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Chapter 12: The Tiny Bounty
"Missssteeeer!! Waaaaaaah!!"
The heavy wooden doors of Shakky's Rip-off Bar slammed shut behind me, sealing away the chaos of the Sabaody Archipelago. But before I could even take a full breath of the familiar, smoky air, Esune lunged forward and enveloped me in a desperate, sobbing hug.
After escaping from Kizaru and somehow managing to navigate the confusing mangrove roots back to Grove 13, I was immediately greeted by Esune. The young girl clung to my tiny, battered body, holding me tight against her chest while bawling her eyes out.
"Whoa?! E-Esune..."
"Misteeeer... I'm so glad... so glaaad...! You're alive, you're aliiive...!!" she wailed, her grip tightening to the point of cutting off my circulation. "I was so scared that you might die too... Waaaaaah!!"
"I get it! I get it, so let go for a second! I'm covered in open wounds right now, and it seriously hurts!"
"!!! I-I'm sooorryyy...!!"
Esune immediately let go of me, her tear-streaked face pale with panic, but she refused to step back. She hovered over me, her hands twitching as she waited, ready to scoop me up and hug me again in an instant.
I'm not going anywhere, so I'd really appreciate a little more personal space...
Still, looking at her red, puffy eyes and trembling shoulders, my irritation melted away. Well, regardless of the pain, I was truly glad she had made it out safe.
I plopped down on the hard floor, finally able to catch my breath and let the adrenaline bleed out of my system, when Shakky emerged from the back room carrying a massive, Big Human-sized first-aid kit.
"Are you alright, Line-chan? You really got beaten to a pulp out there," she observed, her sharp eyes scanning my bruised and bloody form. "I brought the first-aid kit."
"Th-Thanks, Shakky."
"To think you'd come back battered and bruised not even half a day after saying you were leaving the island... Even a seasoned bartender like me couldn't have predicted that."
"...I'm sorry for the trouble..."
Shakky set the heavy first-aid kit down with a complicated expression—a mix of exasperation and genuine relief. I really owed this woman big time.
...By the way, that first-aid kit is literally bigger than my entire body. Is it safe for me to use the medicine inside? What about the dosage? Does a single drop of this liquid medicine count as a lethal dose for a dwarf? Is there no Tontatta-sized first-aid kit in this place? No? I see.
"Hahaha. Even so, to suffer a direct attack from a Marine Admiral and return alive with only that level of injury is quite impressive. Even notorious New World pirates with bounties over a hundred million would struggle to pull that off."
The deep, booming laugh came from the corner of the dimly lit room. Ray-san was his usual self, relaxing in his regular seat at the counter with a glass of dark rum in hand, acting as if the world wasn't currently turning upside down outside.
"...Wait a minute. How did you know I was fighting an Admiral, Ray-san?" I asked, squinting at him.
"Because I saw it with my own eyes, of course."
"Huh!?"
While I was out there acting as a decoy and fighting for my life, Esune had managed to successfully reach the bar. Seeing a human child sobbing uncontrollably and covered in dirt, both Shakky and Ray-san had apparently been confused about what happened. Through her panicked tears, Esune managed to explain that I was in mortal danger, prompting Ray-san to immediately head to the plaza where Kizaru and I were fighting—
"No, no, no! Then why didn't you step in and help me?!" I shrieked, my fluffy tail bristling with indignation. "I was on the verge of being squashed by Kizaru! I was scared half to death out there!"
Ray-san took a slow sip of his rum, entirely unbothered by my yelling. "By the time I arrived, you had already taken the Celestial Dragon hostage. In other words, you had already set things up so you could escape on your own without my help."
"N-No, but still...!"
He could have at least called out to me on the way back or something! My heart had been pounding out of my chest the entire sprint back here. I had been terrified that a beam of light was going to pierce my skull at any second. Don't just casually head back early and start drinking!
"...Because of me, for my sake, you got so hurt... I'm really sorry... Mister..."
A quiet, broken sob interrupted my internal rant. Esune was crying again, her small hands rubbing her eyes.
...Her parents had just been murdered right in front of her. Her mental state has to be completely shattered right now. She's blaming herself for everything.
"It's fine, Esune," I said softly, walking over and placing a tiny hand on her shoe. "It's nothing you need to worry about. The Celestial Dragon is the only one at fault. I'm just glad you made it out safe..."
"Uuuugh! Misteeeer!"
"Guh?!"
Esune lunged in and hugged me again, burying my face in her apron.
If you're going to hug me, at least use your Devil Fruit and turn into your Netherland Dwarf beast form! Your Big Human form is huge, so it's suffocating!
Despite my lack of oxygen, I reached up and gently patted Esune's trembling shoulder until her sobs quieted down into soft hiccups.
"Sorry to interrupt your little romance," Shakky chimed in, leaning against the counter and taking a slow drag from her cigarette, "but Line-chan, what are you going to do with her now?"
"Eh...?"
The warm, fuzzy atmosphere in the room instantly vanished, replaced by a cold dose of reality.
"As you know, our bar is located in the lawless zone of Grove 13," Shakky explained, her tone flat and serious. "It's crawling with far more kidnappers, slavers, and outlaws than anywhere else on the archipelago. Ray-san and I... we simply can't promise to look after a human child forever."
"..."
"You were planning on leaving this island today, weren't you, Line-chan? In that case, who exactly is supposed to take care of her?"
Shakky's words sounded incredibly cold, but they hit the mark perfectly.
Esune was still just an 11-year-old kid. Someone had to look after her, feed her, and protect her. And that "responsibility" fell squarely on me, the one who saved her and took her away from that plaza. I couldn't just force her onto Shakky and Ray-san, who were ultimately unrelated strangers.
I stepped back, placed both my tiny hands on the wooden floorboards, and bowed my head deeply to Shakky.
"Please, hire me to work at this bar again...!!"
"..."
"I'll look after Esune. I'll take full responsibility for her. So, at least until she becomes an adult and can fend for herself... please let the two of us stay here. Please...!"
At my desperate words, Shakky took another deep drag of her cigarette and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke toward the ceiling. The silence in the bar was deafening. Then, she casually glanced over at Esune.
"!! P-Ple, please... I don't have anywhere else to go..." Esune stammered, dropping to her knees and bowing her head right alongside me. "I'll do chores, I'll clean, I'll do whatever else you need... Just please let me stay here... Please...! Please...!"
Seeing the two of us prostrating ourselves on her floor, Shakky pulled out a new cigarette, placed it between her painted lips, lit it, and slowly smiled. The terrifying aura around her vanished.
"Alright. I'll look after both of you."
"!!"
"I can't just abandon a friend of yours, Line-chan. And when you earnestly beg me like that... I can't exactly refuse, can I?"
"Th-Thanks! Shakky!"
"Thank you sho mush...!!"
"Waaaah!"
Esune and I both scrambled up and threw our arms around Shakky in a massive hug. Shakky chuckled, gently patting our heads with her warm hands.
Was this... a mother's love?! Would it be wrong to call her Mom? Yeah, probably. But still... Mooooom!
"Hahaha, it's as if you have two children now, Shakky," Ray-san laughed, pouring himself another drink.
"Oh my, then that makes you the father, Ray-san. Should I start calling you 'Dear'? Ufufu..."
Hey, stop flirting, you old married couple.
Well, for now, leaving the Sabaody Archipelago was officially postponed. At least until Esune became an adult, I was going to look after her. I swore it.
—————
It was the day after Esune officially joined Shakky's Rip-off Bar.
When I woke up the next morning, my body still aching from Kizaru's kicks, I noticed the rich smell of bacon and eggs drifting into my makeshift bedroom. I wandered out into the main tavern and found Esune in the kitchen, happily cooking alongside Shakky.
"That's right, you're quite good at this, Esune-chan. Keep it up."
"Th-Thank you very much! Shakky-san!"
Esune was skillfully using a heavy iron frying pan to sizzle up some complicated-looking breakfast dish. It was exactly what I expected from a restaurant owner's daughter. It seemed she'd manage just fine working here, and having something to focus on was clearly helping keep her mind off the tragedy of yesterday.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes and yawning, I hopped up onto the counter and sat down next to Ray-san, who was reading the morning newspaper with a steaming cup of black coffee in hand.
"G'mornin'... Ray-san," I mumbled, stretching my stiff arms.
"Ah, good morning, Line. Today's newspaper has some rather interesting articles. Want to take a look?"
"Nah... I've told you before, I don't read the newspaper. Staring at dense blocks of text just puts me to sleep."
"Then how about this one? I'm sure it'll wake you right up."
"Huh?"
With an amused smirk, Ray-san slid a separate slip of heavy parchment across the wooden bar top. Wondering what it was, I scanned it over...
"Huh...?"
『 WANTED
"Invisible Phantom Thief" Line
Bounty: 120,000,000 Berries 』
"What the hell is thiiiiiis!!?"
Before I knew it, I was screaming at the top of my lungs.
Over in the kitchen, Esune let out a startled "Eek?!" and dropped a spatula, while Shakky sighed and muttered, "You're awfully loud this morning." But I couldn't care less about the noise right now.
"M-M-My picture!! I have a bounty?! W-W-Why?!" I stammered, pointing a trembling finger at the beautifully printed photograph of my face.
"Even if it was to save Esune-chan, you struck a Celestial Dragon, one of the World Nobles," Ray-san explained calmly, taking a sip of his coffee. "It's only natural that it would come to this."
"Even so, 120,000,000 Berries makes no sense! Why is it so astronomically high?! Doesn't getting a bounty over a hundred million usually require doing something completely unprecedented?!"
"..."
Ray-san silently handed me the main section of the newspaper. I timidly looked over the front-page article. The bold, glaring headline read:
『 The true identity of the "Invisible Phantom Thief," who has been the talk of the Sabaody Archipelago recently, has finally been revealed!
His true identity is a tiny dwarf who calls himself Line, measuring only a few centimeters in height.
Yesterday, just past noon, the Invisible Phantom Thief, Line, struck Saint Bomiol, a Celestial Dragon, and violently abducted his wife.
Numerous Marines who attempted to subdue him were ruthlessly defeated, and even the Marines' greatest military power, Admiral Kizaru, was heavily injured by the Invisible Phantom Thief before the culprit managed to escape the blockade.
The "Invisible Phantom Thief" is still currently at large. 』
"What the hell is with this article subtly mixing lies and facts?!" I shrieked, ripping the newspaper in half.
First of all, what's this about abducting a Celestial Dragon's wife?! Esune isn't a Celestial Dragon's wife! That dick-head Bomiol was just spouting nonsense on his own to justify kidnapping her!
And about heavily injuring Admiral Kizaru... I mean, sure, that was technically true, but... don't write it as if I was the one who personally beat an Admiral to a bloody pulp! They're just trying to cover up their own embarrassment!
But most of all... what do they mean "only a few centimeters in height"?! I'm at least twenty centimeters tall! Don't just go shrinking a guy's height without permission! That's what pisses me off the most! You bastards!!
Huff! Huff! I paced back and forth on the counter, steam practically blowing out of my ears.
"Now, now, calm down, Line," Ray-san chuckled, thoroughly enjoying my misery. "Getting an amount like this for your very first bounty is entirely unprecedented... You should be proud."
"Like hell I can be proud of this!!"
Why would I be proud of becoming a highly-wanted criminal with such an absurd bounty on my head?! The Marines are going to be hunting me down constantly now!
I had thought this for a while now, but Ray-san's values were pretty screwed up. Between that and his abnormal strength, he really was an old man full of mysteries.
"Still... Sigh... A wanted man, huh..."
I slumped down on the counter, all my energy suddenly draining away.
If Leo, Kabu, and the other Tontattas back on Green Bit found out I became a wanted criminal, how would they react...? Would Monet or Viola even go on a date with a guy like me now that I'm an internationally wanted felon...?
Crumpling up my own crisp new wanted poster into a tiny, furious ball, I tossed it right into the trash can.
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