The Holy Land of Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle, the Chamber of Authority.
Inside the grand hall, five elderly men stood or sat at ease, each radiating an aura of authority that could not be looked upon directly—an inviolable presence befitting those at the pinnacle of power.
"...That concludes the report, Five Elders!"
A CP operative knelt on the floor, having finished delivering the final intelligence summary, and awaited further instructions.
On the sofa, St. Warcury, who had been resting his chin on his hands, waved dismissively, signaling the agent to withdraw.
"Have we been far too indulgent toward that brat? Now even his crew dares bare their fangs at us!"
"Fortunately, the Roswald family was unharmed. Otherwise..."
"That's nothing unusual. Those who provoke the strong being punished—isn't that only natural?"
St. Garling, lounging across the tea table with one leg crossed over the other, spoke casually, clearly unconcerned. Provoking others without the strength to back it up was simply courting death.
"St. Garling, mind your words. With our noble status, how could we allow such lowly creatures to trample upon us at will?"
St. Nusjuro, who had been carefully maintaining his blade, shot Garling a sharp glare upon hearing that remark.
Strong or not, before the Celestial Dragons, all must bow their proud heads.
Noticing that the others were also looking at him with disapproval, St. Garling crossed his arms, his gaze turning meaningful.
"Status can change, you know~ After the Crocodile incident, I took a closer look at Leno's background..."
"A noble of the Goa Kingdom!"
As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly, his tone becoming playful.
"Look at his current conduct—strong, indulgent, knows how to enjoy life. If his status were elevated just a bit more..."
"..."
The others exchanged glances, clearly surprised. None of them had expected Leno to have such a background.
Thinking back on his behavior all along the way, it did seem—somewhat—consistent with a noble's style?
Aside from that one incident at Marine Headquarters, the man didn't seem to have done anything particularly harmful to the World Government.
"...It might not be impossible."
St. Ju Peter, standing beside the sofa, stroked his chin thoughtfully. Then, as if recalling something, he suddenly looked up.
"The intelligence mentioned earlier—Leno showed interest in Shalria Palace?"
"...We can bring it up later."
St. Mars, who had been holding a teacup, paused for a moment upon hearing the suggestion and found it quite reasonable.
Trading a good-for-nothing, lust-driven lower-ranking Celestial Dragon for that man—this deal was worth it.
"Still, the matter of his status should be reported to His Excellency first!"
"You all..."
Watching the conversation veer further and further off course, St. Warcury's expression darkened.
His original intention had been to take advantage of Leno's proximity to the Holy Land and mobilize forces to teach him a lesson.
How did it turn into recruiting him instead?
St. Garling! Damn it!
That muscle-brained fool—he must have taken a liking to Leno's strength!
"I second the motion~"
"I second the motion~"
"..."
...
"What are you seconding, seconding? What does this have to do with you?"
Leno shot Yamato an annoyed glare, then turned helplessly toward Nami and the others seated across from him.
Ever since they returned, these women had been constantly giving him sideways looks and passive-aggressive remarks.
After asking around, he finally learned the reason—they had assumed that Yamato offering someone as a wife had been done on his orders.
That was a complete injustice! He had known nothing about it!
This time, Yamato had truly meant well but ended up making a mess of things, leaving Leno both amused and exasperated.
He was genuinely touched that Yamato always thought of him, but still...
In the end, under Nami's lead, everyone voted unanimously: if Leno ever wanted to bring in new members again, he had to get their approval first.
During the vote, Yamato was more enthusiastic than anyone, making Leno seriously wonder whether this was deliberate or just an act.
"Alright then. There's nothing else planned—are you still going shopping?"
"What shopping? My mood's completely ruined!"
Nami grabbed Leno's teacup and downed it in one go, clearly irritated.
Their carefully planned outing had been completely spoiled by those bastards.
The others nodded in agreement. Everything that had happened today was just infuriating.
Hancock, meanwhile, was curled up in Leno's arms, her face full of grievance, making his heart ache for her.
Encountering the Celestial Dragons had stirred up painful memories from her youth—memories she couldn't suppress.
Thankfully, she could face them calmly now, without fear.
Back at the amusement park, she had almost lost control and killed that Celestial Dragon herself.
Leno, too, felt that letting those pigs live had been far too merciful.
With no interest left in shopping, the beauties passed the time idly in a bar instead.
No one knew how much time had passed when an unexpected visitor arrived.
The moment he sensed that presence, Leno vanished from the bar.
Before anyone could voice their confusion, he reappeared, hand in hand with a pink-haired beauty.
"Hina!"
Nami, Nojiko, and the others lit up instantly and rushed over the moment they recognized her.
One by one, they stepped forward to embrace the long-missed big sister they had been thinking about for so long.
"Hina, we missed you so much~"
"Hina missed you all too. I happened to hear about you while reporting back to headquarters, so I came over."
After being pulled to the sofa, Hina glanced around and asked with concern:
"I heard you beat up a Celestial Dragon. Are you all okay?"
"It's fine. Your Admiral Kizaru already took them away~"
Carmen replied casually while pouring Hina a glass of water, her expression full of pride.
Beating up a Celestial Dragon in public and even an Admiral obediently letting it pass—who else but adventurers could pull that off?
Nojiko, sitting beside Hina, spoke up with a hint of worry:
"Hina, if the Marines find out you came to see us, won't that be a problem?"
"No need to worry. I already checked the surroundings before coming in."
Leno walked over with a drink in hand, glanced at Hina, and smiled.
"Afterward, I'll personally escort her back."
"You big idiot. At least you know better. Hina didn't like you for nothing!"
Seeing how attentive Leno was, Nami shot him a tsundere glance. This was exactly why they were satisfied with him.
When it came to their safety, Leno always took things seriously.
Having her feelings exposed so openly, even though Hina and Leno had already been intimate, she couldn't help but blush.
"N-Nami, don't talk nonsense~"
"Hehehe... Hina, what's there to be shy about~ Everyone here's family~"
Uta's voice rang out, crisp and playful, teasing Hina when she saw her flushed cheeks.
But the moment her words fell, several others in the room visibly began to redden as well.
"..."
...
...