It was night. Wano had not yet been turned into a wasteland of weapon factories, and the environment had not been ravaged by mass pollution; the night sky here remained exceptionally pure.
In the courtyard of the Flower Capital's shogun residence, Roger and his crew were holding a bonfire party.
The scholars joined in as well, making the place lively and full of noise.
Sitting by the fire, Valthior held a chilled beer in hand, drinking as he watched Roger dancing wildly in the distance with ridiculous enthusiasm.
Even Bullet, who was usually stern and reserved, had let loose, joining the others in their chaotic revelry.
"So, you're leaving first thing tomorrow morning?"
Just as Valthior was enjoying the scene, Olvia walked over, holding a bottle of rum, and sat down beside him, asking casually.
"Yeah. Next stop is Whole Cake Island. There's a Road Poneglyph there—we're planning to take it," Valthior replied bluntly, then added, "You coming with us?"
"No," Olvia shook her head. "Whole Cake Island is the base of that great pirate Charlotte Linlin. If we scholars go along, we'd just drag you down. Besides, Wano's centuries of isolation have preserved a lot of valuable history and culture. According to plan, we'll be staying here for quite a while."
"That's a shame," Valthior said with a faint smile.
"I don't hear much regret in your voice," Olvia curled her lips slightly, then continued, "As a trade, we'll share whatever we uncover here with you. And when you get the Poneglyph from Whole Cake Island, don't forget to share it with us."
"No problem," Valthior nodded.
After that, the conversation tapered off. The two of them drank in silence, watching the lively chaos nearby.
Before long, Clover, clearly a bit drunk, grabbed Rayleigh's hand and started dancing with him. The sight was... painful to witness.
At that moment, Olvia suddenly spoke with a hint of emotion in her voice.
"It really is true—you have to see things for yourself. Relying blindly on rumors just distorts your understanding."
"What do you mean?" Valthior took a sip of beer and responded lazily.
"We rarely interact with pirates. Before this, our impression of the Roger Pirates was that you were brutal, vicious—a group seeking the Ancient Weapons to destroy or conquer the world," Olvia said softly.
Before Valthior could reply, she smiled faintly and continued, "But after actually meeting you… you're not like the rumors at all. Well, I suppose you are still quite vicious."
"Hahaha! Is that because we wiped out Wano's samurai and ruling class without hesitation?" Valthior laughed.
"Exactly. From a certain standpoint, we were technically enemies too. But seeing you kill so many people in one go… it really shocked us," Olvia admitted honestly.
"That's just what pirates are like. At least when it comes to cruelty and violence, your understanding wasn't wrong," Valthior said indifferently.
"But beyond that cruelty, you're surprisingly easy to get along with. And you're definitely not the kind of villains who want to use Ancient Weapons to destroy the world. Otherwise, you wouldn't be leaving Wano so soon," Olvia continued.
After all, Wano likely hid Pluton. Both the scholars and Roger's crew knew this. If Roger truly wanted that power, there was no reason for him to leave so quickly.
"No one on this crew cares about Ancient Weapons. What we want is to reach the final island," Valthior said, taking another swig of beer.
Olvia didn't respond immediately. Instead, she tipped back her head and drained her rum in one go.
After tossing the empty bottle aside, she continued:
"And then there are the Celestial Dragons. I'd never met one before. But all the stories about them are terrible, and I believed every word… until I met you, senpai. Now I realize they're not that special. They're just humans like anyone else."
"You're completely wrong about that," Valthior turned to look at her, a wicked grin forming on his lips. "Celestial Dragons are the most evil group in this world. As one of them, I'm qualified to say that. The crimes committed by all the pirates on this sea combined probably don't even come close to what the Celestial Dragons have done. Humans? If you ever meet another one, you might not think we're the same species anymore."
Olvia clearly hadn't expected such a blunt and harsh assessment. Surprise flashed across her face.
"Never—never place any hope or expectations on Celestial Dragons. Otherwise, you'll come face to face with true hell," Valthior said softly, turning his gaze back toward Roger's ridiculous dancing.
Anyone who thought Celestial Dragons were "just people" should try living as a slave in Mary Geoise.
"Isn't that… betraying your own class?" Olvia asked after a moment.
"I don't see it that way. I enjoy being a Celestial Dragon, and unless something unexpected happens, I'll continue to be one," Valthior replied calmly.
He was a contradiction.
On one hand, his deeply ingrained moral compass made him despise the atrocities of the Celestial Dragons. On the other, he undeniably enjoyed the privileges that came with that identity.
Was he betraying his class?
Not at all.
To him, "Celestial Dragon" was just a label. The real class was power itself. And he had no intention of betraying that. If anything, he intended to climb higher within it.
At the very top of that hierarchy sat the ruler of the world.
And Valthior fully believed that one day, he would charge straight at that throne.
How could that be called betrayal?
"You said Celestial Dragons are the most evil group in the world… so what about you? Are you the same?" Olvia had, at some point, moved a little closer, her voice tinged with drunkenness.
Valthior wasn't dense. He had noticed it long ago.
Not just tonight—during their time in Wano, Olvia had frequently sought him out, chatting whenever she had the chance.
He figured it was his complicated identity—Celestial Dragon, scholar's senior, pirate companion—that intrigued her.
And, he admitted, he wasn't bad-looking either.
Life at sea was monotonous. It wasn't strange for someone like Olvia to feel a spark after spending time with Roger's crew.
"So? Want to find out just how evil I am?" Valthior met her gaze again.
"Practice leads to knowledge," Olvia said, a hint of shyness breaking through her composure.
The moment those words left her mouth, she felt herself lifted into his arms.
A short while later, Roger, having just finished a dance, started shouting for Valthior to come drink with him. But after looking around, he realized Valthior was nowhere to be found.
He shrugged it off quickly and threw himself back into the festivities.
Only Clover seemed to notice what had happened. He glanced toward a nearby building, his expression complicated.
"Olvia… you've just stepped into a massive whirlpool…"
...
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