dmims 7. The Duke's Daughter
7. The Duke's Daughter
The next morning, as dawn was breaking, Norton and his party arrived on land.
Upon landing, the entourage immediately went into town to collect supplies in preparation for the next voyage.
Sea kings are faster than ships, but they are not stable to sit on; one could easily fall into the sea if you're not careful.
After arriving on land, even the pirates rested for a considerable period of time, while the nobles and ladies vomited incessantly.
Only Norton and Sanosuke remained calm and composed, handling the situation with ease.
Norton's strength stemmed from his physical prowess, while Sasuke had grown up in harsh environments since childhood and was already adapted to them.
"Is Nami still collecting the scattered treasure?" Norton glanced around but didn't see Nami.
Because the ship broke apart, the treasure that was originally placed in the cabin was scattered on the backs of the sea kings. Since noon yesterday, Nami has been collecting and searching for the scattered treasure.
Upon reaching land, the sea monsters fled, and the shipwrecks fell into the sea. To continue the search, the only option was to dive into the ocean.
"Yes, my lord," Sanosuke bowed humbly. "Should we bring her back?"
After this incident, Sanosuke has genuinely come to accept Norton, and has even changed how he addresses him.
Norton waved his hand: "Forget it, that money-grubber won't be satisfied until all the treasure is found."
"Understood." Sanosuke bowed his head.
Norton wasn't worried about Nami escaping. Let her try to escape if she wanted to; she couldn't hide forever. As long as Cocoyasi Village remained under Arlong's control, Nami couldn't leave the East Blue.
Norton waited, waiting for Nami to make the first move. He wanted to earn Nami's recognition through his own courage and strength.
It's a bit of a shame, though, that the ship was destroyed by that stupid fish, Norton thought.
The ship originally belonged to him, but after a brief period of ownership, he quickly lost it and had to find a new ship, otherwise he would be unable to continue sailing.
The nobles and ladies left one after another, each saying goodbye to Norton before departing.
"Get out of here, you useless bunch." Norton simply waved his hand.
The nobles and ladies looked embarrassed, but they did not refute him further. After two days together, they had gotten used to Norton's sharp tongue.
"The chefs and shipwrights will remain with you. Farewell, Mr. Norton. I hope we never meet again." The nobles and ladies waved goodbye to Norton.
Of the nobles, only the most illustrious duke remained, not in a hurry to leave.
After the other nobles had left, the Duke approached Norton and said, "Mr. Norton, thank you very much this time."
Norton glanced at the Duke. "Why aren't you leaving yet? Are you thinking of joining me? My ship doesn't need useless people."
The Duke coughed awkwardly: "Of course not... Mr. Norton, the ship is destroyed. If you want to go to sea again, you will need a new ship. I happen to know a good shipwright."
"If you need, I can introduce you to some options."
Norton raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this: "I didn't expect you to be somewhat useful."
"You're not thinking of finding a way to swindle back the money you lost, are you?" At that moment, Nami, soaking wet, appeared next to Norton, staring at the Duke warily.
She went to great lengths to collect these scattered treasures! She even soaked her skin in the water until it turned white.
"Miss, please don't humiliate me!" The Duke frowned. "My family is wealthy and powerful; I wouldn't even look at that little bit of money!"
Perhaps for other nobles, that would be a considerable fortune. But for the Duke, it was merely a drop in the ocean.
Even this travel ship is under the Duke's name.
"That's good," Nami muttered.
The Duke, unable to bear the sight of the short-haired orange girl's greedy expression, said to Norton, "Please wait a moment, Mr. Norton, a carriage will be here soon to take us into the city."
"Are you from this island?" Nami asked.
"Yes," the Duke nodded.
The suspicious Nami tiptoed and whispered in Norton's ear, "Is this guy really trustworthy? Won't he call for our arrest?"
The other pirates also noticed the commotion. Since they were now Norton's subordinates, they naturally had to follow him.
"Do you think I'm scared?" Norton laughed.
Nami thought for a moment, then nodded, "Then I'll leave my safety to you!"
After waiting for a few minutes, a large convoy of carriages came rushing from the horizon, gradually slowing down as they approached.
Finally, a group of carriages came to a smooth stop in front of the crowd.
A butler dressed in a haute couture suit climbed out of the carriage, glanced around, and then scurried over to the Duke.
"Your Grace, I am late!"
The Duke gave a faint "hmm" and, with the help of the butler, slowly stepped into the most luxurious carriage.
"Loading cargo! They start acting like big nobles as soon as they get to their own territory!" Nami whispered in Norton's ear.
The Duke, having boarded the carriage, drew the curtain and leaned out the window. "Mr. Norton, please get in. Your men may also board, but please keep them under control."
Norton nodded and said to the pirates, "Get on the bus!"
The pirates touched and looked around, acting like they'd never seen the world before. It took them a while to finally all board the carriage. The steward and coachman's faces twitched, unable to hide the contempt in their eyes.
But they didn't say anything; these were the Duke's guests, and it was not the butler and coachman's place to interfere.
"Sir, aren't you getting on the bus?" the butler asked, looking at Sanosuke, who was dressed as a ninja.
"No need, let's go." Sanosuke bent his knees and jumped onto the last carriage.
"Does he like to show off?" the butler muttered to himself.
Norton and Nami boarded the carriage where the Duke was, and the caravan began to move, growing faster and faster. The scenery outside the window rushed past, and the Duke drew the curtains and lit incense.
But the carriage wasn't dark. The oil lamp on the table and the sunlight filtering through the curtains kept the light in this private space at a gentle, non-glaring level.
"Where are you planning to take us?" Nami asked warily.
"To my castle," the Duke said softly.
"Weren't you going to introduce us to shipwrights? What are we going to your castle for?" Norton asked, puzzled.
"The shipwright is in my castle," the Duke replied.
"Miss? Aren't shipwrights all men?" Nami asked, somewhat surprised.
Shipwrights do a lot of hard labor, so they are almost always men. Nami has never heard of a woman becoming a shipwright.
"There are women too." The Duke poured himself a cup of tea and sighed. "To be honest, Mr. Norton, the shipwright I want to introduce you to is my daughter."
"Your daughter?!" Nami exclaimed in shock.
How could the daughter of a duke possibly become a shipwright?!
"That's interesting," Norton said, intrigued. "I'm a pirate, after all. Are you planning to hand your daughter over to me?"
"Of course not!" the Duke hurriedly said, "I just want you to take the ship my daughter built!"