White Ghost led his people off the ship one after another.
Since there were plenty of things aboard that couldn't be shown to outsiders, he left a few of the shut-in nerds and muscle-brained training maniacs behind to guard it. Everyone else came ashore.
Leonardo also withdrew with his people.
After all, this wasn't a battle. Better to leave before this man noticed anything suspicious.
Ordinary people could be fooled with little effort.
But in front of monsters like this?
Heh.
The tiniest clue was enough for them to infer far too much.
For example—
Kuro and White Ghost were both watching the backs of the departing elves.
Kuro narrowed his eyes.
"Their presence feels a little different. Very subtle. If you don't observe carefully, you'd miss it."
White Ghost smiled.
"Don't forget the legends here. Where there's smoke, there's fire."
Kuro's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Now that you say that, it makes sense."
White Ghost shook his head.
"Don't think too much about it. If we're here to stroll around, then stroll around. I heard this place has plenty of fun things. Take your time and enjoy it."
That Officer Om gave a soldier a few instructions, then nervously made his way toward White Ghost's group.
Before he even got close, several gazes locked onto him at once. Bai Hezi and the others even rested their hands on their sword hilts.
Om's face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat poured from him.
Terrifying.
They were only a few glances, yet he felt as though savage beasts had fixed their eyes on him.
Om immediately raised both hands.
"Please don't misunderstand! I just want to say a few words to Lord Dragon Emperor!"
White Ghost waved a hand, and only then did the others relax.
The pressure on Om instantly eased, and he hurried over at a trot.
Cautiously, he said, "Lord Dragon Emperor… may I ask whether the Soul Diva and Soul King are here as well?"
"Yohohohoho… Are you looking for me?"
Brook walked over dressed like a superstar, a guitar slung over him.
Om had almost jumped in fright at the sight of a walking skeleton, but after thinking about it, he remembered the image from the wanted posters.
Soul King really was just a skeleton!
Suppressing the fear in his heart, Om hurriedly asked again, "Then… what about the Soul Diva?"
White Ghost curled his lips and pointed toward a nearby shop, where Uta and the others had already run off.
Following White Ghost's finger, Om immediately spotted the goddess in his heart.
Then he looked at all the beautiful women surrounding her, and couldn't help swallowing hard inside.
But outwardly, he didn't dare show even a hint of it.
He'd die.
Those were all this man's women.
Om pressed a hand to his chest and performed a noble salute.
"It's like this, Lord Dragon Emperor. Our king is a fan of both Soul King and Soul Diva.
"He was once captivated by their songs at a concert on Sabaody Archipelago.
"After returning home, he kept lamenting the fact that he had never been able to invite the two of them to perform in our country.
"So when he learned that the two great stars were planning to travel the world and hold concerts, His Majesty was overjoyed.
"That's why he gave us a direct order: if we ever encountered you, we were to invite you to the kingdom as honored guests no matter what."
Brook strummed his guitar once.
"Yohohohoho… I never imagined that Uta and I would have fans even here in the distant South Blue. What an honor."
Gordon, standing to the side, was smiling too.
There was nothing happier for a musician than having their music recognized.
Though White Ghost had forbidden him from singing certain old songs, which still annoyed him greatly.
Uta, who had just come over, had also heard everything. She pressed a finger to her chin and looked at White Ghost with wide, hopeful eyes.
White Ghost couldn't stand that gaze of hers.
He waved a hand helplessly.
"Didn't I already say before we set out? You can do whatever you want."
"Yay!"
Uta jumped up excitedly and hugged White Ghost's arm, her face full of happiness.
Something inside Om cracked loudly.
But his expression remained perfectly normal.
A moment later, the soldier Om had sent earlier came hurrying back and whispered a few words into Om's ear.
Though he spoke quietly, there wasn't a single person present who couldn't hear him.
Om's face lit up with joy, and he immediately turned to White Ghost.
"Lord Dragon Emperor, our king has already learned of your arrival.
"He has specifically ordered me to invite all of you to the capital as honored guests. Please, I hope you won't refuse. His Majesty will receive you with the most distinguished courtesy our kingdom can offer."
White Ghost nodded and mentioned it to the others.
Everyone was happy about it.
Though Uta and Brook often sang on the ship, it still lacked the atmosphere of a real concert.
Something was always missing.
So everyone was looking forward to the performance too.
Their whole group boarded the luxurious carriages Om had prepared and set off grandly for the capital.
Of course, the big shut-ins and hulking meatheads were all left behind on the ship.
For those brutes, training was their favorite thing in the world.
As for a concert?
That could be heard from the ship anyway.
Back at the elven garrison, Arya was holding the newspaper and grumbling.
"So that was Dragon Emperor White Ghost just now. His presence was insanely oppressive… but he was really handsome."
Leonardo's face darkened.
"Watch yourself, Arya. Don't forget—those people had conflicts with him before."
Arya tossed the newspaper aside and complained, "I really can't understand why our ancestors insisted on waiting for that promise. For eight hundred years! Our elf race has waited eight hundred years just for one sentence!"
"Enough!"
Leonardo immediately barked at his sister.
If any of the elders heard words like that, there would be huge trouble.
"Hmph." Arya puffed her cheeks and continued anyway. "It's true! Because of some stupid promise, our entire race has had to hide away from the world.
"Sure, our race likes peace and quiet—but there are plenty of people who like excitement too.
"Look at us now. Every time we go outside, we have to cover ourselves from head to toe. There's no freedom at all."
"Lower your voice, my little ancestor!"
Leonardo glanced around nervously.
The others all turned away as if they hadn't heard anything.
Because truth be told, they were thinking the same thing.
Arya immediately grew even more smug at that scene.
She pointed around and said, "See? None of them argued. And you still want me to keep quiet."
"Ah…"
Leonardo lifted his head and stared at the sky.
Wasn't he the same?
For the sake of one promise, the elves had remained hidden in the forest all this time.
Yes, the elves cared deeply about keeping promises.
But Leonardo truly wanted to ask the elders something:
After eight hundred years, was this promise really the best choice?
Could a world where everyone lived together under the sun, carefree and without worry, really exist?
If White Ghost were here, he would definitely spit and sneer.
Anywhere living beings exist, hierarchy exists too.
Those people back then were nothing but losers who wanted to reclaim power.
When a boss draws you a pie in the sky, doesn't he always blow it bigger and bigger?
Then when you work hard and finally finish the job, don't you find it's never what was promised?
And after that, don't you just kick him away and fool the next newcomer instead?
Those kinds of dreams only exist in dreams.
Go dream, kid.
Seeing her brother staring blankly at the sky, Arya gradually stopped complaining too.
She lifted her head and stared at the sky with him.
No one knew what the two of them were thinking.
The others also looked up at the sky, all thinking the same question:
Was it really worth it for their entire race to hide away from the world just for a vague promise that might not even be real?
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