Time passed in a blur, and Makino had no idea how long it had been.
Maybe a day. Maybe a hundred days.
When Makino slowly woke up again, it was already a sunny morning.
She opened her eyes in a daze, licked her dry lips, and looked at the empty luxurious palace before her.
A few images flashed through her mind. Almost instinctively, she reached out and touched her body.
The feeling under her fingertips startled even her.
The small calluses and roughness she had developed over the years from working in the tavern and moving wine barrels were completely gone.
Her skin had become smoother and softer than a freshly peeled egg, as if it could break at the slightest touch.
Not only that, she could even feel that her already full figure had become even more shapely under the nourishment of some kind of power, approaching a kind of breathtaking perfection.
She had no idea whether these unbelievable changes came from the divine object called the Oken, or because her body had been completely opened up after going through that storm-like ordeal.
Thinking back to last night's madness, that strange feeling of constantly shifting between pain and pleasure brought an uncontrollable blush to her face.
She had to admit that, deep down, she did not actually dislike the feeling of being completely conquered.
Although the process had truly been brutal.
After all, after swallowing the Oken, her physical abilities had been forcibly increased tens of thousands of times, long since surpassing the limits of ordinary people.
The old Makino, just a normal tavern owner, would never have imagined that she could one day endure more than five hours of nonstop intense activity.
But what made her feel the most hopeless was that even after obtaining an S-rank body, she was still the first to collapse from exhaustion during that long struggle.
That man named Rosse possessed physical strength and reserves that simply could not be measured.
"Oh? Looks like you've recovered pretty well. Big sister is awake?"
As Makino's thoughts wandered, Shirahoshi's cheerful voice suddenly sounded beside the large soft bed.
At this moment, even the way Shirahoshi addressed her had changed.
But as for respect, there was almost none.
In Shirahoshi's eyes, there were fewer than five people in the entire Jaygarcia family whom she truly respected.
Of course, for some genuine elders, she would still show surface-level respect for her father's sake.
But Makino was clearly not among them.
"Saintess Shirahoshi!"
Hearing that voice, Makino snapped back to reality. She hurriedly grabbed the luxurious silk blanket scattered beside the bed and wrapped it around her naked body.
Ignoring the weakness throughout her body, she forced herself to stand up and lowered her head, giving Shirahoshi a perfectly proper curtsy.
No matter what she had experienced last night, no matter how unbelievable the changes in her body were now, her clear mind kept reminding her of one thing.
She was merely a humble toy for a god's amusement. The girl before her was still a supreme being whom she could never look at directly and could never afford to offend.
More importantly, Makino discovered in horror that as she lowered her head in fear, the new senses forcibly awakened by the Oken were sending frantic warnings to her brain.
When she had still been an ordinary person, she only thought Shirahoshi was an extremely beautiful but somewhat spoiled noble girl. She had never sensed the terrifying power hidden within her.
But now, after being elevated to Shanks' level, when she looked at Shirahoshi again, it felt as though she were looking at a world-destroying beast lurking in the depths of the sea.
That terrifying presence, as deep as an abyss and impossible to measure, made every cell in her body shake wildly and scream for escape.
Shanks had once mentioned while drunk that only people standing on the same mountain peak could smell each other's blood and the scent of death.
Had she really crossed a gulf that ordinary people could never reach in their entire lives just by being forced to swallow a fingernail-sized piece of miraculous flesh, becoming one of those supreme experts Shanks spoke of?
According to what Rosse had said yesterday, her current strength was already on the same level as Shanks?
Just thinking about that absurd fact made Makino feel dizzy.
The ability to create top-level fighters so casually, the dominance that ignored the iron laws of the world, the foundation of the World Government and the power of Saint Rosse truly left no room for thoughts of resistance.
"Very good. Father thinks highly of you. If you're smart enough, maybe one day you'll be able to move beyond being a God-Chosen Princess and become a divine attendant who can truly remain by a god's side."
Smiling, Shirahoshi sat on the edge of the bed. As she spoke, she casually flicked her hand through the air.
Splash!
A clear and gentle stream of water appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around Makino's weak body like soft silk.
The water contained some kind of miraculous healing power. Within only a few seconds, Makino felt most of the soreness fade away, and her muscles regained their vitality.
"Th-thank you. But what exactly do you mean by divine attendant?"
Wrapping the silk blanket more tightly around herself, Makino asked softly.
"Those are rules personally established by Aunt Stella."
Shirahoshi swung her fair legs lazily as she explained, "Aunt Stella is Father's earliest and most loyal personal maid. In terms of trust and favor, nobody in the Holy Land can compare to her. As long as you're still breathing in this palace, she is your absolute highest superior and holds power over the lives and deaths of most people."
"Below Aunt Stella are groups of divine attendants personally selected by her through extremely strict standards. These attendants are the true core staff qualified to serve Father's daily needs and handle internal affairs for a long time."
"Below those two groups are people like you, the God-Chosen Princesses gathered from around the world every year, who might be discarded or die at any time."
"It sounds like the number of people who directly serve Saint Rosse isn't actually very large?", Makino frowned in confusion.
In her understanding, a god like Rosse who ruled the entire world should have thousands upon thousands of servants attending him.
But judging from Shirahoshi's strict hierarchy, the core service staff did not seem as numerous as she had imagined.
After all, fewer than five hundred God-Chosen Princesses survived after five years. The divine attendants, who faced even stricter requirements, were probably even fewer.
"Big sister, your math is wrong."
Shirahoshi chuckled and corrected her.
"What I just described is only the core group directly serving Father's personal daily life. If you include everyone responsible for maintaining the entire Jaygarcia family, then even a conservative estimate would be tens of thousands of people."
"Just maintaining, securing, feeding, and cleaning over a hundred luxurious palaces requires an enormous workforce."
As she spoke, Shirahoshi casually pointed at several young female cleaners inside the hall who were silently caring for the carpets with high-tech cleaning machines.
"See them? Those girls belong to the lowest level among the tens of thousands of auxiliary personnel I mentioned."
"That..."
Looking at the neatly dressed cleaners who worked carefully and efficiently, a complicated feeling suddenly rose in Makino's heart.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked the question buried deep within her mind.
"You... What exactly does the World Government think about human rights and freedom?"
She felt that everything she had seen and the rational attitude Shirahoshi displayed seemed completely disconnected from the cruel and merciless demon government described by Shanks and Dragon.
"Human rights? Freedom?"
Hearing those two words, Shirahoshi reacted as though she had heard a ridiculous joke. She tilted her head slightly, and mockery flickered in her beautiful eyes.
"Big sister, tell me then. What are human rights? And what is freedom?"
"Those commoners in the East Blue eat sour black bread every day, drink watered-down cheap wine, and chew dried fish that have been dead for who knows how long and stink to high heaven."
"But on the surface, no noble is whipping them, and no marine is forcing them to go to sea. Is that what you call human rights and freedom?"
"Th-that's... At least they can choose how they want to live. That should count, right?"
Pressed by Shirahoshi's gaze, Makino felt less certain, but she still pointed at the cleaners and answered.
"But people like them, working like slaves for you in the Holy Land after signing contracts that practically sell themselves, with no control over even their own lives and deaths, surely can't be considered free or have human rights."
"Naive."
Shirahoshi sneered and did not continue arguing. Instead, she suddenly changed the subject and asked with interest, "Big sister, you ran a tavern in that little country town. Working from dawn to night every day, how much profit did you make in a month?"
"Around four thousand berries."
Makino felt somewhat embarrassed when she gave that number.
She knew that four thousand berries probably couldn't even buy a single cup of fruit juice that Shirahoshi drank regularly.
But she immediately straightened her back and added:
"Foosha Village is a remote rural place. The spending level is low, so the income really isn't very high. But every single berries was earned through my own hard work. I don't steal and I don't rob. I live honestly, and I'm free."
On this sea, being able to support yourself with your own hands was her greatest source of pride.
"I see..."
A meaningful smile appeared at the corner of Shirahoshi's mouth. She suddenly turned toward a young cleaner with long red hair who was wiping a crystal vase nearby.
"Aliya, stop for a moment. Tell me, how much did you receive on this month's payroll?"
Hearing Shirahoshi's question, Makino instinctively looked over as well.
The cleaner named Aliya immediately put down her work.
Makino examined her carefully and found that the girl had a very good appearance and figure. She looked only a little over twenty years old, in the prime of youth.
Yet at such a good age, she could only work like a slave cleaning for nobles in this place that devoured people whole.
Makino sighed beneath. She assumed the girl must have suffered some family disaster or had been forcibly recruited by the World Government. Otherwise, who would willingly sell themselves into such humiliation?
"Replying to Saintess Shirahoshi."
Aliya quickly walked over and bowed respectfully. A bright smile from the bottom of her heart hung on her youthful face.
"I only entered the family last year after passing the third round of unified recruitment exams. My seniority is still low, so this month I only received a base salary of three hundred thousand berries. But my supervisor said that as long as my performance meets the standard this year, Head Maid Stella will raise my rank and salary next year."
"What? H-how much? Three hundred thousand?"
Makino's eyes flew open. Her voice cracked from the shock, and she nearly jumped off the bed.
"Th-this is really just your monthly salary?"
Because Makino came from poverty, she understood better than anyone how much purchasing power money had in this world.
Three hundred thousand berries a month?
For an ordinary resident of Foosha Village, that was an astronomical amount.
In the best area of Foosha Village, buying land, materials, and hiring the best craftsmen to build a beautiful two-story wooden house would still cost less than ten thousand berries.
"Princess Makino, it really is a monthly base salary of three hundred thousand berries."
Aliya turned her head and stared at Makino with extremely intense and undisguised envy.
"But honestly, I'm so jealous of you God-Chosen Princesses. Your basic monthly allowance is a full three million berries. Ten times ours!"
"And besides money, any material desire you have on the Red Line, whether it's expensive jewelry or custom-made clothing, the family will satisfy unconditionally..."
As Aliya continued speaking, her eyes almost sparkled. Her intense longing for wealth and privilege even made Makino feel a slight chill.
"What? You're that jealous?"
Shirahoshi smiled and threw out a tempting offer.
"Aliya, if I gave you a chance right now to completely exchange identities with Big Sister Makino, would you do it?"
"Yes! Of course I would!"
Aliya answered almost instantly. Excitement flushed her young face.
"I dream of becoming a God-Chosen Princess! Forget three million berries a month, even if I got nothing at all, as long as I could have even one chance to be favored by Saint Rosse, it would be the greatest blessing of my life. It would be worth it even if I died!"
Hearing that fanatical and twisted declaration, Makino felt her scalp go numb, as though she were meeting the people of this world for the first time.
'What happened to these lower-level employees? Are they brainwashed?'
'How can they say things like this without any regard for themselves? Is it really just because of a monthly salary of three hundred thousand?'
'Money can buy material things, but can it really buy freedom and comfort?'