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‘Three people?’
The bartender murmured inwardly, glancing at the boy and girl beside the blind swordsman. Clearly, there were only two people.
‘Three people?’
Robin was quite surprised. Either this man was counting the bartender as well, or… he had sensed Liam’s ghost?
‘Three…’ Well, Liam wasn’t surprised at all. If Aokiji could sense the Stand, then the future Admiral Fujitora naturally could as well.
In the Dressrosa arc, Admiral Fujitora’s Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) was so advanced that he could even sense meteors from the sky and pull them down with his Gravity-Gravity Fruit ability, creating massive craters on the ground.
This blind swordsman’s Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) was likely more refined and sensitive than many who could see.
“What’s wrong?” The blind swordsman asked when he heard no response. “Did I say something wrong?”
The bartender, wiping a glass, reminded, “Sir, they’re minors. How can you offer them drinks?”
“One gin and one sherry, please,” Liam raised his hand.
“You’re really going to drink?” The bartender exclaimed.
“Two youngsters?” The blind swordsman was taken aback. “Then they must be remarkable youngsters… Hmm, where’s the third one?”
In his perception, the one seated next to him was far more formidable than an average adult male. The strength he sensed through his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) was comparable to some powerful pirates!
So, he was a youngster… The Grand Line shouldn’t be underestimated!
“I say…” The bartender waved a hand in front of the blind swordsman’s face. If he was truly blind, how could he be so sure there were three people?
“Another glass of mead!” Liam raised his hand again.
‘Hmm…’ The blind swordsman pondered.
The bartender snapped, “You’ve been spouting strange names for drinks… We only have beer or rum. But for you kids, just stick to beer…”
“Rum!” Liam insisted.
“I don’t want to drink…” Robin leaned closer to say. Liam whispered, “Oh, come on, just a taste…” Robin rolled her eyes at his mimicry of her tone.
The blind swordsman, seemingly ignoring their whispers, chuckled softly, “Young man, you’re quite impressive. I know another youngster like you— ambitious, skilled… and with a similar appetite!”
Liam, in the midst of stuffing his face, made the bartender roll his eyes at this comment, “Really? I’ve never seen anyone eat like him…”
Liam wasn’t particularly eager to chat with this future Marine Admiral, but he was curious about whom he was referring to. “Oh? Someone as impressive as me?”
It couldn’t be Smoker, right?
Judging by age, Smoker was about 15 now. Much older than him, so that didn’t count!
The blind swordsman smiled slightly, taking a sip of his drink, “He’s probably still in training now…”
Engaging in small talk, Liam finished his meal and grabbed Robin, ready to make a quick escape!
Even though he wasn’t interested in… no, even though he didn’t want to “borrow” the Gravity-Gravity Fruit to show others how to carry a bag of rice up several flights of stairs…
Damn it, the more he thought about it, the itchier he got. Better leave quickly!
Liam, with Robin in tow, plunged into the outside snowstorm, wandering across the town to find an inn to stay in.
Back in the tavern, the blind swordsman put down his cup, paid the bill, and suddenly asked, “Earlier… were there only two youngsters, not a third person?”
“Yeah,” The bartender, wiping an empty glass, responded. “I was puzzled why, despite being blind, you were sure there was a third person…”
“Is that so…” The blind swordsman, tapping his cane in front of him, continued walking. “I must have been mistaken!”
“Of course, you can’t see anyway…”
—
“Waaaahhhhhh!!!”
The entire inn seemed to tremble from the sudden scream, with snow on the roof shaking and falling.
Everyone inside the inn was startled. Was it a pig being slaughtered, or a person?
Robin opened the door and peeked out, equally startled.
“What’s going on?”
“That scream was terrifying!”
“What happened?”
“Little girl…”
Including the innkeeper and other guests, many gathered outside the door. Seeing a little girl opening the door, they became even more concerned.
“Jolyne, who’s outside?” A voice came from inside the room.
“……” Robin had no choice but to open the door wider, revealing a lone boy inside the room, looking full of energy and mischief, as if he had nothing better to do than cause trouble.
“Tch! Just a kid!”
“Geez, scared me…”
“Well, he is a youngster after all! It’s that age…”
“Yeah, at this age, they do all sorts of weird things…”
The people outside gradually dispersed.
“……” Robin silently closed the door. “That age, that period? Liam, what do they mean…”
She turned around to see Liam sprawled on the floor again.
Liam’s face was contorted in pain, his body curled up, rolling on the floor as if he wanted to pull out the ‘B.I.B.’ from his body and beat it up.
“Are you okay?” Robin crouched beside him, poking him with her finger.
“Do I…look…okay…” Liam’s muscles were tensed, each word squeezed out between clenched teeth, hot breath steaming from his mouth and nose. “I’m…just…fine!”
“Oh…” Robin recalled something and ran out to get some hot water and milk. After heating it up, she handed it to Liam, with a few petals gently drifting into the milk, slowly sinking.
When Liam finally recovered, he felt utterly exhausted but thoroughly refreshed.
This time, it wasn’t just the fatigue and training “experience” accumulated from having ‘B.I.B.’ out for a long time. There were also the memories of its flight, which bombarded Liam.
Processing the memories of flying over the vast sea without any flying ability of his own… was truly exhilarating!
“Gulp…”
Liam downed the floral milk tea in one go.
After all that commotion, the full feeling he had after eating had completely vanished.
Wiping his mouth, Liam thought, “I remember that old man Lao.G under Doflamingo could store his youthful stamina and unleash it when he got old and weak! That was probably a high-level application of Life Return… I wonder if I can temporarily store the excess energy from overeating and use it to offset the extra stamina consumption when I recall my Stand!”
In the future, as his strength increased, the “experience packages” from recalling ‘B.I.B.’ would only get larger…
‘I better not get killed by my own Stand!’ Liam chuckled. ‘That would be quite unlucky!’
“I’m going to find Vegapunk’s research lab. Are you coming?” Liam did a kip-up to his feet, got dressed, and asked Robin.
Robin also put on her down jacket, puzzled. “Can’t you just let your ghost go and find it?”
Liam looked blank.
‘He looks so reluctant?’ Robin smiled gently, “Let’s go.”
—
Outside the city, in the snowy field, Liam released ‘B.I.B.’
With the Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit) chip implanted in his body, ‘B.I.B.’ returned, bringing the Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit) effect. Then, the Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit) chip was removed from his body… ‘B.I.B.’ completed the whole operation within a second.
“Go!”
With a swing of Liam’s sword, ‘B.I.B.’ detached its faceplate and flew into the swirling snowstorm.
The faceless body of ‘B.I.B.’ stayed with the main body and Robin, separating into two paths to search the island for Vegapunk’s research lab.
“Is there someone under that tree up ahead?”
After walking a while, Robin pointed to a tree in the snow-covered landscape. Liam, admiring the snowy scenery, turned his head upon hearing her. Sure enough, there was a chubby little boy under a snow-laden tree, staring intently at the tree trunk as if trying to make a flower bloom.
(End Of Chapter)
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