Chapter 87: Nico Robin [Second Update]

"Little miss, would you say yes or no?" Shu Mingyuan looked at Vivi with a smile.

Vivi's heart jolted. Thinking about how her father usually operated, he just might actually do something like that. A faint blush crept across her cheeks, and her voice came out soft and thin like a mosquito's buzz: "I... I don't know."

"Don't know?"

The corner of Shu Mingyuan's mouth curled upward. He walked toward Vivi, cornering her against the wall, leaning in until he was almost pressing against her. His deep, dark pupils gazed into her apricot-like eyes as he said in a low voice: "You're going to marry me anyway, so why not just give yourself to me now?"

As he spoke, his lips inched closer and closer, his thick, masculine breath washing over Vivi's face, making her flush even deeper. Her long lashes fluttered once, twice, and then, as Shu Mingyuan drew near, slowly closed. Only the gentle trembling of her delicate frame betrayed the turmoil within her heart.

"Ah well, he's already seen every inch of me anyway."

Shu Mingyuan brushed past her cheek, letting out a soft chuckle as he stepped into the room.

"Tonight, I'll be leaving Alabasta."

Vivi's breath caught, and a wave of bitterness surged within her heart. So in the end, she couldn't keep him here after all? And why would she expect to? A man like him was destined to have his name resound across the entire sea—how could he possibly stay long in this one small island country?

"Then I'm leaving with you!" Vivi chased after him, her voice resolute.

The young man shook his head. "The Grand Line is no place for the games you played as a child. Besides, Alabasta has been badly wounded by this war—it's at a stage of rapid growth that needs all the manpower it can get. This country needs its princess, so stay here. But the main reason is..."

"Right now, I don't love you."

Vivi gave a bitter smile. Every word Shu Mingyuan said struck right at her most vulnerable points. Even if she steeled herself to gamble everything and follow him, she would only be dead weight, needing his protection at every turn. And aside from this pretty face of hers, she had nothing of substance to offer.

What's more, this country truly needed her. After this ordeal, her father, King Cobra of Alabasta, had grown weaker and weaker. With such a heavy burden placed upon her shoulders, there was no way she could truly leave.

Shu Mingyuan packed a couple of changes of clothes, then walked step by step onto the balcony.

"Lord Shu Mingyuan!"

The young man turned around, and felt his lips brush against an impossibly soft sweetness. The unique fragrance of a young woman flooded his breath. Though he had breathed in that scent many times before, a kiss was always something different—his mind even went blank for a single instant.

The kiss ended as quickly as it began.

Shu Mingyuan turned and leaped from the balcony, a single line drifting back through the air: "Your coming-of-age ceremony—I'll be there."

Vivi watched the figure gradually vanish into the night, a hollow emptiness settling in her chest. She didn't regret throwing herself into his arms and kissing him. She hadn't known at the time how long the young man who had already completely walked into her heart would be gone—she simply didn't want to leave herself with regrets.

"Then, if that's so, I'll wait for you..."

...

Late at night, in the capital city of Albana.

A young man walked alone down the silent streets. He touched his lips, where a lingering fragrance seemed to remain.

Suddenly, he stopped. Turning to look at the rooftop of a building not far away, he said calmly: "Nico Robin, you've been following me for quite a while now—aren't you going to come out?"

"Hehe, as expected of the Ghost Hunter who killed a Warlord of the Sea—your perception is far sharper than most. I thought I was being careful, but it seems I was found out after all." From the darkness came a voice tinged with allure and languor.

Shu Mingyuan let out a derisive snort. "I noticed your trail all the way back at the palace. I just happened to be in a good mood then, so I didn't bother exposing you."

"Oh? It seems the Ghost Hunter is quite the romantic soul." Robin chuckled coquettishly.

"If you're following me just to make snide remarks, then you've picked the wrong person. Leave now while I'm still in a decent mood—I don't want to kill anyone." Shu Mingyuan said flatly.

"Hehe, it seems the Ghost Hunter is quite bloodthirsty."

"Thirty Fleur, Clutch!"

Robin's sultry voice suddenly shifted. Her fingers formed a delicate gesture as she crossed her arms, and two enormous arms made of thirty smaller ones sprouted from Shu Mingyuan's body—one pressing down on his jaw, the other twisting his head, both wrenching with force.

But Shu Mingyuan merely stared at her coldly. No matter how hard those arms strained, he didn't budge an inch.

He clenched his fist and squeezed with brutal force, and the arms that had appeared from thin air burst apart into a shower of scattered petals.

"Shave!"

In an instant, Shu Mingyuan stomped the ground twenty times. His figure appeared directly before Robin, his arm shooting out to seize her throat.

Robin felt an immense force crushing down on her. If she didn't do something, she could be squeezed to death on the spot. In just a single breath, her airway began to constrict, her face flooding with blood and turning from red to purple.

"If not for the fact that your tone just now carried no killing intent, you'd already be dead."

Shu Mingyuan said coldly, releasing his grip and leaving five deep finger marks on Robin's snow-white neck.

"Cough, cough..."

Robin coughed several times, greedily gulping down the fresh air. She managed a strained smile. "The Ghost Hunter certainly doesn't go easy on a lady."

"And what, should I have treated you with tenderness instead? Demon Child, Nico Robin." Shu Mingyuan's expression remained utterly indifferent.

At being called out by name, Nico Robin's expression flickered, then she laughed softly. "My, my, the Ghost Hunter's information is remarkably accurate. Surely you're not planning to hand me over to the Marines? Oh! Silly me, I almost forgot—you've made such a huge fuss yourself that you're now the World Government's biggest headache."

Shu Mingyuan merely gazed at her with a calm look. "Enough. Be honest with me now—what do you actually want by following me?"

Nico Robin didn't stand on ceremony. She tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear and said briskly: "Let me come with you. I'm not Princess Vivi—I can actually be of help to you on the Grand Line. And besides, don't you think sailing all alone is a bit lonely and dull?"

By the end, there was even a hint of seduction in Robin's voice.

"Save that act for someone else, Nico Robin. I have no interest in you, and I'm certainly not going to be your lucky charm to escape the Marines' clutches. And that Poneglyph you've been searching so desperately for? To me, it's just a cold lump of stone." Shu Mingyuan replied.

"How do you know what's on my mind?!" Robin's face showed open shock. This man was too mysterious—it seemed nothing could escape him.

"In this world, there's almost nothing I don't know. If you truly want to understand the void century of history, I can recommend someone to you."

"Who?"

"Monkey D. Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat Pirates."

"Oh? Him? I've heard a bit about him—a rookie who's just started making a name for himself on the Grand Line. You're saying he can help me?" Robin asked doubtfully.

That pirate rookie had some reputation, sure, but men like that were a dime a dozen on the Grand Line. Any one of them could wind up dead in the sea on any given day.

"If there's anyone in this era who can still bring you hope, it's him. But it seems he isn't on this particular route."

"Hehe, thank you kindly, Ghost Hunter. I'll find my own way over."

"Go on. When you see Luffy, tell him I sent you."

Robin covered her mouth with a smile, and her figure gradually dissolved into the darkness.