Early the next morning, Karl reluctantly climbed out of the warm bed. Seeing Daphne pretending to still be asleep, he couldn't help but smile—what a sore loser, yet still loves to play around.
He didn't expose her little act, instead heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
"Hubby, did you and Daphne stay up late last night? She almost never sleeps in like this~" Ellie asked from the dining room, still in her pajamas as she waited for breakfast.
"That's because she refused to admit defeat. And on that matter, I don't back down!" Karl puffed out his chest—this was a matter of a man's pride!
As they chatted, breakfast was quickly ready.
"Hm? Where's Ann?" Karl looked around but didn't see her.
"She said since you weren't up yet, she wouldn't wait for breakfast. She went to find Karin-chan," Ellie said between bites.
"I see. Oh, right—Ellie, this time I might be gone for a while before I come back."
Ellie perked up. "Then if you happen to run into any Devil Fruit users, could you draw a little of their blood for me? I'll need it for something later."
"Huh? Don't tell me you've figured it out?" Karl looked at her curiously.
"Heh heh, you'll know when you're back. Just bring me as much Devil Fruit user blood as you can."
"Alright, alright, I got it. Oh, and since I'm going to be gone for so long, how about a goodbye kiss before I go?" Karl teased, slipping an arm around her.
"Stop it! I just ate—let me go!" Ellie protested, her cheeks turning pink.
"I didn't see anything~" Ann's voice came from the stairs. She had just returned, saw the scene, and immediately bolted upstairs again.
"This is all your fault!" Ellie shoved Karl away and ran back to her room, face burning.
Karl sighed. Tch, what a blunder. Didn't even notice Ann coming back.
After breakfast, Karl packed up his gear. This time he'd be away for quite a while, so he brought a bit more than usual.
"Ann! Time to head out!" he called upstairs.
"I'm coming!" Ann appeared, struggling under the weight of a huge travel bag.
Karl blinked. "How much stuff did you pack? You know you can just buy what you need later, right? We're not exactly short on cash."
"I'm not used to things outside. Besides, you can just put it in your storage bracelet, can't you?" Ann said, handing over the bag. Karl shrugged and stored it away.
"Alright, honey! Ann and I are heading out!"
…No response.
"Let's go, Ann~"
They left the villa, and Karl summoned his flame cloud to carry Ann into the sky. Flying north, they soon reached the Germa Kingdom, landing straight in Judge's main castle.
"Mr. Karl, welcome back to the Germa Kingdom! And this must be Miss Ann—such a talented young lady!" Judge greeted them enthusiastically after the guards announced Karl's arrival.
Ann didn't react much to the compliment—she'd heard plenty of that before. "Mr. Judge, could someone show me around your kingdom?" she asked politely.
"Of course. This is my daughter, Reiju. She'll be your guide."
"Miss Ann, allow me to show you around the Germa Kingdom," Reiju said with a warm smile.
"Then I'll be in your care, Sister Reiju." Ann nodded, and the two set off together.
Once the girls were gone, Karl turned to Judge. "Judge, I'm here this time because I want you to develop a gravity chamber."
"A gravity chamber? What does Mr. Karl want with something like that?" Judge asked, puzzled.
"You don't need to worry about the purpose. What I need is something sturdy, about twenty square meters in size, made with the best materials you have. If anything's missing, I'll supply it. Also, the gravity must be adjustable—at least up to ten times normal gravity. If you can make it twenty, even better. Can you do it?"
Judge fell silent for a while, calculating in his head. "It'll be difficult. I'll need some time—at least a month. And I may require certain materials only you can provide."
"That's fine," Karl said with a nod. "As long as it's possible, I'll handle the materials. Just make a list."
Judge quickly drafted a materials list. Karl contacted Daphne via Den Den Mushi, asking her to gather everything and send it through Zoe, who could track him using the life card.
Five days later, Zoe arrived—along with hundreds of half-meter-tall bees carrying the materials. Judge's scalp tingled. What kind of terrifying power is this? To control so many giant bees? If there were even more, it would be a sky army in itself!
"The materials are all here," Karl said. "By the way, Judge, I plan to establish a Queen Hive here in Germa—it'll make logistics easier in the future."
"Uh… Mr. Karl, they won't attack people, will they?" Judge hesitated. Wasn't this basically allowing a foreign military presence on his territory?
"Don't worry," Zoe assured him. "My bees won't attack anyone unless provoked."
"Alright then. I'll make sure no one disturbs them," Judge said quickly. He knew he couldn't refuse anyway. A man like Karl wouldn't bother with a small fry like me.
"Oh, right, Judge—since your technology can compress your battle suits into those tiny capsules, have you ever tried to make one that could store anything?" Karl asked, curious.
"That's impossible, Mr. Karl," Judge said, shaking his head. "My battle suits use nano-technology—they revert to capsule form when not in use. They aren't actually stored inside."
Karl sighed. "Figures. Never mind then. Once the gravity chamber's done, just call me through the Den Den Mushi."
"Understood, Mr. Karl. I'll notify you immediately once it's complete," Judge promised.
After Zoe finished setting up the Queen Hive, the three of them departed.
"Zoe, how many mutated bees do you have now?" Karl asked as they flew.
"Over thirty thousand! And all ten islands of Paradise now have Queen Hives installed. Everything's running smoothly! Tons of merchants are already choosing Shunfeng Express for shipping. Oh, and before I left, Sister Daphne even received invitations from other nations asking us to set up hives there too!" Zoe said excitedly.
Hearing that Shunfeng Express had successfully expanded throughout Paradise, Karl finally relaxed. He smiled, then continued northward with Ann—toward the Land of Wano.
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