appeared to have somehow successfully suppressed her overwhelming need for constant food consumption.
The relative peace continued until the arrival of the eighth day.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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