Chapter 405: Heart of A Man (2/2)

”You are a helpless romantic,” Arthur shook his head. ”Do you want me to address you as a man since you have the heart of one?”

At his words, the pirate stopped walking and turned to face him. He could tell her surprise at his unexpected consideration, as no other gave much thought about her words before.

”This is truly a first,” she sighed. ”If all men were like you, I wouldn't have hated them as much as I did,” she curled her hair around her finger. ”But no, I don't think I'm ready to be seen as such by the world.”

”As you wish,” Arthur nodded and looked at the harbor and the infinite ships lined side by side. He looked around for Dia and hoped that she didn't destroy anything in her rage.

Despite having been long since he severed the Bestial Order, a part of his powers remained within her, allowing him to tell of her general location.

”How did you find me?”

”I sensed the unique quality of your energy earlier,” Eleven smilingly said as she followed after him toward the street by the harbor. ”I asked my nearby crew to stall for time, but the fools thought I wanted to rob you.”

”You are a pirate, after all,” Arthur nodded as he finally found the princess standing by a vendor of pearls. As they got close, they got to hear the price the vendor gave.

”A hundred golds,” the vendor said as he gestured to the pearls in front of him. Arthur was speechless, as there was no way such pearls could cost that much.

”Reasonable enough, here you go,” Dia took out two pouched and handed them to the vendor, who seemed ecstatic. However, the pouches never reached his hands, and they hovered above them instead.

”What?!” the vendor was confused until Arthur grabbed the two pouches with a sigh. He looked at the clueless princess, who glanced his way with an upset expression.

”Who are you trying to scam, old man?” Arthur looked at the pearls. ”Even if these pearls were handcrafted by King Solomon himself, they wouldn't cost that much.”

”Don't ruin my business, boy! I wa...” the vendor stood up to threaten Arthur before he glanced at the person behind him. Seeing Eleven's face, the vendor began shaking. ”I want to apologize for my behavior! But, please, take these pearls as a gift.”

”No need,” Arthur glanced at the pirate, who simply grinned at him. ”Just stop scamming people who aren't knowledgeable enough,” he returned the pouches to Dia, who snatched them with a huff.

The princess walked away without speaking to him, and Arthur had to follow after her. He understood that she thought Arthur took the pirate's side, but that was never the case.

”Are you mad?” Arthur walked behind her. ”Let me explain. I stopped you because I knew she has something valuable to offer. After all, you wanted pearls, right?”

It seems his words managed to convince the princess, who stopped to glance at the pirate. Eleven flashed her brightest smile as if she wanted to dazzle Dia into falling in love with her. That, in turn, only made Dia furrow her brows.

”She doesn't look reliable,” the princess was ruthless as always, and her words almost tore the pirate's heart to pieces. However, Eleven's long years of sail made her patient.

”Let me show you my gift,” she bowed down elegantly.

***

True to her words, the pearls looked nothing this world could or should create. Arthur would have thought they were underwater because of the ripples that danced around the pearls. He turned to look at Dia, who was mesmerized by the pearls.

”I found these pearls in the darkest corners of the sea, protected by a giant. They are the manifestation of affinity to the two elements you hold dearest.”

There was a blue pearl and a red one, and Arthur found it suspicious how it fit Dia perfectly.

”They should enhance your powers if you use them,” the pirate grinned. ”But there is a price.”