Chapter 79: A Not-so-Peaceful Slumber

As powerful as Rune Magecraft was, it wasn't without its downsides. The foundation of Thaumaturgy was Equivalent Exchange, so you couldn't just power yourself up without paying the price. For Rune Magecraft, this price was the Runestone itself. They were single-use items that required a large gemstone and a tremendous amount of Magical Energy to produce. Since Thomas had used the Eihwaz Rune directly on his body, the price was his vitality.

Fortunately, thanks to his Chrono Dysplasia, Thomas didn't have to worry about dying of old age. Mana could also be converted into vitality, so the 'real' cost of using the Eihwaz and Ehwaz Runes was tremendous muscle fatigue and a shit ton of pain. The Berkana Runestone he swallowed was meant to counteract these effects, but it also came at a cost. Swallowing it caused his core temperature to briefly shoot up to 100°C, hot enough to boil and vaporize blood...

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Feeling paradoxically hot and cold at the same time, Thomas opened his eyes to find that he was naked, submerged in an ice bath. He also had an IV attached to his arm, complete with a morphine drip.

Noticing Thomas was awake, Chopper, presenting in his 'human' form, said, "Don't try to get up just yet. You're suffering from anasarca, edema to the entire body. The water you're submerged in is to help regulate your temperature and extract excess salt from your body. If it isn't extracted quickly, you could suffer from kidney or liver failure."

"Sounds about right..." groaned Thomas. He was currently suffering from one of the worst headaches of his life, so excess salt in the body made sense. He couldn't fathom how it got there but trusted that Chopper knew what he was talking about.

Just as Thomas was thinking about falling back asleep, Chopper said, "It would be best if you stayed awake. I need to assess your condition, and having a responsive patient will make things a lot easier."

Though he was tempted to go to sleep anyways, Thomas forced himself to stay awake long enough to answer Chopper's questions and perform a series of tests. Fortunately, other than the anasarca he was suffering, he was perfectly fine. He just needed to rest and avoid salty foods for a few weeks and he would make a full recovery.

As a 'few weeks' was far too long, Thomas waited for Chopper to leave the bathroom before using Reinforcement to remove the excess salt from his body. Doing so left him exhausted, but the morphine drip and the ice bath made it exceptionally easy to fall asleep...

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Feeling a pleasant warmth around his groin, Thomas gradually regained consciousness. Instead of immediately opening his eyes, however, he pretended to be asleep, his mind sluggishly attempting to make sense of the situation.

Based on the sensation, Thomas suspected the Benienma or someone else was giving him a 'thorough' cleaning with a warm rag. Alongside the person cleaning his junk, there were at least two buxom women present, lying next to him with his body sandwiched between them.

As he couldn't really imagine Nami snuggled up next to him, Thomas concluded that he was currently sandwiched between Vivi and Caenis while Benienma gave him a sponge bath. More surprisingly, he could feel his body swaying slightly, indicating they were either out at sea or sailing up the Sandora River. Since the men's cabin didn't have a proper bed he could rest on, the only explanation for the softness beneath him was that he was currently resting within the women's...

Confirming that the person giving Thomas a sponge bath was Benienma, the marginally more mature Oni remarked, "Master is vigorous, even in his sleep..."

Emanating from Thomas's right, Caenis teased, "Wipe that hungry look off your face. Tom may have let you wash his back, but that doesn't give you a license to suck his dick while he's unconscious. If anyone has that right, it's Vivi and me."

Confirming that the person to Thomas's left was Vivi, the latter remarked, "Caenis...while I don't disagree with what you've said, you don't need to be so confrontational. Beni just wants Thomas to be happy..."

Seemingly disagreeing, Caenis asked, "Does she? If that were the case, she wouldn't continue to force her views and values on Tom. He might be a hypocritical idiot, but that's the result of the world he comes from. This little brat is basically trying to turn him into some kind of Shogun when he isn't even Japanese."

Placing her hand on Thomas's chest, Caenis added, "If she cared about Tom's happiness, she would let him figure out what he wants to do on his own. Everyone keeps forcing responsibilities on him when all he wants to do is have fun, travel the world, and fuck beautiful women..."

Nearly causing Thomas's body to tense, the voice of Nami could be heard remarking, "Tom was the one that said that people with power had an obligation to use it responsibly. Nobody is forcing him to do anything. He lets himself be taken advantage of because he believes it will benefit him in the long run..."

"At least he no longer has to worry about being taken advantage of by you..." replied Caenis, her voice deep and threatening.

Though Thomas couldn't see it, he could imagine Nami adopting a pout as she argued, "It was never my intention to take advantage of Tom. I won't deny that I did, but I was doing what I thought was necessary to protect myself and Lucy. Unlike Thomas, I didn't have the advantage of knowing everything about his past. If I did, I wouldn't have treated him that way..."

Snorting through her nose, Caenis retorted, "Literally, the only thing you had to do was ask. Instead, even though your Captain basically forbade it, you kept pestering Tom for information about the Grand Line and what to expect in the future. You even threatened him, saying you would hold him accountable if something bad happened because he withheld things from you."

Unable to argue against Caenis's claims, Nami and the rest of the room fell silent. For a brief moment, Thomas considered waking up to try and ease the tensions, but he promptly decided against it when the voice of Chloe could be heard musing, "You're all so dramatic~" in a teasing tone.

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With everyone's attention focused on her, Chloe added, "Tom isn't all that complicated. It's just like the horsewoman said; all he wants to do is have fun, travel the world, and have sex with cute girls. Once he's done fooling around, he'll probably devote the rest of his life to helping people. Instead of worrying about making amends right this instant, you should just focus on doing your own thing until he makes another pass at you..."

Before Nami could say something, Chloe explained, "Tom was given the option to choose 'any' world to migrate to. It isn't difficult to imagine why he chose this one, so you should just focus on the journey ahead instead of fretting over your past actions. Unless you find someone else, it's only a matter of time before Tom makes another pass at you."

Though Thomas couldn't see her, Chloe briefly stared at his face, a faint smile developing across her own as she mused, "All you truly lost was the chance to have Tom all to yourself. However, considering the number of girls around, that's probably a good thing. After all, with his strong desire to attract women, it isn't just his appearance that is gradually becoming more appealing..."

Answering the question that popped into Thomas's mind, Vivi abruptly sniffed him before remarking, "He does smell really good, doesn't he...?"

"That's right," replied Chloe, explaining, "That's one of the scary things about the 'adaptive' Sorcery Trait. It is similar to the wish-granting trait but only applies to the person who possesses it. So long as Tom has enough Mana, he can eventually become anyone or anything he desires. In this instance, he is becoming someone 'everyone' desires."

Inadvertently voicing Thomas's concerns, Nami asked, "Isn't that kind of like mind control?"

"Not even close," replied Chloe, adding, "In fact, Thomas has the 'worst' aptitude for Magecraft dealing with the mind. Back in my world, memory erasure and perception alteration are among the 'fundamentals' taught to all Magi. Tom can't even utilize his Command Spells without being forced, so you don't have to worry about him trying to control your mind. He cares too much about his image and how people perceive him."

"So, you're saying he smells nice because he's afraid people might think he smells bad...?" asked Nami.

Shrugging her shoulders, Chloe replied, "It's a little more complicated than that. Once his power matures, his appearance will change to reflect the desires of the people around him. It's kind of like the yokai within the Enma-tei, but less 'intrusive' since he can't read our minds. At least, not at his current level. If he experiences enough betrayal or becomes jaded at the world, he could become a literal 'monster' in the future..."

Understanding that Chloe was speaking directly to him, Thomas fell into a deep, contemplative silence. When they initially learned his Sorcery Trait, she mentioned that the only 'creatures' who possessed it were Daemons, Elementals, and legendary monsters such as the Tarrasque. It wasn't a trait typically associated with humans, but thanks to the Mana-Mana-no-Mi, he had already become something...more...

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To avoid suspicion, Thomas tuned out of the girls' conversation until he eventually fell asleep. When he next awoke, he once again found himself surrounded by warmth. This time, however, the people snuggling up to him were Astolfo and, somewhat surprisingly, Lucy. It wasn't just the two of them, either. Rather, as many of the girls shared a single massive bed, Thomas found himself as the meat of a six-girl sandwich...

Despite his efforts to extricate himself without disturbing the two sleeping girls, Astolfo awoke the moment Thomas started moving. Then, before he could think to stop her, she startled everyone awake by shouting, "You're awake~!" before nuzzling against him with unfettered enthusiasm.

While Thomas would have been happy to have a cute girl rub against him in any other circumstance, his scalp tingled when Lucy sat up, revealing she was topless. He managed to avoid staring, but his efforts were in vain as the bubbly Pirate promptly hugged him, pressing his face into her soft yet noticeably rubbery breasts as she exclaimed, "I knew you would wake up~!"

Freeing Thomas from his 'torment,' Nami pulled Lucy away from him, her left brow twitching as she tossed the topless Pirate aside and shouted, "Put on some damn clothes!" despite wearing nothing more than a t-shirt and panties.

As she was standing on the bed, Nami looked down at Thomas and said, "Now that you're awake, you need to leave immediately. This isn't a place for boys."

Before Caenis, Vivi, or Astolfo could speak out in his defense, Thomas replied, "That's probably for the best," with a wry smile. However, before he could get up, Lucy abruptly yanked the covers, shouting, "You didn't have to throw me...!" with an indignant expression and tone.

Losing her footing, Nami turned and fell toward Thomas, her surprisingly hard butt landing squarely atop his lap. As he was completely naked, this could be called a 'lucky pervert' moment. However, while Nami was fairly light, weighing only 47kgs, even a gentle 'tap' to the testes could cause a lot of pain. Having a person drop their entire weight onto your pelvis was an experience few walked away from with fond memories...

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(A/N: Caenis is still in the running for best girl...)

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