Chapter 475: Empress Hancock, Careful You Don't Strain Your Neck
Nami sat perched on a chair, watching as Ren carefully dabbed at a scrape on her leg with a cotton ball held by a pair of tweezers. She tilted her head, a small smile on her face. "Shopkeeper Ren, it's just a scratch. I'm fine, really."
"That's why I'm not bandaging it," Ren replied, his focus unwavering. "But it still needs to be disinfected and sterilized. This will help it heal faster, and you wouldn't want a scar, would you?"
Nami nodded, letting out a soft sigh. "If only the guys on my ship were as considerate as you, Shopkeeper Ren..."
"Like me? Then your meals would probably be a lot better," he commented lightly.
"That's definitely true!" she laughed.
"Alright, don't move your leg," Ren said softly, finishing his work.
Nami looked down at him, about to speak, when Ren looked up with a helpless expression. "Did I even aim when I sent you flying? You managed to land right in front of the door. Nami, you must be the first person to ever arrive at my shop in such a spectacular fashion."
A faint blush crept up Nami's cheeks. "Actually, if that old man in the tower hadn't opened the door for me, I think... no... I'm positive I would have crashed right into it!"
Ren gave her a quick once-over, then nodded in satisfaction. "It looks like all the wounds have been treated. Nothing serious."
Nami let out a visible sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping. "Shopkeeper, could you make me something to eat? I'm starving..."
"No problem. What would you like?"
"The same as last time!"
"Alright," Ren agreed. "But if you all got sent flying, does that mean Zoro was blown away too?"
Nami's eyes widened in surprise. "Eh?! Shopkeeper Ren, how did you know I was sailing with Luffy and the others?"
"You mentioned earlier that Luffy and the others were more seriously injured," he explained patiently. "And knowing Zoro, he'd definitely drag Luffy along to find you. That kid might be a hot-blooded idiot, but he values his friends above all else."
A fond smile touched Nami's lips. "Yes! Zoro and the others came. They defeated Arlong and his whole crew, although..."
"Although what?"
Nami's voice dropped to a whisper. "Although Arlong couldn't really do anything to me... I'm still incredibly grateful to them. Arlong was eventually taken away by the Marines. It was only at the very end that I found out he was colluding with that Marine, Captain Nezumi! They were trying to trick me the whole time!"
Seeing the sudden flare of anger in her eyes, Ren sighed softly. "So, what are your plans now?"
Nami's hands clenched into tight fists. "I'm going to find Luffy, Robin, and the others, of course!"
Pandemonica, ever the pragmatist, spoke up gently. "From the sound of it, the oceans in your world are quite vast. Do you have any idea where you were sent?"
"Uh... I don't know..." Nami admitted, her confidence faltering.
"Then do you know where your friends were sent?"
"I... I don't know that either..."
Lucifer scoffed, her tone dripping with exasperation. "Never mind the landmasses in your world; with an ocean that immense, how could you possibly hope to find them? What a joke!"
Nami's shoulders slumped, her earlier determination draining away. "So what should I do...?"
Ren thought for a moment. "You can wait here for now. One day in this place is roughly equivalent to one month in your world. When Zoro gets news of you or wakes up, he should come looking for you."
Nami looked up, startled and a little nervous. "But, wouldn't that be... imposing? I don't want to be a bother to you, Shopkeeper Ren..."
He shook his head. "It's no trouble at all. You can be like Aoandon—you don't have to live here, but you're welcome to stay for a few days whenever you like."
Her face brightened instantly. "Okay! Thank you so much, Shopkeeper Ren!"
"Don't mention it. You all can chat for a bit... Hmm? What's going on tonight?"
Just as Ren was about to head into the kitchen, the shop's main door began to glow again. This time, however, it didn't swing open. Yakumo Ran, who was nibbling on a piece of fried tofu, looked nervously at her master. "Lady Yukari, didn't you say there wouldn't be many people?"
Yakumo Yukari simply shook her head, a flicker of uncertainty in her own eyes. "This question... I'm afraid I don't know the answer either."
At that very moment, in a lavishly decorated room, a woman gritted her teeth, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles were white. "Damn it! Damn it all!" she seethed. "Who is it?! Who dares to toy with me?!"
She was on the verge of madness. First, the door to her personal bathhouse had started glowing, and now her own bedroom door was doing the same! What was the meaning of this? Was it a death wish?! It had been over two days! This mockery had gone on long enough!
"Damn it! I will see for myself who is so audacious!"
With a furious snarl, she threw a silk robe over her shoulders and stalked towards the door. She had no intention of opening it normally. Instead, she drew back her leg and kicked. The wood splintered and shattered, the door exploding inward. It was an unlucky door, she mused. Once she dealt with whoever was behind this, she would have it replaced anyway.
But as the dust settled, the woman froze, her eyes wide with disbelief.
The doorway was empty. There was no one there, nothing at all—only a screen of light, one that pulsed with an exceptionally warm and gentle luminescence. The sight of it instantly extinguished her rage, replacing it with a deep sense of wonder.
She reached out a hesitant hand. As her fingers neared the light, a comforting warmth washed over her, dispelling any sense of alarm. It was as if the feeling itself was telling her that whatever lay beyond was safe, a welcoming presence. And... it felt somewhat familiar... as if she had seen this light somewhere before...
After a moment's deliberation, she gritted her teeth and plunged her hand through the screen. Sensing no danger, she took a deep breath and stepped through.
"This... where is this place?!"
Her sudden appearance brought all conversation in the restaurant to a halt. Yakumo Yukari and the others stared, their eyes drawn to the woman who had just emerged from the light. She was... tall. Incredibly so.
Lucifer swallowed, murmuring, "The only other person I've seen around that height is Yuko..."
Beside her, Yuuka Kazami gave a slight nod of agreement.
The woman's sharp gaze swept across the room's occupants. "Who are you?!" she demanded, her voice deep and commanding. "Why are you in my bedchamber?! And where is this place?!"
Ren tilted his head, unfazed. "This is a restaurant in another world, not your bedroom. You simply came to the shop through the door in your room."
"Another world?! Wait..." Her eyes narrowed on him. "You're a man?!"
Ren blinked. "That much should be obvious."
"Damn it! Why is there a man on my island?!"
"Uh... this isn't your island."
The woman paused, her expression hardening. "Stop toying with me! If not for the fact that I sense no hostility from any of you, this insolence alone would warrant a death sentence!"
Yakumo Yukari's eyes glinted with amusement. My, my, they'd found an interesting human. A playful smile spread across her lips. "And you are?"
The woman looked at her as if she were an insect. "You do not recognize me?! I am one of the Shichibukai, the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock!"
"An Empress?" Yukari purred.
"Precisely!"
"Then you truly are exceptionally arrogant~"
"Whatever I do will be forgiven!" Hancock declared, striking a dramatic pose.
This gave even Yakumo Yukari pause. She and the others exchanged confused glances. "Why is that?"
Throughout the exchange, Ren had been watching Boa Hancock with an expression one might reserve for a particularly baffling idiot. It seemed a genuine fool had wandered into his shop.
Hancock tilted her head back, looking up at the ceiling at an impossible angle, and pointed a single, elegant finger forward. "Because I... am too beautiful!"
An absolute, deafening silence fell over the room. Even Yakumo Ran was stunned into speechlessness. Goodness, this one might actually be broken.
Ren let out a long, weary sigh. "So... looking up like that all the time," he asked with genuine curiosity, "aren't you afraid of straining your neck?"
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