Smack!
Stelly collapsed to the ground as Shalria backhanded him, the palace key flying from his hands.
He lay there, unconscious, possibly dead.
"Now we just wait for Sora. Without him, we won't be able to carry much," Shalria said, flicking her wrist dismissively.
Sitting on the throne, Reiju glanced briefly at Stelly's limp body and examined her freshly polished nails.
The three had infiltrated the Goa Kingdom's palace using their battle suits, flying in unnoticed. No soldiers or servants had even realized they were there.
They quickly incapacitated everyone inside and secured the palace with ease.
"Alright then."
Anna and Shalria nodded and came to Reiju's side, chatting about how best to style their nails.
Not long after, Sora arrived—his battle suit gliding him in on a stream of wind, Makino clinging tightly to him, her face full of awe.
Only when they landed and her feet touched the ground did she finally let go, face flushed from the experience.
It had been her first time flying, and the mix of fear and excitement had made her hold onto Sora with a death grip. Of course, Sora had also held onto her tightly, which made her even more embarrassed.
"Sora."
"Young Master."
Reiju stood up from the throne the moment she saw him. Anna and Shalria also straightened up. Sora casually took the throne.
"Go gather all the treasure from the vault. I'll join you shortly," Sora ordered after getting a quick rundown of the situation.
"Understood."
Reiju nodded and glanced at Makino, then led Anna and Shalria out toward the royal vault.
Sora pulled out a Devil Fruit and smiled at Makino.
"Here, Miss Makino."
"You've already eaten something, but now you need to eat this."
He pulled out a small knife and cut off a piece of the fruit.
Makino blushed deeply again and stepped forward.
Since Sora was sitting down, she knelt before him, obediently tilting her chin up to eat the piece he offered.
"Ugh... it's so bitter."
Makino frowned, clearly struggling with the taste. She looked like she might spit it back out.
"It's a Devil Fruit. They all taste awful," Sora said, amused. "But it will grant you a special ability—so you have to finish it."
He cut another piece and held it to her lips.
"Devil Fruit?" Makino's eyes widened. As someone who had known Shanks and his crew, she fully understood what a Devil Fruit was—and how rare and valuable they were.
She couldn't believe Sora would give one to her.
"Makino, I admit my way of inviting you aboard wasn't exactly honorable—but I'm very serious about having you with me."
"So work hard and live up to my expectations."
As he spoke, he gently shoved the next piece of fruit into her mouth, ruffling her hair with a smile.
"I-I understand."
Makino forced herself to swallow, then covered her mouth, looking like she was about to gag.
Sora just laughed and cut another piece.
According to the training techniques he'd learned from Shalria, feeding Devil Fruits in this manner helped strengthen obedience and emotional dependence.
That's why Sora had come to enjoy feeding them this way.
Makino, face pale and stomach churning, extended her neck again and forced down another piece.
After a few more tries, she finally finished the entire fruit, one painful bite at a time.
It was an exhausting ordeal.
Sora reached out and removed the scarf from her head, tying it gently around her neck instead.
"Now that looks better."
Makino blushed from the compliment.
Maybe it was just the Devil Fruit messing with her head, but she was starting to think Sora wasn't so bad...
"Feeling anything unusual yet?" Sora asked curiously.
"I... I feel like there's something strange in my mind..."
She reached out with her right hand toward empty air—and a translucent, green, two-meter-tall safe appeared beside her.
She touched a nearby vase with her left hand. The vase vanished... and reappeared inside the safe.
Makino gasped in amazement.
"A true storage-type ability," Sora smiled. "That's incredibly useful."
"Come on. Let's check out the vault. You can experiment more later."
"Okay."
Makino dismissed the safe and followed Sora toward the vault.
Inside, Reiju and the others had already gathered all the valuables into a single pile, waiting for Sora to arrive.
"Young Master! Look what I found!"
Shalria ran up excitedly, presenting a Devil Fruit in her hands.
"Excellent."
Sora pinched her cheek affectionately and gave her a nod of approval.
『Ding! Shalria's favorability has reached 100. She will now be permanently loyal to you. Experience gain doubled.』
Shalria grinned, clinging to Sora's arm. Then she shot a smug look at Anna, who frowned slightly.
In truth, Anna had been the one to discover the fruit first—but Shalria had beaten her to claiming it.
"This was probably meant as a tribute to the Celestial Dragons by the new king of Goa," Reiju noted, glancing at Shalria.
Anna glanced too, clearly not amused.
Makino, however, had her attention elsewhere—on the strange necklace around Shalria's neck.
It took her a moment, but she remembered now: Shalria was the Celestial Dragon Sora had abducted.
And now, watching her practically beg for Sora's praise, Makino was stunned.
Just what kind of person is he… to tame someone like that so completely?
Shalria ignored all their stares.
To her, Sora was the only Celestial Dragon that mattered now.
Sora chuckled at the system prompt and gave Shalria a quick kiss on the cheek, sending her into a frenzy of joy.
"Makino, use your ability. Pack everything up."
"Understood."
Makino nodded and stepped in front of the massive treasure pile.
Despite her storage safe only being two meters in size, its capacity was far beyond what it appeared. She stored everything with ease.
Once she was done, Sora led the group out of the palace and headed back toward the Divine Slave, where Nojiko was stationed.
Not long after they left, the Goa Kingdom finally discovered that their king had been murdered—and panic spread across the entire country.
Meanwhile, Sora had already begun training Makino in swordsmanship.
_____
[You give me a power stone, and I will give you a mass release deal? And if you like this story, add it to your library and give me a review, and I will reward you with mass release.]