Sage always thought this woman was the local bandit leader, given how many bandits there were around here, on average you could run into a group every kilometer.
"Turns out she isn't, I was just thinking, she looks quite pretty and has an air about her, not at all like a bandit. So she's a princess? Wait a minute..."
Sage noticed a blind spot and looked at Lily: "You're royalty, and the wanted order was also issued by royalty, so that means... a dog-eat-dog scenario?"
"I'm not a dog!"
Lily's teeth were nearly grinding, "He is! He's the traitor! The usurper, the most evil person under the sky!"
"Oh..."
Sage nodded, suddenly gripping her shoulder, steering her to keep walking straight.
She veered off...
"It took me three days to get here from the Royal City, but if we walked in a straight line, it wouldn't take that long. You'll have to endure a bit more, let's pull an all-nighter, and we should get there by tomorrow morning," Sage said.
Lily was stunned, wanting to say something but it got stuck in her throat, so she just stared at Sage. Half an hour later, she couldn't hold back any longer.
"Aren't you curious?"
"Curious about what?"
"The royal's wanted order..."
"Not at all."
Sage shook his head: "I want to be a rich landlord who exploits people, not a savior who has to deal with everything. I only asked your name for the sake of memory, other things I'm not interested in."
"You really are..."
Lily sighed, "Completely unlike a strong person."
"After all, I never think I'm that strong." Sage chuckled.
Having a cheat doesn't mean being invincible.
Even if I don't remember the story well, I still know the famous powerhouses of this great sea.
They're the kind who can destroy the heavens and the earth on a whim.
Sage can handle people, but causing massive destruction to an island, or even changing the weather, that's beyond him.
"Is that so..."
Lily mumbled, then clamped her mouth shut, silently walking forward.
Her face clearly showed discontent, but more than that, it carried stubbornness.
Between the two of them, aside from silence, there was only the sound of footsteps as they walked.
Until the urgency of rushed footsteps broke the silence.
"Stop!!"
Several armed men burst out of the woods, surrounding them. The leader, a tall man, snarled viciously: "Hand over the money!"
These men were all raggedly dressed with sallow faces. Although they held swords, it was obvious their hands were trembling and their eyes filled with hesitation.
Sage had seen quite a few like them over the past few days.
Bandits.
Sage sighed, speaking softly: "I say, folks, do I look like someone with pockets? I don't even have pockets, how am I supposed to fork out money? I'm poorer than you guys, you at least have swords."
"Enough of that, the sword at your waist looks fancy, and that woman looks like a noble!"
The bandit leader snarled: "Hand over the money, or I'll kill you!"
"Boss, wait, look at that woman..."
At this point, a bandit came over, pulling out a familiar wanted order and comparing it to Lily carefully.
"It's her! Boss, catch her and we'll be rich!" the bandit said excitedly.
"One hundred million Berries!"
The bandit leader's eyes nearly popped as he pointed his large sword at Sage, "We want this woman, now scram, or I'll kill you!"
"No..."
Lily suddenly blurted out.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Sage suddenly vanished, turning into a blur that flickered before them.
The blur was incredibly fast, and in just a moment, he appeared behind them.
At this moment, whether it was the bandit leader holding his sword or those bandits with looks of shock, they were all frozen, as if petrified, completely unable to move.
Sage turned around and walked up to the frozen bandit leader, patting him on the shoulder, "We're all struggling here, so if you need to rob, just don't rob me. I'm counting on this woman to fulfill my dream."
As he spoke, he casually grabbed the tin flask hanging from the bandit's waist, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.
"Tsk, this alcohol... is terrible!"
Sage exhaled with disgust, "You'll be able to move again in half a day, next time, be careful who you try to rob."
Lily then walked up to Sage, pursed her lips, and said softly, "Thank you..."
"I'm just not interested in struggling, we're all poor, and without a bounty, there's no point dealing with you."
Sage asked, "By the way, does your country have the Mountain Bandit King's treasure?"
Lily paused for a bit, then shook her head, "I've never heard of any treasure rumors..."
"Without treasure, why are there so many mountain bandits?" Sage asked.
Lily's expression dimmed, and she whispered, "The taxes are too heavy, the citizens can't survive, they have no choice but to become bandits."
"Huh?" Sage was momentarily stunned.
"Don't you understand?"
Lily said passionately, "They can't bear the heavy taxes, so..."
"So the sea doesn't have a lid, if you can't survive locally, just set sail."
Sage said, "I haven't heard of the Oyekot Kingdom banning people from going to sea."
He was someone who went to sea only because he couldn't make a living, if he still had some surplus money, he might have been trying to start a business.
Lily's eyes suddenly widened, a strong look of astonishment appearing, which startled Sage.
"You never thought of it? Really?" Sage asked curiously.
In the era of the Great Pirate, there were all sorts of reasons for going to sea, among them, the ones who went to sea because they couldn't survive were the majority.
The people here, they'd rather be mountain bandits than go to sea?
The East Sea isn't the Grand Line, the climate here is quite normal, even a kid can make a raft and go to sea.
If you can't survive, then go.
"Go to sea..."
The girl's eyes widened for a moment, but then fell, she said, "The Oyekot Kingdom once had a pirate war, everyone hates those who go to sea, they won't go easily."
...
Bienta Lily, now sixteen, is a royal princess of the Oyekot Kingdom and the next heir to the kingdom, if nothing unexpected happens...
The Oyekot is a war-torn kingdom, especially after a war between the navy and pirates here more than twenty years ago, it never stabilized until Lily's father became king, and the country somewhat improved.
However, Lily's father died due to an accident when she was born, the improved situation naturally disappeared, becoming as chaotic as before, and during this chaos in the kingdom, her mother not only failed to try to turn the tide but instead found a new husband, becoming Lily's...stepfather!
Lily's mother also passed away shortly after remarrying, and this stepfather, using her young age as an excuse, naturally assumed the name of the Bindeta Clan, became the king, took over the chaotic situation, then... made it even more chaotic!
He can't be said to be extraordinarily talented, at least he didn't do anything right.
In short, under his rule, the Oyekot became more and more chaotic, bandits ran rampant, mountain bandits were everywhere, such chaotic conditions surprisingly lasted for decades.
Lily grew up in this environment, having a strong desire to save the country, and so, half a year ago, she boldly attempted to assassinate that usurper...
And then she got a wanted order on her head.
And then, she got caught by Sage.
"You're quite unlucky..." Sage said with an indignant expression.
"You..." Lily, seeing his look of being unjust for her, was moved.
Could it be that he's willing to help her?
"A royal princess, and a royal princess who attempted to assassinate the king, is only worth one million Belly?" Sage said resentfully, "At least it should be ten million... no, twenty million!"
Is this what he meant by unlucky!
Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes, but the impulse in her heart rose strongly at this moment.
This man might be able to...
"Stop." Sage suddenly reached out his hand.
Lily was puzzled, "I didn't say anything..."
"Your eyes are full of stories, and what I dislike most is listening to stories."
Sage waved his hand, "Isn't it just asking me to help you reclaim the throne or help the citizens go to sea, talking about heavy taxes and being overwhelmed... I don't have that kind of free time, there's not only your family suffering at sea, I'm having a hard time too, you might as well help the person in front of you first, let me capture you for the bounty."
He's hoping to rely on this woman to make his bounty hunter business a success!
Seeing this, Lily closed her mouth and said no more.
The two swiftly walked on, silently disappearing into the mountain forest...
...
The next day, before the sun had reached the center, Sage arrived at the Royal City with Lily.
The Royal City of Oyekot is like a 17th or 18th century medieval town, though the town is quite clean, with rows of brightly colored two-to-three-story buildings flanking the streets, shops everywhere, and a large plaza in the city center, with a towering clock tower higher than the city walls, serving as a symbolic building of Oyekot.
If not for the mountain bandits everywhere, it would be a peaceful town.
Bringing Lily into the Royal City and reporting to the guarding soldiers, the soldiers led Sage and Lily to the Royal Palace.
Originally, Sage was ready for anything, thinking that a grand princess, with good looks and a strong heart to save her country, would be quite popular.
Like the guards threatening Sage when they see the princess, or citizens going crazy stopping him, such a scenario of capturing a national princess and being hated... none of it happened.
Instead, they were all quite interested and followed behind to watch the bustle.
Until reaching the enormous steps leading to the palace, Sage couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you a princess? This posture...doesn't seem like they know you."
"I've never left the Royal Palace."
Lily, who hadn't spoken all this time, finally opened her mouth, she was intently staring at the huge steps, and said in a deep voice, "Since I was a child, I've been confined in the Royal Palace, naturally no one knows me, the people in the palace are all subordinates of that man... All I know comes from what I hear from them... They're here!"
Sage also looked towards the steps, seeing a group of figures gradually appearing on the empty, vast steps.
They were divided into two groups.
One was the kingdom soldiers of Oyekot, escorting one person, and the other was a group of men in white uniforms... the Navy.