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Chapter 40: Please Read This Chapter in a Sluggish Tone
It's not over yet... it's too early to despair...!
...After that, I... returned to Level 5.5—uh, Okama Land, was it?—with Ace, Jinbe, and Bon Clay.
And then, uh... what happened again...
Ah... right. Ivankov and the rest of the pervert army were saying stuff like, "It's amazing that you actually managed to rescue Ace! It's a miracle! Hee-haw!"... and then they started tossing me up in the air in celebration...
Well, none of that really matters... sigh...
After that, um...
I told Ace and the others that Luffy had been hit by Magellan's poison and was currently down for the count.
Then, for some reason... everyone ended up gathering in front of the room where Luffy was being treated, cheering, "You can do it, you can do it." The one who started it was Bon Clay.
Whether it was thanks to that or not, I have no idea, but Luffy, who was supposed to need two days of treatment, managed to bounce back in just over 20 hours...
...The first thing Luffy did after reviving was eat like an absolute idiot. Then, once he finally took a breath, he noticed Ace standing right in front of him and tackled him in a tearful hug.
It was a touching reunion between sworn brothers.
I watched them while picking at my ear.
"Aceeeee!! When did you manage to!! Break out of prison!? I'm so glad!! I'm so glaaaaaaad!!"
"Hehe, thanks, Luffy. Line and that okama over there saved me."
"Is that so! Line! Bon-chan! Thank you!!!"
"Ngaaahahahaha!! No need for thanks! Nothin' at all! We're friends, aren't we!? Friends help each other in times of need~!!"
"...Ah~... As for me... thanks are... I really don't care... sigh..."
"? Hey, Bon-chan. Doesn't Line seem kind of down?"
"Ah~, Mugi-chan... Well, you see, a lot happened down on Level 6..."
"??"
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ace and Luffy are both saved, so my role here is completely f-i-n-i-s-h-e-d.
The end. Bye-bye, phew, see ya...
And there you have it.
That was the digest version of everything from rescuing Ace to Luffy's revival...
—————
"Pheeew heee haaa hiii"
Anyway, right now, I'm sprawled out on a sofa, chugging down apple cider to drown my sorrows.
I'm trying to wash away the sadness of losing my chance at the Huge Huge Fruit in alcohol. ...Well, not that it's actually helping...
"Jiii, jiiii!"
As I lay there as limp as a noodle, Densuke affectionately rubbed her head against me.
Ah, right. Densuke survived Magellan's poison too, didn't she? Yeah. I think that's good. Seriously...
"Densuke... you're so cute..."
"Niii~~ ♪"
Patting Densuke on the head, I heaved myself up with a "heave-ho."
But then I immediately flopped over in the opposite direction.
"Ahhh... I rocked back too hard and fell over... Densuke... help me up..."
"Ji? Jiiii~~"
Densuke used her entire body to forcefully push me back up, and this time, I managed to sit upright.
However, with no strength left in my body, I ended up slumping heavily against Densuke.
"Ahhh~...... this sucks..."
"Jiii~..."
I don't usually drink alcohol very much.
It's not like I'm a lightweight, but... right now, I can't really say I'm... experiencing a good kind of drunk... Not that it matters... I don't care. I don't care.
"Line-san... aren't you drinking a bit too much? It's true that you couldn't obtain the Huge Huge Fruit, but it's not as if you lost your life over it."
"Yeeeah, you're riiiight~..."
Jinbe said something to me, but my head was too fuzzy to understand him.
He was probably offering words of comfort, but my head was too fuzzy to understand him.
My vision was swaying slightly.
"Uuuurp... hic..."
While I was completely wasted, everyone was having a meeting about what to do next.
First, Luffy casually dropped the bomb that his father was the Revolutionary Dragon.
Hearing that, Ivankov was shocked half to death, screaming, "Your father!? YOUR father!!? Dragon has a son!?"
...Apparently, Ivankov is an executive in the Revolutionary Army.
An okama revolutionary... What a colorful character...
Then, riding that momentum, Luffy accidentally let slip...
That Ace was the son of the Pirate King, and that I was the son of the Pirate King's vice-captain, Ray-san...
" " " "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!!!??" " " "
"Hey! Luffy! I told you absolutely never to say that!!"
"A... My bad, Ace. Sorry everyone! Forget I said that!"
"Like hell we can just forget that!!"
"S-Straw Hat is... Dragon-san's son!?"
"Fire Fist is the son of the Pirate King!?"
"And the Invisible Phantom Thief is the Dark King's son!?"
"What the hell is going on!! Just what is up with these guys' bloodlines~~!!?"
...I'm not actually Ray-san's biological son, I'm his adopted son with no blood relation, but...
Well... denying it sounds like too much of a pain, so whatever...
I don't care~...
"T-To think...! Straw Hat Boy was Dragon's son...!"
"Iwa-chan, you were my dad's comrade, huh."
"Indeed. Therefore, even if it is presumptuous of me, I have an undeni-ble duty to support you!"
...I didn't really get it, but it seemed Ivankov had agreed to help Luffy safely escape from Impel Down.
"Line Boy has already wiped out the majority of Impel Down's military forces! There will never be a more favora-ble opportunity to break out than right now! I'll inform everyone in Newkama Land! Now is the time to assem-ble!! Hee-haw!!"
...It looks like the plan is for everyone to break out together.
"Ahhh~~... So then, Densuke... what are you going to do?"
"Ji?"
"Yeah. Looks like everyone's gonna break out together now... What're you gonna do, Densuke? Stay in Impel Down? Or go outside with us? You can pick whichever you like~..."
"Ji... jiiii... Nin ♪ Nin ♪"
Densuke affectionately rubbed her cheek against mine. It seems she intends to break out with us.
...What is she going to do after leaving Impel Down? Is she going to live as a wild Transponder Snail...?
Well, I guess that's none of my business...
"...Haaah, after... leaving Impel Down... huh..."
Luffy will undoubtedly continue aiming to become the Pirate King. Ace will probably return to the Whitebeard Pirates, and Ivankov said he was with the Revolutionary Army. And Bon Clay is an okama...
Hmm... ah...
Then what am I supposed to do from now on?
My dream of getting the Huge Huge Fruit... can never come true anymore...
What am I supposed to live for?
"..."
Well, for now, my ship, the Listruck, is parked at the Sabaody Archipelago, so I guess I'll get on that and... return to Dressrosa...?
I think that was the plan I'd made...
And then, um...
For now...
For now... what?
What am I going to do when I get back to Dressrosa? Me...
"..."
Scarlet and Rebecca are probably still living happily...
I wonder if Leo is already married to Mansherry?
And Viola and Monet might have... gotten married to someone else a long time ago... right...
I mean, it's already been 8 years since I set out on my journey...
Realistically speaking, everyone's probably walking their own paths in life by now...
...Is there even any point in me going back...?
"Line-san."
As I was spacing out while leaning against Densuke, Jinbe spoke to me.
"...Whash is it."
"You wanted the Huge Huge Fruit, did you not?"
"...Yeah, I did."
"Devil Fruits... it is said that when the user who ate one dies, the same Devil Fruit will be reborn somewhere in the world."
"Nga~h..."
"If you killed Sanjuan Wolf... perhaps you could have eventually obtained the Huge Huge Fruit..."
"..."
"Knowing that, and yet choosing not to resort to murder... Line-san, I respect you. ...You are different from Teach."
"..."
...What's that about? I don't get it. So what.
"To be perfectly honest, I do not understand why you are so fixated on the Huge Huge Fruit."
"..."
"But please, answer me this one thing. Eating the Huge Huge Fruit... is that your ultimate goal... your 'End of a Dream'?"
"Eh...?"
"Well? Is it?"
Eating the Huge Huge Fruit is the end of my dream?
...No... that's wrong...
That's just a checkpoint. The reason I wanted the Huge Huge Fruit, that was...
『 I like you! Please go out with me! 』
"Ah~, sorry. I'm biologically hardwired against dating shorter guys."
『 I'm happy about your feelings, but... I'm sorry, Line. I'm a human, and you're a dwarf. For a romantic relationship, I just think our body sizes... our heights are too different... 』
To the person I love...
I want to say I love them...
I want to love...
And I want to be loved...
"Nguuh...!"
Tears began to spill from my eyes.
Ah~... I want to be popular...
I want to be super popular with girls and build a harem~... I wanna do dirty things all the time. I'm a boy, after all. I have those kinds of desires.
But I also yearn for pure love.
I want to love, and I want to be loved. I want to be happy.
And to do that, I need to become a huge man. Because short guys aren't popular. That's exactly why I sought the Huge Huge Fruit...
"Line-san. To reach the end of your dream... did you truly need the Huge Huge Fruit?"
"..."
I don't know.
Maybe there's another way... but...
"Uuuuuuuugh!!"
I vaguely understand what Jinbe is trying to say. But still! I can't just flip a switch that easily...!
"I-I left my homeland in search of the Huge Huge Fruit! For these past 8 years, I've constantly sought it! I've constantly wanted it! ...Because I believed that if I just had that, I could change my miserable life... I...!"
"...Line-san..."
"If I lose that goal... I can't move forward anymore...! I can't walk anymore! I'm useless! I...!"
"..."
Flailing my arms and legs like a petulant child, I hung my head in despair. I can't move... I can't move anymore...
Seeing me like that, Densuke—
"Jiii, jiiii."
"...? Densuke...? Ah."
"Jiii~~ ♪"
Densuke smoothly twisted her body and scooped me onto her back.
Directing a smile at me that seemed to say, 'If you can't move on your own, leave the moving to me!'
"Jiii~~."
"Haaah... I see..."
"Jiii."
"There's no point in staying depressed, huh..."
"Nin!"
"Yeah. I'll keep trying... just a little bit longer... Thanks, Jinbe... Densuke..."
"I haven't said anything worthy of your thanks. However... that's the spirit! Line-san!"
"Jiiii."
"Fu... hehehehe..."
Maybe...
Maybe my dream will never come true for the rest of my life. Maybe I'll spend the rest of my days single.
But... that's right...
Just like Jinbe said earlier, it's not like I lost my life. So I won't give up yet.
I won't give up... right? Me. Yeah...!
As long as I'm alive, I won't give up. Because if I don't think like that...
I feel like I won't be able to move at all...
"Fuhehehehehehehe...!!"
...As long as I'm alive, I won't give up.
At this moment, I had no idea that those words were actually a flag...
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