Ever since Ayala ate the Raki Raki no Mi, she had taken every chance she could to absorb other people's luck and store it away for when everyone needed it. After using and developing that ability for a while, she gradually began to notice certain patterns.
For example, she found that not everyone's luck was the same. Some people were simply born outrageously lucky, while others came into the world carrying nothing but bad luck.
She also discovered that, while it was not an absolute rule, those who became strong and powerful generally had more luck than those who were weaker.
And now, she had found something else interesting.
She looked at the prisoners locked away in this frozen world of ice and snow.
By all logic, the people imprisoned in this place called the Freezing Hell should have been the very definition of unlucky. Most of them, in fact, had no future left to speak of. But when Ayala absorbed their luck, she found that the luck inside them had not withered away along with their hopeless lives. On the contrary, just as Yemu had said, they were brimming with it.
So as they walked and moved to another area, she quietly shared her discovery with Yemu.
Yemu thought about it for a moment, then gave his guess.
"The pirates locked up here all have bounties of over 100 million Belly. On the Grand Line, a bounty that high is enough to earn someone the title of Supernova. In other words, most of the people imprisoned in this world were once the favored children of fate, the ones this world had chosen. The fact that they ended up here doesn't mean they were unlucky. It just means they lost. A loser and an unlucky person are two completely different things."
Ayala nodded, half understanding.
Lillilu added, "Just look at them. They've survived this long in a world of ice and snow. That alone proves how tough they are. An ordinary person would've frozen to death ages ago."
Ayala also remembered what she had just heard from the prisoners.
The Freezing Hell was so brutally cold that even the guards refused to come inside. Aside from bringing them rock-hard food once a week, food so hard it was almost impossible to chew, they never saw another living soul.
In an environment this harsh, an ordinary person would have frozen or starved to death long ago. Yet the people before her, though clearly in terrible shape, were still alive. That alone was a miracle.
Looking at those pitiful prisoners, Ayala asked softly, "Yemu-nii-san, are we going to save them? They really are so pitiful."
But to her surprise, Yemu shook his head and gently patted her little head.
"Do you know why I've rarely harmed the Marines during our journey across the sea, but I've shown almost no mercy to the people of the World Government?"
Ayala was very smart, but at that moment, she still could not quite understand.
"Is it because the Marines are good, and the World Government is wrong?"
Yemu shook his head. He had not asked that casually. He was deliberately leading her to think.
"You have to remember this, Ayala. Right and wrong, good and bad, justice and evil, none of those things can ever be divided that simply. Take the World Government, for example. It has done many things that can only be called heinous, but at least for now, the order it established really has maintained this world's stability.
"And us, as pirates, even though we haven't done anything bad on our journey so far, you heard what those people said just now. Most of the ones locked up here got what they deserved. So the existence of pirates is definitely not something that can be called right, either.
"From that perspective, the existence of the Marines is absolutely necessary, and just. Without them keeping people like this in check, a lot of innocent people would die. But the Marines also have no choice except to obey the World Government's orders, and because of that, they've done many things on its behalf. So they can't be called absolute justice, either.
"That's what makes this world so complicated."
Confusion filled Ayala's eyes at once.
"Why... why is it like this, Yemu-nii-san? Isn't there anything that's completely right?"
"Of course there is. Isn't that what we're doing right now?"
Yemu-nii-san's words made her eyes light up.
"This world is so complicated because the order of this world, from the top down, is wrong. And as things stand now, the root of it all lies with the Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. So many of this world's evils exist for one reason, to maintain the Celestial Dragons' rule. And what we have to do now is build a new order..."
Hearing that, Ayala felt as if her whole world had been washed clean.
It was as though she had finally caught sight of the real source behind so many of the unanswered questions she had found in all the books she had read.
But because of that, a small doubt also rose in her heart.
"Um... Yemu-nii-san, will the order we build really be better than the old one?"
As soon as she said it, she realized the question almost sounded like she didn't trust Yemu-nii-san.
But instead of being upset, Yemu-nii-san rubbed her little head and said with clear approval, "Good, Ayala. The fact that you were able to think of that proves I was right about you."
Ayala froze for a moment, her cheeks turning slightly red.
Then she saw Yemu looking at her with encouragement in his eyes as he said something that left her utterly stunned.
"In our pirate crew, Enel is a pretty simple guy. Expecting him to think deeply about this kind of thing is unrealistic. Tiger has broad knowledge, plenty of experience, and a mature mind, but because of what he went through in the past, it's hard for him to think about the future outside the perspective of being a merman. As for your brother, there's nothing in his head except swordsmanship. Flare isn't interested in any of this. Erza doesn't even like reading, let alone thinking through something this complicated. The Kuro Brothers are even more simple-minded. And Ron and Gaos have the same problem as Tiger. On top of that, they're even less familiar with the world. So in our entire pirate crew, the only person I can entrust with the future of our country is you. You will be the first queen of our nation in the future..."
"Eh!!!"
Ayala jumped in shock.
"Q... Queen..."
She had never imagined a future like that.
In that moment, all kinds of thoughts flashed through Ayala's mind. Her first instinct was to refuse, but when she looked at the trust in Yemu's eyes, she felt a weight of faith she simply could not turn away from.
"Then... Yemu-nii-san, what about you...?"
Yemu rubbed her head and said with an easy, contented expression, "I told you before. I'm not interested in ruling or anything like that... My greatest wish is that once everything is over, I can take you, Sister Flare, and Sister Anne somewhere quiet and live out the rest of our lives in peace..."