Chapter 35
Looking at the box of financial reports Ace had carried into your room, you were overwhelmed with mixed feelings. Logically speaking, going from a penniless pauper to an ordinary person who doesn't have to worry about food and clothing should be a cause for celebration. But thinking about how this box of treasure came about, you wanted to close it, push it under the bed, and hide it away, along with the shame that made you want to swim in the sea whenever you thought about it.
Besides the treasure chest, you also received a palm-sized, emerald-colored gem from Harta. The image of Harta laughing so hard he could barely stand, placing the gem in your hand, makes you want to hide it under your bed as well.
You did consider returning the treasure chest and gems to Whitebeard and Harta, but after they saw what you were thinking and said, "If you don't accept them, we'll throw them into the sea," and knowing they were actually capable of doing that, you had no choice but to accept them.
There's one more thing I have to mention: after the performance, the crew members who usually called you "Ace's friend" started calling you "Thumbelina." You know they meant no harm, but forgive yourself for not wanting to hear anything related to thumbs for the time being; you're afraid you might become the first person on this sea to end their life due to embarrassment and overwhelming shame.
Perhaps thinking you might be reluctant to go out because of this, Sachi had the nurse who shared your room bring you dinner. When the nurse brought you dinner, she also winked at you and casually mentioned that Sachi had asked her to do it.
"As for thanking me, you can say it to Sachi yourself when you go wash the dishes."
Before leaving the room after completing her task, the nurse gave you a "I believe in you" smile. Perhaps because you had experienced too much in one day, you had no desire to argue or complain; you just wanted to finish the dinner brought by the Sachito people as soon as possible.
The moment the delicious-looking and fragrant food entered your stomach, the warmth in your stomach eased your mood considerably. The fact that you can still eat means that things aren't as bad as you imagined.
Even so, as you drifted off to sleep, the laughter and scenes from the daytime flashed through your mind. Still feeling drowsy, you suddenly sat up and looked around. After confirming that you were in the room you shared with the nurse, you slowly exhaled and wiped the cold sweat from your forehead.
Unable to fall asleep again, you tiptoed out of your room and took a walk in the night, the faint sounds of laughter from the crew playing cards on the second deck still lingering. Calling it a walk wouldn't be accurate; it was more like pacing back and forth in the corridor near your room, trying to clear your mind of the distracting thoughts. You stopped pacing when your peripheral vision caught sight of the wooden railing that only Sachi and Marco could lean against.
You swear you didn't intend to end your life; you were simply intrigued by the excessively high fence. As for how you became interested, it was related to your earlier embarrassment and thought of jumping into the sea to end it all. Of course, now that you've calmed down, that thought is gone; you're just genuinely curious whether you can climb the fence on your own.
Once that thought takes hold, it's hard to shake it off easily. Instead of letting the day's events replay in your mind, try to distract yourself. However, from a safety perspective, you shouldn't use your own safety as a distraction. But in reality, what successfully distracts you is the fence right in front of you.
Want to give it a try?
Before you've even made up your mind, you're already looking around to assess your surroundings. Clearly, your body has already made the decision for you.
After confirming that there were people playing cards on the second deck, you walked to the railing and reached out to touch the top. The railing was probably designed for people of Marco's height; simply reaching out wasn't enough to reach the very top. So, you stood on tiptoe to reach the top. Then, you had to climb up using both hands and feet.
Before you could even exert any force, you heard hurried footsteps behind you. Before you could even think, the person reached out and grabbed your waist, quickly taking a few steps back to create distance between you and the railing. Accompanying the sigh of relief was the voice Izou usually used to scold the overly disruptive crew members.
"Are you crazy? Do you know what you'll encounter if you jump?!"
All of this happened so suddenly that you didn't realize what Izang had misunderstood until after he had finished scolding you. No, that's not quite right; in Izang's eyes, your actions were no different from jumping over the fence to commit suicide. Realizing this, you couldn't help but sigh at the fact that you were about to make two embarrassing mistakes on the same day.
Unexpectedly, in the eyes of Izang, who had just stopped you, your sigh was a regret of being forced to stop your suicide attempt.
“I don’t know what you’ve been through, but the brothers on the ship all like you. You don’t need to give up on yourself.”
In contrast to the man's voice, which gradually softened as he suppressed his anger, the hand on your waist tightened its grip. Seeing the misunderstanding growing larger and larger like a pebble rolling down a snow-capped mountain, you carefully considered your words and tone, your gaze falling on the wooden plank in front of your toes.
"You might not believe it, but I just wanted to try and see if I could get up there on my own and see what the view was like."
Perhaps because this reason was too strange, Izang remained silent for a long time before asking you again in an uncertain tone.
"...You didn't want to commit suicide?"
You nod, your gaze shifting from the floor upwards to the half-moon hanging high above you, and you utter an explanation that is either more awkward or more realistic for you to conceal.
"No. Even if it were, you can see that I can't climb up."
For a moment, all that remained in the corner where you and Izo stood was the awkwardness of the truth being revealed, and the shouts of "I'm the winner!" from those who had won the card game, completely unaware of what had happened on the first deck. Then came Izo's barely suppressed laughter as he finally grasped the situation.
The close proximity of your backs allows you to feel firsthand the vibrations in Izo's abdomen as he laughs. Judging from the frequency of the vibrations, Izo is clearly struggling to hold back his laughter. And having already made two funny mistakes in one day, you no longer feel embarrassed or ashamed.
“Mr. Izang, I know you really want to laugh. You can let go of me first, and then continue laughing, it’s okay.”
The words had barely left his lips when the hand around your waist loosened, followed by Izang's unrestrained laughter. While Izang continued laughing, you turned around and gave him a helpless look.
Bathed in moonlight, Izo, his upper body trembling with laughter, possessed a beauty undiminished by his exaggerated movements. You might think, this is probably the privilege of being good-looking. Noticing your subtle gaze, Izo barely managed to suppress his smile and offered you a sincere apology.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
"I apologize for the offense, as this is the first time I've encountered something like this on this ship. I hope you won't take it to heart."
You know that Izou's apology came from the bottom of his heart, and you are well aware that the reason things have developed to this point lies with Ziju himself, so naturally you have no reason to blame Izou. Moreover, judging from what just happened, anyone would doubt your true intentions.
"No, it's my fault. I should have been more careful to avoid misunderstandings."
Upon hearing this, Izang's face showed disapproval: "You mean there will be a next time?"
Izo's words made you revisit what you had just said. Indeed, they were words that would make you doubt that there would be a next time. To prevent Izo from being terrified of such things again, you decisively admitted your mistake.
"I'm sorry, there won't be a next time."
Yizang frowned slightly, surprised that you would apologize for it. He hesitated several times before letting out a helpless sigh.
"No, it's not about making you apologize... Never mind, I now understand why you get along so well with Ace and Harta."
Did you get along well? Reflecting on your interactions with the two of them during the day, you realize that you were the one who was constantly being teased by Ace and Harta.
Before you could defend yourself and your relationship with the other person, Izo walked up to you from three steps away, and with a mischievous smile on your surprised face.
"Instead of worrying that you'll do it again, you should fulfill your wish as soon as possible."
Hmm? A wish? After the question mark in your mind materialized into reality, the hand that had just withdrawn from your waist wrapped around it again. Only this time, the hand that wrapped around your waist greeted you first.
"Excuse me."
While you were still pondering the meaning of Izo's "rudeness," the sudden feeling of weightlessness, the expansive view, and the delicate fragrance lingering in your nostrils were enough to explain what had just happened. And the one who orchestrated all of this was Izo, his arm wrapped around your waist, his eyes filled with a smile at your bewildered expression.
"Weren't you curious about what it felt like to stand up there? Now you can experience it for yourself."
"In exchange, you can't do anything like what you just did again, Ms. Thumb."
Accompanied by Izo's teasing laughter, you, who hadn't felt embarrassed when you were misunderstood, were suddenly swept over by Izo's "Thumb Lady". With your face flushed from Izo's teasing, you suppressed your voice under Izo's gaze and expressed your request to him.
"Can't we just not talk about that performance?"
Little did he know that from Izang's perspective, your usually composed and gentle demeanor, flushed face, was quite pleasing to the eye. The joke, which should have ended there, continued despite your shy expression.
"Why not? I quite like it."
The usually gentle and considerate Izou's attitude was completely different, leaving you momentarily at a loss for how to respond to his teasing. Perhaps it was the beauty of his smiling eyes that made you hesitate, for the words you had prepared turned into a helpless sigh amidst Izou's mischievous laughter.
It now seems that your understanding of Tibet was too one-sided.
Fortunately, you were not on the fence for long, and no third person noticed what had just happened, which made you breathe a sigh of relief.
As for Izo, whom you met during your walk, he insisted on seeing you to the door before leaving. Putting aside the little incident, your gratitude towards Izo outweighs the embarrassment of being teased. Thinking of this, you whispered your thanks to Izo as he prepared to leave.
"Thank you for what you did earlier, Izang."
The eyes of Yizang, who stopped in response, held a puzzled look as he thanked you, and a profound depth that defied your comprehension.
"Thank me for what?"
That's a good question, worth thinking about.
"Hmm, in many ways, right? After all, you've taken good care of me in so many ways since I boarded the ship, so—"
What interrupted you from continuing was the image of Izang that occupied your field of vision.
"How are you going to thank me? According to you, a verbal 'thank you' isn't enough."
Izo's question made you temporarily forget the close proximity between you two. In fact, the Red-Haired Pirates asked many similar questions, but back then you had nothing. Now, you have a chest of treasure.
"What about that box of treasure?"
Judging from Izang's helpless expression, your answer did not satisfy him. But it doesn't matter, you still have the seemingly expensive gemstone.
"How about adding the gems Harta gave us?"
Although you can't judge the value of treasures and gems, the quantity is enough to buy quite a lot of things, and Yizang, whose mood was ruined by your words, sighed with regret.
"You really are... Harta would be angry if she knew."
Izang's words reminded you of Harta's two times when he gave you gems, saying "Take good care of them," which is definitely the kind of thing that would make you angry.
“As long as Izang doesn’t say anything, Harta won’t get angry.”
You believed you had nothing wrong with what you said, but Izang was momentarily stunned upon hearing it. After a brief moment of distraction, the sharpness in his eyes as he gazed at you was undeniable.
Are you making a deal with me?
When Izo approached you again, the alertness that should have surfaced earlier finally kicked in. Perhaps it was because your retreat was too obvious that Izo, who had made you wary, chuckled and, seeing your wariness, deliberately increased the distance between you.
"Stay alert is a good habit."
As Izo's footsteps faded into the distance, your tense nerves began to relax, until Izo stopped in your sight, revealing a captivating smile as you found yourself with nowhere to retreat. But this time, you did not lower your guard because of his beauty.
"When I said 'I like it,' it wasn't just limited to your performance."
More than just a performance? Before you could process what Izang was saying, Izang, still in your field of vision, stepped over his laughter, leaving behind a whisper like a sea breeze brushing past your ear.
Sweet dreams.
Until Izo completely fades from your sight, your chaotic thoughts are only filled with Izo's last words.
So you were scared like this just because of a "sweet dream"?
Sure enough, no matter how good-looking a pirate is, he's still a pirate; his inherent wickedness can't be hidden.
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