Lying on the roof, Vir—who was already in a terrible mood—felt even worse the moment he saw the piece of paper Luffy pulled out.
What the hell.
Isn’t this game over?
Everything had been going according to plan!
But now?
Ruined. All of it.
Originally, Hancock was supposed to fall for Luffy as per the story, suffering from unrequited love.
With a double buff bonus—her crush on Luffy and heartbreak from rejection. Vir could have raked in a ton of negative points.
But now?
Now, why the hell is she suddenly interested in him—the damn doctor?
This—this might even make him lose negative points!
How is this fair?
How the hell is this fair?!
Now both buffs are gone!
And a debuff got added instead!
Major loss!
Damn old hag! Couldn’t she have shown up a little later?!
Now, what the hell is he supposed to do?
This situation is completely off the rails.
He had to think of a plan—fast.
Otherwise, this “patient” might not be curable anymore.
Right now, Hancock was clearly interested in him.
This icy beauty was actually taking the initiative to seek out a lowly doctor like him.
Sometimes, he just couldn’t understand her bizarre thought process.
Even if he had avenged her.
She should just stay home and be thankful—not chase him down!
What did she even want from him? His body?!
Okay, maybe not that extreme, but it was clear she had taken a liking to him.
If he were to offer to remove the scar on her back, there was a real chance she might actually fall for him.
It sounded ridiculous.
But the odds were way too high.
A lovesick patient, falling for the doctor right before the treatment…
Alright, here’s the question—would she still find him scary?
Hell no!
That’s love-brain for you.
You know what that means?
He wouldn’t earn a single negative point from her.
Nope. Can’t let that happen.
If there is no profit, then what’s the point of all that effort?
Just for Hancock to say “thank you”?
Pass!
No benefits? No deal.
But she had so many useful abilities…
He couldn’t just give up on her.
So…
Time to use the Mimic ability!
Just mimic someone else.
Switch identities!
If she was into him—great, he’d just stop being himself!
But for now—
Time to disappear!
Because those two are already looking this way!
With a snap of his fingers—Vir vanished on the spot.
The only thing left behind was evidence that someone had been there.
But it didn’t matter.
He’d be back with a different face soon anyway.
—
Meanwhile, in the main hall—
The moment Luffy pulled out that slip of paper, Hancock’s eyes lit up.
“Is that a Vivre Card? Is it… Vir’s?”
She asked urgently.
“Yep! Now we just gotta follow this little thing, and we’ll find Vir in no time!”
Luffy grinned, opening his palm to check which direction Vir was in.
But the moment he let go—
All four people in the room froze.
Because the thing…
Went straight up.
What the—?
All four of them lifted their heads in perfect sync.
At the top of the hall, there was an opening.
Through it, you could faintly see the bright blue sky.
Huh?
What’s that?
Why is there a hole in the roof?
Don’t tell me—
Hancock’s heart skipped a beat.
But before she could react—
*WHOOSH!*
*BOOM!*
Standing atop the wreckage, he spun his head around like a top, scanning for any sign of Vir.
But after a few seconds of searching… nothing.
Luffy scratched his head, confused.
Hancock followed right behind him.
Unlike Luffy, who kept shouting despite the obvious lack of anyone, she immediately noticed something.
Someone had been lying here.
Someone had been watching them.
And the traces were fresh—they’d only just left!
Her eyes flicked to the Vivre Card, which had stopped rising and was now drifting sideways.
Then it hit her.
The person who had been here just now… was Vir!
This man… is that powerful?
She hadn’t sensed his presence at all.
At the very least, his Observation Haki far surpassed hers.
Otherwise, she would’ve noticed someone watching from such close range.
And what are the chances?
The moment she wanted to find him, he was right here.
Why was he here?
Was he looking for his captain?
She glanced at Luffy, who was still yelling Vir’s name.
Looks like he wasn’t lying.
Vir really is one of his crewmates.
But then why did he leave?
As Hancock puzzled over this, her gaze fell back on the small hole in the roof.
And then—
She realized something.
If he’d been here, watching the whole time…
Then earlier, when she was behind the curtain… and wasn’t wearing anything…
Had he seen her?!
She quickly looked down from the rooftop toward the room below.
Sure enough, from that angle, you could see the bed!
Not clearly, but… enough.
Her upper body would’ve been exposed.
Hancock’s face instantly burned crimson.
A wave of regret crashed over her.
Why? Why did she even try to show that blockhead her back in the first place?
Now… now Vir had seen her… topless!
How was she supposed to face him now?
They hadn’t even met yet, and he’d already seen her naked.
This was too embarrassing!
The more she thought about it, the redder her face became.
Before long, steam was practically rising from her head.
Her CPU was clearly about to overheat.
This was the first time—the very first time—a man had seen her bare upper body.
Even that blockhead Luffy had only seen her back above the water.
No way she was going to let this go easily.
But then—
A thought struck her.
And everything froze.
If… if he saw her upper body… didn’t that mean… he saw her back too?
Her flushed cheeks drained of color in an instant.
Slave.
Memories flooded back—the disgusted faces of those who had heard the word, the scornful stares, the hateful curses.
Her heart sank like a stone.
Did he… leave because he found out?
Does he… hate slaves?
Is that why he doesn’t want to see her?
The thought took root and spread like wildfire.
Why… why does it have to be like this?
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
Her head bowed unconsciously.
That long-buried sense of inferiority…
Had returned.
In this moment, she was no longer the untouchable Pirate Empress.
She was once again that trembling girl in a cage.
—–
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