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Chapter 94: Three Idiots
The sky gradually darkened, and lights flickered to life within the castle.
Inside the room.
Vivi was still lying on the bed, unconscious.
Ganyu pulled a chair to the bedside, placing one hand on Vivi's forehead. She used her elemental energy to continuously sense and stabilize the princess's condition.
Her other hand held the book about poisonous insects, which she read quietly by the lamp light.
Sanji sat a little further away, by the fireplace.
He wasn't reading or resting. With his chin propped on one hand, he stared infatuatedly at the blue-haired young woman in front of him.
The dancing firelight added a touch of warmth to her exquisitely beautiful face. That focused and gentle expression was, in Sanji's eyes, the most beautiful scenery in the world.
He watched until he felt himself sinking into the sight, thinking he would be perfectly content to stay in this room for a lifetime.
Suddenly.
"Someone's coming up—!!"
A voice shattered the rare moment of tranquility.
Sanji frowned, recognizing Luffy's voice.
Earlier, Luffy had gotten bored staying inside and had run out alone to build a snowman. He had invited Ganyu and Sanji, but both felt they should stay to look after Vivi, so they declined.
"Did Luffy just shout 'Someone's coming up'?"
It took Sanji a moment to process what he had heard before he shot up from his seat.
"Yes. The owner of this castle must have returned."
Ganyu's expression remained calm. She slowly closed her book, stood up, and looked out the window.
There, a reindeer was pulling a sleigh, galloping up the nearly vertical cliff face before landing on the flat ground outside the castle.
On the sleigh sat a woman with the figure of a young girl but a face full of the marks of time.
And...
Ganyu's beautiful eyes widened slightly, her typically serene face showing a rare look of astonishment.
"Why is he here?!"
Below the castle.
A green-haired swordsman standing by the sleigh, covered in dirty snow and looking travel-worn, sensed something and looked up.
Seeing the blue-haired girl standing by the window, he froze for a second, then waved with genuine delight.
"Yo! What a coincidence!"
Ganyu pursed her lips, momentarily at a loss for words. She reached out and knocked on the glass pane in front of her.
"Coincidence, my foot!"
.....
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... It's the rare 'Five-Day Disease'."
Inside the castle room, Dr. Kureha examined Vivi's body and quickly made her diagnosis.
"Five-Day Disease?"
Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro repeated the name almost in unison, their faces instantly darkening.
The name was incredibly unsettling. Did it mean death within five days?
"Did you recently visit a place that still preserves a prehistoric ecosystem?" Kureha asked curiously, her gaze sweeping over the group.
"Yeah, we just left an island that had dinosaurs and giant primitive creatures," the group nodded.
"Then that settles it."
Kureha looked like she understood everything. She took a swig from her bottle of liquor and continued:
"She was likely bitten on that island by a bug carrying a specific virus."
Ganyu suddenly remembered the book she had just been reading and interjected, "Could it be... Kestia?"
"Oh?"
Kureha looked surprised, her eyes turning toward the strikingly beautiful blue-haired girl.
She stepped forward, reached out, and lightly lifted the girl's chin, forcing her to look up.
"Little one, how do you know about Kestia?"
Little one?
Ganyu felt a strange ripple in her heart.
The years her body had carried amounted to at least three or four thousand. If they were really counting, she should be the one calling this woman "little one."
But on second thought, although her body was ancient, her psychological age before crossing over was only in her early twenties. Facing a doctor who was obviously over a hundred years old, being called "little one" seemed... acceptable.
"I read it in this book."
She blinked and held up the book that had kept her company for the past few hours, her tone apologetic.
"I'm sorry for reading the collection here without permission."
"I see."
Kureha nodded in realization, her tone unexpectedly gentle.
"I like curious little ones like you who hunger for knowledge. Unlike these three brats—one look and I can tell they're just idiots who only know how to fight."
Hearing this, the three men initially nodded in agreement.
Makes sense. Ganyu is definitely different.
But a split second later, they realized that the "three brats" Kureha was referring to were them.
"I can accept you calling those two idiots," Sanji was the first to protest, pointing at Zoro and Luffy, "but the word 'idiot' has absolutely nothing to do with me!"
"You damn old hag!" veins popped out on Zoro's forehead. "Don't think I won't beat you up just because you're a woman!"
"I'm not an idiot!" Luffy shouted loudly. Even an idiot wouldn't admit to being an idiot.
However, after retorting to Kureha, Luffy and Zoro immediately turned their spears toward Sanji.
"Oi! Curly-brows! What do you mean 'I can accept you calling those two idiots'?" Zoro stared at Sanji with hostility.
"Yeah! Only Zoro is the directionless idiot!" Luffy shouted indignantly, pointing at the swordsman.
"What?! Luffy, why are you suddenly insulting me?!"
"Haha, that's because Luffy shares my view. He also thinks your moss-head brain is beyond saving!"
"Bastard! You want to fight, Curly-brows?!"
"Bring it on! Who's scared of who?!"
Before the words even landed, the three of them began brawling right there in the sickroom, completely disregarding the setting.
Chairs and tables were knocked around with loud screeches, and books nearly fell to the floor. The scene was instantly chaotic.
"Three... morons..."
Ganyu watched this familiar yet headache-inducing scene, helplessly raising a hand to cover her face.
As their companion, sometimes she truly felt very, very embarrassed.
Unnoticed by the boys, Kureha had quietly walked out of the room, evidently to prepare the medicine needed for treatment.
Her voice drifted in from the hallway, not sounding particularly angry:
"Young lady, if you let them keep making noise in there, it's going to seriously affect the patient's rest."
"I understand," Ganyu replied quickly, taking a deep breath. "I will make them... quiet down."
After speaking, she turned around. Her pearly white teeth bit her lip, and a fierce glint appeared in her eyes.
Moments later.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three loud crashes echoed.
"Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"
The window flew open, and three humanoid ice sculptures flew out of the castle in unison, planting face-first into the empty snowfield outside.
"That should keep things quiet for a while."
Ganyu rubbed her temples, feeling the world had become much more peaceful.
She felt absolutely no guilt.
Given the physical constitution of those three, freezing in the snow for a few minutes wouldn't hurt them at all.
A while later.
Creak—
The door was pushed open the tiniest crack, and a small, furry figure quietly sneaked in.
It moved agilely, hiding in the shadows nearest the bed, before carefully peeking out. It looked timidly toward the blue-haired girl standing quietly by the windowsill.
Chopper's heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.
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