Chapter 121

Chapter 121: Raise Your Hand if You Want to Visit Fishman Island

"Because this time, besides sending the Celestial Dragons back to the Holy Land, I also want to prove something to people," Queen Otohime's eyes seemed to light up as she spoke.

"I want them to see that even someone with a weaker physique like me can safely go to the surface of the sea. I hope to at least make them no longer fear humans."

Queen Otohime was a goldfish mermaid, with a physique more fragile than regular people. Even slapping someone's face could result in her wrist breaking.

"But what if something happens to you? Wouldn't the situation get worse? And Mary Geoise... Even if you're a Queen, those people won't have any reservations," Adrian questioned, unsure if he could do something so bold.

If he were an ordinary fish-man, he would probably stay on Fishman Island and practice fish-man karate, only going out for a stroll when he had accumulated enough power.

"But I have already come back safely. If we want Fishman Island and humans to coexist peacefully, we must start with mutual understanding and trust. However, we are separated by thousands of meters of deep sea. We can't wait for humans to take the first step, so it's better for me to try trusting humans first," Queen Otohime's smile was bright. The effect of her speech on Fishman Island had reached its limit. This journey to the Holy Land was of great significance to her.

Her actions, if they fail, might be mocked as naive or foolish. But if they succeed in the end, or if people remember her years later, they might say she had courage, foresight, and had made a brave exploration for the future of the fish-men.

"Remarkable," Adrian didn't fully agree with her approach, but he wouldn't belittle or mock someone willing to risk their life for the future of their race.

"I'm just fulfilling my duty as a Queen," Queen Otohime inquired, "But apart from that, it seems like you don't dislike fish-men?"

"We don't dislike any race; we just dislike bad people," Adrian smiled, "Actually, we have a friend named Camie who sometimes sneaks out of Fishman Island to play with us. But she's only around ten years old, and her drowsy personality worries us."

Artoria agreed, "Race is not the standard by which we judge a person, it's what's in their heart."

Rui Mengmeng nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, exactly, Camie is very good and cute."

Sharkler remained silent; firstly, he didn't know Camie, and secondly, he was a robot created to help Dr. Kouenji find the Peace Star. Also, being a B-Series robot, he had always been treated the same as humans. He didn't have any greater ambitions.

Although Queen Otohime didn't know Camie, she knew that the child named Camie must have secretly come to the surface and met these people by coincidence. Curiosity-driven children like her were not uncommon on Fishman Island, but her focus wasn't on that:

"Friends... Would you be willing to be friends with the fish-men? That's fantastic!" Queen Otohime was almost on the verge of tears of joy. She had always believed that there were evildoers among humans, but also many kind-hearted individuals who would be willing to accept them.

"This... I advise you not to be too optimistic. We few can't represent the majority. In reality, many ordinary people don't know much about fish-men. Even if they have some impression, it mostly comes from pirates. As you said, due to lack of understanding, fear arises."

Adrian remembered when they talked about Fisher Tiger being a Warlord, Goodman had told him this. What they heard of and saw were mostly pirates; they hadn't met ordinary fish-men.

"Enough, it's enough like this. Just knowing that people like you exist is enough!" Queen Otohime felt that everything she did had meaning. The future of Fishman Island must surely be full of hope.

After managing to control her emotions, Queen Otohime organized her thoughts and said hopefully, "I know this might sound a bit presumptuous, but can I invite all of you to visit Fishman Island?"

Everyone was taken aback. Just a few days ago, they were discussing whether they could ride the Shark Titan to visit Fishman Island. Unexpectedly, today they received an invitation from the Queen of Fishman Island.

"Is that... convenient?" Adrian thought that Queen Otohime must be quite busy on this trip back home.

Queen Otohime nodded, "Of course, it's convenient. In fact, you'd be doing us a great favor. Everyone we've seen so far has been vicious pirates. That's why they're repelled. I want them to meet kind-hearted people like you."

Adrian was a bit tempted. They had been here for a while and he did want to go out and see. Riding the ship from Fishman Island would surely be safe. Even if something happened, the Shark Titan could quickly take them back to the surface.

"Then... those who want to visit Fishman Island, raise your hands."

Artoria was the first to raise her hand. She wanted to see what a country with such an outstanding Queen was like.

Sharkler raised his hand. "I want to see what real fish-men are like."

He had suffered a beating due to this incident, so he wanted to see the root cause of the misunderstanding.
Rui Mengmeng raised her hand, wanting to see Camie's homeland.

Tom enthusiastically raised both hands. Since everyone else was going, he didn't want to be left behind.

Adrian also raised his hand with a serious expression. "Alright, it's a unanimous decision. Thank you, Queen Otohime, for the invitation."

Queen Otohime said joyfully, "I'm honored to invite all of you!"

"Would you mind waiting for us here for a moment? I need to prepare a bit before we leave," Adrian asked. He needed to go back and get ready before heading out.

"Of course, I'll escort you there," Queen Otohime replied. It was a bit far from here to the Sabaody Archipelago.

"No need, this island isn't very friendly to you. Sharkler, stay here and protect the Queen. I'll take care of your stuff," Adrian declined her offer, knowing that the island wasn't very welcoming to Queen Otohime. Also, he understood what Sharkler would need to bring.

"Leave it to me," Sharkler said. All he needed to bring was toothpaste. Adrian knew him well.

"Boss, what about this?" Rui Mengmeng pointed to the unfortunate sea king.

"Cut off a portion and store it with me. It'll still be fresh when you take it out later. As for the rest, I'll contact the owner of the seafood store later. We might be able to make some extra money," Adrian doubted whether the small seafood store could handle such a large sea king.

Before getting off the ship, Adrian glanced at Queen Otohime, who was smiling: "Are you trusting us too much? We just happened to kill this sea king and help you

. What if we're bad people and have deceived you?"

Queen Otohime covered her chest with her hand and smiled, "I can feel your sincerity."

Adrian suddenly remembered, almost forgetting her special Conqueror's Haki. He didn't know to what extent she could use it, so he asked tentatively, "Mind-reading?"

Queen Otohime explained, "It's not as exaggerated as that. I can just sense strong emotions deep within others."

Moreover, she could easily resonate with others' emotions. She had once tearfully lectured a person who had turned to the wrong path due to their difficult circumstances. She had beaten him while saying, "I understand your sorrow." That wasn't just a platitude; she genuinely felt it.

Because she spoke from the other person's perspective, those who were reprimanded were more likely to accept her advice and change for the better.

Perhaps this ability was also what influenced that Celestial Dragon.

CN AN:

When I mention "fish-men," it includes both fish-men and merfolk. Otherwise, I'd have to keep writing "fish-men and merfolk," which is both tedious and troublesome.


[Also, I'm just a writer of smelly novels; everything in the story is purely fictional. Don't steer the conversation in strange directions, and for any strange political comments... don't blame me if I use the "delete and ban" technique.]