The next morning.
Just waking up, Aqua was caught by Icey and dragged to the kitchen, the scene of the crime.
“Explain to me about the missing barrel of red wine, Aqua.”
Icey’s gaze was filled with invisible killing intent. “You have the biggest wine habit on this entire ship, so I hope you can speak honestly.”
“What?! The entire barrel of wine is gone?!”
Aqua rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked carefully. Sure enough, the wine barrel was completely empty!
Even though she drank quite a bit last night, she had filled it up with water just like before to be safe!
Thinking for a few seconds, her clear blue eyes spun wildly, and she came up with a plan.
“It was Gin! It must be Gin!”
“Last night, when I got up to use the restroom, I saw Gin sneaking around in there.”
The cheeky goddess spoke more fluently the more she talked, even convincing herself it was the truth. She righteously declared, “I thought he was just hungry and looking for food, but he was stealing our wine!”
“I despise such sneaky behavior, worse than using silicone to pad your chest!”
“Icey, even if he’s a temp worker, you must punish him severely!”
Such righteous speech left Gin, who was silently mopping the floor in the corner, utterly stunned.
Was this really the same Aqua who promised to cover him no matter what happened after having a few drinks last night?
“Actually, Miss Aqua is not wrong; I did have a craving for wine last night.”
Despite internally raging, Gin stepped forward, sincerely bowing in apology, “I’m very sorry, Mr. Icey, Mr. King, and Miss Aqua. I’ll compensate for the loss!”
For the combat captain of the Krieg Pirates, the value of a mere barrel of red wine was trivial.
Icey glanced casually at Gin, who was bowing at a ninety-degree angle.
Having witnessed the entire event last night, Icey knew Gin’s apology had another meaning.
“So, it was you, Gin. You’ve really disappointed this goddess!”
Seeing Gin take all the blame, Aqua didn’t feel relieved but instead covered her face, sighing in deep pain, perfectly portraying a feeling of betrayal.
Shameless to the core!
“Gin can repay by working, but you, Aqua, explain why you were in the kitchen when you said you were going to the restroom?”
Icey’s face showed little expression, but his eyes were filled with killing intent as Aqua saw it.
“Ah?! Well, that…” Aqua scratched her head, laughing awkwardly.
“And if I remember correctly, didn’t you once say that goddesses don’t need to use the restroom?” Icey began cracking his knuckles.
The popping sounds made Aqua panic.
Before the fist of justice could land on her head, the pain-fearing goddess threw herself at Icey’s legs, hugging them tightly, “I was wrong! I was wrong, Lord Icey, I won’t dare do it again. Please forgive me this once!”
Gin: “…”
Was this really the “monster” called the Water Goddess who could flood a town as reported in the news?
In just a few minutes, Aqua’s image had dropped several levels in Gin’s mind.
In the end, Icey imposed a no-alcohol policy to teach this cheeky goddess a lesson: she was forbidden to touch a drop of wine for three days!
Aqua cried on the spot.
…
The subsequent voyage was uneventful, with nothing special happening.
Having made up his mind, Gin no longer attempted any malicious actions like poisoning. Instead, he worked diligently as a temporary worker in the sea restaurant under Aqua’s command (exploitation), doing all kinds of dirty and exhausting work.
During his free time, he sometimes joined King in some leisure dumbbell exercises.
Such weights were no challenge for even the newcomers of the Krieg Pirates, let alone a formidable man like King exuding an oppressive aura.
So, he never considered the “ridiculous” possibility that 25 kg dumbbells were King’s limit!
Occasionally, customers came to dine, mostly decent people. Rarely, did a group of pirate hunters recognized Gin but refrained from acting because of the King’s intimidating presence.
Gradually, Gin grew fond of this leisurely yet busy life.
A life he had never imagined or dared to hope for as a fierce pirate!
Even so, Gin’s expression did not lighten but was full of worry, often falling into a state of deep thought.
This greatly displeased Aqua, who had successfully adopted the role of a foreman, and she exploited his cheap labor even more ruthlessly!
Time flew by in this busy daily routine.
Finally, three days after Gin boarded, when they were half a day away from Loguetown.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted on the water’s surface beside the Infinite Dream. The high splash crashed onto the second deck and sails, breaking the tranquility on the ship.
Hearing the commotion, Icey and the others quickly arrived on deck.
Looking towards the calm sea, they saw about a dozen large ships breaking through the waves, heading straight for the Infinite Dream.
Like announcing the brutality and terror of the pirate fleet, pirate flags with hourglass designs fluttered wildly in the sea breeze.
The smallest pirate ship was at least three times the size of the Infinite Dream.
The oppressive sight of them lined up would terrify any regular merchant or pirate ship into immobility!
Yes, this was the fleet of the Overlord of the East Blue, the pirate admiral Krieg, with thousands of subordinates!
After days of patient waiting without receiving any news from Gin, Krieg finally couldn’t sit still!
“Hurry, Mr. Icey! Boost the ship’s speed to the maximum!”
Recognizing his own fleet, Gin, knowing how terrifying Krieg was, anxiously urged Icey to sail away.
For these people who avenged his family’s destruction, Gin had no hostility left and didn’t want to see them slaughtered by Captain Krieg.
“A gift like this delivered to our doorstep, why would we run?”
Unlike Gin’s panic, Icey’s face remained calm, quietly watching the approaching pirate fleet.
After waiting so long, the big fish had finally taken the bait. How could he let it go?
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