Daphne still looked puzzled. "I just can't picture a safe delivery route with pirates everywhere."
Karl smiled. "We came to the North Blue for a reason. We bought four Devil Fruits at auction. One is Zoan: Bug-Bug Fruit, Model—Giant Honeybee. A user becomes a bee-person who secretes a special honey. Feed it to bees and they grow huge—faster, tougher, longer-lived."
He spread his hands. "We raise a honeybee corps to carry parcels through the sky. With my reputation, no one but top powers will even think of touching our mail."
Daphne's eyes lit up. "If we pull that off, it'll print money."
"You asked about the other three fruits," Karl said. "They're… mediocre. Not for you. When we get back to Tiger Roar Island—my place in the Calm Belt—I'll give you a good one."
"You have more fruits?" She gaped. "People spend a lifetime and never find one…"
Karl chuckled. "I robbed Celestial Dragons for most of them. Remember Fisher Tiger's slave-liberation raid at Mariejois? I joined that with Rayleigh, Tiger, Gloriosa, and Shakky. Snatched several fruits there."
"What powers?"
"I want you to take the Logia: Cloud-Cloud Fruit. It's the big brother of Smoker's Smoke—flight, intangibility, weather play. If you don't like it, I've got Paramecia and Ancient Zoans too."
"I'll take Cloud-Cloud!" Daphne blurted, stunned. "You're sure you'd give me a Logia?"
Karl's voice softened. "You're basically my only real family in this world. You get it."
"Thank you, Karl." She rose on her toes and kissed him.
Karl blinked. Whoa. Not the usual One Piece heroine—this was a modern CEO. Are all lady CEOs this proactive? The thought vanished as he kissed her back, heat spiking until—
"...N-not yet, Karl," she breathed, cheeks blazing. "Not on deck. I—I've never… and I'd feel guilty about Ellie."
Karl exhaled, stroked her hair. "If anyone's guilty, it's me. And… it's not just Ellie. The Pirate Empress—Hancock—too."
She puffed her cheeks. "Men are pigs. Anyone else?"
"No. Just you three. Promise."
"Hmph. Then it stays three. Step out of line and I'll fix you." A shy flicker tugged her lips. "Is Hancock really that irresistible?"
"She's no different from you two in looks and figure. Her Love-Love Fruit just… amplifies charm."
"Fine. Then stick to three." She pecked him again, breathless, then pulled back. "It's late. I'm still a normal human—no 'CEO stamina'. And tomorrow I start drafting the Swiftwind Express plan. If I'm doing this, we'll be the best in the world."
Karl grinned. "Good call. Also… you're too delicate right now to handle me." He waggled his eyebrows.
"Pervert! Go to bed!" she squeaked, face scarlet, and scampered below.
Karl lounged on the deck chair, staring at the stars. A second transmigrator—now my GM. Perfect. After North Blue, he'd leave Enel and Bansen on Jaya to clear pirates while Daphne built the hub. He'd swing by Tiger Roar Island for more fruits… and pick up Old Man Derrick's disciples to assemble a generator crew. Jaya would become a trade relay—goods in, parcels out.
Alright. Sleep.
—
Back in her cabin, Daphne pressed hot palms to hotter cheeks.
My first kiss—gone just like that? Pull yourself together! It's the world, not you… or maybe the original owner's temperament is leaking through…
Her thoughts looped—then circled back to a certain smug swordsman's hands.
"Ugh, Karl—you menace! Tomorrow, I'm breaking your—" She buried her face in the pillow.
—
Karl slipped into his room. Ellie lay on her side, breathing even. He slid an arm around her.
"I thought you weren't coming back tonight," she murmured, voice tinged with pout.
"I just talked with her longer than planned," Karl said, kissing her brow. "She ran a family business back home. I asked her to be Swiftwind's general manager."
"'General manager'?" Ellie blinked. "And… can we trust her?"
"It's like 'company president.' Since we're all wanted, she's our public face." He hesitated.
Ellie studied him. "Karl, do you like her? Don't tell me nothing happened. I saw the way she looks at you…"
Her words hung in the dark—soft, heavy, inescapable.
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