novel-bin Page 27
Page 27
"I really don't know what you want to see on those islands. You can't even bargain properly. You might end up saying something like 'I want to buy the whole island'."
Blake was taken aback and glared at Robin:
"What do you know? I call this experiencing the hardships of life."
"It's truly rare that the world has become so suffering that you need to experience it for yourself."
Robin closed the heavy book in his hands:
"I bet you won't be out of three blocks before you're scared off by the fishmonger's menacing aura."
"When you are kidnapped by pirates, I will definitely carve your great achievements on a stone tablet in the same way that the Poneglyphs are engraved."
Blake's eyes twitched from the rebuke.
Since what happened with Olvia, Robin has become increasingly open and relaxed.
Blake didn't know what she was thinking, but it was a good thing nonetheless.
However, what bothered him was that Robin was increasingly fond of teasing him.
Whenever Robin addresses someone as "you" (formal), a barrage of mockery ensues without a doubt.
There are even more interesting projects this time, so let's leave her aside for now.
"Stella, go and have someone take down the World Government flag from the ship and disguise the Temple as a merchant ship."
"wrong……"
Blake suddenly realized that his Temple had been built with considerable extravagance, making it quite difficult to disguise it as a merchant ship.
"That way, we can pretend to be a wealthy family on vacation."
Stella saw that he had made up his mind, so she did not try to persuade him any further.
In fact, Stella and the others all knew that Blake was also capable.
After all, they had trained together for a while, and it was clear that Blake's strength was still above Mandy's.
They simply couldn't fathom just how powerful Blake truly was in combat.
After Stella left, Blake told the others to change their clothes, and he himself quietly took off his spacesuit and removed the fish tank.
After a chaotic commotion, everyone changed their clothes and stood on the deck with great enthusiasm.
Blake looked around but couldn't find any flaws, then said with satisfaction:
Chapter 37 Riddler Get Out of Gotham!
The sea ahead of the Temple was shrouded in a thick fog.
Strangely, this sea fog only covered a ring-shaped area, neither expanding nor dissipating.
This is Etheria, a misty island that is relatively rare in the North Sea.
The islands in the four seas have climatic conditions that are completely different from those along the Grand Line, and they rarely experience extreme weather.
Aetheria is a C-shaped volcanic island that forms a natural inner bay known as the Lake of Destiny.
The active volcano in the center of the island has a diameter of several kilometers.
The island's perimeter is covered by a black basalt formation that spirals along the coastline, forming a somewhat eerie pattern together with the volcanic crater.
Visually, the highest point of the entire island is only about 100 meters high, but the columnar joints formed by volcanic eruptions create a natural observatory.
The thick fog surrounding the island is a peculiar phenomenon formed by the fusion of volcanic ash and sea fog.
What's even more peculiar is that the fog disappears within an hour at noon every day, only to reappear in the afternoon, and this cycle repeats itself.
Blake and the women disembarked, and as expected, they didn't attract much attention.
The most mischievous Perona was being led by Stella's hand, but she couldn't hide her excitement, curiously looking around.
While the others weren't as obviously curious as she was, they were still quite intrigued.
"An outsider..."
Just then, an old man walked towards them and chanted softly:
"Your destiny will be revealed when the hot springs erupt in sync with the tides."
After saying that, he ignored everyone's reaction and turned to leave, leaving everyone looking puzzled.
Robin explained:
"I checked the information just before disembarking."
"The country on this island is called the Tarot Kingdom, and it is not a member state of the World Government."
"Their supreme leader is the 'Great Prophet,' whose position is hereditary; in reality, he is the king."
"It sounds like this is a very superstitious country."
Kerla seemed to be deep in thought.
Robin nodded and continued:
"Indeed, they use the 'Wheel of Fortune' to decide whenever they have important decisions to make."
“Children’s early education usually involves tarot card memorization training, while the coming-of-age ceremony requires each person to navigate through the fog zone alone.”
"What a strange island..."
Perona muttered something under her breath.
Blake added:
"Because the Tarot Kingdom believes in divination, it often makes some unexpected decisions, which makes the island not wealthy."
"There is no way to join the world government by paying a huge amount of heavenly gold."
"Logically speaking, non-member states are the countries that pirates like to visit the most."
As he spoke, he glanced at Mandy out of the corner of his eye, and seeing that she remained expressionless, he continued:
"But the situation on Isla Etheria is special, as it has a natural sea fog as a barrier."
“Ordinary ships would find it difficult to pass through the sea fog zone within an hour at midday.”
"This makes it difficult for ordinary pirates to land on the island, and even the most powerful pirates look down on such a small place."
"The Tarot Kingdom was actually quite peaceful as a result."
As they walked and looked around, Perona noticed that the reeds by the roadside seemed a bit strange.
She ran closer, examined it curiously for a while, and then reached out to pull one out, but she couldn't pull it out and almost fell into the water herself.
Seeing this, Kella quickly went over to help.
With one hand holding Perona, she gently pulled the reed out of the water with the other.
Perona thanked her and curiously examined the reed.
There are several faint lines on it, which, when combined, form a balance scale pattern.
The crowd gathered around to look at them.
A resident of the island passed by, saw the group of people, and said:
"Are you all from out of town?"
“Those reeds by the roadside are unique to our island, and the one the child is holding is called ‘Judgment Reed’.”
"In addition, there are the 'marriage reed' symbolizing love and the 'war reed' symbolizing war..."
Blake asked curiously:
"Is this how you judge criminals and decide the course of war?"
Instead of answering directly, the man said mysteriously:
"Everything is arranged by fate."
The Riddler gets out of Gotham!
The sudden arrival of the Riddler did not dampen the group's spirits, and Black and his party proceeded to the central square.
A huge bronze wheel spins in the sunlight, casting ever-changing patterns of shadows.
"Is this the legendary 'Wheel of Fortune'?"
Looking at the bronze wheel, which was at least twenty meters in diameter, Robin murmured something to himself.
She gently placed her hand on the wheel, and the bronze wheel paused for a moment before the image of a book slowly appeared.
"Congratulations, little sister! This is a sign of awakening wisdom."
The soldier guarding the roulette wheel stepped forward and said to Robin with a smile:
"You must be a very intelligent child."
Blake raised an eyebrow upon hearing this:
"This roulette wheel looks interesting, you should all try it."
Perona, who had been eagerly waiting, was the first to step forward and place her hand on the roulette wheel.
A twisted and eerie figure emerged from the bronze wheel—it was a ghost.
Perona was startled and quickly withdrew her hand.
The soldier burst into laughter:
"You must be a naughty little girl."
"You bullshit!"
Perona immediately jumped up and down:
"Lady Perona was clearly taking the divination very seriously!"
Everyone took the test one by one.
Stella is depicted as a priestess.
Mandy is a sword.
Kella's design is quite interesting; it features a lion with a crystal ball on its head.
After asking the guards, everyone learned that this represented the combination of wisdom and strength.
Blake was the last to step forward.
He initially dismissed the divination practices on the island.
After all, they aren't fortune tellers who ate the Scarecrow Fruit, so how could they possibly be accurate?
However, it now seems that the image reflected by this "Wheel of Fortune" is quite accurate.
Robin represents wisdom, Perona represents mischief, Stella represents gentleness, Mandy represents strength, and Koala represents both strength and wisdom.
Blake was very curious about the underlying nature of his own personality.
When Blake placed his palm on the bronze disc, the disc did not react for a long time.
Just as he was getting impatient, a perfectly clear figure suddenly appeared on the disc.
Against a dark red background, a man holding a scepter stands against the wind, dressed in magnificent robes, his face resolute and cold.
It was Blake himself.
"Is this...myself?"
The soldiers on guard scratched their heads in disbelief.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before, but sir, are you really not going to consider the clothes in the video? They seem to suit your style better.”
He had unconsciously started using honorifics.
Blake smiled but did not answer.
As he turned to leave, his gaze fell on a boy who looked only eight or nine years old.
"Looks like I'm really lucky."