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The Strongest Frost Loli (19)
🕑 Added 2024-03-26 23:00:04 +0000 UTCChapter 19 - The Twin Capes
The Twin Capes.
They formed the entrance to the great sea route, the Grand Line. It was the lighthouse used to choose which of the seven initial islands to sail toward first.
"So this is...the great sea route, the Grand Line..." Someone's murmured words echoed out.
After climbing up the canal and crossing over Reverse Mountain, they now looked out upon the vast ocean that was said to be the greatest sea in this world. Everyone turned their gaze toward it, a profound feeling crossing over them.
However, they could not remain that way forever. They decided to dock at the pier of the Twin Capes, where a lighthouse keeper was sure to reside.
"So people really do live in a place like this, huh?"
"Yeah. It must be quite inconvenient for daily life...but I hear the climate is quite different."
According to rumors, there was even a clinic here, though one had to wonder if people really did visit such a remote place.
The climate did seem stable, the pleasant warmth a stark contrast to the previous freezing cold.
Rather than have the whole crew trudge out, Kanata, George, and Kuro decided to visit the clinic themselves.
After knocking a few times, the one who emerged wore a headwrap, with his hair seeming to bloom like petals around his head.
"Are you a patient?"
"No, my treatment is finished. We're about to enter the great sea route, the Grand Line, so I'd like to ask you some things."
"Very well. But in exchange, share some provisions with me."
"Provisions, huh? Well, we don't exactly have an abundance..."
Kanata glanced briefly at George. He should have a better grasp of their food situation than her, and nodded back, indicating giving up a single portion wouldn't be an issue. They had restocked by hunting a sea creature before arriving here, after all.
"No problem. If that's all it takes."
"Then we have a deal."
Shaking the man's hand, they decided to have their discussion at the table outside the cramped clinic interior.
When George asked to start with the man's name, as was proper, he replied, "If you want my name, shouldn't you introduce yourselves first?"
"Ah, you've got a point there. I'm--"
"My name is Crocus. I'm the lighthouse keeper of the Twin Capes, age thirty-nine."
"Hey, you just cut me off there!" George protested with a laugh as Kuro tried to placate him.
Ignoring them, Kanata brought up the most pressing matter. "We're searching for a ship's doctor. We're being pursued, but do you know of anyone around here willing to serve as our physician?"
"What? You mean to sail these seas without even a doctor aboard?" Crocus was startled.
"Ah, well, the circumstances forcing us to flee were rather sudden. Life is full of lack of preparation, but this time we're quite rushed."
"I see...are you pirates, then?"
"I don't recall ever calling ourselves that."
Whether they were regarded as pirates or not was unclear. In the broader sense, they may become pirates eventually, but the Navy's judgments could be quite arbitrary. As far as Kanata was concerned, either label was fine.
Crocus crossed his arms, seeming lost in thought for a few minutes before finally speaking up quietly.
"There's a town called 'Whiskey Peak' on one of the islands you can reach from here. An acquaintance's son works as a doctor there, though he's quite the eccentric character."
"You think this guy would be willing to join us?"
"It's possible, but I can't say for certain."
"I suppose not. But I'm grateful for the information regardless."
"I can at least vouch for his medical skills. Everything else, you'll have to see for yourselves when you get there."
"Fair enough. Our destination has been decided, then."
Their goal was Whiskey Peak, to recruit this potential ship's doctor.
In these seas where seasons, weather, currents, and winds defied all common sense, cultural exchange between islands was scarce, leaving some islands' civilizations completely stagnant.
For example, "islands where the ancient environment remained perfectly preserved." Or "islands that underwent unique evolutions of their own."
If they visited such islands, the potential for contracting indigenous diseases or infections was very real. Securing a ship's doctor was an urgent necessity.
Before seeing them off, Crocus ask, "Anything else you want me to explain while I'm at it?"
Something came to Kanata’s mind. "Actually, yeah...might as well ask about any special traits of 'Whiskey Peak' too."
"That town is a den of bounty hunters and ruffians. If you've got bounties on your heads, you'll need to be careful there."
"Bounties, huh..." she remained pensive a few seconds.
"If the your bounty is high enough that even hearing the amount would make me want to try collecting it, I'd say that qualifies as needing caution. Huh, wait a minute...That young lady's face, I feel like I've seen it somewhere before...could it be--?" It seemed Crocus had recognized Kanata's face.
With the World Government's recent global incident involving her still fresh in everyone's minds, it was no wonder the grizzled man recognized the bounty before him.
Kanata herself simply wore a weary expression, her entire left arm swaddled in bandages.
"The 'Dragon Slayer Witch'...the worst criminal from the West Blue sea, huh."
"Please don't go reporting us to the Navy though." Kanata warned.
"The Twin Capes see all sorts of pirates pass through. I've no reason to report every one."
Not just pirates, but those attempting to conquer this great sea had visited here since ancient times without cease.
Reporting every single one would be interminable effort. And yet, still none had ever conquered these seas - a testament to their harshness.
However, this seemed to pique Crocus's curiosity about something. "Those injuries of yours, I take it you got them fighting the Navy. If you don't have a ship's doctor, then who treated you?"
"I was on the verge of death when some pirates picked me up."
"Let me have a look. I'm a doctor too, I'll properly treat those wounds for you." Half-dragging her inside the clinic, Crocus left George and Kuro to return to the ship and prepare a meal - including a portion to give Crocus.
Their ship was too large for their small crew to begin with, so they could carry ample provisions. However, their failure to restock food supplies at Toroa stung.
The meat from the sea creatures hunted en route would not last long given they had the giantess Feiyun aboard consuming exponentially more.
"We'll need to restock somewhere else..." said George.
"Think we could at Whiskey Peak?" Kuro inquired.
"A den of bounty hunters probably doesn't have much agriculture or fishing, though."
If that town's livelihood revolved around earning bounties and purchasing outside supplies, holding out much hope seemed ill-advised.
"We've got meat covered, but vegetables and such...hm?" George paused mid-sentence.
"What is it?" Kuro tensed.
"No, look over there." George pointed out an Island Whale calf frolicking near the Twin Capes.
A calf, yet still rivaling their own ship in sheer size - hunting it could sustain them for months, even with their modest crew plus Feiyun's enormous appetite.
Why an Island Whale endemic to the West Blue was here remained a mystery, but it presented a perfect chance to restock food.
The two returned to the ship, planning to have Kanata slay it whenever she finished up at the clinic.
***
"No, I won't allow it."
When George visited the clinic mentioning the Island Whale calf they'd seen, ready to prepare a meal, Crocus spoke up before Kanata could respond.
"That whale is being kept under the care of some pirates. I ask that you refrain from hunting it."
Lying in the clinic bed with freshly treated bandages, Kanata asked, "What's so special about it that you're so insistent?"
While not unheard of, keeping an Island Whale as a pet was quite rare - Kanata herself had never witnessed it before.
"It's an old story," Crocus began.
Some carefree pirates had come to sail the Grand Line. The calf that had been following them from behind, visible in the distance, was that very Island Whale - Laboon.
It was a companion the pirates had traveled with in the West Blue, left behind because they deemed this journey too dangerous.
Island Whales naturally travel in pods. To Laboon, those pirates were his pod-mates.
The pirates' ship had required repairs, leaving them docked at the capes for a few months. In that time, Crocus had grown attached to Laboon and agreed to look after him when the pirates departed.
"They told me, 'Keep an eye on him for two or three years. We'll definitely come back after circumnavigating the world.'"
"I see...so Laboon is an important friend to them, huh?"
"Yes...although, this was some sixteen years ago now."
"Sixteen years!? Then those guys must be..."
"Not necessarily. Notorious names like 'Whitebeard,' 'Big Mom,' and 'Golden Lion' have all waged war over territorial dominance in this sea for decades."
While true that Kanata and George had never heard such an old rumor, for pirates of that stature, some inkling would likely reach even the outer seas eventually.
The fact that Laboon's pirate friends had fallen off public awareness was likely indicative of their fates. And yet, both Crocus and Laboon still believed, still waited faithfully for their return.
Kanata curiously asked, "What was the name of that pirate crew?"
"The Rumbar Pirates, hailing from the West Blue. Their captain was a musician named Yorki."
Kanata glanced at George, but he simply shrugged, the name unfamiliar to both of them.
Even if they searched old wanted posters from sixteen years prior, finding record of them seemed hopeless if they'd never achieved notoriety. Unless the Navy had captured or executed them, at least - in which case there should be some documentation remaining, no matter how faint. Somewhere out there, they could still be laying low all this time.
"I'll keep an eye out for any information while voyaging as well. Crocus has done me favors too, after all."
"I'd appreciate that. No news is good news, they say, but this complete lack of information is worrying, to be honest."
More than anything, Laboon himself was the one to pity here. Seeing the massive whale calf approach the cape, Kanata rose and headed outside.
Dwarfed by a creature easily dozens of times her own size, something seemed to move her as she gently stroked Laboon's head, murmuring, "You've been waiting, all this time...it must be so lonely."
The fear of being abandoned by one's companions. The dread of that waiting becoming meaningless. Kanata found herself unexpectedly empathizing, just a little.
Continuing to caress Laboon as George and the others emerged, she announced, "We'll be docked here for a few days."
"You sure about that? I know we're in a rush, but who knows when the Navy's pursuers will show up," said George worryingly.
"It matters not. The Navy likely still thinks we're in the West Blue for now." On this journey of pursuit, chances to relax may not come again for a while. Her true feelings were a desire to recuperate while possible.
With her injuries, fighting at full force would prove difficult for Kanata as well. This detour was no grave misstep.
"Let's spend a few days here playing with our whale friend and healing, shall we? You don't mind, do you, Crocus?"
"...No, he just swims around these capes anyway."
"Then it's decided. Tonight, we'll hold a banquet - to celebrate the journeys ahead for both us and the Rumbar Pirates."
***
A raucous night began.
Under the starry skies with a bonfire roaring, the crew feasted, drank, and made merry together. It was the best medicine for revitalizing their fighting spirits.
"I have to say, I was surprised to see a giantess crewing aboard your ship coming in from the outside world." Crocus glanced at Feiyun who responded:
"I'm originally from Elbaf Village, but, well, circumstances happened..."
"I see, from Elbaf...though hardly on the scale of Laboon, of course."
Where Laboon had been only a few people's length when they first arrived, the Island Whale now stretched over a hundred meters in total.
Height-wise, Feiyun could match him in her giant form. But Laboon's full length rendered the comparison moot.
"Feiyun can grow that large too thanks to her ability, you know. She won't be outdone by any whale." Kuro spoke up on her behalf.
"Is that so? I hadn't realized."
"That's right! I won't lose to Mr. Whale, no sir!"
Gigantifying at the capes, Feiyun swelled to Laboon's full size, prompting the massive whale to unleash a resounding bellow before spraying her with a huge blast of water.
"Wahh! You asked for it, didn't you? Take this!"
Scooping up seawater, Feiyun cheerfully returned fire, the two frolicking in an aquatic game of behemoth proportions.
Even Crocus gaped incredulously at the sheer scale despite Laboon's obvious delight, before softening at the heart-warming sight of childlike joy.
As for Kanata, she deftly maneuvered her meal one-handed despite the cumbersome cast and bandages. "She may be a giantess, but Feiyun is still just a child by their kind's reckoning of age. I like to let her play freely now and then."
"...Laboon looks to be enjoying himself too. A child's laughter is a wonderful thing."
"Yes, it's full of vitality." Though Kanata herself was technically still a young girl in years, the life she'd lived had forced her to mature well beyond them.
Retaining a sense of childlike innocence was likely impossible for her now, no matter how much she may have wished otherwise.
"How long would it take to record these Log Poses from here?"
"You could reach anywhere from the Twin Capes in half a day at most. Whiskey Peak's pose should be fully etched by now."
Then some leisurely pacing should still allow evading any Navy pursuit for now.
Sipping some juice rather than alcohol to maintain sobriety, Kanata pondered over their situation until Crocus addressed her again.
"Is your sole objective fleeing the Navy headquarters, then?"
"Fundamentally speaking, yes. But that alone would quickly grow dull. I thought I might work in a little circumnavigation of the globe while I'm at it."
"A tremendously arduous undertaking for a young lady."
"I'm unconcerned. A life spent only running holds little appeal compared to one spent constantly challenging oneself."
"...Fair point. Best to take the optimistic view, I suppose."
To achieve what none had managed before - while evading the admirals of Navy HQ all the while.
To Kanata, everything was simply another challenge to be overcome with a smile.
The lively night carried on, George and the rest still rowdily celebrating that the banquet had only just begun.
