Chapter 69: Honesty

Spurred by the ridiculously loud sound produced by Astolfo's La Black Luna, Thomas hastened to the throne room, guided by Atalanta's nose. Fortunately, what awaited him was the scene of a massive, exceptionally fat man lying face down on the ground while Lucy laughed her ass off at the side.

Noticing Thomas's arrival, Chloe couldn't help adopting a teasing smile as she mused, "My, someone's out of breath. Were you worried about us~?"

Before Thomas could respond to Chloe, Astolfo abruptly leaped across the room, shouting, "Master~!" as she tackled him to the ground. Dealing with Wapol had stressed her out and exhausted her reserves of Magical Energy, so she was even friskier than usual.

Patting the pink-haired Paladin on the back, Thomas replied, "I'm happy to see you as well..." before rising to a seated position with Asotlfo sitting on his lap, nuzzling against him without shame.

Never one to miss an opportunity to quip, Chloe mused, "How enviable." with narrowed eyes. Illya heard this but just gave the bronze-skinned succubus a sidelong look before directing her attention to Thomas and saying, "We're sorry for attacking the castle in advance, but a group of soldiers tried to surround us the moment we came over the ridge. A few even recognized who we were, so things quickly spiraled out of control..."

Though it was a little awkward to engage in a conversation while Astolfo was proactively sniffing him, Thomas raised his brows and asked, "Really? I guess Drum still receives News Coos and information about the outside world."

While Illya just smiled wryly, Chloe stepped on the unconscious Wapol's head, revealing, "Get this, Tom. This massive hippo actually believed he could blackmail us into becoming his playthings. He said if we didn't obey him, he would report us to the World Government and have us turned over to the Celestial Dragons. What an idiot..."

Punctuating her words, Chloe sent the 207cm, 450kg Wapol flying with a simple kick. She only possessed D-Rank Strength, but her precise control over her Magical Energy gave her exceptional power in short bursts, kind of like Tsunade and Sakura from a popular anime/manga called Naruto.

Though she was similarly disgusted by Wapol's words and actions, Illya stepped between him and Chloe, arms spread wide as she shouted, "Stop it, Chloe! You're going to kill him...!"

Raising her hands, Chloe replied, "Relax. Insects like that don't die easily. I just wanted to kick the face of the man that kept leering at my chest like he wanted to eat me."

Lowering her hands, Chloe adopted a somewhat 'scary' smile as she proposed, "Now, how about we send this humanoid hippo down one of the cable cards and let the people decide how to deal with him? I'm sure they have many grievances they would like to 'discuss' with their former King."

Furrowing her brows, Illya was about to protest on the grounds they would be sending Wapol to his death, but Thomas beat her to the punch, stating, "The man who will likely replace Wapol as King should currently be in the dungeon. We'll let him decide Wapol's fate. For now, we should check the treasury and armory to see what we're working with."

Looking at Lucy, Thomas added, "We can take care of things here. Why don't you head down and see if you can't locate Dr. Kureha and Chopper? If I remember correctly, her clinic should be in a massive tree. If you ask around, the citizens of Drum should know where it's at."

Tilting her head to the side, Lucy asked, "Is Astolfo not coming with me? With her help, finding the Doctor should be a breeze."

Smiling wryly, Thomas was going to point out that Astolfo was currently indisposed, but she surprised him by hopping to her feet, raising her right hand, and answering, "Sounds like fun! Let's go~!"

Rising to his feet, Thomas's expression and tone softened as he asked, "Are you sure?"

Nodding her head, Astolfo adopted a broad as she explained, "Since we'll be parting ways after saving Alabasta, I want to spend as much time with Lucy and Nami as I can. I know you and Nami have had your differences, but we're all still friends, right...?"

Exhaling a faint sigh through his nose, Thomas extended a hand to caress Astolfo's head as he replied, "Of course we are..."

Despite Nami's treatment of him, Thomas didn't hold a grudge against her. He knew why she behaved the way she did, so unless she crossed a line, he would still lend her a hand or offer advice. And who knew? Maybe after some time apart, they might actually grow closer...

Giving Thomas a big hug, Astolfo surprised him by saying, "That's what I love about you, Tom. Even when someone has wronged you, you at least try to see things from their perspective. It may be limited to cute girls, but no one's perfect..."

Releasing Thomas from her hold, Astolfo bounced up to kiss him on the cheek before scurrying over to Lucy and dragging the befuddled-looking girl away. Their abrupt departure prompted Chloe to make a few teasing remarks, but Thomas largely ignored them, putting Atalanta in charge of ensuring Wapol didn't flee while the three of them inspected the castle's treasury and fully-stocked armory. He would have placed Chloe in charge of the former King's watch, but, much like Illya, he was worried she might actually kill the man if he woke up and said something to offend her...

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Contrasting Thomas's expectations, Drum Castle had a significant amount of gold, treasure, and Berries stored within its treasury. He half-expected it to be barren due to Wapol's isolationist policies and wasteful nature, but it appeared the man had stockpiled most of his Kingdom's wealth within a single vault.

Seeing piles of gold larger than she was tall, Illya's expression became increasingly awkward as she asked, "We can't possibly be keeping all of this for ourselves, right...?"

Adopting a wry smile of his own, Thomas replied, "It's a little more than I expected. However, as I pointed out earlier, simply handing over this kind of wealth to the people is bound to create issues. Using it to improve their quality of life is infinitely better..."

Seeing through Thomas's thoughts, Chloe teased, "Are you saying that to convince us or to justify your actions to yourself...?"

Shaking his head, Thomas adopted a serious expression as he answered, "We're not simply fighting to save the Drum and Alabasta Kingdoms. Our enemy is the World Government and the Celestial Dragons that have ruled this world with an iron fist for the past seven to eight hundred years. I'm not going to lie and say I don't have selfish intentions with the money, but I'm also telling the truth when I say it will benefit the people..."

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Shrugging her shoulders, Chloe adopted a teasing smile as she remarked, "It doesn't matter to me. So long as I can utilize the baths freely and eat without having to worry about being spirited away, I don't care how many Enma-tei you decide to open."

Though she had no skin to speak of, Ruby couldn't help chiming in to say, "Oh, that sounds marvelous~! Hot springs do wonders for my complexion and shine!"

Realizing she was in the minority, Illya exhaled a defeated sigh before looking up at Thomas and saying, "Just make sure you never forget where this wealth came from. If you begin hoarding it like Wapol and using it to do whatever you please..."

Though she didn't finish her words, Thomas knew what Illya was trying to convey. If he became an opportunist or a villain who only cared about himself and his personal gratification, she would do everything she could to stop him. She wouldn't kill him unless it were absolutely necessary, but she would find some way to strip him of his power and imprison him. With the Holy Grails sealed with her and Miyu's bodies, there was a reasonably high possibility they could pull it off...

Adopting a wry smile, Thomas replied, "Don't worry. I may have a Skill related to Self-Doubt, but I can confidently say I would never become a villain. Not because I'm righteous by nature, but because I know there's a certain justice nut paying attention to my every action. He's the one that gave me this opportunity, so, even though I'm making an effort to be free of his influence, I'm not going to spit in his face by becoming evil..."

Supporting Thomas's claim, Ruby mused, "Smart decision. The Creator is usually hands-off when it comes to fostering his new toys, but he isn't against eliminating them directly if they get ahead of themselves. Unless you want to spend an eternity falling through dimensional gates, I would suggest you remain on the straight and narrow."

As she only had a brief encounter with Zelretch before entering the world of One Piece, Illya couldn't help asking, "Is Zelretch truly such a terrifying person? He can't be that scary if he was able to create something like the Kaleidosticks..."

Before Thomas or Ruby could respond, a tiny dimensional gate opened above Illya, dropping a piece of rainbow-hued hard candy onto her head. When it promptly fell off, she managed to catch it in her hand, staring at it with a mixture of awe and confusion as she questioned, "Did...did this just fall out of nowhere...?"

Recovering from his stupor, Thomas answered, "This is a situation where it's better to just go with the flow..."

Taking Thomas's words literally, Chloe looked above her head, smiling as she asked, "Do I not get a piece? How cruel..."

As she was mainly just playing around, Chloe was a little surprised when a tiny slip of paper materialized above her, drifting into her open palm like a feather. When she read the Kanji inscribed on it, her smile visibly cramped before she crushed it in her fist and stared at Illya like a predator eying its prey.

Before Illya could ask, Chloe revealed, "Since we're technically the same person, he said we'll need to share the candy you received. I'm starting to understand why Ruby and Sapphire are such perverts..."

Though Illya was confused, Chloe knew 'precisely' what Zelretch had in mind, snatching the rainbow-hued piece of candy from her counterpart's hand before tossing it into her mouth. Then, as Illya opened her mouth to protest, Chloe's Kiss Demon(B++) Skill apparently triggered, allowing her to seize the perfect timing to steal Illya's lips, slipping the piece of candy into her mouth before exchanging it between them several times over the course of three full minutes...

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Despite sporting a glowing red handprint on the right side of her face, Chloe had on a relaxed smile as she accompanied Thomas to check out the armory. Illya had flown off to get some fresh air, so it was just the two of them as they made their way through the palace's many corridors.

Breaking the tense silence, Chloe abruptly inquired, "So, did you enjoy the show~?" in a teasing tone.

Exhaling a faint yet exasperated sigh, Thomas asked, "You're really not going to stop unless I send you back, are you?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Chloe replied, "This is who I am. I'm not going to pretend to be someone else just to make things easier for the people around me. Besides, if you stopped to think about it, you would probably be even 'more' uncomfortable if I suddenly started behaving like a prim and proper young woman. It might 'frustrate' you to no end, but we both know you 'prefer' me like this..."

Slowing to a stop, Thomas found himself at a loss for words. His instinct was to refute Chloe's claim, but the moment she voiced it aloud, he knew there was some truth to it...

Turning back, Chloe's eyes narrowed, her smile becoming mischievous as she appended, "Also, no matter what I say or do, it's up to you to decide if you want to reciprocate. Though, if you actually showed signs of doing so, I would probably stop teasing you. Despite my words and actions, I'm not exactly in a hurry to have my body 'broken' by that little monster you keep hidden in your trousers."

After punctuating her words with a wink, Chloe turned around and began walking away with her hands linked behind her back. She would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in 'experimenting,' but Thomas wasn't even second on her list of candidates. Even if they did have sex in the future, it would almost certainly be in the form of a 'Mana Transfer.' As far as things like love were concerned, she didn't have any to spare until Miyu's world had been restored and she had a chance to reunite with her beloved Onii-chan...

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(A/N: Not all physical relationships stem from romance...)

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