Klein smiled. "Then finish the rest of the senbei first, and we'll start playing the next game."
"Okay!" Charlotte went at it with both hands, moving so fast that afterimages blurred in front of her. Bag after bag of senbei disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Watching the scene, Shakky's beautiful eyes shimmered with something unusual.
"Looks like I still don't understand Klein-sama well enough... For money, he could sell pirates as slaves without blinking."
"But when it comes to children, he plays with them so kindly, even teaching them..."
It made her realize something—when Klein deals with evil, he has no bottom line. Just like when he cut down Streusen in a single swing.
There wasn't even a ripple.
But when it comes to his own people—even someone like her, who was forcefully captured...
Klein treats them like friends, like family.
"Snake Princess-sama, we should train too. Otherwise, with our current strength, we won't stand a chance against the monsters of the New World."
Shakky lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, looking serious.
Gloriosa gave a graceful smile. "Being a maid might not be so bad. With Klein-sama's strength, he'll defeat any powerful enemy."
"..." Shakky paused, glancing at Gloriosa beside her, heart suddenly tightening.
"Snake Princess-sama... don't tell me... you've fallen for Klein-sama?"
"All past queens of Amazon Lily have suffered from love sickness..."
She felt Gloriosa was already slipping.
Amazon Lily is a nation that reveres strength. There, strength is beauty.
The stronger someone is, the more beautiful they are. Their standards of beauty are... quite different from the norm.
"Huh~" Klein raised a brow in amusement, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
'As expected, people really do self-PUA.'
Charlotte quickly devoured all the senbei. The quantity wasn't actually that much, but Klein had no intention of letting her eat more.
He was very satisfied. Internally, he chuckled.
'As expected of a woman whose entire body is monstrous—'
'Some people lie around and become Old Era Remnants. Charlotte just lies around and becomes a Yonko...'
'I need to redirect her child-making energy into training.'
"Next, let's play bullet-catching."
Klein originally planned to play catch with a ball, but there were none aboard the warship. He'd buy a bunch on the next island and store them in scrolls.
He ordered his Marines to bring over a crate of bullets.
Klein explained the rules to Charlotte.
"I'll throw bullets at you. Watch carefully. If you can catch more bullets, the chef will make your favorite dessert tonight."
If it had been a ball, it would train her reaction speed and control under motion.
With bullets, she could train her reflexes, perception, and catching ability.
"Dessert... Li... Charlotte loves dessert the most." She still hadn't gotten used to the name change.
Her eyes lit up with excitement, and drool began to drip from her mouth.
If she were allowed to eat freely...
She probably wouldn't stop except to sleep.
Even more exaggerated than Bonney—the ultimate big eater girl!
"Klein, I'm ready! Throw the bullets!" Charlotte shouted, opening both large hands in anticipation.
Klein grabbed a handful of bullets and flicked one at her with his thumb, like marbles.
A sharp sound sliced through the air as the bullet struck Charlotte's belly. It couldn't pierce her skin and simply fell to the deck.
"So fast! Charlotte didn't even react!" she pouted, slightly dejected.
She stared dumbly at the bullet rolling across the deck.
"Focus. One more time." Klein reminded her, "Keep your eyes on my hand and track the bullet's movement."
He flicked another bullet. This time, Charlotte reached out—but was still a moment too late.
"Good. That's progress." Klein praised. "Get your body ready to respond. Your eyes, brain, and body must coordinate."
In just an hour or two, Charlotte was catching the bullets with ease. Klein didn't rush to increase their speed. Instead, he praised her,
"Not bad, Charlotte. That's enough for today."
As the sky darkened—around six or seven PM—it was time for a normal dinner.
Klein wanted Charlotte to have a healthy routine of three meals a day, with maybe just an afternoon tea.
No more binge-eating!
After all, a young woman changes greatly as she matures.
At eighteen, Charlotte would be at her most beautiful.
Her stomach rumbled loudly. Grinning happily, she said, "Hehehe—I want cake, cream puffs, and zamra...!"
As soon as Charlotte stuffed a slice of cake into her mouth, a blissful expression spread across her face. Her eyes curved into crescents.
Just as she reached out again, Klein extended a hand to stop her.
"Charlotte, you must savor delicious food slowly. Don't just stuff it all in at once~"
"And even during meals, you should keep your eyes open."
In the anime, Charlotte had a tendency to enter a food frenzy state.
Charlotte didn't listen at all. She simply reached out with her other hand toward more cake and screeched,
Klein instantly flashed forward, standing atop the table. He caught her hand with his palm.
"Charlotte, are you not going to listen to me?"
The impact was blocked entirely by Klein's outward-flowing Conqueror's Haki. For origınal chapters go to 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝓷𝓮𝓽
Charlotte flailed both arms, and in a blur, dozens of afterimages appeared in front of her.
Klein calmly ate roast meat with one hand while blocking every strike precisely with the other, stopping her hands cold.
Each collision echoed like thunder, whipping up gusts of force.
"Oi oi oi—do you two have to fight during dinner? You're gonna wreck the whole ship!"
Os wiped sweat from his forehead, looking nervous.
Gloriosa added, "Only Klein-sama can restrain Charlotte on this ship. She was kind of chubby before."
"Klein-sama probably wants to change some of her habits... It's for her own good. Didn't he promise to marry Charlotte one day? Maybe he wants her a bit slimmer."
Shakky smiled without showing teeth, glancing at the now 6-to-7-meter-tall Charlotte.
Thinking about their future marriage... it did sound amusing.
She couldn't help but recall the moment Klein once stood atop Charlotte's shoulder.
Such a massive difference in height and build.
Charlotte began to spiral—her hands moved faster and stronger.
Klein's eyes narrowed as black-red lightning flared around him.
LV9 Conqueror's Haki erupted solely toward Charlotte!
The crackling black-red lightning seemed to have a will of its own, wrapping around her like terrifying chains, binding her in place.
"Eh—my body won't move!" Charlotte's hands froze mid-air, her face full of surprise.
"Have you calmed down now?"
Klein tossed the bone in his hand onto the plate, his expression calm, voice unshaken.