Stepping onto the wide flagstone road of Mary Geoise, armored guards nearby handed Shirahoshi and the other Merfolk T-shaped rods connected to the ground.
"Please hold onto these connecting rods."
As Shirahoshi and the others grasped the long poles, the flagstone road beneath Sherwin and his companions began to roll automatically like a conveyor belt.
However, just as the newcomers to Mary Geoise were marveling at the sight, Klee Meow and Shermie Meow, who were perched on Sherwin shoulders, tugged on his ears simultaneously.
"Sherwin, Klee doesn't like it here. The voices here sound so hopeless meow." (=ω=)
"Sherwin honey, there are a lot of people underneath this road meow." (=`ー=)
With Shermie Meow reminder, Sherwin recalled this specific detail—this so-called automatic road was actually powered by a crowd of slaves dragging the pavement from below.
Extending his Observation Haki downward, although it wasn't very clear due to the obstruction of the ground, he could still sense some weak presences moving slowly beneath their feet.
Sherwin couldn't help but frown.
To be honest, he completely failed to see the point of this. With the level of technology currently possessed by the World Government, or rather Vegapunk, replacing this labor with actual mechanical transmission would be an easy feat.
Moreover, since the Celestial Dragons usually traveled by riding on the backs of slaves, there was absolutely no need for such a contraption to exist.
Even if those Celestial Dragons, who knew nothing but how to throw their weight around, never treated slaves as human beings, surely the people managing the operations of Mary Geoise would have a more rational mindset?
It truly lives up to its name as the "Holy Land"... the moral rock bottom of those Celestial Dragons is indeed beyond the imagination of an ordinary person like me.
Sherwin sneered inwardly.
Although he felt great sympathy for the slaves beneath the road, it was clearly impossible for Sherwin to just recklessly blow it up at this moment. Thus, he could only gently comfort his Felynes and proactively step onto the ordinary pavement beside it.
Shirahoshi seemed to have sensed something as well, following closely behind Sherwin to leave the "automatic road," followed by King Neptune and the other members of the Ryugu Kingdom.
What Sherwin hadn't expected was that Don Chinjao, Koala, and their group all followed suit, including the royal members of the two countries.
As for the members of other nations, they didn't understand why Sherwin and the others refused to use the labor-saving method. Having no deep ties with the Ryugu Kingdom, they exchanged looks and did not follow them off the automatic road.
Sherwin, of course, didn't bother to explain. A few dozen people were nothing compared to the scale of this massive road even with large individuals like King Neptune and Shirahoshi, it wouldn't significantly lighten the burden of those slaves. His actions were merely to make his Felynes feel a bit better.
"Sherwin, did you all notice something?"
Chinjao, who also didn't understand Sherwin behavior, leaned in curiously.
Although he was the one who had introduced Sherwin to Observation Haki, his current level in that area was actually inferior to Sherwin.
"That path is human-powered," Sherwin replied in a low voice, making no attempt to hide it. "There are countless slaves dragging the pavement underneath."
The expressions of everyone nearby changed instantly, but like Sherwin, they were constrained by the presence of the Celestial Dragons and could do nothing.
"This is just how the World Nobles are you'll have to bear with it."
Although King Ramen also showed a look of surprise, he quickly calmed down and advised them in a helpless tone,
"You might see some other... well... unpleasant things later on. Just endure it as best you can after all, we are each representing our own countries."
Koala bit her lip and complained in a soft but clear voice, "Is the massive Tribute that everyone pays every year really used for things like this?"
Sherwin glanced at her, roughly guessing what Dragon and the others were planning to do...
It was the same suggestion Issho had raised a while ago: they wanted the World Government to abolish the Tribute.
Although Sherwin had spoken to Issho as if the suggestion were useless—and he truly did believe its practical impact was limited—that was only in regard to the exploited civilians.
For the Revolutionary Army, however, as long as they could unite the majority of countries to voice this demand together, it would already be considered a success.
As long as the World Government refused the proposal, it would naturally trigger resentment from most nations.
Even the faint-hearted kings or tyrants would feel the same in fact, their dissatisfaction might be even greater.
Even in the nearly impossible one-in-a-million chance that the World Government agreed to cancel the Tribute and didn't implement something like a "Silver Tribute" as a replacement, it would still be a good thing.
Impoverished nations would get a chance to breathe, and the Revolutionary Army and the countries they were allied with would have more resources to develop.
So, this matter had no downsides for the Revolutionary Army either way, so they naturally had to give it a try.
Beyond that, the Revolutionary Army likely wanted to collect as much information as possible about Mary Geoise.
After all, Dragon true goal was to overthrow the Celestial Dragons if they could avoid a direct confrontation with the Navy and launch a surprise attack directly on the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise, that would obviously be the ideal scenario.
However, Sherwin was not optimistic about such a possibility. If Mary Geoise didn't have sufficient defensive power, how could those Celestial Dragons have lived so happily and freely for all these years?
Furthermore, there was the mysterious Imu and the "Ancient Weapon" Uranus, which was highly likely to be in the hands of the World Government.
Because they knew the truth behind the "automatic walkalators," the atmosphere on Sherwin side was a bit somber. Fortunately, they soon arrived in front of the gate of the largest building in Mary Geoise—Pangea Castle.
Opposite Pangea Castle was the town specifically for the Celestial Dragons to reside in, the so-called "Domain of the Gods."
Entering Pangea Castle, Sherwin and the others followed the guiding guards to a massive plaza.
The plaza was bustling with people those who were clearly members of royalty gathered in small groups, while most of the other guards stood straight around the perimeter.
Only a few followed behind the royals, making the overall atmosphere very lively.
Under such a lively atmosphere, the Felynes soon forgot their previous displeasure, excitedly stretching their necks and looking around.
"Sherwin! Sherwin!"
(=ω=)
Sanji Meow quickly tugged at Sherwin pant leg, eyes shining as he stared at the luxurious and exquisite food on the long tables, asking urgently, "Can we go try the food here first, meow?"
"You should just take Sanji Meow and the others to look around with peace of mind King Neptune still has us here."
Jinbe and his subordinates proactively took over the guard duties.
Sherwin didn't stand on ceremony with them either, leading the Felynes and Baby-5 toward the long tables. Only Jinx hesitated for a moment, still choosing to stay with Shirahoshi.
Because they had only been inside for a short while, Shirahoshi had already been surrounded by a group of royals. They were one after another introducing the "talented young men" of their families to Shirahoshi, wanting to marry her into their houses...
It couldn't be helped as Shirahoshi gradually grew up, she indeed possessed a touch of peerless beauty now.
Furthermore, during the time Shirahoshi followed Sherwin out to sea, she had achieved some degree of success, not to mention that behind her stood Sherwin, a Warlord of the Sea.
This resulted in the current Shirahoshi having several times more princes wooing her than in the original manga, even though she was actually younger.
As Shirahoshi big sister boss, Jinx felt she had an obligation to stay behind to protect her follower, little sister, and chewing stick.
"Thank you all for your affection, it just that I am still young and haven't considered the matter of marriage for the time being."
Unlike the Shirahoshi in the manga who had come to the surface for the first time and might have had a mental age of less than ten, the current Shirahoshi had been traveling everywhere with Sherwin for a long time and had specifically trained in social etiquette.
Therefore, after a brief moment of panic, she began to deal with the royals before her quite appropriately...
This moved King Neptune and the three Neptune brothers beside her to no end.
"Waaaah... Otohime, did you see that? Shirahoshi has grown into a proper princess..."
The highly emotional King Neptune even pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away his tears.