A month and a half later.
O'hara.
Storm City.
Inside the banquet hall of the Royal Palace.
On the dining table, Sage twitched at the corner of his mouth, watching Kuzan devour like he hadn't eaten for days, his eyes filled with black lines.
After the matter with Celent was resolved, Kuzan followed Sage back to Storm City in O'hara.
As for the Navy's direction... no movement.
It seems to have died down, and Sage's bounty didn't increase either.
But he doesn't care about that anyway.
But Kuzan, upon arriving in O'hara, hasn't spent much time in Storm City. He has been traveling within O'hara's territory for a month, including his own island, which he has toured entirely.
Besides that, he's been mooching off here for food and drink.
Like right now...
Kuzan picked up the only gigantic flower lobster on the table, twisted and pulled, revealing the tender shrimp meat, which he ate in a couple of bites, then picked up the bottle of wine on the table and drank directly from it.
"Hey! This bottle of wine costs 1.2 million Belly, you're really not holding back!"
A vein popped on Sage's forehead, "That lobster was specially brought up as tribute, there's only one a month, what exactly are you here for?"
"Just to see those I want to see..."
Kuzan caught a whole roast pig and first bit into the pig's nose.
"Peel it properly for me! Don't you know how to eat? Roast pig tastes delicious only if you dip it in white sugar!"
Sage quickly reached over, pressed down Kuzan's wrist, and said to Bella and some maids nearby, "Peel off the skin and dip it in white sugar for him!"
As time goes by, Sage's reputation has grown, allowing Bella, the head maid, to recruit some willing people to serve as maids in the Royal Palace.
Now the Royal Palace is more lively than before, maids can be seen working everywhere.
Pasia also found a batch of talented ones, she is teaching them to dance, although progress is slow, they can still perform one or two dances.
Byron, who is now promoted to leader of the orchestra, also found a group to train with.
Step closer to Sage's dream, soon he will be able to enjoy grand music, watch a group of graceful dancers, drink and feast while watching the dance and listening to music, living a lavish landlord life.
Although now, it's already quite pleasant.
"Aalala, do we really need to fuss about so many things when eating?"
Kuzan leaned back, waiting for the maids to peel open the roast pig's skin and then grabbed the skinless pig, munching down on it.
Sage sighed helplessly, "Never mind, a boar can't appreciate fine grain, Marika's gourmet dishes are completely wasted on you."
"They indeed are delicious, much tastier than the Navy canteen's food."
Kuzan's cheeks bulged as he chewed, stretching out his oil-stained hand to touch other food.
Sage just watched Kuzan eat like that, until half an hour later, one-third of the food on the table was gone, then he picked up a towel to wipe his hands and said:
"Sage, I'm here to say goodbye."
"Oh."
Sage used chopsticks to pick up a piece of crispy roast pig skin, dipped it in white sugar, and popped it into his mouth, responding with nonchalant indifference.
That made Kuzan pause for a bit, "You're not keeping me here?"
"The way you say it..."
Sage chuckled, "You hope I keep you here?"
"No, if you did, I'd be troubled too. After all, I've stayed for a month, and it's indeed good here, everyone is living well."
There was a flash in Kuzan's eyes, "But because of this..."
The life is indeed good.
Different from what he thought.
He has been in the Navy for many years, having countered numerous pirates, whether from the Four Seas or the first half section of 'Paradise.' The places they robbed, the territories they occupied, were all in terrible states.
Even in the New World where piracy prevails and Navy presence is subdued, pirates have no awareness of being rulers.
The only one who might have done a decent job is Doflamingo...
But Kuzan also knows some things he secretly did.
But now, he saw Sage's territory, during this long Navy career, this is a place... that is even better governed than those allied kingdoms.
He had always believed that, across the vast seas, those who could allow civilians to live well were Whitebeard and Red Hair.
They both collect protection fees, both neglect their territories, the only difference is probably the age and youth aspects.
Then there's the area controlled by Big Mom, although it's safe, there's a price of life involved.
As for Kaido... best not mentioned.
But Sage's territory is different, people here live extremely well, orderly, each person being happy, having jobs, having hope.
Kuzan witnessed many people like this here, everyone thinking about what to eat today, when to save enough money for a new house, or to buy new things, as if everything is considered for the future.
Whether it's Sage's base renamed 'O'hara', or the affiliated islands, he even took the time to visit Celent, those who resumed mining are also gradually transitioning from anxiety to stability due to the safe and visible income.
In just ten days or so, they have already started joking around, thinking about how to spend their salaries.
Scenes like these are only encountered by good kings...
Unlike other pirates, Sage's daily routine mostly involves eating, drinking, listening to music, or going to the training room to lift stones.
Or fishing somewhere, or he grabs a golden hoe to find a place for farming, sometimes he acts as a merchant himself, claiming to be the 'Sea Merchant King,' going to the port to fight merchants for business.