Blake's words were comforting, but his tone was laced with teasing and schadenfreude.
Olvia, already burdened by unspoken frustrations, instantly broke down, tears streaming like a gushing spring:
"What did we do wrong, after all?"
"That was an entire island of living beings!"
Blake shrugged. What does that have to do with me?
Not to mention that Blake wasn't the one who gave the order; even if he were, he wouldn't see any problem with it.
It was simply a matter of one's position determining one's perspective.
"What did you do wrong?"
"Since you think you did nothing wrong, why didn't you investigate openly?"
"You chose to do things secretly, yet you still ask me what you did wrong?"
"If you weren't prepared to pay the price, what right did you have to touch the World Government's taboo?"
"Forget it, why am I even telling you this?"
"Lock her in a cell to cool down for a few days. Don't let her out without my permission."
With that, Blake no longer paid attention to Olvia, turned around, and returned to his seat to continue eating.
The law never forbids you from doing something; it tells you what kind of punishment you will receive if you are caught doing it.
If you are not prepared to accept punishment, or do not have the power to resist it, then do not touch the law.
Ohara secretly researched Ancient Script while holding onto the slim hope of not being discovered.
After being discovered, they still fantasized that the World Government would be merciful.
After their fantasy was shattered, they still looked as if they couldn't accept it.
This was what Blake disliked most about them.
Blake understood a principle in his previous life: people always have to pay a price for every choice they make.
Neither Ohara nor Hogback were actually prepared to pay the price.
The difference was that Hogback was simply foolish; he didn't even realize what he was doing.
Ohara, on the other hand, was burying its head in the sand, deceiving itself.
Well... doesn't that seem even dumber?
Blake felt he shouldn't criticize scholars with grand ideals this way, but he genuinely thought so.
"Maybe I'm just a selfish person by nature."
After a self-deprecating remark, Blake focused his attention on the food, no longer dwelling on it... The Ohara incident also had a significant impact on Robin, who had been gloomy these past few days.
Stella often brought Koala to comfort her.
The aloof Mandy would care for Robin in her own way.
Even the most mischievous Perona was trying to cheer her up.
Blake was quite pleased to see this scene.
He believed that with time and the help of everyone, Robin would soon emerge from her inner gloom.
After all, Robin's current state was already much better than in the original story... The sanctuary drifted near the main shipping lanes of the North Blue for a month, and Blake felt this trip wasn't fulfilling enough.
Experiencing the pomp of the Celestial Dragons once or twice might feel novel.
But every time they passed an island, the kings of these affiliated nations would receive them according to a predetermined procedure.
They had been preparing long before Blake's arrival, striving to present their country in the best possible light to welcome the Celestial Dragons.
It was the same every time, and Blake gradually began to feel bored.
According to intelligence, Doflamingo's stronghold was in the port city of Spider Miles.
Flevance, known as the "White Town," was also nearby.
The frustrating thing was that it was already not far from Reverse Mountain.
This meant that if Blake wanted to find Law, he would have to traverse almost the entire North Blue.
Bored out of his mind, Blake finally gathered everyone and made a decision that went against ancestral tradition.
"What?"
"No! Your Highness! Absolutely not!"
"Alright, alright!"
Seeing the women's reactions, Blake smiled helplessly:
"I just want to go down to the next island without the CP, that's all. No need for such a big reaction, right?"
"There are no outsiders here, so we won't be discovered. It's not good to always be so tense."
"But what if you encounter danger without CP members around?"
Stella's first concern was Blake's safety.
Blake wasn't worried about that.
He could now relatively easily defeat Douglas Bullet at his peak.
With such combat power, even against an Admiral and a Four Emperors, he could remain undefeated for a short time by relying on his Iron Balloon ability.
The number of people on the Grand Line who could threaten him was already countable on one's fingers.
How could these people possibly run to a remote corner of the North Blue to trouble him, an unremarkable Celestial Dragon?
Blake bringing the CP when he went out to sea was more of a low-key act now.
If he truly encountered a situation he considered dangerous, the presence or absence of those two CP members wouldn't make much difference.
Blake put one arm around Mandy and placed the other hand on Koala's head:
"Aren't Mandy and Koala here? You two will protect me, right?"
As he spoke, he looked at the two in his arms.
Mandy's face flushed slightly, and she squirmed uncomfortably, letting out a soft hum.
Koala, on the other hand, looked at Blake and nodded seriously:
"Your Highness, don't worry, I will do my best to protect you."
"Hahaha..."
Blake burst into laughter, but Robin poured cold water on the idea from the side:
"I really don't know what you want to see on those islands. You can't even haggle, and you'll probably end up shouting 'buy the whole island' or something like that."
Blake choked, glaring at Robin:
"What do you know? This is called experiencing the hardships of life."
"How rare, that life has become so hard that you need to experience it personally."
Robin closed the thick tome in her hand:
"I bet you won't last three blocks before you're scared by the fishmonger's killing intent."
"When you get kidnapped by pirates, I will definitely carve your glorious deeds onto a stone tablet in the style of a poneglyph."
Blake's eye twitched from being retorted.
Ever since the Olvia incident, Robin had become more and more uninhibited.
Blake didn't know what she was thinking, but it was a good thing overall.
However, what gave him a headache was that Robin increasingly liked to tease him.
Whenever Robin used the honorific "you," without a doubt, a barrage of sarcasm would follow.
This time, there was an even more interesting project, so he would let her off for now.
"Stella, go tell someone to take down the World Government flag from the ship and disguise the sanctuary as a merchant ship."
"No..."
Blake suddenly remembered that his sanctuary was quite luxurious when it was built, so disguising it as a merchant ship would be quite difficult.
"Like this, disguise it as a wealthy family traveling."
Seeing that his mind was made up, Stella didn't try to persuade him further.
In fact, both Stella and the others knew that Blake also possessed strength.
After all, they had trained together for a while, and it was clear that Blake's strength was even above Mandy's.
They just couldn't imagine how high Blake's true combat power was.
After Stella left, Blake called the others to change clothes, and he himself quietly took off his spacesuit and removed his fishbowls (helmets).
After a flurry of activity, everyone changed their clothes and stood excitedly on the deck.
Blake looked around, found no flaws, and then said with satisfaction:
"Depart!"