After obtaining Makoto's guarantee, Neptune immediately announced that all expenses incurred by Makoto and his group on Fish-Man Island would be billed to him.
Furthermore, he ordered his guards to quickly spread this news to everyone on the entire island.
The guards filed out, riding seahorses as they wove between the coral buildings, spreading the news throughout the streets and alleys.
At the same time, Neptune also arranged for Makoto's group to stay at Ryugu Palace during this period.
…
Night fell.
In the Ryugu Palace bedchamber, reminiscent of something from Journey to the West, Makoto had just finished bathing and was sitting on a large shell-shaped bed characteristic of Fish-Man Island.
The shell bed was so large that lying five or six people wouldn't feel cramped.
Just then, the door was pushed open with a 'bang'.
Alice ran in, hugged Makoto tightly, buried her little head in his chest and rubbed it, then looked up and pouted in complaint.
"Makoto-kun, Erina has been so strange lately!"
"Hmm?"
"I tease her, and she barely reacts anymore! She used to get so angry her face and neck would turn red, but now she just smiles. It's so weird!"
Makoto was extremely speechless.
"You've been teasing her for over ten years. Isn't that enough?"
"It's not enough, not enough!"
Alice pouted her pink little mouth, looking utterly unwilling to let it go.
"Who asked Grandpa and the others to like her a bit more since we were kids? They even wanted me to give you to her—"
Alice's voice suddenly dropped here, her eyes slightly reddening.
Makoto looked at her like this and felt a bit troubled.
How was he supposed to tell her that he had already done that with Erina?
"Stop talking about such mood-killing things."
Alice suddenly looked up, revealing a playful smile, her eyes curving into two crescent moons.
"Come on, I have something good for you."
As she spoke, she reached back to pull down her zipper.
Just then—
The door suddenly pushed open.
A long leg in black stockings quietly stepped inside. The slender leg shape emitted a soft luster under the light.
Alice instinctively thought it was Utaha… because among Makoto's women, no one loved black stockings more than that flirtatious woman.
But Makoto recognized at a glance that it wasn't Utaha.
Because the senior's black stockings were the type that were slightly transparent, with a hint of subtle seduction.
These black stockings were pure black, with a thicker texture.
Next, a beautiful figure wearing an office lady uniform walked in completely.
White blouse, black pencil skirt, hair pinned up in a bun, revealing a fair neck.
Nakiri Erina.
"Erina!"
Alice was startled, taking her hand off the zipper and stepping back.
"You! You—"
Erina forced a look of arrogance on her face.
She had actually seen Alice enter Makoto's room, then immediately gone back to her own room, changed into this 'battle robe', and rushed over.
All to tell Alice—
Don't think you can be smug anymore. I, too, have officially joined the Nishikawa Family!
"You, you guys!"
Alice's body froze.
Her face flashed with complex emotions like disbelief, bewilderment, and anger. Her lips trembled slightly, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
"So?"
Erina didn't let up on her cousin at all, releasing over a decade's worth of pent-up emotions in one go.
"I don't need your permission."
Even seeing Alice's eyes start to tear up, she didn't stop her output.
"Don't act pitiful here, Alice. Think about how you've treated me all these years."
Erina's voice grew louder and louder.
Alice retorted defiantly, "You stole my toys when we were kids, and now you're stealing my man as adults—"
"Does your man even need stealing? With so many women, are you going to kill them all?"
Erina shot back, a victorious smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Makoto: "???"
'Hey, if you're going to argue, argue, but why drag me into it?'
'Besides, even if there are many women, aren't you joining in now too?'
"Stop arguing, both of you."
Makoto said irritably.
The room instantly fell silent.
Suffice it to say, Nishikawa-sama's deterrence still held sway.
The sisters, who had been on the verge of fighting just moments ago, immediately shut up when they saw their man was displeased.
Among Makoto's women, the only one who could throw a little tantrum with him, at present, was Nayuta.
"You two sisters are six of one, half a dozen of the other."
Makoto told the truth.
He shared the first-time experiences of Alice and Erina with them.
Alice's first time had happened in Erina's room.
Erina's first time had happened in Alice's room.
Recalling this incident, Makoto himself couldn't keep a straight face.
After listening to Makoto's account, Erina's eyes grew wider and wider.
She pointed at Alice, her voice trembling.
"Alice, how can you be such a pervert?!"
However, faced with her cousin's accusation, Alice inexplicably looked proud. "Haha, I win."
As soon as she said this, not only Erina but even Makoto was stunned. "How did you win?"
Alice raised one finger and waved it smugly in front of Erina.
"When I did it with Makoto-kun, you, Erina, were sleeping like a log right next to us. But when you did it with Makoto-kun in my room, I wasn't even there."
At this, Alice's smile grew even brighter. "Of course I win."
Makoto: "..."
'Holy crap, you can calculate it like that?'
Although Makoto found this 'way of winning' quite bizarre, Erina's expression immediately changed.
"Wh-who says I lost?"
She bit her lip, and the next second reached directly for Makoto's belt.
"I'll do it right in front of you—"
Makoto was dumbfounded for the second time.
'Holy crap, how is she even crazier?'
But seeing Erina with her hair pinned up, wearing the white blouse, pencil skirt, and black stockings, Makoto had to admit that his little brother was very satisfied.
Alice said disdainfully, "Hmph! Just a uniform? Makoto-kun, look at me—"
Makoto turned his head at her words.
He saw Alice had already taken off her jacket.
Underneath was a pure white swimsuit. With Alice's Caucasian skin, it looked like she was wearing nothing at all.
The fabric was so scarce that it barely covered the critical areas... the rest was completely visible.
Makoto recognized at a glance that this was the swimsuit Leonora had worn before.
'Good grief, she really had stolen her own mother's swimsuit.'
And Erina, who had just transformed from a girl to a woman yesterday, stared with wide eyes.
Clearly, she was still too green.
"Maybe... I should steal my mother's clothes too?"
Seeing that Makoto was clearly more satisfied with Alice's outfit, Erina couldn't help muttering to herself.
…
Several days passed.
The players noticed that signs bearing Makoto's 'flag' had been hung all over Fish-Man Island.
Though it could hardly be called a flag… they had simply hung up banners with the word [Makoto] written on them.
This flag design was quite similar in style to the Rocks Pirates' Jolly Roger.
The appearance of that word changed the entire atmosphere of Fish-Man Island.
The few pirates who were on the island at the time, along with some villains harboring ill intentions, were terrified when they saw the name on the banners.
Although in this era, the practice of 'certain islands or countries paying protection money to great pirates in exchange for the protection of their flag' had not yet emerged…
But when they saw that word on the flag, many human traffickers who had been thinking of secretly kidnapping a mermaid to sell to the Celestial Dragons had to think twice.
That man had forced Imu, the Celestial Dragons' master, to kneel and lick his shoes.
You, a mere human trafficker, should weigh whether you have the ability to cause trouble on Makoto's turf.
For a time, the public order on Fish-Man Island improved significantly.
Those who had been lurking in the shadows, ready to make a move, all vanished without a trace.
Next, as planned, Makoto and his group played on Fish-Man Island for several days.
Their days passed leisurely and comfortably.
During this time, Neptune's men brought new newspapers.
The newspaper was published by Morgans' World Economic News Paper.
And on the front-page photo—
It was a picture of the Four Gay Bros subjecting Imu to a 'triple penetration plus cannon'.
In the photo, Imu's body was posed in various positions, while the Four Gay Bros were doing indescribable things.
The scene was so explosive that it was hard to look at.
The headline boldly read:
[The Four Gay Bros's World Tour Performance, First Stop: Arabasta Officially Begins!]
Seeing this explosive photo, the whole world was stunned.
Everyone had thought the previous photo of 'Makoto making Imu kneel and lick his shoes' was the limit, but it turned out there were even more skilled individuals.
Now everyone understood what [World Tour Performance] meant.
When Beam saw this photo, he ground his teeth in anger.
'Damn it. By absorbing the fear of the people in this world, those Four Gay Bros guys were going to experience another surge in power.'
Beam made up his mind—
He would definitely become ruthless in the future and make the people of this world fear him.
Unfortunately, he simply couldn't bring himself to use the perverted methods of the Teddy Devil and the others.
So he would have to rely on violence.