Galahad Anne froze, a trace of surprise flickering through her ruby-red eyes. She gently brushed her severed long hair as her Armament Haki dispersed, returning her to her usual dazzling self. Lowering her head, she spoke softly.
"You didn't even use your Devil Fruit powers, and I still couldn't defeat you. If that's not failure, what is?"
"That only means you can't beat me for now. Why call it failure?"
Galahad Anne slowly lifted her gaze to look at Yemu.
Yemu met her eyes seriously, a hint of displeasure in his voice.
"I don't like the word 'failure.' To me, it means compromise. It means giving up."
"A woman like you shouldn't be so small-minded."
"And you think I'm strong, but there are countless people in this world far stronger than me."
"Leaving aside Rayleigh-san, just look at the Marine Admirals or those monsters in the New World. Right now, I have no confidence I could beat any of them. If I followed your logic, I should just give up already."
"If you can't win, then train harder. Do everything you can to grow stronger, then come back and fight again."
"Even if you really want to admit defeat, it's way too early. At least wait until you're seventy or eighty, when you've turned into an old granny."
"You giving up so cleanly makes my win feel a bit unsatisfying."
Yemu rattled all of this off in one breath. Galahad Anne listened, a strange look flashing through her eyes before she spoke.
"Are all men this talkative? I only said one sentence, and you said all that…"
"!!!"
Yemu immediately felt awkward.
"But still, thank you."
As Galahad Anne spoke, her long hair fell down to her waist, and she regained her proud, confident demeanor.
"That old woman wasn't wrong. The outside world really is full of powerful people. From now on, I'll come looking for you often."
"Come looking for me!?"
Yemu froze.
Galahad Anne smiled at him, charming and unrestrained.
"Didn't you just say it yourself? If you can't win, then train harder. Find every way possible to become stronger, then come back and fight again."
With that, Galahad Anne leapt into the air, left the volcano crater, and returned to the Kuja warriors.
"Let's go…"
...
At the island's safe point, a massive bonfire blazed. Above it, a fully prepared wild boar was roasting.
Flare slowly turned the spit, brushing on various spices. Before long, a rich aroma spread through the air, making mouths water.
"All right, let's eat."
The moment Flare finished speaking, Yemu could no longer hold back. He didn't even care about the heat, grabbing a pig trotter in each hand and digging in with gusto.
After a fight, it was easy to get hungry. Especially after battling Galahad Anne. That wasn't an ordinary sparring match; both Haki and physical stamina had been heavily drained.
Sitting on the bench, Flare watched Yemu devour the roasted meat, a happy smile appearing on her face.
Thinking back, it had already been four months since her old man had inexplicably made the decision to send her off, tricking her into becoming a pirate with this guy.
Though Yemu's antics sometimes gave her headaches, overall, under his protection, the journey had been exciting and joyful. Flare had seen people and experienced things she had never imagined before.
But for Flare, the happiest moments were always when she watched everyone enjoy the food she cooked.
Just like now…
"Come to think of it, we've been gone for four months already. I wonder how the old man's doing. I wonder if the Marines have been giving him trouble."
"With that Vice Admiral called Kuzan protecting him, it should be fine."
Den Den Mushi were still relatively rare in Loguetown. Otherwise, she would have left one at home so she could stay in contact with her old man.
Just then, Flare suddenly noticed Yemu staring straight at her.
Before she could ask what was wrong, Yemu lifted two small bones, struck an extremely ridiculous pose, squinted his eyes, and pointed at her as he spoke.
"Why are you looking at me like that…"
Flare's forehead instantly twitched with a popping vein, her face full of dark lines as she spoke.
"Who's looking at you like that?"
"Who else? You. Staring straight at me with that stupid grin on your face…"
Flare looked completely fed up.
"I was just thinking about something. I wasn't looking at you…"
As she spoke, she seemed to recall something and shot Yemu a scornful look.
"If anything, you're the idiot here. After the fight today, the way you kept staring at that Empress as she left. Now that was leering."
Yemu immediately shot back.
"That was an appreciative gaze… appreciation…"
Flare snorted in disdain at his answer.
"Tch… don't think I don't know you men. I've seen plenty of you back in Loguetown…"
Flare wasn't stupid. With her looks, there were plenty of men in Loguetown who stared at her in all kinds of ways. Of course she understood what that meant.
Seeing this, Yemu didn't bother explaining further.
Compared to women, what interested him more right now was strength.
"By the way, how's everyone's training been lately?"
Yemu casually changed the topic.
Flare answered with visible excitement.
"Pretty good! Thanks to Rayleigh-san, I've gained some new insights into my Devil Fruit abilities. I can do a lot of incredible things and variations now."
"Oh? Like what?"
"It's actually pretty simple. According to Rayleigh-san, Devil Fruits have existed for hundreds of years. But back then, people's understanding of kitchen tools and cooking was definitely different from today's. A lot of the cookware we use now didn't exist in the past. In other words, what counts as cooking or kitchen tools isn't decided by the Devil Fruit itself, but by the user. So theoretically, as long as I truly believe something is related to cooking, I should be able to do it."
That explanation made Yemu's eyes light up. Thinking about it, it actually made a lot of sense.
After all, developing Devil Fruit abilities always involved a strong subjective element.
"Show me!"
Yemu couldn't help asking out of curiosity.
But Flare refused without hesitation.
"No. If I show you now, there won't be any surprise. Don't forget our agreement. Three months!"
Yemu hadn't expected Flare to turn the tables on him like this. All he could do was nod, full of anticipation.
"Alright."
Then he went right back to eating with gusto.
At that moment, Flare suddenly spoke again.
"Hey, tell me something. Why did you want me on your ship in the first place? I keep feeling like I'm a bit different from everyone else."
This time, it was Yemu who froze.
"What do you mean?"
Flare thought for a moment before answering.
"I feel like everyone else has a reason they absolutely have to get stronger. Tiger-san, Enel, Erik, Ayala, Baby-5, even the Kuro Brothers. But me… I don't seem to have one."
Even though Flare's words sounded a bit vague, Yemu understood exactly what she meant.
So he took a bite of meat, swallowed it happily, and said,
"That's actually a good thing!"