"You've certainly thought things through better than I. Truly worthy of a pirate with a bounty over a hundred million Berries," Xia En nodded, his tone appreciative but subtly laced with sarcasm.
Drake didn't have the energy to respond. The journey had been exhausting for him—anchoring, hoisting the sail, steering, and plotting the course were all done by him alone. Even for a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user like himself, it was draining.
He realized that Xia En's claim of having no sailing experience was not false modesty; he truly knew nothing, not even how to set foot on a boat.
And shortly after getting on board, Xia En started feeling dizzy and unwell. Though he adamantly refused to admit it, Drake could tell at a glance that he was seasick.
Consequently, Drake had to shoulder all the physical labor on the ship, as he couldn't in good conscience ask the two little girls to do it.
"Why so quiet? I'm genuinely praising you. Why don't you just join me, Drake? The pay is definitely better than what the Marines give you!" Xia En patted his shoulder when he didn't speak.
"I don't want to work myself to death on the sea," Drake said, exasperated. A guy who gets seasick had the nerve to recruit him. He truly didn't know where this guy's Supreme King Haki came from.
"Brother Xia En, Mr. Drake, are we going to start bombing fish now?"
Klee scurried over, craning her neck to look up at the two men who had just finished lowering the sail while talking.
Compared to her petite, under-one-meter-thirty stature, both men could be considered "giants."
Xia En was originally just under one meter eighty, but whether this world was particularly conducive to growth or something else, he felt like he had grown a few centimeters, making Kagura and Klee seem even shorter in his eyes.
Drake was even more exaggerated, standing a full two meters and thirty centimeters, nearly as tall as half the mast. Combined with his scarred, muscular physique, he looked like a formidable, intimidating man, which was why he had been able to scare the shop owner at the rental place earlier.
"Yep, this is the spot."
Looking down at Klee was incredibly adorable. Xia En stroked her little head; the comfortable feeling was his source of happiness.
Klee didn't resist this. She usually hated it when people taller than her touched her head like that, as it made her feel teased because of her height.
But Xia En and Kagura were exceptions; both of them gave her a feeling of family.
"Then Klee is going to get ready!"
After Xia En withdrew his hand, she took off her backpack and emptied its contents onto the deck.
Gulu gulu~
A dozen or so round, plump bombs rolled across the deck. They were small, only about the size of a palm, and their appearance was even somewhat cute, shaped like animal dolls. It was hard to imagine that Klee had destroyed a Celestial Dragon slave ship with these.
Drake's eyelids twitched violently. You're just letting such dangerous bombs roll around on the ground?
"Stop staring. They won't explode without Pyro Elemental Power to ignite them. Come on, help me move the bait!" Xia En waved a hand in front of Drake's face.
As everyone knows, fishing requires chumming the water.
The same principle applied to bombing fish. Sea Kings mostly stayed at the bottom of the sea. They would only surface to ambush ships or people when they smelled a lot of flesh and blood.
The bait prepared for them was bought from the rental shop—fresh meat stored in several wooden barrels. The barrels would be thrown into the sea and float on the water, allowing the blood from the meat inside to flow into the sea, attracting the Sea Kings from the depths.
Xia En and Drake went into the cabin to haul the barrels.
Kagura walked over at this moment. Seeing the exquisite doll-shaped bombs on the deck, her eyes lit up. She picked one up and examined it in her palm.
"What pretty bombs! Klee, did you dress them up?"
"Mhm. I used the curtains from my room. The bright red ones. Don't they look great!" Hearing Kagura's compliment, Klee was extremely proud, placing her hands on her hips.
"They do look good, but I remember those curtains were specially chosen for you by Xia-chan. He went to several shops in the market to find that color. You... didn't tear them all up, did you?" Kagura quietly leaned close to Klee's ear and whispered.
"Huh?" Klee trembled upon hearing this, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. It seemed she had done something wrong again.
"I tore half of them. Klee thought they were just ordinary curtains, but I didn't realize they were a gift that Brother Xia En put thought into. I shouldn't have ruined them. Brother Xia En will be so sad when he finds out."
Klee regretted it so much that she was almost crying, though she was also touched that Xia En cared about her so much.
"It's okay. I know where that shop is. We can sneak into the market and buy a new one to put up. Xia-chan won't notice," Kagura promised, patting her chest.
"Really?" Klee sighed in relief but then realized a new problem, a worried look crossing her small face:
"But Klee doesn't have this world's currency. Do you, Sister Kagura?"
"Uh..." Kagura froze at the question.
She suddenly realized that since coming to this world, her clothes, personal items, including all the food and fun things, were all paid for by Xia En. She didn't have a single Berry on her!
That guy hasn't given her any wages at all!
Just then, Xia En walked out of the cabin carrying several barrels. When Kagura saw him, she ran up to him in a huff.
"Xia-chan, where's my salary!" She held out one hand, striking a pose for payment.
"Huh? Salary?" Xia En was bewildered and didn't react immediately.
"My salary! Judging by your look, you've never even thought about this 'getting paid' thing, have you?"
"We're not a company or anything. Why would there be a salary?" Xia En found this strange. He wondered where she got this idea from. This girl's thought process was particularly unique, often leaving people perplexed.
"But I saw other people getting paid when I worked in other places before! Although I always got kicked out early and never actually got the money." Kagura tilted her head, confused.
"This..." Hearing that, Xia En was momentarily stunned, sensing the girl's difficult past.
Perhaps what she wanted wasn't the money, but the sense of recognition that came with receiving a salary.
However, Xia En genuinely hadn't thought about wages. Currently, with Drake, their team only consisted of four people, not even enough for a full pirate crew. If something needed buying, he just went and bought it himself.
His plan was to adopt Nami's financial management style once the number of summoned characters increased: centralize all the money on the ship, and then issue spending money to the crew whenever they arrived at an island.
"Hey, hey, what are you thinking about? Even if there's no salary, at least give me some spending money." Seeing that he didn't reply, Kagura complained.
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