The Celestial Dragon slave ship was attacked when it docked yesterday.
The rumor was that the bomb, with the childish name "Jumpy Dumpty," was thrown by the girl on the wanted poster. It was hard to imagine a bomb with a name sounding like a child's toy could unleash such terrifying power.
The ship was instantly pulverized. The Celestial Dragons' lackeys and the slaves aboard were all blasted into the water, sending up water splashes dozens of meters high. The entire harbor experienced what felt like a brief, heavy rainstorm.
The newly freed slaves seized the chance to flee, causing a significant commotion in the port.
Eventually, the Celestial Dragons sent a large contingent to capture many of the fleeing slaves, but a large portion still escaped, and they failed to find the perpetrators.
The Celestial Dragons were furious. If they hadn't already been beaten up by the Straw Hat a while ago, they would have personally rushed over to vent their rage on the residents of Island 53. In the end, they had no choice but to notify Marine Headquarters and order them to find the culprits.
Thus, the wanted poster was created.
The Unmasking
After coming inside, Old Niel spoke rapidly, delivering a torrent of information. His expression was clearly gleeful; he was happy to see the Celestial Dragons, who usually acted unscrupulously based on their status, suffer a setback.
He laid the wanted poster flat on the dining table where Xiang En and the others were eating.
"The fisherman at the seaside witnessed the whole thing. He said two little girls worked together. One, who didn't throw the bomb but was helping, had orange hair—a rare color, just like little Kagura's. What a coincidence. As for the main culprit, she was even younger, looking barely ten years old based on the poster. It's hard to imagine such a tiny person could…"
Old Niel suddenly trailed off. He realized he was staring at a strange, light-brown-haired girl sitting right next to Xiang En.
The hair, the age, the clothes—isn't that exactly the same as the person on the wanted poster!
And Kagura, sitting on Xiang En's other side, was precisely the "accomplice" the fisherman described!
"Th-this…" He looked at Xiang En, momentarily speechless.
When Old Niel and Rayleigh visited yesterday, Klee had already run out with Kagura, so they hadn't met. Old Niel hadn't been aware Xiang En had acquired another partner.
"It is exactly as you think," Xiang En sighed, pressing down on the heads of the two small girls—the texture of which was quite nice, actually. "These two are responsible for that fine deed. I rushed out yesterday precisely to stop them, but I didn't expect Mr. Rayleigh and you to drop by, and then things escalated from there."
Xiang En reflected that he and Drake had quickly deduced they had sunk a slave ship after hearing the girls' account of "prisoners in shackles" escaping. Neither of them had realized, however, that the ship belonged to the Celestial Dragons. He glanced at Drake, who looked appropriately serious.
"Hello, long-bearded Uncle," Klee said, though still tired, she mustered a sweet smile for the new introduction. "I am Klee from the Knights of Favonius, and it's very nice to meet you."
The sweet voice combined with the cute face instantly charmed Old Niel. He thought about his missing daughter, wondering if she would have smiled at him like this.
"H-hello there, cute little girl. I'm Ben Niel. You can call me Old Niel, just like little brother Xiang En does."
"Okay, Mr. Old Niel. Klee wants to know why your beard is so long? It's okay if you don't answer, Klee is just curious."
"Uh… why it's so long… no one has ever asked me that before. Perhaps I just haven't shaved in a long time?"
Surprisingly, the two people with the largest age gap at the table immediately began chatting comfortably. Klee had many questions about this world, and Old Niel, thinking of his own daughter, was patient and answered every question in detail.
For a moment, neither Xiang En nor Drake could get a word in.
As for Kagura, she was still aggressively eating, and while Xiang En was distracted, she had stealthily finished his portion as well.
Xiang En noticed, of course, and firmly pinched her cheek.
Breakfast soon ended. Old Niel and Klee were still chatting happily, but it was time for him to go to work at the shipyard. He bid the group farewell and hurried off to work on Xiang En's future ship.
"Big Brother Xiang En, is that me drawn on this?"
Klee finally noticed the wanted poster on the table. Although the drawing only showed the outline of a girl's face, based on the hair color and clothes, she recognized herself instantly.
She noticed the numbers and text beneath the picture: Bounty 50,000,000 Beli. Though she hadn't studied this world's writing, she could understand it with the help of Xiang En's Golden Finger.
"Yes, you are now a wanted criminal of the Navy, worth a full 50 million Beli. If we turned you in, that would be enough to cover Kagura's food expenses for half a year."
Xiang En couldn't resist teasing the bewildered-looking Klee.
"Wanted criminal! Me?" Klee froze in her chair. She hadn't expected that the large, tempting number was actually her bounty.
What surprised her more was that she had become a wanted criminal after only one day in this world. She realized it must be because she blew up that ship.
A wave of panic washed over her. She was afraid that since she was a wanted criminal, Big Brother Xiang En and Big Sister Kagura would stop playing with her, or even send her back to Mondstadt. She hadn't had enough fun here yet.
Thinking this, Klee's eyes welled up, bright tears glistening, ready to burst into sobs at any moment.
Xiang En's heart skipped a beat. He realized he had gone too far. Just as he was about to comfort her, a sharp pain shot up his arm.
"Ah—"
After a cry of pain, Kagura released his arm, looking satisfied.
"Why did you suddenly bite me?" Xiang En looked at the clearly visible teeth marks on his arm, his face twisted in pain.
"Because you scared Klee into crying, you perverted Loli-con Xia-chan!"
Angry that Xiang En dared to question her, Kagura opened her mouth again, revealing her clean, sharp teeth, ready to strike a second time.
"Stop, stop, stop! Don't bite! I was wrong to scare her, alright?"
Xiang En immediately backed down. If she bit him again and lost control of her strength, the consequences would be severe.
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