After some discussion,

Ace decided to let me sit on his seat.

He stood on his own.

At first glance, this plan seemed very feasible, so I obediently obeyed.

Like every little lady, I sat sideways on his seat with my legs together (to avoid the flames that would engulf the cabin when Ace activated his ability).

I hugged my knees to prevent my feet from sinking into the sea.

But as soon as the boat started moving, I felt something was wrong.

"No, no, no …" I hurriedly reached out to grab Ace's hand. "Stop, stop, stop!!!"

"Hm?

What's wrong? "Ace turned around in confusion.

He fell silent as soon as he saw me.

I had already pulled his hand and jumped up, swaying as I stood on the seat.

I kept patting my butt to get rid of the sparks that were about to ignite there.

The AI jumped onto my shoulder.

This heartless thing thought that it wouldn't be burned because it was just data, and it wagged its tail as it mercilessly mocked me.

"It's okay if your butt is on fire."

… I cursed at the bastard artificial intelligence that pretended to be a human for a thousand words in my mind.

Fortunately, I was wearing a trench coat today.

Although there were a few holes in it, the shirt and dress underneath were still intact, so there wouldn't be an embarrassing scene.

I held onto Ace's shoulder and looked at him awkwardly. He also looked at me awkwardly.

I'll say it again, when Ace used his fruit to power the boat, the cabin would be filled with flames. Even if Ace's ability to control flames was very strong, and he could control his flames so that they didn't burn me … he couldn't stop the boat from becoming scalding hot under the flames …

The wooden seat of the boat was scalding hot from the flames. As a person with the Flame-Flame Fruit, Ace probably didn't think much of it … but I … I was a normal person.

I didn't have the ability to turn clothes into elemental energy like the Logia …

My butt being scalding hot was secondary.

The main point was that my clothes couldn't stand the high temperature … being roasted by the scalding wood.

The trench coat under my butt started to burn by itself.

The rear compartment of the replacement engine was crammed full of luggage, and the narrow prow, for steering, would not allow me to sit there.

I used my hands to support Ace's shoulders, and Ace also used his hands to support my waist so that I wouldn't slip off the seat.

We looked at each other for a while. Ace suddenly coughed unnaturally and turned his face away in embarrassment. He opened his mouth with reddened ears.

"Then … why don't you sit on my lap?"

The AI jumped onto my head and stomped on it with its soft claws before it laid down on the ground.

"That's not a bad idea."

It carefully analyzed the situation one by one, "First of all, as a person with the Flame-Flame Fruit, Ace definitely won't be scalded by this temperature, and his clothes won't burn. Secondly, from his control of the flames, it can be seen that he can also control his own body temperature. At least, it won't be high enough to burn you. Lastly, sitting on his lap is more comfortable than sitting on the edge of the cabin. It will also help to promote the progress of the relationship … Why not?"

"Shut up." I blushed and scolded the bastard. "Screw you. Why don't you do it?"

Then, I looked at Ace … and nodded slightly.

"… Isn't that a pleasure?" The AI made a sound that I couldn't understand, "Humans are so strange."

I … I didn't say anything and threw the AI down and stepped on it.

You are already a mature AI. Don't you know what you can and can't say?!!!

…

In short, after this and that kind of adjustment, changing this and that kind of posture, after a quarter of an hour that wasn't good in any sense, we finally adjusted to a posture that wouldn't burn my thighs, my clothes, and I wouldn't fall into the sea because the ship was moving too fast.

That was, I gathered up my skirt and sat on Ace's lap while hugging my knees. Because my figure was very slim, this posture allowed me to step on Ace's knees without worrying about being burned by his flames.

It was probably the posture that the heroine of "Girl Literature", Amano Yuko often used … At this time, I felt that it was great that I was a dozen centimeters shorter than Ace. → _ →

… Even though this posture was still a little awkward, it wasn't too bad.

The two red-faced idiots didn't dare to say a word as they sailed the boat to Flower Island. Ace let go of the hand that was wrapped around my waist to prevent me from falling (it couldn't be helped, his boat was too fast). He jumped off the boat first, pressed down on his cowboy hat with one hand and said, "I'm going to buy fresh water." Then, he disappeared without a trace.

Ignoring the redness on his neck, the way he left looked somewhat calm.

I covered my face with both hands and tried to suppress the heat that was about to burn.

After a while, I reluctantly put down my hands.

When I lowered my head, I saw a certain bastard AI squatting in front of me while wagging its tail.

Looking at its subtle and mocking expression, I felt like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and my hair stood on end.

"What's with that expression of knowing everything … You want to laugh at me again, right?!"

The AI only sighed and shook its head perfunctorily like a primary school student.

"No." Its tone was like it was pitying an idiot, "I don't want to say anything."

B, bastard!

Why does it feel even more mocking after being said that!!!

I almost wanted to jump up and beat this QB faced white demon into the ground.

However, a loud and long "gulu ~ ~ ~ ~" sound from my stomach stopped me.

I held my stomach and lowered my head awkwardly. Only then did I remember that I didn't eat anything.

Fortunately, there were a lot of food vendors by the harbor.

I got off the boat and picked a stall that sold grilled squid. I bought three skewers for 1000 Berries and slowly gnawed on one skewer.

Just as I was about to turn back to the boat, a familiar male voice made me freeze in place.

"Oh, this grilled squid looks pretty good. Boss, give me ten skewers."

This lazy tone, this hazy sleepiness, this familiar voice that made me feel extremely uneasy no matter how I thought about it … …

Are all the Navy Admirals this free?!

Isn't the Flower Island a famous tourist island in the new world?!

Give me a reason why you're here on a weekday — — General Green Pheasant!!!

"Oh, isn't this Gloria?

Long time no see. "

The man's lazy voice approached me from behind. This made me instantly tighten my grip on the grilled squid and raise my guard.

As if he saw through my vigilance, the Green Pheasant snorted. He didn't approach or retreat. He just stood there casually and raised his hand to scratch his curly hair.

"Don't be so flustered, Gloria.

I don't plan to arrest you here. "He put one hand in his suit pocket and said lazily.

"After all, the Navy doesn't plan to go to war with the Yonko for the time being."

I breathed a sigh of relief and finally had time to swallow the grilled squid in my mouth.

I turned around and bowed slightly to the Green Pheasant.

"Long time no see."

I was surprised that I could still make a sound. "General Green Pheasant, why are you here?"

Although the answer was most likely that he was slacking, I still asked politely. There was no other reason other than to confirm if there was a war today.

"Why …" The Green Pheasant scratched his head and revealed a helpless smile. "Basically, I'm here to deal with the mess that Sakaski left behind."

Oh my god.

I couldn't help but reveal an expression as if I saw a sow flying in the sky.

What day is it this year?!

General Green Pheasant is actually taking over for Admiral Akainu?!

"It seems like you've been quite relaxed while recovering."

The Green Pheasant raised one of his eyebrows and smiled. "You're not interested in the outside world, so you missed the most interesting scene.

The scene where Sakaski came to work with two big red palm prints. "

… I could almost imagine what happened after that.

Thank you for your hard work, beauty.

"Ah, right, I forgot to congratulate you."

The Green Pheasant seemed to have just remembered something and raised his squid to toast me. "Your bounty is now five hundred million."

"… Huh?" I was stunned.

"When you encountered Sakaski, you fought him for a full hour … or more?

To be able to do that, it's normal for your bounty to increase. "

The Green Pheasant's tone was very calm, as if he was praising a colleague's child for getting a full score on an exam. "How is it? The fruit's ability is really strong, right?"

I twitched the corner of my mouth and nodded.

Yes, it's very strong. Alright, don't use that tone … My conscience couldn't help but hurt when I thought about my previous guess.

Also, can you not only praise my Fruit ability, but also praise the strong and brave me who fought with Admiral Akainu for an hour and didn't get beaten to death.

"White Beard is sparing no expense to protect you."

The Green Pheasant changed the topic and brought up the reason why he was here. "More than half of the forces are used to threaten the Navy. If you really die at the hands of Sakaski, even if it means breaking the balance between the three forces, the King of the Seas will definitely wipe out the Navy for you. Although he won't succeed (I forced myself not to retort).

Admiral Sengoku transferred Sakaski back to the headquarters and temporarily left me to guard the New World. "

It's really a case of sitting at home, but trouble comes from the sky.

When I thought of this, I almost sympathized with you, General Green Pheasant?