Chapter 253: Goal and Dream
Kuina and Wendy both shouted at the same time:
"Eric ."
"Eric -nii."
Kuina asked with an unwilling tone, "I haven't lost yet, why stop the match?"
"I never said you lost," Eric chuckled, "The match should stop here. Don't injure yourself. You're still young. Why are you so eager to become strong?"
Wendy seemed to sense Kuina's mood and carefully asked, "Kuina-nee, did I do something wrong?"
Seeing Wendy's animal-like expression, even Kuina, who was competitive, couldn't say anything harsh. She could only turn away, and her voice came from behind: "No, I'm just mad at myself."
"I've been practicing swordsmanship since I was young, training day and night, yet there's no progress..."
If Eric hadn't stopped the match earlier, she might have lost in the next move. Her teeth clenched tightly on her lower lip, and unwilling tears shimmered in her eyes.
"No, you've made great progress. It's just that you're too young, so you can't really fight with us yet," Esdeath, the instructor, walked over. "I've seen you practicing with the bamboo sword by yourself every night. I've witnessed your effort."
"Esdeath-nee..."
"From today on, call me General."
"Yes, General Esdeath!"
Eric : "..."
"Mm, it's not wrong to work hard to become stronger, but don't go down the wrong path. Progress step by step is the best way."
Esdeath's pale hand gently brushed over Kuina's head. "I'll train you to be a great swordswoman."
"Yes, General Esdeath."
"By the way..." Esdeath turned to Wendy, "Wendy, you've been training since you were little, right?"
"Yes!" Wendy nodded, "I was raised by Granthienne, the Dragon of the Sky, and learned the Dragon's Destruction Magic from her."
"Dragon, huh..." Esdeath's eyes sparkled. "I'd love to hunt a dragon..."
Wendy quickly explained, "Granthienne disappeared suddenly on July 7th, 777, and she's no longer in this world."
Esdeath sighed with regret, "I see..."
Wendy quietly breathed a sigh of relief inside.
Hearing that Wendy had also trained from a young age, Kuina's feelings of frustration were finally eased a little.
"By the way, Wendy, you have a bounty now." Eric pulled out a bounty notice and handed it to Wendy.
"Ah, ah..." Wendy nervously took the bounty notice, her face blank with disbelief. The good girl she once was, she probably never imagined she would be officially wanted.
"The Sky Witch" Wendy Marvell , bounty 65 million Berries!
"The photo is really good; I almost want to enlarge it and put it on the wall in the lounge."
"Eric -nii, n-no, don't joke like that..." Wendy awkwardly flustered.
In the photo, Wendy was using the Dragon Roar, looking like a cute Hello Kitty shouting. A swirling tornado came out of her mouth, with the perfect combination of adorable looks and mighty force—truly a fantastic photo.
"Should give the photographer an extra leg of chicken."
"Ah?"
"Not only you, but even Carla has a bounty."
"Eh? Even I have a bounty?!"
Eric grinned and placed a bounty notice in front of Carla :
"Pet" Carla , bounty 50 Berries.
"50 Berries? What does that even mean?!"
"Exactly that."
"Genos !" Eric called out to Genos , who was sitting silently in the distance, "Take a break; you have a bounty notice too."
"Cybernetic Demon Genos , bounty 96 million Berries."
"Uh, Genos -?" Wendy asked, "You're wanted, don't you feel worried about it at all?"
"Since I joined the Dawn Pirates, I've been prepared to be wanted," Genos maintained his usual cool expression. "And during the auction, I believe my actions were the correct ones."
"Yeah..." Wendy thought back to the human auction, where slaves were treated like commodities, with nobles bidding on them. After rescuing them, the tears of gratitude from the slaves touched her kind heart. Thinking of this, her slight anxiety about the bounty began to calm down.
"Genos -, why do you want to become stronger?" Wendy asked curiously. Despite being made entirely of machinery, nothing stopped Genos from striving to grow stronger.
"Originally, it was to avenge my destroyed home. With Dr. Kusuno's help, I became a cyborg. However, not long ago, I self-destructed with my enemies."
Wendy gasped, "Eh?!"
"Now, I wish to help Eric -sensei overthrow this corrupt world government." Genos clenched his fists. "Their evil deeds are unforgivable! It goes against my sense of justice."
Genos looked at Wendy. "To reach your goal, you might feel lost at first, but you must stay true to yourself, or you will lose yourself in the chase for that goal."
Looking at Genos ' determined eyes, Wendy secretly made up her mind: 'I still have a lot to learn.' She slowly discarded her feelings of confusion and fear, and made a resolution to protect her family—the Dawn Pirates—and contribute her strength.
After waiting for a while, when Eric didn't mention her bounty, Kuina, feeling a bit anxious, asked: "Eric , where's my bounty notice?"
"You? You don't have one?" Eric said confusedly. "When we left the auction, you didn't even touch the Marines. When you were fighting Admiral Kizaru, you were on the Courageous, and the photographer didn't get a chance."
"And you're so young to be wanted; I'm definitely going to get scolded by Gengshirou-sensei!"
"Ugh!" Kuina, rarely showing her girlish side, puffed out her cheeks.
"Even Carla has a bounty, and I have none?!"
Eric teased, "Are you trying to imitate Kurumi's angry expression?"
"Ah, Eric -nii, what are you saying?"
Behind her, Kurumi smiled mischievously, but the shadow under her bangs made the smile somewhat terrifying!
Eric 's back was instantly covered in cold sweat.
"Hmph." Kurumi tossed the basket of drinks to Eric . "I even came to bring you all drinks, but you're laughing behind my back."
"Hehe." After spending so much time with Kurumi, Eric knew she wasn't really mad. Even if she was, there wasn't a kiss that couldn't solve it. If there was, then two would do.
Everyone sat down, and Kuina, unhappy, picked up her drink and sipped it, thinking about how she could become a wanted criminal with a bounty higher than Wendy's.
Wendy, on the other hand, reexamined her dream: to always stay with her family in the Dawn Pirates, and to do so, she needed to become stronger!
(END CHAPTER)
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