Rehn's hoarse, broken plea echoed through the deathly silent harbor.
Everyone around fell quiet.
The busy G-5 marines halted their movements. Ain and Monet held their breath. Even Kizaru, for once didn't utter a single word.
All their gazes gathered on the young man kneeling on the ground in utter despair… and on the small, lifeless girl in his arms.
Sympathy. Pity. Heartache…
But everyone knew it was a dead end with no escape.
The dead cannot return to life, this is the iron law of the world. Rehn's prayer was destined to be nothing more than a futile cry.
In the suffocating silence, the only sound came from the floating sofa above.
Creak…
Renzo slowly sat up from his reclined position.
For the first time, those perpetually half-asleep blue eyes looked directly at the kneeling Rehn.
There was no sympathy in his gaze. No pity. Not even the slightest ripple of emotion.
Only a pure indifference.
As if the one kneeling before him wasn't a broken brother who had lost his whole world… but merely a talking stone.
Under everyone's tight, anxious stares, Renzo finally spoke.
His voice wasn't loud, still that lazy, drowsy tone that sounded like he could fall asleep mid-sentence, yet the words he uttered were like a cold blade slicing through everyone's ears.
"And why," he said, "should I help you?"
For a moment, the air froze solid.
Ain's pupils contracted. She instinctively wanted to speak, but the words died in her throat.
She knew, this wasn't a moment she had any right to interfere with.
The G-5 marines were dumbfounded.
They understood the admiral's personality, but they didn't expect something this blunt… this cold.
But one person reacted differently.
"Aiya, ayaya…"
For the first time, the sleazy smile disappeared from Kizaru's face.
He pushed up his sunglasses, and beneath the lenses flashed a razor-sharp light unlike anything he had shown before.
He understood.
He understood the earth-shattering implication hidden behind Renzo's question.
This wasn't "I can't."
Nor was it "The dead cannot be revived."
It was-
"Why should I help you?"
A simple question, yet it contained a possibility capable of overturning the world itself.
Because hidden within it was the implication that…
He might actually be able to do it.
Kizaru's reaction was shock and contemplation.
Rehn's reaction… was the leap from hell to heaven.
The moment those cold words entered his ears, his already-dead heart didn't break, it roared back to life, as if injected with the strongest stimulant.
Why?
He asked why.
That was the most beautiful question in the world.
Because that question meant negotiation.
It meant possibility.
It meant that he didn't say "Get lost" or "Impossible."
The fragile thread hanging over an abyss suddenly became a cable of steel!
Thud!
Overwhelmed with wild hope, Rehn didn't even attempt to answer. He simply smashed his forehead against the cold, hard ground, again and again.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Each impact heavy, merciless, without any hesitation.
His forehead was quickly torn open, blood mixing with his earlier tears, creating a gruesome, desperate mask.
"I'm willing! Admiral Renzo! I'm willing to pay any price!"
He lifted his blood-soaked face, eyes glowing with a near-mad fervor.
"My life! My soul! Everything I have, is yours! As long as you can save Lily!"
"From this moment on, I, Rehn, am your most loyal dog! Whoever you want me to bite, I'll bite! Even if it's a Celestial Dragon! Even if it's the World Government! I won't even frown!"
"I'll do anything! Climb the knife mountain, walk through the sea of fire, I'll crush all your enemies! Please! Please save her!"
He screamed. Begged.
Throwing his dignity, his future, his very existence onto the bargaining table without hesitation.
All laid before Renzo.
Renzo quietly watched him.
Watched this young man driven to madness by a sliver of hope.
Honestly, he had planned to refuse.
Too troublesome.
Reviving a dead person?
Just hearing it sounded more troublesome than processing ten thousand documents or sitting in a high-level meeting.
For a stranger he had no connection to, spending his limited energy was entirely against his "philosophy of laziness."
All he needed to do was say "no," or just close his eyes and go back to sleep, and the matter would no longer concern him.
But…
His gaze slowly shifted from the bloodied Rehn… to the small girl in his arms.
Peaceful. Quiet.
Death, the ultimate stillness of this world, was the purest form of laziness.
In principle, it suited him perfectly.
But for a life so young to fall into that "stillness" right before his eyes…
It created a faint, almost imperceptible emotion in him, something like "discomfort."
As if his perfect sleep had been disturbed by the buzzing of a single fly.
Insignificant, yes.
But still… troublesome.
His eyes returned to Rehn.
Strong enough. Young. Potential.
And…
From those words earlier, once he pledges himself, he would be a loyal, sharp blade.
A blade that could remove many future "troubles" for him.
In Renzo's mind, a rapid cost-benefit analysis unfolded.
Option A: Refuse
Pros: No hassle. Can go right back to sleep.
Cons: Rehn will likely break down, maybe go insane or kill himself. Dealing with that is troublesome. The corpse of the girl would remain here, an eyesore that disrupts his peace. Also troublesome.
Option B: Try
Cons: Expenditure of energy. Potentially troublesome. No guarantee of success.
Pros: If successful, he gains a powerful, absolutely loyal "blade" who can solve countless troubles in the future. The current scene, loud, messy, emotionally exhausting, disappears. The girl's body, that "visual annoyance," no longer sits there.
Conclusion: Long-term reduction of "future trouble" outweighs short-term hassle.
It was… a profitable deal.
"…Heh."
Understanding this, the corner of Renzo's lips curved into the faintest smile.
He stood from the sofa and walked toward Rehn.
"Raise your head."
Rehn trembled, snapping his head up, eyes filled with blood and desperate hope.
"I heard what you said."
Renzo looked down on him, voice as calm as still water.
"Your life, your soul, everything you have… I'll accept it for now."
Rehn's breath stopped entirely.
Joy like a tidal wave swallowed him whole.
He couldn't even feel the pain in his shredded forehead.
"But," Renzo continued, cooling his blazing hope with a splash of icy water,
"I need to make something clear."
"This kind of thing… I've never done it before."
"Whether it succeeds or fails… whether she opens her eyes again, or turns to dust before you, I can't guarantee anything."
His indifferent blue eyes seemed to pierce straight into Rehn's soul.
"Even so… will you gamble?"
Not a shred of hesitation touched Rehn.
'Fail?'
'She might turn to dust?'
'So what?!'
'Lily was already dead!'
'Nothing could be worse than now.'
'And Admiral Renzo's willingness to act… was already a miracle worth gambling everything for.'
"I WILL!!"
Rehn roared with every ounce of strength he had left.
"Whatever the result! I will never regret it! From this moment forward, my life belongs to you, Admiral!"
"Good."
Renzo nodded, seemingly satisfied.
He no longer looked at Rehn, his attention shifted entirely to the lifeless girl in Rehn's arms.
"…Then let's give it a try."
He murmured softly.
And slowly… extended his right hand.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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