Under normal circumstances, the Five Elders probably wouldn't go so far as to teleport all the way to Skypiea.
But nothing was absolute, and Arton couldn't guarantee some unexpected twist wouldn't make one of the Five Elders come to the sky island in person.
As things stood now, the Marines and the World Government had already sent several waves after him and the Flameblade Pirates, yet not only had they failed to deal with Arton—they'd ended up making Arton and the people behind him even stronger.
Meanwhile, the Marines and the World Government had both suffered losses on their side.
If Arton himself were one of their higher-ups, he'd definitely be wary of someone like that too.
And if he were truly ruthless enough, he might even head out personally to hunt Arton down.
"You really are cautious, Captain Arton."
Robin sounded genuinely impressed.
Then again, if Arton could stop casually mentioning his location in his diary every so often, Robin would think he was even more cautious.
Still, she could understand why he did it.
In Arton's mind, the sailing diary system was just a tool for recording entries and then getting rewards back from it.
He had no idea that the girls he'd once used as inspiration for his creations all had diary copies of that system—and could read what he wrote in it.
If Arton ever learned that, he probably wouldn't mention his exact location in his diary again.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's head up to the lookout now."
Ain took a deep breath and said it outright.
"You really are eager, Miss Ain."
Robin looked at her with amused interest.
"Aren't you the same, Miss Robin?"
Ain shot right back.
She was embarrassed, yes—but this wasn't the moment to back down.
Arton looked at the way the two of them were glaring at each other like sparks were flying between them and just shrugged.
Then he leaped straight up to the lookout platform.
The moment they saw that, Ain and Robin hurried up after him in their own ways and followed him into the lookout room.
"The view up here really is beautiful."
Arton braced both hands on the windowsill and looked out at the scenery beyond with a sigh.
Before, Enel had still been a problem that needed dealing with, so Arton hadn't paid much attention to Skypiea's scenery.
But now that Enel was gone, he could finally take the time to properly enjoy it.
Unlike the people of the sky islands, who were so used to the White-White Sea that they found islands made of actual earth more fascinating, Arton found the White-White Sea itself far rarer and more beautiful.
"The scenery in front of us isn't bad either, wouldn't you say, Ain?"
Robin leaned back against the wall and sat down on the floor.
Right in front of her were Arton's legs.
"Mm."
Ain copied Robin, sitting against the wall as well.
Then she watched Robin use the Flower-Flower Fruit to strip away Arton's layers of defense, piece by piece, and nodded.
"In that case, go on and enjoy this fresh view properly, Ain."
Robin smiled at her as she said it.
Chapter 621: Ain Wants to Thank Robin
"Huh?"
Ain looked at Robin in surprise.
From the impression she'd had of Robin, she wasn't the type to give way this easily.
"You worked hard staying behind to guard the ship. And I'm not in a rush over a moment like this anyway, since I've already had my turn crossing that line with Captain Arton."
Robin said it calmly.
"O-Okay… th-thanks."
The thanks slipped out of Ain's mouth on reflex.
But almost immediately, her face turned red when she realized she had just thanked Robin for that.
Seeing Ain like this made Robin think of what she herself had been like when she was younger.
"You're awfully cute, Miss Ain. I wonder if I looked this cute when I had my mouth full too."
Robin said it while helping steady Ain along.
That only made Ain even more embarrassed.
She wanted to tell Robin that she wasn't a child, that she could eat on her own and drink on her own.
But thinking about Robin's generosity toward her, she swallowed the words back down.
Of course, she didn't really have much room to talk right now anyway.
There were still moves she had already gone over in her head, and since she had a real "opponent" in front of her now, she wanted to take the chance to test them properly.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Arton's voice came out tinged with confusion.
"What is it, Captain? Is Ain too much for you to handle?"
Hearing his voice, Robin smiled and lifted her head to look at his face.
At the same time, she crossed her hands and used the Flower-Flower Fruit to sprout a pair of arms behind Arton's back, then gave a firm little push inward.
A moment later, she heard Ain let out a dry, choked cough.
"That's not it. I'm not weak enough for that. Actually, I'm not weak at all."
Arton patted Ain on the head, then glanced at Robin with a slightly exasperated look before continuing, "It's not that something happened on Ain's side, and it's not that something happened on my side either. There's just a little situation outside."
"Outside?"
Robin blinked in confusion.
Then she crossed her hands again and used the Flower-Flower Fruit to sprout an eye outside the lookout room.
A moment later, Robin let out a surprised sound too.
"What is it?"
After hearing that same puzzled tone from both Robin and Arton, Ain finally had to stop what she was doing for the moment.
She switched to gripping Arton with her right hand, then looked from Robin to Arton's face.
"Raki's here. And she brought a kid with her."
Robin 's pretty brows drew together as she said it, and she reached out with one hand to hold onto Arton together with Ain.
"A kid?"
Ain frowned too.
If it had just been Raki, that would've been one thing.
In the state they were in right now, they wouldn't really have cared.
At most, they would've just let Raki join in.
But Raki had brought a child, and that changed things.
A kid had come to visit their ship, rare enough as it was. They really ought to go receive them properly.
"Well, they're already here, so I'll go greet them."
Robin let out a small sigh and stood up.
"Th-That's okay?"
Ain asked.
"Of course. It's not as though I'm desperate for this exact moment. I'll leave Captain Arton to you for now."
That was what Robin said, but before she stood up all the way, she still leaned in and bit Arton once.
Only then did she walk toward the door, even thoughtfully closing it behind her for the two of them.
Robin's friendlier than I expected.
For the first time, even Ain had to admit to herself that Robin really was a good person.
"Well, she doesn't have to compete with you for a template anymore. Still, calling her a good person wouldn't be wrong."
Arton said it as it was.
If Robin 's childhood hadn't been so brutally tragic, Arton thought she probably would've grown into a genuinely, openly kind woman.
"I'll thank Robin properly later."
Ain gave Arton a sweet smile.
"Captain, let me keep helping you."