A few of them arrived at a grassy field together. Roger looked at Vegapunk with curiosity.
"Are you serious? Is there really a once-in-a-century meteor shower today?"
"Hmph!" Vegapunk looked at the illiterate fool before him with contempt. "You can disbelieve me, you illiterate, but you have to believe in science."
"Big head, he doesn't believe you, but I do," Garp immediately chimed in. As long as it was something to annoy Roger, he would join in.
"And you think you're not illiterate!" Vegapunk's words were merciless, especially since Garp had also called him 'big head'.
Roger laughed heartily, clapping a hand on Garp's shoulder. "Looks like we're two of a kind. Your time at the Marine academy was a waste."
"Alright, alright, you two stop arguing." Milim's small fists thumped them both on the back.
If she didn't stop them, they might start fighting again.
Then Milim moved closer to Vegapunk, her wide eyes full of curiosity as she asked, "Vegapunk, when is the meteor shower coming? I've never seen one before."
"It's still early. It won't arrive until the early hours of the morning at the earliest." Vegapunk took out his telescope and some other high-tech-looking camera equipment.
The two idiots, Roger and Garp, also stared with their big, 'wise' eyes and leaned in. Vegapunk shoved their heads away in disgust.
The three workaholics, Charlotte Linlin, El, and Luca, didn't forget to continue handling their work even at a time like this.
"Have you made contact?"
El nodded and handed the document in his hand to Linlin. "The Tree of Knowledge has responded. They are happy to share their knowledge with anyone who seeks it."
"Moreover, many of their scholars are willing to come to the schools in Totto Land to teach and spread knowledge."
"Sigh!" Charlotte Linlin had a complicated look in her eyes. She had originally thought she would have to pay some price to obtain this knowledge.
But she hadn't expected the scholars of the Tree of Knowledge to be true scholars.
"In that case, I'll leave it all to you. Oh, and when you go to the Tree of Knowledge, clear out the pirates there."
"Consider it our modest repayment."
"Understood!"
Charlotte Linlin's serious expression vanished, replaced by a smile. "Alright, work is over for now!"
El returned the smile.
Although they looked forward to the splendid and beautiful meteor shower, the waiting was often boring.
Garp and Roger had tired of arguing. Rayleigh had, at some point, moved closer to Shakky. The other crew members lay on the grass with their hands behind their heads.
Milim was lying on her side on Gloriosa's lap, her gaze fixed on the darkening sky, her eyes gradually losing focus.
As her vision grew darker, Milim finally fell into a deep sleep.
Gloriosa stroked Milim's soft hair, her eyes filled with unparalleled love and gentleness.
"Hey! Milim, wake up! The meteor shower is here!" After being called several times, Milim groggily opened her hazy eyes.
The first thing she saw was Gloriosa calling her name. As her vision cleared, Milim looked up at the sky.
Milim followed Gloriosa's gaze toward the dark sky, where hundreds of meteors, trailing brilliant yellow light, streaked across the horizon.
It illuminated the entire dark sky.
That magnificent spectacle captivated countless people across the sea, all watching the same scene from different places and different directions.
"So beautiful! I wonder if I could shoot them all down," Milim muttered to herself, her eyes seeming to reflect the meteors' light, shining brilliantly.
"This sea is as magnificent as ever!" Linlin chuckled lightly, as if she had come to terms with something.
Gloriosa looked down, her eyes filled with nothing but Milim. She felt that compared to the so-called meteors, the Milim before her was far more beautiful.
Roger and Garp lay on the grass, looking up at the meteors streaking across the sky.
Roger said with great emotion, "I never thought I'd be watching a meteor shower with you one day."
"I never thought so either. Today has been a lot of fun!" Garp chuckled lightly, then turned to look at Roger. "Next time, I won't hold back. I will definitely capture you, because I am a Marine!"
"I represent jus... tice!"
"Justice." As the last word grew softer, Garp lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
"Heh!" Roger chuckled but said nothing. He just continued to quietly watch the meteors in the sky, thinking to himself, "You really do meet all sorts of people on the sea. This vast ocean is big enough to hold everyone's dreams."
"You seem a little different from your crewmates," Shakky said, a cigarette between her lips, glancing at Rayleigh sitting beside her.
Rayleigh took a quiet sip of his drink. "Different? Perhaps."
"But it's precisely because everyone has their own sharp edges and dreams that our ship and our journey came together."
"I just joined everyone in following that guy Roger, sailing the seas he pointed to with all our might."
"Haha!" Shakky laughed twice, looking at Rayleigh with a teasing tone. "It seems you really are the only cultured one in the Roger Pirates. The way you talk is different."
Rayleigh drank from his bottle, his tone casual with a hint of self-deprecation. "A few years of school hardly makes someone cultured."
"What truly taught me things were the storms on the sea, the words of my comrades, and the countless skies I saw while following that guy Roger—that's the most real 'knowledge' there is."
Seeing this philosophical yet untamed side of Rayleigh, Shakky's heart beat a little faster, and her gaze upon him deepened.
Rayleigh was taken aback by her stare for a moment, then a corner of his mouth curved into a smile. The usual composure in his eyes gave way to a lazy gentleness. "Miss Shakky, staring at me like that... are you hoping to hear the story of our voyage?"
Rayleigh skillfully defused the intensity of Shakky's gaze, like a perfect gentleman, preventing any awkwardness and smoothly redirecting the conversation.
The amusement in Shakky's eyes grew. "Alright. I would indeed like to hear your story."
Gloriosa watched the scene, a faint smile on her lips. "I've said it before. No empress, no matter the generation, can escape the curse of love."
"Shakky, you're falling for him!"
The last few meteors fell sporadically. The streaks of light grew shorter and fainter, as if they had exhausted their strength.
When the last glimmer of light merged into the night, the bustling starry sky fell completely silent. Only the evening breeze swept by, as if drawing a gentle close to this fleeting cosmic feast.
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