Chapter 1402: Wengfalousi 3.5 (432)

"Oh? It's a gray little fish fry, and also a pink little sea bunny."

After seeing who had come, Heseyin felt no embarrassment, as if the two of them were merely two small fish that had accidentally swum into her territory.

"S-, small sea bunny?"

Gentle ripples lapped lightly at Heseyin's body, the waterlight making her eyes look like the moon submerged in water. She gave a soft smile: "To slip in here without a sound—was it an accidental misstep in the current, or… did you intend to bathe with me?"

Xing's face flushed red: "I didn't see anything!"

The smile at Heseyin's lips deepened: "Really? But the gleam in your eyes is brighter than a pearl."

Xilian hastily covered her eyes, tugging Xing as she headed for the door: "Sorry, sorry, we didn't mean to disturb your bath… we're leaving now!"

——

Pirate King.

"Ohhhhhhhhh——!!"

The nosebleed spurted like a red fountain, pushing Sanji entirely off the deck; his body traced a perfect arc in midair, then……

"Crack!"

Sanji lay sprawled on the deck, twitching incessantly, as if his soul had ascended yet his soul was still making a final struggle. The nosebleed spread beneath him at a visible speed, hard to imagine how much blood a person could lose.

"Quick, save him, Chopper! Sanji's about to bleed out into a corpse!" Usopp rushed over and grabbed Sanji's still‑twitching body, only to hear faint, broken muttering from his throat.

"What is he saying?"

"Hmm…" Usopp leaned his ear close: "It sounds like… Miss Heseyin is so beautiful… something like that."

"Tsk… what an idiot."

Nami's face flickered with disgust, then she stepped on Sanji's head; soon the nosebleed stopped, replaced by thick green smoke rising from his head.

"I… I thought I just saw Miss Heseyin waving at me…" a weak whisper came from the pool of blood.

Next came a "gab" sound, and the Sanji who had been twitching just now became completely still.

"Sanji——!!"

——

JOJO's Bizarre Adventure.

Joseph Joestar stood frozen as if turned to stone by Medusa.

Watching Heseyin's silhouette flicker in the wet light, her damp hair clung to her graceful shoulders, droplets sliding down the curve of her spine… especially that glance as she turned—cold, languid, so beautiful it made one's breath catch.

Joseph's throat bobbed up and down, then he drew a deep breath.

"Nice——!!"

"Miss Heseyin is utterly charming! I'd love to ask her out for a drink…"

"JOJO." Speedwagon's voice rang from beside him, "Don't forget, the men of the Joestar line have always loved only one woman in their lifetime. You're married to Shiji Q, aren't you?"

"Of course I know that!"

JOJO waved a hand without turning, his eyes glued to the sky like a dead fly stuck on a screen, afraid to miss a single frame: "Shiji Q is the woman I love most in this life! No woman in the world could replace her in my heart."

Speedwagon sighed helplessly: "Well… if you could take your eyes off other women when you say that, it'd be more convincing."

——

"It's no disgrace, no need to panic. To me, this state feels natural. Land‑dwelling folks insist on wearing clothes just to shackle themselves…" Having said that, Heseyin gave a light chuckle, "…Heh, forget it. If Marquis Goldweave heard this, he'd scold me again."

"All right, everyone, please make yourselves comfortable and wait a moment. Once I wash off the blood of the hunt, I'll attend to you."

"The hunt?"

Xing's doubts were just rising when a panicked shout from the Ladong people came from outside the room.

"Ah, ah——!"

Xing recognized the voice as that of the man who had spoken rudely to Caesar in front of Marquis Donglin before.

"Ladong, the Ladong representative has been assassinated! Quick, someone come!"

Heseyin seemed already used to the hurried footsteps outside; she lowered her head, idly playing with the hair floating on the water: "Ah, a broken crab shell has surfaced. I was worried the current might have washed him away."

"Did you do this?"

"Just a routine cleaning; no need to be so surprised."

Xilian gradually understood, nodding: "…I see. No wonder there was a faint whiff of rust in the air even before we entered. But why? Is it because the Ladong refuse to contribute troops to the Chasing Fire, or… simply because they offended Caesar?"

"Because the new era of the Chasing Fire cannot tolerate rotten stagnation. For those who cling to old laws and short‑sighted folly, only bloodletting can restore their clarity. Now the frontier rebels are gaining momentum, secretly backed by the Ladong. They loudly chant the slogan 'Return to the Golden Age,' refusing to relinquish military power—merely stockpiling for revolt."

——

Earth. On the Motion of the Earth

"The Ladong representative… you mean that old man who publicly opposed Caesar at the alliance meeting, right?"

Badeni lowered his head in thought: "The Ladong will secretly aid the frontier rebels; it seems the so‑called 'Alliance' of Aohema is merely a façade. Apart from Caesar's few close aides, most others comply only out of fear of him. This alliance… is very fragile."

"Fragile?" Aokiji frowned, asking, "Do you mean they'll oppose Caesar in the future?"

"While Caesar lives it's not certain, but if she dies, the alliance she forged by force will immediately fall apart."

Upon hearing that, Aokiji also let out a relieved sigh: "That's fine; once Caesar passes the 'Law' trial and becomes a demigod, her lifespan will be considerable. As long as the Heichi doesn't make a comeback, no one can threaten her."

"No, you're wrong—the real threat isn't the Heichi…"

Badeni shook his head, rose, and walked to the window. The night sky outside was tinted a bluish‑gray by the light emanating from the canopy, like the sea before a storm.

"Have you read Roman history?"

Aokiji didn't speak, but his bewildered expression already gave the answer.

"In ancient Rome there was once a man called 'Caesar'—of course, unrelated to the little girl in the canopy, a different person." Badeni turned, leaning against the window frame, and said, "His actions were much like Thus we output Thus we output Thus we output Thus we output Thus we output Thus we output keludela's: he smashed the old aristocratic republic with ruthless efficiency, granted more people 'citizenship,' concentrated civil and military power in his own hand, and ruled rather autocratically. But just as later generations praise this 'great emperor,' do you know how he met his end?"

Badeni paused, his gaze falling on the small knife strapped to Aokiji's waist.

"Assassination."

"……"

Aokiji swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Badeni waved his hand: "Of course, I don't want to review history with you, but Thus we output Thus we output Thus we output Thus we output Thus we output Thus we output keludela and that Caesar in our history have walked very similar paths, and I suspect the same fate will also be seen in her."

"Do you think she will be assassinated by her subordinates?"

"Well, after all, such violent actions will only accumulate more and more opponents. She now completely relies on her personal prestige to temporarily suppress many hidden dangers, but these hidden dangers will only grow silently in the dark and will not disappear."

——

'"I still hold reservations about this."'

'"Haseyin said lightly: \'Thinking is the right that Caesar gave to citizens; I will not interfere excessively with your thoughts. As long as you do not attempt to reverse the flow of the times… you and I are both free. \'"'

'"But, Miss Haseyin…" Xilian hesitated a bit, then spoke somewhat nervously, "I… I can't even hear a hint of joy of freedom from your words."'