By the time Cain woke up, he had returned to his original body.
Morning light slipped through a gap in the curtains and cast a soft glow across the floor.
Still half asleep, he pushed himself upright and discovered that he was holding Uta tightly by the shoulders. The two of them had somehow spent the entire night curled together on a cushion on the floor.
The room looked as though a war had passed through it.
The carpet had been rolled into a tangled heap, clothes lay scattered from the doorway to the bed, and crumpled tissues covered the floor.
A faintly intimate scent still lingered in the air.
Cain rubbed his eyes and glanced toward the bed, which reminded him why they had been unable to sleep on it.
The entire mattress was soaked through. It sagged heavily in the middle beneath a massive damp patch and was completely unusable.
Memories of the previous night flooded back.
Every shameless thing he had blurted out made his scalp tingle with embarrassment.
Cain froze on the cushion, afraid to move, while his ears rapidly turned red.
What a disaster.
He could not believe he had made expressions like that.
Uta had even made him watch himself in the mirror…!
Cain's face burned as he stole a glance at the woman sleeping beside him.
Uta was still fast asleep, breathing slowly and peacefully. Her red-and-white hair spilled across the pillow, leaving one smooth shoulder exposed.
There was no denying that Uta had been frighteningly skilled.
The previous night, Cain had become so weak that he could barely leave the bed. His legs had felt completely boneless.
Fortunately, his recovery abilities were extraordinary, and he had soon returned to normal.
His later attempt to regain some dignity, however, had thoroughly exhausted Uta.
Cain looked once more at the soaked mattress, then at the sleeping Uta.
He quietly rose, put on his clothes, and gently pulled the fallen blanket back over her, carefully tucking it around her shoulders.
Uta made a sleepy sound and lazily rolled over, burying her face in the pillow without waking.
Cain released a relieved breath.
Barefoot, he crossed to the window and slowly pushed it open.
Cool morning air flowed inside, gradually clearing away the lingering atmosphere from the night before.
He turned, lifted the heavy wet mattress, and tossed it through the window. A stream of fire followed from his mouth and swallowed it instantly.
Within seconds, nothing remained but ashes, which scattered on the morning breeze.
Cain had briefly considered preserving the mattress as a memento.
After all, it had been their first time.
But keeping something like that seemed deeply inappropriate, so burning it to nothing was probably for the best.
He dusted off his hands and was about to turn away when a soft voice came from behind him.
"Cain?"
Her voice was husky from sleep, gentle and incredibly pleasant.
Cain immediately looked back.
Uta had opened her eyes at some point and now lay on her side atop the cushion, supporting her head with one hand as she watched him with smiling eyes.
"You're awake."
Cain quickly returned and crouched beside her, his voice full of concern.
"How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
"I feel wonderful."
The moment the words left her mouth, Uta's cheeks turned pink.
She instinctively pulled the blanket higher and tightly covered herself.
Then she looked up at Cain and suddenly froze.
Cain followed her gaze down at his body before looking back at her in confusion.
Only then did Uta realize how her words had sounded and hurriedly corrected herself.
"That isn't what I meant! I meant… um, my body still won't move properly, just like before."
"I suppose I'll have to ask Bella to carry me—"
Both of them stopped at the same time.
The same thought struck them simultaneously.
"Wait… last night, we left Bella…"
"That's right."
Uta blinked, her embarrassment gradually giving way to confusion.
"Where did Bella go?"
…
Ivankov stood with his hands on his hips, his enormous face looming before Cain and Uta.
His expression was stern and reproachful, like a schoolteacher who had caught two irresponsible parents neglecting their child.
"Honestly, you two! You're parents now, yet you behave like complete amateurs!"
"How could you abandon your child and forget all about her?"
"We're sorry!"
Cain and Uta lowered their heads in perfect unison and repeatedly apologized.
Uta was currently being carried by Cain's flame clouds.
His control was nowhere near as precise as Bella's, but it was enough to move her freely so she would not be left alone in the room worrying about Bella's safety.
Seeing their sincere remorse, Ivankov nodded in satisfaction and waved for them to follow.
"Come with me. Fortunately, I ran into the little girl last night and arranged a particularly comfortable place for her."
"She's probably still sleeping peacefully inside."
He paused and added with a smug expression,
"She looked rather hesitant at the time, but with my vast experience reading people, I could tell at a glance that she truly wanted to sleep there!"
"So naturally, I generously allowed it!"
Cain and Uta exchanged a glance.
An intense feeling of dread rose within them, draining the color from their faces.
They asked in trembling unison,
"You… didn't let Bella sleep inside a refrigerator, did you?"
"Hee-haw! Of course not!"
Ivankov threw back his head and laughed, waving dismissively.
"Why would I put her inside something as unimpressive as a refrigerator?"
Cain released a long breath and patted his chest.
"Thank goodness. At least we don't have to worry about another refrigerator shorting out—"
"I put her in the cold-storage warehouse!"
Ivankov dramatically tossed his hair, his face filled with pride.
"As the king of a kingdom with refined knowledge of ingredients, how could I possibly offer Bella something as ordinary as a refrigerator?"
"I naturally placed her in the professional cold-storage facility where I preserve our finest food!"
"High-class! Specialized! Magnificent!"
"What?!"
Cain and Uta's eyes widened in horror.
At that exact moment, Ivankov's Den Den Mushi began ringing frantically.
He picked it up with a flourish, but before he could deliver his signature greeting, a subordinate screamed desperately through the receiver.
"Lord Ivankov! Disaster!"
"The cold-storage refrigeration system has completely died!"
"And over the course of the entire night, it consumed more than half the kingdom's electricity! Large parts of the island have already lost power!"
"What did you say?"
Ivankov's smile froze.
He staggered backward three steps as though struck by lightning and slammed the back of his head against the wall.
"My ingredients!"
"My wine cellar!"
"My cold-storage warehouse!"
Cain turned expressionlessly toward Uta.
Uta turned expressionlessly toward Cain.
"Broken refrigeration system. Half the country's electricity consumed."
They remained silent for three seconds before understanding everything.
"So Bella absorbed all the cold air, forcing the refrigeration machinery to run until it completely failed…"
"And consumed half the kingdom's electricity in the process?"
"An excellent summary."
Uta nodded without expression, her voice filled with resignation.
"We're completely screwed this time."
…
The cold-storage facility was utterly ruined and could not be repaired anytime soon.
They had no choice but to temporarily use Bella as a mobile refrigeration system to keep the remaining ingredients at a safe temperature.
Cain did not have much money with him, but he still insisted on offering part of it to Ivankov as compensation.
Ivankov firmly refused.
After all, he remained deeply grateful to Cain for everything involving Kuma.
Cain continued trying to force the money upon him and sincerely thanked him as well. During the Summit War, Ivankov had been one of the people who accompanied Luffy to Marineford.
The two went back and forth for quite some time, each refusing to accept the other's generosity.
Uta did not blame Bella for the disaster.
Although she had previously taught Bella never to sleep inside refrigerators, Ivankov had personally arranged the cold-storage room and insisted that she stay there.
None of this was the child's fault.
Ivankov did not blame Cain or Uta either, accepting that he had failed to consider the consequences.
Unfortunately, with the facility destroyed, some of the ingredients inside had already begun thawing and absorbing moisture. They would spoil completely before long.
Ivankov refused to let so much food go to waste.
He immediately decided to hold an enormous banquet for the entire kingdom, allowing everyone to celebrate while using every remaining ingredient.
As the whole island busily prepared for the feast, Cain sought out Sanji and asked him to teach him how to make a gigantic doughnut.
It was an idea he had been considering for quite some time.
And so, Cain and the others remained on Momoiro Island for several more days.
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