Chapter 13: A Pirate Ship

Although Lilian possessed the power of the Bee Fruit, her physical constitution was not strong. Locked in prison, she could not break free even from ordinary iron chains.

Saria, controlling her “Charlemagne” clone, appeared before Lilian once more, helping her snap the chains and remove their restraint. Then, she threw a dozen or so golden-ringed wasps—stunned by her fruit ability—at Lilian’s feet.

“Golden-ringed wasps are fierce and highly venomous. If someone is stung and not rescued in time, they’ll die,” Saria warned.

Sentenced to death by her father, Lilian looked at the man before her with a blend of fear, confusion, and hatred.

“Why?” she asked.

If not for this man wiping out all the nobles, she wouldn’t have been forced to become king, nor betrayed by her own family. Everything had happened because of him.

Saria replied calmly, “If your heart truly lies with the common people, then just be a good king and develop your country. The wealth I uncovered from the nobles earlier is enough for Polaica to pay the heavenly tribute for several years.”

“Consider it: await death or become king.”

After unlocking Lilian’s cell, Saria left but secretly followed her. She thought that if Lilian couldn’t hold the throne, she would take down the entire royal family—Lilian included—by thunderbolt, then simply pick any literate commoner who could read newspapers to rule instead.

After all, the kings in the world of One Piece were hardly impressive; sometimes a Border Collie would make a better king.

In the end, Lilian used her fruit power to control the golden-ringed wasps and became queen of Polaica. As a natural-type user of the Thunderclap Fruit, Charlemagne earned the title of honorary duke of Polaica.

Seizing the opportunity, Saria founded the Charlemagne Trading Company in Polaica and launched her own liquor business.

To expand rapidly, Saria first enlisted Morgans for advertising, promoting Yubing Liquor. Morgans was eager to ally with this newly emerged Thunderclap Fruit user and gladly agreed to help with the promotion, especially for the hefty advertising fee.

Slogans like “Liquor brewed from deep-sea Sea Kings’ meat,” “Purely natural and pollution-free,” “Brewed personally by the strongest natural Thunderclap Fruit user,” and “If you’re noble, drink Yubing Liquor” quickly gained popularity among nobles and merchants alike.

Yubing Liquor was brewed carefully by Saria, using knowledge from her previous life, made with genuine ingredients. The taste was mellow and smooth, the body rich and full, the liquor clear and flavorful.

Moreover, with an annual production of less than a hundred bottles, Yubing Liquor became a luxury item with soaring prices.

Having established the Charlemagne Trading Company’s reputation, Saria then contacted Carpen Beaky, a Tenacity Fruit user and mafia godfather who was working to unify the West Sea’s underground society.

Their cooperation was mutually beneficial: Saria helped Carpen Beaky eliminate troublesome enemies, while he assisted Charlemagne Trading Company in expanding its liquor business.

Headquartered in the Polaica Kingdom, the company relied on the kingdom’s shipping industry for overseas trade. The business income was shared as follows: Saria, as the leader "Charlemagne," held 60%, while Carpen Beaky and Queen Lilian each held 20%.

Today, the Charlemagne Trading Company controls over half of the West Sea’s liquor market, and with Saria’s support, Carpen Beaky has unified the West Sea’s underground world.

However, Saria, as the company’s leader, was rarely in Polaica.

In the world of One Piece, pirate crews typically have captains who fight but are often unreliable, while dependable vice-captains or other crew members manage the crew’s operations.

For example, the Straw Hat Pirates would quickly fall into hardship without Nami.

Saria learned from Luffy and successfully recruited Dorry—a reliable man skilled in bookkeeping and business management—from a slave ship in the West Sea.

Grateful for being saved, Dorry became the vice leader of Charlemagne Trading Company and its actual manager.

With this arrangement, Saria enjoyed a more carefree role, focusing solely on collecting money and fighting.

After flying for a while, Saria spotted a small island and headed toward it.

This island was new to her.

From midair, she saw it blanketed in pure white snow.

Despite the icy cover, the island was not sparsely populated.

Buildings were scattered neatly, winding streets snaked through the settlement, and smoke curled up from chimneys.

Saria planned to land, rest, and eat something.

But after circling the island, she discovered a pirate ship.

Pirate ships were common, but this one flew a flag bearing a skull with a scar over its left eye.

Saria startled and flew backward, maximizing her “vision” attribute to confirm what she saw.

Looking again and again, she was certain she hadn’t been mistaken.

This was none other than the Red Hair Pirates’ ship!

Saria didn’t know whether to feel unlucky or lucky.

She had just encountered Aokiji, a formidable boss, and now came face to face with the Red Hair Pirates—a whole new set of bosses.

She initially planned to fly away but hesitated.

She remembered that Shanks, the Red Hair captain, loved drinking.

Coincidentally, she was running a liquor business.

In the story, Shanks was known for a relatively good temper.

Saria wanted to try offering the Red Hair Pirates some money and liquor to see if Shanks might teach her.

Shanks inherited the techniques of Pirate King Roger; his mastery of Haki and swordsmanship was exceptional, making him a rare master to learn from.

After some hesitation, she bit her lip and flew toward the island.

At worst, her “Judith” clone would be cut down by the Red Hair Pirates.

But if she could gain Shanks’ guidance, it would be a huge win!

Upon landing, Saria stopped a woman who looked generous and asked where she could find a restaurant.

Most of her money was given to Robin; she now carried only a few 5,000 and 1,000 Berry bills, two gold coins, and five anonymous crystal cards—enough for her needs.

She learned the island was called Sval Island, with a harsh climate where it snowed nearly half the year.

A tall mountain on the island was perpetually covered in ice and snow, rumored to be home to a soul-sucking snow woman.

Out of fear, the villagers rarely dared to set foot on that mountain.

When Saria asked for directions, the kind woman, seeing her as a stranger, warned her not to venture into the snowy mountain.

Saria thanked the woman and reached into her pocket, intending to give her 100 Berry as a tip.

But lacking a 100 Berry bill, she reluctantly handed over 1,000 Berry instead.

“Pretty sister, this is for your trouble. Could you please take me to a restaurant?”

The woman, Nada, was momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter.

“You’re not a pirate, are you?”

Pirates, even female ones, were rarely so cute and sweet-mouthed.

Nada introduced herself warmly.

“No need to pay me,” she said happily. “Since you called me ‘sister,’ I’ll take you there.”

Sval Island had only one village, where everyone lived.

Within it was a single tavern—a hybrid of bar and restaurant.

“Thank you, sister Nada,” Saria said, giving her own name as “Judith” and returning a warm smile. “I’ll treat you to a meal, and maybe some drinks.”

“Ha! Sounds good,” Nada said cheerfully. “Then you owe me a drink.”

Entering the tavern, Nada greeted the owner, Uncle Verry.

“Uncle Verry, two rum shots, please.”

Nada was clearly a regular.

Rum, a distilled liquor made from fermented sugarcane, was the most common drink at sea.

The Charlemagne Trading Company also produced rum.

“Uncle, I want a rum shot and two servings of ramen,” Saria corrected the owner.

She shook her head at Nada. “I don’t like drinking.”

Drinking could cloud her mind, and with the Red Hair Pirates on Sval Island, she didn’t want alcohol to dull her senses.

“Alright,” Nada sighed, “rum tastes wonderful! It’s a pity you don’t like it.”

Uncle Verry shot a glance at Nada. “Not all girls are as you are.”

Ignoring him, Nada repeated, “One rum, one ramen.”

“I’m not hungry, just one ramen will do,” Nada added with a smile.

Saria waved to the owner. “Then two rums and three ramen, please.”

“No need to be polite—I’ve got money,” she winked at Nada. “You drink; I’ll eat ramen.”

Nada laughed. “Then I won’t hold back.”

She pulled Saria to a window seat and chatted freely about the island.

Saria nodded while glancing toward a certain direction.

The tavern was lively.

Several young burly men raised their glasses, excitedly talking about going out to sea as pirates.

Nearby, others brandished knives and swords.

Saria rested her arm on the table, propping her chin on her hand, and sighed softly.

The influence of Pirate King Roger was undoubtedly immense.

Nowadays, shouting “I will become the Pirate King!” when setting out to sea had almost become a fashion statement.

The number of pirates surged, and so did the number of innocent victims.

The horror of her original village being slaughtered by pirates remained etched in Saria’s heart.

That was why she hated pirates.

Yet, not all pirates were bad; many were driven to piracy out of desperation to survive.

This damned world…