"Since you think I'm beautiful… then… You wouldn't be opposed to becoming my husband, right?" Linlin asked, her face flushed and her expression unusually nervous.
She truly was nervous. She had no idea how Zechs would respond to a question that was even more outrageous than her earlier demand for him to join her crew.
But she couldn't stop herself.
Recently, she had been considering the idea of starting a family. Streusen had approached her about it before and had even offered to help her begin that path. Until now, she had never taken the suggestion seriously.
But as she looked at Zechs, so handsome that she could hardly take her eyes off him, she realized she wouldn't mind having him as the father of her children.
'Compared to that guy Streusen, Asmodeus Zechs is infinite times more handsome,' she thought. 'And if he thinks I'm beautiful too… then our children would surely be beautiful as well, right?'
If Zechs had known what Linlin was already thinking, he would have said, As expected of the future Big Mom. But at this moment, he had no idea that her thoughts had already gone as far as children.
Instead, he was stunned by her sudden proposal.
"Marriage?" he repeated, clearly caught off guard. He hadn't expected her to bring it up so abruptly.
He had certainly intended to fuck her, but marriage had never crossed his mind.
'More importantly… is it even a good idea to marry her?' he wondered.
From what he knew, she had taken many husbands over the years. Typically, she would bring men of different races to her side, have children with them, and then discard them once they had served their purpose. Some were abandoned, some disappeared, and others met far worse fates.
It was clear that she only truly cared about those connected to her by blood, and perhaps Streusen, who had been with her from the very beginning and remained by her side throughout her life.
Aside from Streusen, Linlin showed little concern for the fathers of her children.
Because of that, Zechs found himself uncertain about the idea of marrying her. He had no intention of being discarded once he had served his purpose. More importantly, he couldn't accept the thought of her taking multiple husbands throughout her life.
The women who belonged to him, in his view, would only ever have one man.
'Well… It's hypocritical of me to think that way when I intend to build a large harem,' he admitted to himself. 'But so what? I'm a hypocrite.'
He didn't deny his lustful nature. He intended to build a harem, and once a woman became his, she would belong only to him.
Meanwhile, unaware of the thoughts running through his mind, Linlin grew increasingly nervous at his silence. To her, his hesitation looked like reluctance, like he didn't want to be with her at all.
"Didn't you say I'm beautiful?" she demanded, her tone growing sharper. "Then what's the problem? Why is it taking you so long to decide? Why are you hesitating?"
A trace of anger crept into her voice, as if she had begun to feel that his earlier words hadn't been sincere, that perhaps he had never truly intended to accept her at all.
'If you don't agree then—' she thought, a dangerous glint appearing in her eyes.
Although her heart resisted the idea of harming him, Linlin was, at her core, a greedy and possessive woman who would go to any lengths to obtain what she wanted. And right now, what she wanted was Asmodeus Zechs as her husband.
If he refused, she had already decided what she would do.
She would capture him by force and take him back to her island.
She was a pirate, after all. Pirates took whatever they desired. Since she wanted him, she would simply bring him with her, whether he agreed or not.
There, she would take care of him. She had no intention of harming him. Instead, she would marry him and make him the father of her children.
Zechs noticed the dangerous look in her eyes and understood immediately that hesitation would be dangerous.
"It's not that I'm hesitating," he said calmly. "I was just surprised that you suddenly proposed marriage. For a moment, I wondered if I'd heard you correctly."
Then he asked, just to confirm, "Did I hear you right?"
Linlin nodded without delay. "Yes. I want us to marry and start a family."
"Hm." Zechs hummed before his lips curved into a smile, and he nodded, "Alright then… let's get married."
Originally, he had intended to get close to her and fuck her for the benefits. If marrying her allows him to fuck her, then so be it. As for whether she would discard him later in her life, that wasn't something he intended to leave to her.
In fact, she might never be able to end the marriage at all.
After all, she was choosing to marry an Incubus. This wouldn't be like an ordinary marriage that could be ended whenever one side wished.
'Besides, even if the marriage does end someday… I'll have already gained what I wanted,' he thought.
From Zechs' perspective, he had nothing to lose and much to gain. Marrying her was hardly a disadvantage.
'The only question is how she'll react when she learns I intend to have many women,' he considered. But he decided not to bring that up yet.
When she heard his answer, Linlin's eyes widened in shock. For a moment, she simply stared at him. "What did you say?"
"Didn't you hear me?" Zechs replied calmly, taking a proper glance at her beautiful and voluptuous figure, and then nodded, "I said yes. Let's get married."
"Haha… hahahaha… Mama, Mama! So you agreed? Good!" Linlin burst into laughter, clearly delighted. "Then let's go! Come aboard my ship. We'll celebrate properly, we'll hold a banquet!"
"Wait a moment," Zechs said.
Before Linlin could ask what he meant, he turned toward the deck and looked at his crew.
"Alright, guys, how long are you all planning to keep pretending to be unconscious? Rob, get up."
At his words, several bodies twitched. One by one, a number of crew members who had been lying still began to rise. Not all of them stood, but enough did to make it obvious.
They had regained consciousness some time ago.
Rather than drawing attention to themselves, they had chosen to remain still and listen quietly to the exchange between their captain and Charlotte Linlin. They knew exactly who she was, and they couldn't help but admire that Zechs had stood his ground without yielding.
'As expected of the captain,' Rob thought as he got up and bowed apologetically.
"Sorry, Captain. I didn't think I could be of any help here."
Zechs shrugged. "It doesn't matter."
He truly didn't mind. His crew was capable men, but this was a different level entirely. Individually, many of them could command small pirate crews in the Four Blues, but in the Grand Line, their strength was limited. Not to mention, the person this time was Linlin… if they had acted carelessly, it could have been dangerous for them, and they'd have only gotten in the way.
In a situation like this, staying down and out of the way had been the smarter choice. If they had interfered, they might only have made things worse.
But putting that aside—
"You've all heard most of what happened," Zechs said.
Rob and the others nodded. "Yes, Captain. We heard everything."
Then the teasing began.
"Congratulations on getting married, Captain!"
"Well, our single captain is finally settling down."
"And to think you're marrying the infamous Charlotte Linlin…"
"Madam, the Captain is right, you really are very beautiful. He's a lucky man."
"Damn… now I'm jealous. If I'd had the courage, maybe I could've married a beauty like you."
Linlin listened with an amused smile. She didn't interrupt, simply watching them in silence, finding her future husband's crew somewhat entertaining.
"Alright, enough. Focus," Zechs said, clapping his hands to get their attention.
The conscious crew members immediately quieted and turned toward him.
Zechs glanced at Linlin. "I've just been following the Log Pose, sailing from one island to the next. But I doubt you want to do that…"
Linlin nodded. "I'm heading back to Totto Land, the island I use as my base." Then, with a faint blush, she added, "Let's go there… and hold a proper wedding."
Zechs nodded. "Sure."
Entering another pirate crew's home base carried some risk, but this wasn't an alliance or a negotiation. It was a marriage. Under those circumstances, he didn't consider it a problem.
"In that case," Zechs said, turning to his crew, "Join Linlin's ship, and then set course to Totto Land. We're heading to her base."
"Aye, Captain," the crew responded as they began adjusting the ship's direction.
Once the order was given, Zechs looked back at Linlin. "Let's go."
"Alright," Linlin replied.
She bent down and extended her hand toward him. This time, she didn't try to grab him like a toy. Instead, she opened her palm carefully, inviting him to step onto it.
"Thanks," Zechs said, stepping onto her hand.
Linlin lifted him gently and then called out loudly, "Zeus!"
"Hai, Mama!" Zeus answered from above, immediately descending.
Linlin leapt from the deck and landed atop the living cloud. Once she had steadied herself, she looked toward Zechs' crew and called out,
"You there, my future husband's crew! Bring your ship alongside mine. We're preparing a banquet. Hurry and come over so we can celebrate together!"
"Yes, ma'am!" his crewmates responded at once, saluting in unison.
Zechs immediately pouted. "You guys… you've never saluted me like that."
"This level of respect," Rob said seriously, "is reserved for the captain's wife."
"Yeah, Captain," another crewman added with a grin. "You're not even as cool as Madam."
Zechs' lips twitched. He snorted softly. "Hmph." Then he looked at Linlin. "Let's go. They'll catch up."
Linlin hummed in response, clearly amused, and ordered Zeus to fly. The cloud homie surged forward immediately.
Meanwhile, back on the ship, Rob clapped his hands. "Move it, everyone! Let's catch up quickly, or we'll miss the captain's banquet!"
Not wanting to miss the celebration, the crew hurried to bring the ship alongside Linlin's.
On the other side, Zeus had already carried Linlin and Zechs to her vessel.
'It isn't her flagship from the future,' Zechs noted as he looked around. The ship was larger than his own, but it was nowhere near the massive flagship she would command in later years.
That wasn't surprising. At this point, Linlin wasn't yet a major force among pirates.
As Zechs was thinking this, a man's voice called out from the deck. "Linlin… you're back."
The two of them looked down toward the source of the voice.
A thin, small man stood there, dressed in a chef's uniform and hat, looking up at them.
"Yeah, I'm back, Streusen," Linlin replied as she landed on the deck.
'So, that's Streusen,' Zechs thought as he observed the man who is undoubtedly one of the most unsettling men to exist in this world and is the one responsible for turning Linlin into the woman she is.
As Zechs studied the little man, Streusen was studying Zechs as well. He immediately recognized Zechs from his bounty poster.
'Since she brought Asmodeus Zechs back with her… she must have succeeded in subduing him,' Streusen assumed.
He knew Linlin had intended to recruit Zechs into her crew, and he believed she had succeeded.
Unaware of his thoughts, Linlin spoke casually, "Streusen, prepare a banquet."
"A banquet?" Streusen asked. "To celebrate a new crewmate?"
He already believed he knew the answer.
But Linlin shook her head. "No. Zechs doesn't want to become my subordinate."
She pouted slightly as she said it. She had genuinely wanted him as her right-hand man, but since he had refused, she chose not to force the issue for now.
'Maybe I can ask him again later,' she thought, keeping the idea to herself.
"Eh?" Streusen froze, completely stunned.
'He refused?' It was hard for him to believe that anyone would actually turn Linlin down.
Then a more important question struck him. 'If he refused her… then why is he still alive? And why is he here?'
Streusen knew Linlin better than anyone. He had raised her and groomed her into the person she was today. Normally, anyone who rejected her would either be captured and imprisoned until they changed their mind or simply killed.
But Asmodeus Zechs was standing here, unharmed and clearly not restrained.
What is going on?
Several question marks formed in his mind. Looking at her uncertainly, he asked again, "Then what is the banquet for?"
"The banquet is to celebrate my engagement," Linlin said. "Streusen, I've found myself a groom. I'm going to marry Asmodeus Zechs." She then turned to the rest of her crew and announced loudly, "Listen up! This is Asmodeus Zechs. He's going to be my husband!"
Zechs gave a polite nod. "Nice to meet you all, Linlin's crew."
For a moment, the pirates stared at each other in shock. They hadn't expected their captain to suddenly return with a groom.
Then the deck erupted.
"Congratulations, Captain!"
"Boss Lady, you finally found yourself a man!"
"Congratulations!"
While the crew cheered and celebrated, Streusen remained where he stood, completely frozen. Even the smile on his face seemed stiff.
He unconsciously adjusted his chef's hat, his fingers pressing against the brim hard enough to bend its edge slightly. The muscles in his thin face twitched.
"Husband? Groom?" he repeated, his voice sounding hollow. "Linlin… what do you mean?"
Slightly embarrassed by the crew's reactions, Linlin rubbed her cheek against Zechs and declared proudly, "Isn't it simple enough to understand? From now on, Zechs is going to be my husband. Treat him with respect!"
Her voice rang across the deck, carrying the unmistakable authority and dominance that defined her presence.
"I… I understand," Streusen murmured, his expression hollow.
He truly felt empty. It was as if a pie he had been carefully and meticulously cooking for more than a decade was about to be creamed by someone else.
There was no way he could feel happy about it.
Seeing that Streusen was still standing there, Linlin spoke again.
"Streusen, if you understand, why are you still standing around? Hurry up and prepare the banquet!"
"Yes, Linlin," Streusen replied stiffly.
After answering, Streusen turned to leave. Before walking away, however, he cast Zechs a deeply hostile and jealous look.
The look did not go unnoticed.
Zechs could clearly sense the cold resentment behind it.
But instead of feeling concerned, he found it amusing.
'Fufu… greening others always feels good,' he smiled and even thought to himself, 'I should prepare a proper green hat for him…'
He had no interest in whether Streusen resented the situation; he had no choice but to accept it. In this world, strength decides everything.
No matter how jealous Streusen felt, he was far too weak to be able to do anything about it. Even Linlin herself wouldn't be able to act freely against Zechs at the moment, given the subtle influence of his charm and persuasion.
Streusen might have been the one who groomed Linlin from the little girl she was and introduced her to the ways of piracy, but the Linlin of today, who has become a full-fledged adult, had long outgrown his control. At most, he could offer advice and attempt to influence her decisions indirectly, using advice from his position as a trusted companion who had been with her for a very long time.
Beyond that, he was simply her head chef.
Ignoring him entirely, Zechs turned his attention back to Linlin.
'The stronger the woman, the greater the reward,' he thought, wondering what benefits she might bring him.
'Alright… since it's a banquette, then I'll seduce her during the banquet, and finish fucking her tonight,' he decided, eager to make sexual contact with her and improve his strength.
With his mind made up, the intensity in his gaze grew warmer and more focused.
Linlin noticed the heat in his eyes. But instead of feeling threatened, she felt a quiet sense of satisfaction.
She felt pleased that the man she had chosen to marry was looking at her that way. His gaze made her heart race and filled her with a growing anticipation of being close to him.
"Well then Zechs… let's party today…" Linlin said.
Zechs nodded, "Yeah… let's party~"
.
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Hurry up and drop your Power Stones!
Read up to 20 advanced Chapters on p-a-t-r-e-o-n: Knockturn_Alley