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Chapter 27
Listening to the pleasant voices, Vilin gave them a gentle smile and nodded warmly.
He truly enjoyed hearing these lovely greetings every day.
Moments later, Annie walked in. Seeing that Vilin had already set out the food, she plopped down opposite him and glared fiercely, complaining:
"Can't the two of you show some restraint?"
"Every time you make such a racket, the rest of us can't get any proper sleep!"
Hearing Annie's grumble, Vilin scratched his nose awkwardly.
Only when he showed he understood did Annie finally start eating the food he had prepared.
After a few bites, she noticed Rouge approaching.
"Rouge-nee, over here!"
"Last night your voice—I could hear it crystal clear from my room."
Rouge's face instantly turned beet red at the mention of last night.
She quickly stuffed a piece of food into Annie's mouth to shut her up.
Then she shot Vilin a fierce glare.
Vilin could only lower his head and hurriedly finish the food on the table, avoiding their eyes.
The meal was quickly devoured by the three of them.
After breakfast, Aurora walked gracefully toward Vilin.
"Captain, our food supplies are almost depleted."
"By my estimate, we have about seven days left."
"We need to find an island to restock soon."
Hearing that food was running low, Vilin felt a headache coming on and called Sophia over.
"Captain, according to my calculations, we should reach Cactus Island in about two days."
Sophia gave Vilin a confident smile.
Vilin nodded in satisfaction.
"Cactus Island, here we come."
Vilin stood at the bow, sweeping his arm dramatically in a cool pose.
The gesture drew admiring gazes from many of the female crew members.
Great Route, somewhere at sea.
A dog-headed warship sailed swiftly toward the first half of the Grand Line.
Because Headquarters intelligence indicated Vilin's next destination was Cactus Island, Garp planned to head straight to Whiskey Peak to capture him.
Great Route – first half, Cactus Island.
A fifty-meter medium-sized sailing ship cut through the waves, heading toward the port of Cactus Island.
Once the Flying Bird docked, Vilin entrusted all ship affairs to Aurora's management.
He then took Annie and Rouge and walked toward the bustling town.
The three of them found this unfamiliar island very interesting.
Whiskey Peak was the only town on Cactus Island.
It was built along both sides of every river on the island.
Whiskey Peak was a well-developed town famous for brewing and music, and extremely hospitable.
In reality, the town was home to a large group of bounty hunters.
Many inexperienced young pirates ended up as prey on their plates.
Vilin asked around casually and quickly learned which restaurant had the best food.
The three of them had zero resistance to good food.
After walking through two streets, they arrived at a beautifully decorated restaurant.
Seeing the three standing at the entrance, a lightly dressed young woman immediately came over with a smile.
"Hello sir, are you here to dine?"
"Yes. Give us a private room."
Vilin glanced at her impressive chest before nodding.
"Right this way, please."
Inside the restaurant, the three curiously looked around the elegant dining area.
They saw many female servers in uniform long skirts pushing carts full of delicious dishes toward various tables.
"Wow, so many people!"
The lively Annie couldn't help exclaiming at the busy scene.
Soon the hostess led them to a private room.
Vilin scanned the menu and pointed: "This one no, everything else one portion each."
The hostess, seeing how freely he spent, couldn't help stealing a few more glances at Vilin.
His handsome, heroic features made her cheeks flush faintly.
She lingered for a moment before reluctantly leaving.
"Wow, Vilin-bro, your charm is something else!"
"Even such a beautiful waitress was enchanted by you. I'm really worried for Rouge-nee!"
"Giggle, you talk too much. I wouldn't mind someone helping me share the load either."
Rouge wasn't about to lose the verbal battle and fired back at Annie.
Just as the lavish food was brought in and the three prepared to enjoy their meal,
suddenly—
Urk~
Vilin and Annie watched in shock as Rouge looked at the table and dry-heaved.
After a long moment, Vilin snapped out of it—and became extremely excited.
"Rouge… are you pregnant?!"
He rushed to her side, scooped her into his arms, and carefully checked.
"It's true! You really are pregnant!"
Through his sensitivity to life force, Vilin immediately sensed a faint new life fluctuation in Rouge's abdomen.
Upon learning she was pregnant, Rouge was completely enveloped in happiness.
She looked at Vilin with shining eyes and excitement.
"Vilin… we're going to have a child."
"Mm, don't worry."
"I'll protect both you and the baby."
Vilin pulled her close and gently kissed her forehead before letting go.
"Rouge-nee, you're actually pregnant!"
"Let me touch—I want to feel what my future little son feels like!"
"Get lost."
After reordering some light, highly nutritious food for Rouge, Vilin and Annie happily dug into the feast.
But from the way Vilin kept glancing at Rouge, it was clear how deeply he cared about this child.
This was the continuation of his life!
After finishing the meal, Vilin took Rouge and Annie back toward the Flying Bird.
He was worried about letting Rouge stay outside too long in case something happened.
On the deck of the Flying Bird, Vilin stayed by Rouge's side, waiting for the crew to finish gathering supplies.
He also sent Annie to the nearby village to hire a few women experienced in caring for pregnant women.
Of course, Vilin wouldn't treat them poorly.
He promised them ten million Berries each after one year of taking care of Rouge.
But when he learned that his maid Lilith already knew how to care for pregnant women, he canceled the plan.
Lilith thus became Rouge's full-time caretaker.
Vilin cleared out the room next to his and gave it to Lilith.
This way it would be easier for her to look after Rouge.
Lilith happily accepted the arrangement.
This would give her more time to build a good friendship with Rouge.
One day later.
Vilin was walking hand-in-hand with Rouge along the coastline.
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