The cabin was stuffed with various supplies, including enough fresh water and food for several months of sailing, and even several large barrels of Bellemere's special orange marmalade and vintage wine.
"Mr. Lorne, please be sure to accept this small token of our appreciation!"
Genzo stood out at the right moment; representing all the villagers, he bowed deeply to Lorne.
"Yeah! Without you, we would probably already..."
"We have nothing to repay you with, so we only prepared a small boat. We hope you don't mind."
The villagers expressed their gratitude in a hubbub of voices, their simple faces full of sincerity.
Lorne was somewhat touched as he looked at this scene.
He wasn't some bleeding heart, and part of the reason he acted was for his own traveling expenses, but this pure goodwill was something he could not refuse.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Lorne laughed heartily and jumped onto the small but sturdy sailboat.
He checked around the boat and was quite satisfied with its performance. It was small but well-equipped; it was more than enough for one person to operate.
Lorne extended a finger and drew in the air; the moisture in the air quickly condensed, and a thin ice flag formed in his hand.
Immediately following, a peculiar emblem pattern appeared on the ice flag—it was a fairy with wings spread, its tail slightly raised, full of agility and mystery.
Lorne waved his hand casually, and the flag automatically flew to the top of the mast, firmly fixing itself there and snapping in the sea breeze.
"Is this... some kind of pirate flag?" a child asked curiously.
"No."
Lorne stood at the bow facing the sea breeze, the flag snapping behind him. "That is the mark of a home."
After saying this, he untied the mooring lines and steered the sailboat slowly away from the port.
"Everyone, take care!"
"Mr. Lorne, have a safe voyage!"
The villagers on the shore waved their hands vigorously; Nami and Nojiko stood at the very front, while Bellemere smoked silently to the side, the smoke wreathed around her face.
Nami didn't cry; she just kept her bright eyes wide open, wanting to imprint that peculiar flag and that receding figure into her mind.
The sailboat soon turned into a small black dot on the horizon and finally disappeared from sight.
The news of the Arlong Pirates' destruction spread across this sea area at an astonishing speed along with the sea breeze.
Countless islands oppressed by Arlong erupted in belated cheers, while the East Blue Navy and various factions felt shocked and curious about this suddenly emerged powerhouse.
At this moment, the culprit behind all this, Lorne, was sitting leisurely by the helm.
He spread out a nautical chart he had obtained from Cocoyasi Village and moved his finger slowly across it, planning his next course.
"16th Branch... tsk, Colonel Mouse."
Just thinking of that greedy, sleazy, and stupid guy gave Lorne a headache. Sending Arlong's head to him—heaven knows how much trouble that would cause.
He was going to collect a bounty, not to play mind games with Navy scum.
Dealing with that kind of person was purely asking for trouble; if he were to be double-crossed and have a bounty placed on his own head, that would be a real disaster.
"77th Branch... yeah, that's the direction."
By comparison, the 77th Branch would be much more reliable.
In Lorne's impression, the commander of that branch seemed to be a fairly righteous officer.
It seemed that in the original trajectory, the commander of this branch had led the fleet to launch an offensive to save the towns enslaved by Arlong.
Although they were wiped out in the end due to a gap in strength, this courage was worthy of respect.
Dealing with such a person was much easier than bickering with a fat mouse.
Lorne calculated in his mind, using one hand to control the helm and fine-tune the course.
The sun was just right, the sea breeze was gentle, and sailing alone while singing was simply the perfect template for retirement.
Unfortunately, good times are always short-lived.
Before he could enjoy it for long, the silhouette of a ship slowly appeared on the edge of his perception.
Lorne narrowed his eyes and carefully distinguished it.
It was a Navy Warship; on its sails, besides the iconic seagull and scales pattern, there were two huge black numbers: 16.
Lorne looked at those two numbers and felt his temples throbbing.
It's always the thing you fear that happens!
The East Blue is so vast, and there are so many shipping lanes; how could he possibly run into this specific ship?
Could it be that the protagonist halo on me has the trouble-attraction mode enabled by default?
I can't even dodge it?
He complained wildly in his heart, but his hands were not slow.
Lorne yanked the helm, and the small sailboat carved an arc on the sea, heading in another direction, attempting to bypass the Warship's sailing route.
He didn't want trouble, really.
However, things went contrary to his wishes.
Just as he finished adjusting his course, the Warship in his field of vision actually turned its bow as well, heading straight toward his small boat without deviation.
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