Early in the morning, on the luxurious bed in the captain's bedroom, Leno slowly woke up.
His sleepy gaze swept over the several graceful bodies sprawled across the bed, and his face was full of smug satisfaction.
If the captain didn't show some authority once in a while, did they really think he was all bark and no bite?
After glancing at those pretty faces still flushed with lingering afterglow, Leno gave a couple of satisfied hums before quietly getting out of bed.
By the time he arrived at the dining hall, a few people had already started breakfast.
After greeting them, Leno picked up his food and walked straight back to the table.
Beside him, Reiju withdrew her gaze from the doorway, elegantly set down her chopsticks, and remarked meaningfully,
"Oh my, our dear captain really worked hard last night. Up this early too... can your body even handle it?"
The moment she finished speaking, several sharp clinks of cutlery rang out around the table, and the atmosphere instantly turned painfully awkward.
Vivi, Kaya, and the others all flushed red and didn't dare lift their heads, though their eyes occasionally sneaked glances toward the seat of honor.
Leno's hand holding his utensils only paused for a moment before his brows lifted slightly, his calm gaze shifting toward the troublemaking Reiju.
"Don't worry. This captain is in excellent shape. If there's a chance, why don't we get to know each other a little more deeply?"
He still hadn't had the chance to make a move on this woman, but from the looks of it... had she finally run out of patience?
His eyes slowly swept over her from top to bottom. She really did give off the air of a woman fully in bloom. If that was the case... hehe...
Meeting Leno's unabashed stare, Reiju lightly licked her lips, then gave him a dazzlingly flirtatious wink and said in a syrupy voice,
"Then I'll be waiting respectfully for Captain's grand arrival~"
"..."
Leno was momentarily stunned by how openly seductive she was being. This woman really had guts.
Did she have no idea what kind of monster she was provoking?
Just as he was about to say something bold in retaliation, Nami's surprised voice came from outside along with the sound of hurried footsteps.
"That's strange. The Red-Haired Pirates haven't moved at all since yesterday."
After stepping inside, she noticed that aside from Leno, everyone at the table had their heads lowered like timid little quails, silently stuffing themselves with food without saying a word.
"What's wrong with everyone? Give me some kind of reaction~"
"Nami, did you get more intel from Morgans?"
Carmen walked out from the kitchen carrying a breakfast plate, smiling knowingly at the letter in Nami's hand.
She knew Nami had gone out early in the morning to wait for news, so she had thoughtfully prepared food for her.
"Thanks, Carmen~"
Nami casually took the breakfast and plopped down right beside Leno, tossing the letter onto the table before saying,
"It says the Red-Haired Pirates are currently stationed on an uninhabited island. I estimated the distance, and they're probably only about two or three days away from us."
After a pause, she turned to Leno and asked tentatively,
"Dummy, do you have any plans? Are we heading straight for them, or...?"
"Hm... let's just go directly."
Leno set down his chopsticks, frowned in thought for a brief moment, and then made his decision.
"The sooner we settle the matter of the Poneglyphs, the sooner I can stop thinking about it all the time..."
"Alright, your call."
Nami nodded and began eating, but after a few bites, she started to feel that something was off. The atmosphere at the table was way too quiet.
Usually loudmouthed Yamato was nowhere to be heard. Gentle, soft-spoken Nojiko was also missing. Even Hancock, who was usually glued to Leno, was nowhere in sight.
When she looked around more carefully, she realized it wasn't just those three. Kuina, Robin, and several others were absent too.
Her expression first turned surprised, then confused. What had happened? Why were so many people still sleeping in?
"W-Where are they?"
There was even a hint of panic in her voice, but seeing how calm everyone else looked only made her more at a loss.
Reiju finally found her chance to speak. She first shot Leno a sidelong glance, then said teasingly with a grin,
"That's something you'll have to ask our great captain. He really put in a lot of effort last night..."
"?!!!"
Nami froze for a split second, then her eyes flew wide open as she stared at Leno in utter horror.
"D-Dummy... are you some kind of beast? That many...?"
As she spoke, her gaze kept darting over Leno like she was seeing him for the first time.
Was this pervert's stamina really that terrifying? If it were her... she'd definitely break, wouldn't she~?
Just imagining it made her body shiver, and while her face turned bright red, a strange little sense of fear rose in her heart.
The other girls at the table who had never experienced such things also silently nodded, their understanding of their captain's "combat ability" reaching an entirely new level.
Seeing things spiral in an increasingly bizarre direction, Leno's face darkened immediately, and he shot Reiju — that black-hearted woman — an annoyed glare.
Inwardly, he was already deciding that he absolutely had to make this little temptress suffer later.
Looking at the blushing girls, he said helplessly,
"What was I supposed to do? They were the ones who declared they'd suppress me. As the captain, of course I had to resist."
When it came down to it, this whole thing was Nojiko's fault. Though, to be fair, Leno had been more than happy to go along with it.
He really hadn't realized before that she had such terrifying rallying ability.
In order to get revenge on Leno for teasing them yesterday, Nojiko had contacted several others and planned to combine their strength to force their captain into surrender.
But while the ideal had been beautiful, reality had been cruel.
The result was that several of them still couldn't get out of bed...
This was the price of failing to recognize the gap in their strength!
Thinking of that, Leno still muttered under his breath with some dissatisfaction,
"And they wouldn't admit they were weak either. Still had the nerve to provoke me..."
Seeing him act so shamelessly after clearly benefiting from the whole thing, Nami was so angry her beautiful eyes widened, and her modest chest rose and fell rapidly.
She pointed at Leno, her voice filled with disbelief.
"Y-You..."
She had truly never seen such a thick-skinned and shameless person! What sin had she committed to end up with such a perverted captain?
On the other side of the table, the little rabbit girl finally looked up in confusion after finishing her meal.
Her eyes swept around the room before settling on Nami.
She had listened to everyone's conversation in a muddled daze, but the more she listened, the more confused she became.
What suppression? What resistance? Had they all sparred together last night without her knowing?
"Nami, what happened to the big sisters? Did Brother Leno hurt them while sparring?"
"..."
Hearing her innocent question, Nami's expression froze. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but Leno beat her to it.
"Ahem... that's right. We had a little sparring session last night, and they got accidentally injured."
"But it's nothing serious. They'll be fine after some rest~"
"I see. Then I'll go check on them later..."
Carrot immediately relaxed. So they really had just been sparring!
She picked up her dishes and headed toward the kitchen, looking like she planned to visit them later.
In her eyes, those older sisters had always taken very good care of her, so now that they were injured, it was only right that she go take care of them too.
It would be best if she brought along a few of the carrots she had been saving. That would make her sincerity even more obvious!
...