"Welcome back, Sue-chan! You made it!"
"It's been a while, Auntie. Have you been well since then?"
This was a certain village inside Shiki's territory—Sky Island.
Or rather, it was the very same village I happened to visit when I first came to Merveille, the place where I'd heard the news that Shiki ruled these floating islands in the first place.
And here I was now, meeting the auntie who'd told me everything back then.
The moment she saw me, her face lit up—joy and relief blending together as she welcomed me.
"Yeah, we're fine… No problems, living in peace. Honestly, better than we used to. But you—are you okay, Sue-chan? That Shiki bastard hasn't done anything cruel to you, hasn't worked you to the bone or anything, has he?"
"Ahahaha… It's fine, Auntie. It's really not like that… I do help out here and there, sure, but it's nothing serious. Besides, I'm Shiki's daughter. There's no need to worry about me like that."
"I hope so… We've been worried, Sue-chan. Worried sick. Shiki took you to save us, didn't he? And then we heard you joined his pirate crew in exchange for getting the young workers in the village released… When I think you might've sacrificed yourself for us…"
'…Papa, seriously. Honestly…'
Alright, then. I might as well explain what happened after that—and what the village's situation is now.
Like you already know, this village was forced—half against its will—into Shiki's territory, and it suffered under his oppressive rule.
And to begin with, this used to be a normal island in the Blue Sea… until about twenty years ago, when Shiki suddenly turned it into a "Sky Island."
That alone must've been more than just a shock. But then he went further—taking away the village's young men and women in the prime of their lives as laborers, leaving behind only little children and the middle-aged and older islanders.
Even so, everyone worked together somehow, scraping by and living hand to mouth… that was the situation.
Then I showed up, and Shiki took me away… but the real issue was what came after.
After that incident—after I started calling Shiki "Papa."
Papa apparently used the opportunity of reworking some plan he's pushing forward to… change course on how he governed this village, too.
As part of that shift, he released the young men and women he'd kept close and made work.
And he even said, from now on, unless something truly drastic happened, he wouldn't harm them. That they should live however they pleased…
By "truly drastic," he meant things like the villagers turning their fangs on him of their own accord—so as long as they lived normally, there was no reason they'd ever brush up against that condition.
But Shiki—the one who'd been tormenting them—suddenly helping them, freeing them… of course plenty of people suspected there had to be a catch.
They doubted he'd really return their people. And even after the young workers actually came back, they still feared some outrageous demand would be shoved down their throats later.
In reality, Papa had simply shifted policies and reorganized personnel. Even as labor, those people had been in an awkward, half-useful position… so he'd cast them out. Like layoffs. There was no hidden agenda at all.
But Papa—of course—just couldn't leave it there. He made up a story so convincing it practically forced the villagers to accept it.
That Sue—the girl he'd taken from this village—was his biological daughter, separated from him long ago.
And that I would return to Shiki's side and cooperate with him, on the condition that from that point onward he would never do anything to make the village suffer again.
He said he accepted those terms. And that as the price of that deal, the villagers were being freed.
In other words…
I had sacrificed myself to save the village.
What an awful story. These people are kind—if you told them something like that, they'd be crushed under the weight of guilt.
Sure, it was persuasive enough that they could believe they'd be safe from now on… but it also meant they'd believe their safety came at the cost of me.
'…Well. It's not completely wrong, I guess. In a way. About half.'
I had, in my own vague way, asked Papa to treat the village kindly—told him it was pitiful, that they didn't deserve it… And he probably thought, 'Eh, either way. Might as well let them go.'
But Papa deliberately twisted the balance between "my request" and "the village's freedom" when he explained it, creating something that wasn't really the truth.
And the result was the way this auntie was worrying over me now.
She's calmed down a lot, but when I stopped by briefly before—just to check on things—the entire village greeted me in tears. I panicked.
They treated me like some "human offering," a girl who'd thrown herself away as a sacrifice. I didn't just get startled—I got put off. And somehow I ended up feeling guilty, too.
Seriously… the people here are so kind. For someone like me—basically a stranger they talked to for maybe a few tens of minutes—they're this earnest, this warm.
Well. Leaving all that background aside…
"Anyway… is Leona around? I heard she's been playing around here a lot lately."
"Ah, Lady Leona? At this time of day, she's probably over in those hills. You'll know it when you see it."
☆☆☆
I went where she told me to… and—yep. There she was.
A grassy meadow, soft and spring-warm, the kind of weather that makes your eyelids heavy.
Right in the middle of it all were Merveille's famous local specialty—rare beasts of every kind, gathered together across species boundaries… sunbathing, or more like napping.
And at the center…
I spotted a girl who looked about middle-school age, sleeping soundly with her head nestled against the belly of a huge lion like it was her bed.
Her fluffy gray hair was distinctive, and her face looked so peaceful it almost made my chest loosen.
But when I walked closer—still about a hundred meters away—she twitched, then sprang up in one smooth motion.
She sniffed the air, like she was tracking a scent, then looked straight at me—
"Ah—Mom! It's you! Been forever!"
"It hasn't been forever, Leona. It's only been about a month."
"A month without seeing your own mom is totally 'forever'!"
She grinned so wide it looked like it might split her face, then tore across the hundred meters in a blink and launched herself at me.
Whoa—!
Her charge has more power than last time… and she's a little heavier, too. Not in a bad way. Not weight—growth. Healthy, proper growth.
Leona clung to me like a cat, rubbing—no, grinding—her head against me over and over.
"There, there… Were you being good? Sorry. This time I ended up gone a bit longer."
When I stroked her head, she melted into a soft, happy smile.
Honestly, she's still adorable. It's unfair.
It's been months now, since we—meaning me and my three 'daughters'—formally built our relationship as a family.
If they were going to be my daughters, I thought they needed to meet Papa properly and explain it to him. So I brought them to Merveille to say hello… and, surprisingly, Papa accepted it without making a fuss.
More than that, he told them they could live here if they wanted, and that he'd have his subordinates look after them.
According to Papa, if they had the physical strength and mental toughness to keep up with my voyages at that age, and all three were Devil Fruit users who could already handle their abilities pretty well, then they were excellent talent.
I didn't disagree. Even back then, all three of them were already strong.
That said, I made it clear that unlike me, I had no intention of making the girls do "Golden Lion Pirates" work. I planned to respect what they wanted.
And Papa's response was, "For now, that's fine."
So Leona and the others were accepted quickly.
Even among the executives who already knew about me, the girls came to be treated as "the young lady's daughters" and "the Grand Boss's granddaughters."
I'd worried they might get underestimated or looked down on like I had… but that worry turned out to be pointless.
If anything, I got the feeling people were muttering, "She picked something up again…" or "She's brought in talent before, but adopting kids is a first… I'm honestly shocked."
Like I was some troublesome kid who keeps dragging home abandoned dogs and cats.
So Leona and the others started living in Merveille… though at first, they mostly moved with me, so we kept repeating the cycle of leaving and coming back.
But it stopped being the four of us, always together, all the time.
Sometimes my interviews took me somewhere it was still too dangerous to bring them. Other times, for one reason or another, I had to move alone—or with Honey, or with the three fishman sisters as my companions.
When that happened, Leona and the others had to stay behind. Here.
And on top of that, they were curious about this new place they could call "home," and it didn't seem like they hated staying here.
They were disappointed they couldn't come with me, sure… but living here was fun in its own way.
Besides—this place has all kinds of animals, and Papa and his subordinates are around… which makes it a perfect training ground for the three of them.
I mentioned it earlier, but all three are ability users, and for early teens, their strength is outrageous.
Even so, judged by Grand Line standards… I can only say they're still weak.
Against ordinary nobodies, they can dominate. But once you're talking about named pirates with bounties in the tens of millions, I can't help feeling uneasy.
'…And yeah, I know. Expecting that level of combat power from girls their age is kind of insane.'
But if they want to accompany me, they'll need it. No way around it.
Besides, when I was fourteen, I was already bounty hunting and taking down targets worth around forty million.
Anyway—being strong doesn't hurt you, and it doesn't cost you anything. So while they're on this island, the three of them train with intention.
Especially when I'm away and it's just the kids holding down the fort. Apparently Papa even spars with them sometimes—partly to cure his own lack of exercise. I've heard they've been improving fast.
Of course, none of them can use Haki yet… but honestly, that's only natural.
Haki is supposed to be drawn out through long-term training, and even among adult pirates, only a handful can use it.
In my case, I was the exception. I'd been forced awake—dragged into it—by nearly dying at sea, so I could already use it back when I was fourteen.
Normally, you build your basics first. Only after you've mastered the fundamentals do you reach for Haki.
If I had to guess, Leona and the others won't be able to use it until their late teens at the earliest… and even then, that would still be fast.
Even so, with Papa and the crew acting as instructors, they're growing steadily—so in every sense, I'm looking forward to the future my daughters are heading toward.
After that, I decided to rest and sunbathe with Leona.
When I appeared out of nowhere—an unfamiliar face—the rare beasts around us shifted, wary and guarded. But once Leona told them, "She's my mom," they quieted immediately.
Leona's good at getting along with animals.
Among the island's rare beasts… the smart, prominent ones are basically all her friends—or maybe it's more like she's sitting on top of them as some kind of boss.
"Haa… Mom's smell… I missed it. It makes me feel safe."
"Hey. Don't sniff people. You're not Alice."
"Alice can do it?"
"No. She's just… given up on a lot of things."
"Ah. Okay."
The gentle sunlight felt so good.
I almost wanted to fall asleep like this… but I should move soon.
I'd finally come back, and there were still other 'daughters' I needed to see.
"Hey, Leona. Do you know where Suzu and Alice are?"
"Hmm… Suzu's on the island two over from here. Unlike this one, there are barely any animals… and there's only one house, so you'll know it right away. She's probably there. Alice is… I think she's out right now. She'll be back at night, though."
"I got Suzu, but… out? What do you mean?"
'Alice is leaving Merveille?'
This is Sky Island. If she's going in and out, she'd need help from someone who can fly—or someone who can make her fly—like Papa or me. Otherwise, she shouldn't even be able to come and go.
When I asked, Leona shrugged.
"I don't really know the details, but lately she's been getting permission from Gramps and going around to different places. One of Gramps' trusted subordinates goes with her as a guard, so I think it's fine. If you wait, she'll probably come back by evening or night. It's usually just day trips."
"Is that so…? If you say so."
Then I'll leave Alice for later.
Next… I'll go see Suzu.
If I remember right, it's another Sky Island—the one with only a single house.
…Maybe I'll nap a little more first, then go.
To be continued...