HST: Chapter 240/241

Chapter 240: Of Course I Forgive Her!

Robin's sudden action startled Caelan, but fortunately, he reacted quickly and immediately held Olvia in his arms.

"What are you thinking?" Caelan knocked Robin on the head unhappily. "Just shaking hands can also transfer magic power, it's only slower."

Although when he first saw Olvia, the thought of being a thief had briefly crossed his mind, he wasn't in such a hurry to kiss her the moment they met.

Given the bond between them, there was no need to rush and make everyone uncomfortable.

"Oh, oh!"

Robin covered her head in pain and nodded embarrassedly.

She had just been too anxious and lost her composure.

Only now did she remember that Caelan had already explained before, this wasn't the only way to replenish magic, just the most convenient and fastest.

Otherwise, if he summoned a male Heroic Spirit, would that mean kissing him to restore magic? That would be disgusting.

Seeing Robin admit her mistake, Caelan didn't mock her. He simply held Olvia's hand and silently transferred magic power into her.

Like Robin, they looked like twin sisters.

Caelan observed silently.

After becoming a Heroic Spirit, Olvia retained the figure and appearance she had twenty years ago, when she was twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

Standing beside Robin, who was now twenty-eight herself, the two looked like sisters.

Even in temperament, as women of similar age and the same profession, they weren't that different.

If anything, it made Olvia even more tempting.

Caelan shook his head and concentrated on channeling magic power.

In his arms, Olvia recovered quickly under the supply of magic.

So comfortable.

Olvia felt a warm current flowing from her right hand into her whole body.

Her body grew warm, like a cat basking in the sun.

Behind her, she sensed a huge heat source, overflowing with endless energy.

I want more.

Olvia shifted restlessly in Caelan's arms.

She kept rubbing her head against his chest like a kitten craving comfort.

The mix of maturity and cuteness was almost irresistible.

He hadn't done anything.

But Olvia's restlessness left him helpless.

But surrounded by so many women, now was not the time to let himself react.

"Stare!"

Robin shot a death glare at her restless mother.

But she clearly saw that Caelan wasn't moving at all. It was her mother who was writhing restlessly.

This was supposed to be a simple replenishment of magic. Why did it look so exaggerated?

And since her mother looked almost identical to her, Robin felt an ugly jealousy stirring.

I can endure this!

It's just normal magic replenishment!

Robin took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm her turbulent emotions.

At that moment, Olvia, having recovered a little, grew even worse.

So close to such an abundant energy source, yet unable to fully grasp it, she was dazed and driven only by instinct.

Following that source, Olvia pressed her warm lips against it.

"Um!?"

Caelan, who had been silently reciting scriptures, was suddenly startled.

Everyone saw it. He hadn't done anything. She had kissed him herself!

He silently responded to Olvia's enthusiasm, casting Robin an apologetic look.

Even though he had strength greater than Kaido's, he could not resist the kiss of a frail woman.

There was always something capable of conquering something else. This was proof.

"Mua!"

Olvia sealed Caelan's lips, greedily drawing energy.

Powerful magic surged into her body, slowly stabilizing her weakened Heroic Spirit form.

In an instant, Olvia grew quiet, like a dead phone connected to a charger.

But she would need to maintain this posture a while longer before her body reached a safe level.

Robin was furious at the sight before her.

For a fleeting moment, she even thought it would have been better if Olvia hadn't been resurrected.

"Don't be angry. These two are your closest people!"

Robin kept reminding herself to calm down.

Her mother's resurrection was a blessing. Caelan's successful transformation was also a blessing.

How could two good things happening at once still make her feel so uncomfortable?

But Olvia was her mother, someone worth protecting for life.

What could she do? Of course she forgave her.

There were already too many women competing for this man. What was one more?

Right?

Robin forced herself to calm down, wearing the green hat of forgiveness firmly.

…

The other girls were stunned.

"Olvia kissed Caelan on her own!"

Nami tugged Nojiko's sleeve and whispered.

"In that case… how about asking Caelan to revive Bell-mère?"

Nojiko's face suddenly tensed with distress.

She and Nami had already seen him resurrect Olvia, and they had thought of asking him to bring Bell-mère back too.

But if she were resurrected, wouldn't it be too embarrassing?

"Let's wait and see first."

Nami also looked conflicted, unsure what to do.

She was already used to sharing a bed with Nojiko.

But if Bell-mère were suddenly there too, how awkward would that be?

(To be continued.)

Chapter 241: The Art of Pretending to Be Stupid

After Caelan and Olvia had been connected for about two and a half minutes, her body was filled with magic power.

Just like with Nami and Robin, Caelan had given Olvia a year's worth of magic in one transfer.

If he really wanted to pursue Olvia, doing so under the pretext of replenishing her magic would be far too despicable.

Time was eternal. It would be more enjoyable to take it slowly.

All he could think was, woman, you have successfully caught my attention.

"However, I really need to research a wireless magic replenishment technique."

Caelan thought to himself.

Kissing Olivia felt pretty good, but he didn't plan for all of his Heroic Spirits to be women, and not all female Heroic Spirits would be suited for this method either.

If he summoned Roger and Rocks, two powerful men, they too would urgently need magic replenishment.

Wouldn't it be ridiculous to see two burly, bearded men trying to awkwardly approach each other?

Forget kissing, even shaking hands would make him uncomfortable.

Fortunately, with the magical knowledge he had inherited from the Saintess of the Winter and the complete understanding of the Third Magic, it would only take a little time to design a contactless magic replenishment device.

Two or three days, maybe a week at most.

Such a simple technique wouldn't take long.

While Caelan was thinking, Olvia stirred in his arms as she woke up.

The scenes of her desperately clinging to him just moments ago kept replaying in her mind.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What did I just do?

Oh my god!

She had just passionately kissed Robin's man. Was that something she should have done?

Olvia cracked her eyes open slightly and glanced at Robin, only to see her daughter's gloomy face, looking on the verge of breaking down.

Damn it, Robin's angry!

In an instant, Olvia quickly shut her eyes and curled up in Caelan's arms, motionless like a corpse.

Her years of life experience told her that pretending to be unconscious was the best way to get through such an embarrassing situation.

Just like when a captain and vice-captain had been caught in an "accidental" romantic moment, as long as everyone pretended to know nothing, then nothing had happened.

As she thought this, Olvia secretly nudged Caelan's stomach with her hand hidden in his arms, hoping he would play along.

Already awake?

Caelan sensed her actions and was momentarily stunned.

Just as he was about to speak, he noticed her hand trembling slightly.

So she's embarrassed.

Caelan immediately understood and covered for her. "The magic I transferred just now was too much. Olvia's body is too weak to handle it. She needs to rest for the night before she wakes up."

"I see."

Robin gave a wry smile.

She could tell at a glance that Olvia was faking. Her face was red as a monkey's backside. How could she possibly be unconscious?

But, for her mother's pride and for the sake of their relationship with Caelan, Robin decided to play along.

This family will fall apart without me.

"It's late now. Let me take her back to rest."

Robin calmly took Olvia from Caelan's arms.

It had only been five hours since Tesoro and his men evacuated Dressrosa. By now, it was two or three in the morning. It was just the right time to return and sleep.

"Yeah, it's getting late, haha."

Nami, Vivi, and the others nearby had enjoyed watching the drama, but they also knew when to stop.

Even Hancock, usually the most self-centered, understood how awkward the atmosphere was right now.

As for Nami and Nojiko's earlier thought of asking Caelan to resurrect Bell-mère, that would be better left for a private conversation later.

If it were them in this situation, how mortifying would it be?

"Well, good night, everyone."

What else could Caelan say? He silently opened the exit of the Reality Marble.

One after another, Nami, Vivi, and the others left without hesitation.

Robin also stepped out with Olvia in her arms and returned to her room.

"Hey, how long are you going to keep pretending?"

Robin tossed her mother onto the big bed, dissatisfied.

Even while carrying her, she could feel Olvia's heart pounding furiously. It was impossible to hide.

"Robin, I was wrong!"

Olvia stopped pretending, hugging Robin and sincerely admitting her mistake.

It really wasn't her fault.

Sensing Caelan's overwhelming magic, she simply couldn't help herself. She wanted to be closer to him, to stick to him, to absorb his energy.

"If this happens again, will you still do it?"

Robin asked with her hands on her hips, unrelenting.

"No!"

Olvia's tone was firm at first, but her voice weakened at the end.

If it happened again, she probably wouldn't be able to resist.

What else could she do? She was desperate too.

She had already been poisoned by Caelan, unable to control herself.

Seeing Olvia like this, Robin understood. If it happened again, her mother would definitely dare to do it.

"Ah, I'm going to kill you!"

Robin shouted, throwing Olvia onto the bed.

Normally calm and mature at twenty-eight, she now showed her childish side in front of her mother.

"Mercy, I was wrong!"

Olvia raised her hands in surrender, completely abandoning her dignity as a mother.

She was clearly at fault, so she couldn't be forceful.

What's more, in this moment, Robin seemed like the eight-year-old girl in her memories again, leaving Olvia completely powerless to resist.

"What's the point of having a boyfriend, little girl? Why don't you let your mother take care of him for you first?"

Olvia teased, like a parent justifying confiscating their child's New Year's money.

"Haha, you old woman!"

Robin bit Olvia's lips in embarrassment.

This mother truly had no remorse at all.

"How can I be old? I'm only twenty-seven, which means I'm even younger than little Robin."

Olvia said unhappily.

Age was the one taboo women couldn't touch.

She had died at twenty-seven, and that was the age she had been preserved at.

So in terms of age, she was the winner.

"Ahhh, you still dare to say that!"

Robin scratched her head frantically, utterly exasperated.

She activated the Flower-Flower Fruit, sprouting several arms to pin Olvia down, and began teaching her a more vigorous lesson.

Inside the room, the mother and daughter who looked so alike played together.

If no one explained, most people would have thought they were sisters.

Even with her silver hair, Olvia looked more like a mischievous younger sister teasing her elder one.

During this playful scuffle, the twenty-year gap between Robin and Olvia faded away, and even the earlier awkwardness seemed to vanish.

The two eventually fell asleep while fooling around, faint smiles lingering on their faces.

(To be continued.)