Nearly an hour had passed since Hancock used her Conqueror's Haki to knock out the island's entire population.
One by one, the islanders were beginning to regain consciousness.
Though most were completely confused, since no one had died, they simply got back to whatever they had been doing before.
Only now could Sero and Little Sparrow sit down at a seaside restaurant and finally enjoy a well-earned, lavish seafood feast.
Oh—and on his way there, Sero had passed by a shoe shop and picked up a pair of pretty high heels.
After all, he'd accidentally shattered one of Hancock's heels during their earlier fight.
If he ever ran into her again, he figured he could give her these as a gift.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
While munching on fish, Little Sparrow suddenly perked up and chirped at the restaurant door.
Sero turned to look.
"That woman again? Which one are you talking about, Little Sparrow?"
Before the bird could answer, the restaurant doors opened, and in walked Hancock.
Barefoot, wearing the very coat Sero had given her.
It looked like she had taken time to clean herself up nicely.
"…Huh?!"
Sero blinked, dumbfounded, as Hancock bashfully sat down across from him.
He thought he wouldn't see her again until the Summit War.
Yet here she was, coming to find him.
He had no idea what she was after.
"Um… this… that…"
On her way here, Hancock had mentally prepared what she wanted to say to Sero.
But now, sitting across from him, her mind had gone completely blank.
She was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole.
"Put your shoes on. The floor's dirty."
Sero broke the awkward silence first.
He placed the pair of beautiful high heels in front of Hancock's soft, bare feet.
She just froze, as if turned to stone.
Her eyes stayed locked on the shoes, unblinking.
Sero scratched his head, confused.
"Should I… help you put them on?"
To be clear, Sero didn't have any kind of foot fetish.
He just thought these high heels matched her feet perfectly.
Since Hancock didn't object, Sero took her silence as approval.
He awkwardly knelt and slipped the heels onto her feet.
"They look amazing! The shoes are beautiful, but your feet are even more beautiful."
He admired them aloud without reservation.
Hancock's face turned visibly red, seemingly ready to steam.
"…Is… is this man proposing to me…?"
"Huh?!"
Sero wasn't paying much attention and thought he had misheard.
He turned to look at Hancock in total confusion.
She quickly looked away, flustered, and clumsily changed the subject.
"W-what's your name?"
"Sero. And you?"
"I… I am Boa Hancock…"
Wait, "I am"? Not "This king"?
She had always referred to herself as "this king"
Sero raised an eyebrow. That kind of change... could only mean one thing.
This was likely a sign of affection.
He was probably very close to completing the mission to "conquer Hancock" and claim the reward.
Maybe he just needed to push a little further…
"Hancock, are you hurt anywhere?"
He turned on the charm, going with a gentle, caring approach.
It worked.
Hancock's eyes immediately lit up.
"No, I'm fine, Se… Sero…"
She even stuttered slightly over his name.
From there, Sero kept the conversation going, casually chatting with her about this and that.
It made Hancock gradually relax.
She had never had a friend before and wasn't used to this kind of small talk, but she genuinely enjoyed it.
She even began trying to initiate conversations herself, mimicking Sero's mannerisms.
Though her topics were awkward and nonsensical at times, Sero found it… adorable.
And hilarious.
"Sero, your swordsmanship is so good, you must've trained for at least two and a half years, right?"
"You know that guy Mihawk, the so-called world's greatest swordsman? Honestly, he only has one move, a basic chicken peck."
"I heard Admiral Kizaru has some secret, messy ties with the Revolutionary Army!"
"Also, Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, has a daughter! A total ditz!"
"Speaking of daughters, Kaido's kid, Yamato, I seriously think she's Kaido and Big Mom's love child!"
"Oh, and get this, when Whitebeard heard that his Second Division Commander Ace was captured by the Navy, he immediately rallied the troops. Pretty sure Ace is his secret illegitimate son!"
Turns out gossip is universal, even pirate empresses can't resist.
Before they knew it, they had talked from noon to sunset, from lunch to afternoon tea, all the way to dinner.
Sero felt like Hancock was offloading years' worth of conversations all at once.
"Um… Sero, could you… not tell anyone about… the Celestial Dragon's Hoof on my back?"
This, this was the real reason Hancock had come to see Sero.
She hadn't expected it to turn into the love story she'd dreamed of.
But she still needed to ask him this.
"Hancock, you wouldn't want everyone to know about it either… right?"
Sero gave her a mischievous smile.
He looked exactly like a charming villain.
Hancock found this side of him even more attractive.
"Since you're threatening me, Sero… then I've been threatened… Go on, make your unreasonable demand…"
Blushing fiercely, Hancock covered her face with both hands.
She had never imagined saying something so bold to a man.
Sero was stunned.
He had expected a Perfume fume to the face, not... this.
Now he didn't know what "unreasonable demand" to make.
After several long seconds of silence, Hancock peeked through her fingers, curious.
Sero still hadn't said anything.
"It's okay, Sero… you can take your time before asking something unreasonable…"
"Ah, uh…"
At this point, Hancock was throwing herself at him, and Sero felt bad not taking the opportunity.
Truthfully, he did have a request in mind…
But it could get someone killed.
So he hesitated.
Unfortunately, he didn't have a backup "unreasonable" request ready.
After a moment of thought, Sero decided to ask tentatively:
"If… I mean if... the request might lead to someone's death… what then?"
"Lead to death?"
A baby?!
That's where Hancock's brain went.
Her cheeks turned bright red, steam practically rising from her ears.
She thought Sero was thinking of having a baby with her.
Too fast, but… not unacceptable.
She started fantasizing about their future together, raising a child in blissful happiness.
Sero, meanwhile, looked on in confusion, wondering why she was so flushed and dazed.
He had no idea she was imagining baby names already.
"…Why hasn't the mission reward system triggered yet? I've conquered her by now, right?!
What more does the system want? Full commitment?!"
Suddenly, Hancock gave a soft, shy nod.
As if she were saying, "I'm ready."
"Actually… I request that you"
"Yes! I'm saying yes!"
Before he could finish, Hancock cut him off, afraid he'd back down.
Sero was stunned.
"Granny once said… nighttime is the best time for… dangerous things…"
She reached out, gently placing her soft, white hand over Sero's.
"Granny" referred to the former queen of Amazon Lily, Hancock's mentor.
Sero stared at her delicate hand, now resting on his own.
What he had meant by "dangerous" was recruiting allies, specifically Sabo from the Revolutionary Army and Yamato from Onigashima, Kaido's stronghold.
In other words, they'd be going up against one of the Four Emperors, Kaido, and his entire Beasts Pirates crew.
That had the potential to cost lives.
So yes, it was "dangerous."
But Hancock had interpreted that very differently.
"Sero… come… follow me inside…"