That Night

  Gloriosa returo Amazon Lily. But this time, she wasn’t alone—El himself had e with her.

  Gloriosa had finally made up her mind to officially abdicate as the Empress of Amazon Lily and pass ohroo Shakuyaku, who, despite being only twenty years old, was already the stro warrior under her rule.

  …

  “What?”

  They were ihe brightly lit pace. The now fully matured, stunningly beautiful, and valiant Shakuyaku widened her eyes in disbelief. She stared at Gloriosa, then shifted her gaze to El, who sat beside her with a faint smile, pletely stunned.

  “You wao be the Empress of the Kuja?”

  “Gloriosa-sama, please don’t joke about something like this!”

  She had always been fident irength, but the gap between her and Gloriosa-sama was immense. How could she possibly take on such a heavy responsibility?

  “No, I’m not joking, Shakuyaku…”

  Gloriosa—still as dazzlingly beautiful as ever despite being ihirties—spoke with a serious expression:

  “I took on the burden of leading Amazon Lily at seventeen and have protected this nation for over a decade. But I’m truly… exhausted.”

  “And you’re already capable of standing on your own. I entrust the Kuja to you with fidence.”

  “But… with my strength…”

  “Don’t worry.”

  Gloriosa patted Shakuyaku’s shoulder and smiled.

  “With your power, you should have no issue proteg Amazon Lily and leading the Kuja Pirates on expeditions.”

  “After all, I’m stepping down as Empress simply so I spend more time by El’s side—not to cut ties with the Kuja and abandohing.”

  “If the Kuja are ever in danger, of course, I won’t just stand by and watch.”

  “I see…”

  Shakuyaku’s expression turned plicated. After some hesitation, she finally sighed aantly agreed. But then, as if remembering something, she g El before firmly adding:

  “But Gloriosa-sama, El-sama—you two must promise me ohing.”

  “Oh?”

  El raised a brow and chuckled. “And what might that be?”

  “Wheime es, Medusa must be the Empress of the Kuja.”

  Shakuyaku decred bluntly, “You ot keep her in Totto Land.”

  “If you promise me that, I’ll take the throne for now and step down once she turns sixteen.”

  “You want to rex and stay by El-sama’s side? Well, so do I.”

  She licked her lips, her eyes burning with longing as she gazed at El. She had met many men in her life, but none could pare to this one. With how often El visited Amazon Lily and personally guided her training, how could she possibly settle for a mediocre man? She had long since made up her mind—and her bold advances had already made that abundantly clear.

  “Medusa, huh?” Gloriosa was caught off guard. She had already known about Shakuyaku and El, but she hadn’t really cared. After all, El had many women—one more wasn’t going to make a difference. She knew all too well the kind of destructive charm El had over the women of Amazon Lily. There were even times when she had to summon the Guardian Warriors to "rescue" her; otherwise, she simply couldn’t keep up.

  She g El and, seeing that he had no objes to Medusa iing the throne, she nodded lightly. “Alright, that’s fine.”

  “Then it’s settled!” Shakuyaku beamed. Now, she only o be Empress for six years, and then she would finally be free to stay by El’s side. She kly how much potential Medusa had. Among the younger geion, no one could surpass her. Even though she was only ten, her icy beauty bined with her Love-Love Fruit made her incredibly dangerous. Even now, Shakuyaku wasirely sure if she could defeat Medusa in a serious fight. Her ability was simply too terrifying.

  “I’ll announce my abdication tomorrow,” Gloriosa said with a smile. “The ation will be in three days—any objes?”

  “Three days? Isn’t that a little… rushed?”

  Shakuyaku’s eyes widened. “It’s already been over a decade—I’d say I’ve waited long enough.”

  Gloriosa boldly seated herself on El’s p—having shrunk her body to three meters using Life Return. She ed her arms around his neck, her gaze filled with deep affe. To be ho, from the moment she met El, she had wao throw everything away and run off with him. Looking back, she was grateful that El had talked her out of it. Otherwise, in her lovestruck haze, she had no doubt that she would have abandoned her people, and Amazon Lily would have bee in chaos.

  “Fine…” Shakuyaku sighed. She relutly took o longing look at El and prepared to leave.

  “Then, Gloriosa-sama, El-sama—I’ll take my leave—”

  “o be in such a rush. Stay a while.”

  El’s goldewinkled mischievously as he gazed at the soon-to-be former and future Empresses of the Kuja. He had never hidden his iions from Gloriosa.

  “H-Huh?” Shakuyaku’s face flushed red in an instant. She hadn’t expected El to say something so bold.

  “e on, you little liar—stop pretending.” Gloriosa narrowed her eyes and smirked. “You’ve been staring at him this whole time—your feet probably wouldn’t move even if you tried to leave.”

  “Hmph! You’re oo talk, Gloriosa-sama.” Shakuyaku, ever fearless, shot back without hesitation. She cared nothing floriosa’s title as Empress. She boldly stepped forward, seating herself on El’s , and ed her arms around his neck like a serpent.

  “Is this enough?” Gloriosa, radiating allure, fshed El a teasing smile. “Or should I summon Lily and the others too?”

  “Not this time.” El ughed. Though he spent much of his time training intensely on the Red Line, pushing his body and will to the limit, he had never oneglected the beauty of life. Blood, sweat, and toil were essential for being stronger. But power was meaningless if one did not also appreciate life’s pleasures. He had no iion of denying himself those pleasures.

  Bleam