As Blake had more contact with the plot characters and encountered opponents in the ability card space, he gradually figured out the image changes of characters after their transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional.
The little girl he saw this time was only five or six years old.
Her orange-yellow hair was messy from lack of care, like thorns swept by a storm.
A faint, eerie blue light shimmered in her dark Blake eyes.
Her mouth twitched unconsciously, her tongue nervously pressed against her upper palate, constantly maintaining a "survival smile."
She wore a dirty yellow linen camisole; the rough fabric was yellowed and pilled from repeated washing, and the straps were casually secured with hemp rope.
Different colored patches were sewn onto her too-short, worn-out bloomers, and the hem was irregularly frayed from labor.
"Huh? What's going on with this shop? They actually put up a dirty little girl."
Noticing Blake's gaze, Stussy turned to look and saw this somewhat out-of-place scene.
"We'll know if we go take a look."
With that, Blake took the lead and walked forward.
Before he even got close, he discovered the reason.
Blake's eye twitched.
"Urgent Notice! The storefront lease expires at the end of the month, store closing countdown, all merchandise sold at rock-bottom prices!"
He never expected to see such a familiar scene in Mary Geoise.
He had to admit, there were talented people even in this other world.
Blake had a particularly deep impression of this scene.
Back in his high school days, there was a shop in the pedestrian street near his school that was decorated in a "battle-damaged" style, and then, under the guise of an expiring lease, he would always hear urgent hawking from the speakers at the shop entrance every time he passed by.
However, the "soon-to-expire" clothing store was still going strong even when he graduated from high school and left that city.
Blake could understand that this was a sales tactic, but he always felt like he was being taken for a fool.
He was very curious: it was fine to do this in his previous life, a harmonious society saved them.
This shop in front of him dared to pull this stunt in Mary Geoise; was the shop owner really not afraid of being directly killed by some Celestial Dragons?
"Forget it, let's just see how long this shop can last."
Shaking his head, Blake lost the urge to investigate further and walked up to the blonde little girl.
Noticing Blake's gaze, the little girl immediately showed a sweet smile.
"Amazing! She's smiled so much it's muscle memory, it's a shame she's not an actress."
After muttering a complaint, Blake instructed Stussy to buy the little girl.
Before long, he had another rope in his hand.
The little girl was none other than Koala, a future important member of the Revolutionary Army.
It's worth mentioning that Blake was able to recognize Koala for reasons similar to Stussy's situation back then.
She too had left behind a world-famous painting.
That was on the ship when Fisher Tiger was taking her home; Arlong, who hated humans, found an excuse to scold Koala.
At that time, Koala was terrified, immediately knelt on the ground, tore off her pant leg, and began wiping the deck, continuously apologizing:
"I'm so sorry, I'll work, I'll clean non-stop, please don't hit me, I'm sorry."
"No matter what happens, I won't cry, please don't kill me."
When she said these words, a "survival smile" was still on her face.
Even Blake, with his empathy weaker than an average person's, still felt a trace of sympathy for her.
Out of sympathy from his previous life, and his "hoarder" complex for plot characters, Blake decided to take Koala back with almost no hesitation.
Now, Blake's manor had Robin at eight, Perona at three, and Koala at five—it was practically a kindergarten… Back at the manor, Blake removed their collars and instructed Stussy:
"Take them to wash up and tell them about the manor."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Blake returned to the fishbowls, teasing Aida while thinking about the arrangements for Koala and Mandy.
Mandy was easy to deal with; he would keep her by his side for a while, then enhance her strength, and then she could return to the Wob Kanding Kingdom to establish her power.
After obedience training by multiple Slave traders, Blake believed she wouldn't cause problems easily.
Koala, however, was worth Blake's careful consideration.
Unlike Robin and Perona, Koala could be considered half a combatant and half an intelligence agent.
Her role was somewhat similar to Stussy of CP0.
With proper cultivation and ability cards, Koala could grow into an independent powerhouse.
But there was no need to rush.
Koala was still too young, and her personality was too weak right now.
"Hmm… I need to let her learn more from that lawless little girl, Perona."
"You're talking bad about me again!"
Perona, who had snuck up behind Blake at some point, intending to scare him, had just gotten close when she heard this sentence.
She immediately forgot her original plan, jumped in front of Blake, and began to express her displeasure.
Blake laughed, picked her up, and vigorously ruffled her pink hair.
"How could I talk bad about you? I was saying that Princess Perona is so amazing that I want the new little girl to learn from you."
"Really?"
Perona tidied her messy hair while looking at Blake suspiciously, feeling that he was trying to fool her.
Blake, however, was full of sincerity:
"Of course it's true!"
"Oh ho ho! I knew it, you finally discovered my shining points."
Praised, the childish Perona immediately jumped off Blake's body and skipped away.
Judging by the direction, she was probably going to find Robin to show off.
"No wonder that old shut-in Moriah raised Perona like a daughter; such a lively personality really brings joy to people."
Not long after Perona left, Stussy returned with Mandy and Koala.
Mandy's change wasn't significant; as a display item, she had already been carefully dressed by the Slave traders.
Koala, however, looked like a completely different person.
Her fluffy, messy blonde hair was neatly combed, and the clothes she was so good at playing basketball in had been replaced with a dress.
She transformed from a tomboy into an exquisite doll.
Blake smiled apologetically at Stussy:
"You'll have to work hard to take care of one more person."
"Your Highness, please don't say that. If you hadn't bought me, I don't know what kind of situation I would have faced. Taking care of a few children is simply not worth mentioning."
Stussy returned a gentle smile, still as heartwarming as ever.
Blake shook his head; for Stussy, who had already become his woman, Blake would not treat her as a dispensable Slave.
However, the three children in the manor were all Blake's future foundation, so they couldn't be casually left to maids to care for; only Stussy could be responsible.
Fortunately, Robin and Koala had relatively mature personalities.
And Stussy's gentle big sister persona, with maximum affinity, happened to curb Perona's mischievous nature.
Taking care of them wasn't too much trouble.