After days of nonstop feasting, the celebration was finally hitting its peak.
"Ehh?! Why not?! It'll be so much fun!"
Leaning in close and pouting at me was Straw Hat Luffy himself. His face was so openly dissatisfied with my answer that I couldn't help but let out a dry little laugh.
What did I refuse?
Well—Robin had hinted at it the other day, so you can probably guess.
"C'mon, Sue! Join my crew! Let's be pirates together!"
That was the heart of it.
The protagonist of the Original Work… is trying to recruit me into the Straw Hat Pirates.
…It's definitely an honor. No question.
But there's no way I can say yes.
I have zero intention of adventuring with Luffy.
And honestly—this is kind of late to bring up, but my involvement in the Sky Island incident started as an accident. Whether I know the original story or not, I've never had any active desire to insert myself into it, or reshape it on purpose.
If it's necessary, sure. If I truly want to, sure. I won't hesitate.
But this isn't that.
Besides, I'm already affiliated—at least on paper—with the Golden Lion Pirates. I can't just hop crews.
I've tried turning him down gently, in a way that wouldn't sour the mood…
But of course he won't drop it.
And it wasn't just me. He tried to recruit Leona and the others too. Apparently it would be "even more fun" if we all joined—and if I didn't want to leave the Merveille group behind, we could all come together.
Eight people at once.
That's not recruitment. That's a raid.
What surprised me even more was that Luffy wasn't the only one who liked the idea.
Usopp and Nami were enthusiastic because we'd be reliable allies.
Sanji was enthusiastic because—well—beautiful women. Lots of them.
And Chopper… plus Luffy and Usopp, for the exact same reason: Shizu "looks like a robot," so they were all in.
They'd seen her flying with her thrusters and started bombarding her with questions. When I showed them her Rocket Punch, their eyes practically turned into stars.
Honestly, the one they were recruiting most aggressively—after me—was Shizu.
So yeah. They really do love robots.
Even so, Zoro, Robin, and Nami seemed to understand that getting me to join was going to be difficult… maybe impossible.
It probably showed on my face that I had no intention of joining. And eight people was absurd. That's more than their current crew.
…And even if I did join, what would I even be?
I can't think of any position I'm uniquely suited for. Nothing I can point to and say, yes, this is my specialty.
"Don't worry, Sue-chan! This guy can barely do anything except swing a sword and he's doing just fine on the ship."
"Huh?! You say something, you shitty cook?!"
"Hey, no fighting… But seriously, what would Sue's role even be?"
"We don't need to overthink it," Zoro said lazily. "It's not like she needs a title. If we had to give her one… 'Writer' sounds right."
"Yeah, she's basically a literary master," Usopp nodded. "But would 'Writer' even work on a pirate ship?"
"Sure, why not?" Luffy said. "We're getting a musician anyway!"
"Since when was that decided?" Nami snapped. "You're always obsessed with getting a musician and I still don't get why."
"She's good at organizing records and stuff," Robin mused. "And I'm an archaeologist… how about 'Scribe'?"
"Hm," Zoro nodded. "That works."
"Ehhh… but 'Scribe' sounds kinda weak," Luffy complained.
"You can't expect a title to sound strong, Luffy," Nami said flatly.
"Yeah, Luffy," Usopp chimed in, grinning. "Even Curly Brows—the guy busting his ass as the cook—has a lame title. Let it go."
"HAAH?!" Sanji exploded. "You shitty moss-head, wanna starve to death?!"
"Stop fighting, you two!" Nami barked. "So what—'strong-sounding scribe'?"
"Hmmm… Super Scribe!"
"What part of that is 'super'?" Zoro deadpanned.
"Then 'Chief Scribe'!"
"But she'd be the only scribe," Robin said. "That's a little strange."
"Okay! Something like… she coordinates everything… 'General Secretary'!"
Enough already.
I somehow dragged the conversation back onto the rails and declined again—properly, clearly, without room for interpretation.
There's no world where I accept.
And honestly… I'd prepared for this. I'd already decided what I'd say to persuade Luffy if it came to it.
A way that required no lies.
I have a dream I want to fulfill.
Right now, I'm enjoying life. Taking detours. Getting involved in things that interest me. But even while I do that, I'm still working toward that dream.
It's not the kind of thing I boast about, so I won't go into details… but it's deeply important to me.
And it's a dream I could never achieve if I became a pirate alongside Luffy and the others.
They look like they're having the time of their lives. I'm sure I'd have fun too.
But if I joined them, I'd have to abandon what I'm pursuing now—the one thing I refuse to compromise on.
So I can't go with them.
I have to prioritize my own dream.
When I told him that…
"I see," Luffy said, and the stubbornness vanished from his face as if someone had wiped it away. "Okay! Then that can't be helped!"
He backed down so easily it almost startled me.
So Luffy really is the type who respects what someone values, even if he doesn't share it.
Just like Alabasta—when we parted ways with Vivi, we accepted her reason. I love this country. And even while it made us sad, we still told her we'd always be comrades.
…But it was also obvious he hadn't truly given up.
"If you ever wanna join, just say the word!" he declared. "We'd welcome Sue with open arms! She's hilarious and strong as hell!"
So that's what it is, huh.
All we could do was smile wryly.
"Then we'll have to get even stronger by then, Captain," Zoro said. "Can't have the crew outstripping you. That'd be embarrassing."
"Don't worry, Zoro!" Luffy grinned. "I'll get way stronger real fast! So Sue—you better be ready!"
He hasn't given up at all. Not even a little.
Still, for the time being, he seemed satisfied… and during our remaining time on Skypiea, the topic never came up again.
We treated our temporary parting like a celebration—an even bigger feast than before.
And then, one morning—
"Hm? Luffy and the others already left?"
"Yes," Gan Fall replied with a heavy sigh. "Almost as if they were fleeing. They wouldn't even accept our thanks. They have no idea how grateful we are… Too much selflessness can be a problem."
Ah.
So it really did play out like the original.
They "excavated" gold from inside Nola—the Master of the Sky—and used it as a parting gift before slipping away on the Going Merry.
Thorough enough that they didn't even tell us they were leaving.
The only one who said goodbye was Aisa.
And just like the original… they refused the massive golden pillar the Shandia chiefs tried to give them.
Honestly, even when I was reading the manga, I always thought the same thing.
There's no way something that huge fits on the Going Merry.
Gold is heavy. Even if they chopped it up and forced it aboard somehow, it would overload the ship—and the Merry was already in rough shape by then.
And how would they haul that kind of weight when they were about to jump off Sky Island to return to the Blue Sea?
So of course they left without it.
But what Gan Fall asked next wasn't to explain why they refused.
He asked me to deliver it.
"You'll be heading back to the Blue Sea soon, won't you?" he said. "If so… you may have another chance to see them. Would you mind giving this to them then? We would be miserable if we couldn't properly thank them."
"I don't mind," I said. Then, unable to resist, I added with a little mischief, "But are you sure you want to entrust it to us? We're pirates too, you know. Criminals in the Blue Sea. We might just pocket it."
Gan Fall laughed—warm and unbothered.
"Hahahaha. I may be old, but I still believe I can judge people. I trust you'll do the right thing. The chiefs agreed, as well. And since I'm asking you to do something troublesome… if you keep a little for yourselves, I won't complain. As always, we still don't understand its value."
…The trust people give so easily is sometimes the hardest thing to carry.
"And," Gan Fall continued, "I've come to realize many pirates are surprisingly decent. Of course, not all. But that Straw Hat boy, and you… you remind me of those who came here long ago. Roger's crew. You have the same aura."
"That's… an overwhelming compliment," I said honestly.
To be compared to the Pirate King.
No, that's too much.
Luffy, maybe. But me?
If anything, my bloodline makes me his sworn enemy… but I don't really care about that.
In the end, I accepted.
Using Enigma, I turned the gold into paper and stored it inside my body. I'll hand it over to Luffy whenever we meet again—whenever that happens to be.
And now…
Even if that hyena brat makes it to Sky Island, there'll be nothing left for him to snatch up.
Losing his crew and arriving empty-handed to curry favor with that pink-shaded bird?
Tough luck.
The original story left it ambiguous, but personally, I don't think he stole anything through brute force after arriving here.
I think someone asked him to deliver something to the Straw Hats—Hey, since you know them, can you take this?—and he pocketed it.
With a bounty around fifty-five million, he wouldn't stand a chance against Wyper and the others. And Blue Sea dwellers, unless they're used to this environment, suffer a huge drop in physical performance up here.
Plus… I don't know what happened, but I heard he lost his crew too.
Maybe he came up through High West—the route where a hundred people aim for the sky, and only a few make it, sacrificing the rest.
I still don't understand how that route even works. It's a mystery.
"Well," I said, stretching a little, "we should get going soon too."
Gan Fall's eyes widened. "Hm? Then we should gather everyone to see you off—"
"Ah, no," I cut in quickly. "That kind of fuss isn't really my thing. Too much pomp just makes me feel awkward. Please—let us leave quietly."
Unlike Luffy…
That sounds harsh, but it's true: we'll be visiting Aisa and the others regularly anyway. There's no need for a dramatic farewell.
I'm a commoner at heart. Being surrounded by ceremony just makes me want to dig a hole and disappear.
Gan Fall sighed, half amused, half exasperated.
"Good grief… everyone's the same."
A few minutes later—
Luffy and the others would likely return to the Blue Sea by dropping from Cloud End with Octopus Balloons, just like in the original story.
But we, the Merveille group, departed Skypiea aboard our own flying ship.
Of course, Shizu and Leona were safely on board too.
And as we traveled—
Karaa… clang!
Karaa… clang!
Clang… ding!
Just like the original…
We were sent off by the sound of the Golden Bell.
Man. It really does have a beautiful tone.
I understand why the warriors of Shandora are so proud of it.
…I wonder if Tesoro could make something similar.
I already took photos of the bell and measured what I could—dimensions, structure, design details. Next time I see him, maybe I'll show him the data.
A perfect replica is probably impossible, but if we could make that kind of sound ring out across Gran Tesoro…
It could become one hell of an attraction.
What a haul.
What a pile of memories.
We gained so much priceless experience… I feel like I can write even better stories now.
The Sky Island Arc really was a blast.
What an incredible journey.
To be continued...