Clifford Kingdom.
5,000 Meters Above — Alvis Island.
Inside a laboratory, Aeridar looked at the blonde girl before him and smiled. "Myskina Olga. You hail from Alchemi, the legendary island that vanished two hundred years ago. Am I correct?"
"Tch. I didn't think anyone besides the World Government knew about that!" Olga crossed her arms, eyeing Aeridar with blatant disdain.
"Two hundred years isn't that long; the data is easy enough to find, isn't it, Robin-san?" Aeridar chuckled, turning his gaze to the side.
Nico Robin, dressed in a pink short-sleeved top and a flowing white skirt, stood nearby, watching Olga with curiosity. At Aeridar's prompt, she smiled. "Alchemi, an island that disappeared abruptly two centuries ago. A man named Myskina Acier once conducted research there on metallurgical smelting. He refined a unique substance known as 'Pure Gold.'"
"Exactly. A miraculous metal from legend that glows in the dark. It is said to possess enough value to buy the entire world. People have been hunting for this 'Pure Gold' since ancient times!" Aeridar's gaze turned feverish as he stared at Olga.
Startled by his fanatical expression, Olga took several wary steps back.
"However, Aeridar-sama, it is said that those who obtain Pure Gold bring calamity upon themselves." Robin's brow knitted slightly. "Even if it's valuable enough to buy the world, with your current wealth, is there truly a need to court such legendary disaster?"
If the legend of Pure Gold was true, then the curse associated with it likely was as well. Why would a man who already possessed the fortune of the world's richest person take such a risk?
"Robin-san, you truly are a top-tier scholar from Ohara. But I'm afraid Ohara was destroyed too soon. Perhaps you didn't finish the library's collection, or maybe even Ohara lacked the specific records regarding this," Aeridar said, spreading his hands with a look of regret.
At the mention of her homeland, Robin's eyes flickered. "Even with the world's largest collection, I suppose I couldn't have seen every record."
"The greatest value of Pure Gold," Aeridar's voice dropped, his expression turning manic again, "is that it emits a special resonance or radiation. It grants the wearer an unimaginable lifespan! That is why the World Government, or rather, the Celestial Dragons, are so obsessed with capturing Olga!"
"Unimaginable lifespan?!" Robin gasped, staring at him in disbelief.
She had never imagined such a miraculous thing existed in this world. If this man truly obtained an unnaturally long life, he would become the most terrifying existence on the planet.
"Olga-san is a descendant of Alchemi. But if my deductions are correct, she isn't just a descendant, she is a survivor from that time. By relying on the power of Pure Gold, she has lived for two hundred years, right up to this very day." Aeridar's eyes were dark and piercing as he locked onto Olga.
"How do you know that?!"
Olga reacted as if she'd been pricked by a needle, scrambling back into a corner and staring at him in terror.
"Oh? You admitted it. It seems my guess was spot on," Aeridar laughed.
"Olga... you've lived for two hundred years?" Robin looked at the girl, her eyes filled with shock.
While the world had long-lived races, humans were generally excluded from that category. Olga clearly looked like an ordinary little girl with very little physical strength; she certainly wasn't a long-lived species like a Giant.
"Two hundred years... you must have Pure Gold on you. And to stay in the body of a child for two centuries, with your physical development completely frozen... truly marvelous!" The fanatical light in Aeridar's eyes grew even more intense.
"Pure Gold on her person..." Robin scanned Olga up and down, her gaze finally landing on the ring on the girl's left hand.
"It seems you've noticed as well. There should be a tiny shard of Pure Gold embedded on the inner side of that ring. Otherwise, she'd have nowhere else to hide it," Aeridar grinned.
Though he had known this all along, providing a "deduction" was a more convenient explanation than offering no reason at all.
"Don't even think about it! I won't give it to you!" Olga bit her lip, clutching her ring hand tightly as she glared at Aeridar and Robin.
"Rest assured, Olga-san. I won't steal your Pure Gold. I believe that once we find Alchemi, there will be plenty more, perhaps even the technology to manufacture it," Aeridar said, waving a hand dismissively. He genuinely had no interest in the tiny fragment on her finger.
He then turned to Robin, flashing a bright, sunny smile. "So, Robin-san, would you like to join me in searching for this legendary metal?"
"Aeridar-sama, what is your ultimate goal?" Robin asked softly, her eyes searching his face. "With Luffy's current fame, he shouldn't even be on your radar. You captured Sanji and me, yet you've left us mostly alone. You have another motive, don't you?"
She paused, her voice turning resolute. "If you expect me to defect to your side and translate the Poneglyphs for you, you might as well kill me now."
"As for the Poneglyphs, I would certainly like to consult you, Robin-san, but there is no rush for that," Aeridar replied with a casual shrug.
He continued, "As for my goals, I have many. Regarding that 'Straw Hat' kid... Doffy is already busy setting a trap for him. I only need to step in at the critical moment."
"Doffy? Donquixote Doflamingo?!" Robin's heart skipped a beat. "What trap is he setting? What is it?!"
"That... well, I'm not entirely sure myself. We'll find out once he's finished setting it up," Aeridar said, drawing out his words with a playful, enigmatic expression that made Robin's skin crawl.
Suddenly, Olga summoned her courage and shouted, "I'm not taking you to Alchemi! Keep dreaming!"
Aeridar froze. He turned his head toward Olga, his expression suddenly shifting into something sinister. "That is no longer up to you, Olga-san. If you won't speak, I'll simply find someone to dig through your brain and pull out every memory regarding Alchemi!"
"M-Memories? Pull them out?! That's... that's impossible, right?" Olga stammered, her face turning pale with fright.
Seeing that she was sufficiently intimidated, Aeridar lost interest in the game.
He turned back toward the door, casting a final, calm glance at Robin. "Think it over, Robin-san. Perhaps you can still save the Straw Hat crew. It all depends on your decision."