“You’ve gotten quite a bit stronger, Katakuri.
Looks like you could’ve handled things here on your own.”
Nanamo shook her arm lightly, then grabbed a pirate flag stuck nearby and wiped her hands on it.
Their battles had ended almost simultaneously.
The Fat Wine Bottle Pirate Crew had, by this point, been completely erased from the sea.
“No, Big Sister.
Having you help saved a lot of trouble… what are you looking for?”
Katakuri walked over to retrieve his trident, then turned to see Nanamo rummaging through the supplies piled nearby.
“The pirates’ treasure, of course.
What else would I be looking for?
This was their base, wasn’t it?”
“…Uh.”
The way she had fought just moments ago made Katakuri forget something important—his “big sister” was, in fact, somewhat of a treasure fanatic with a strong interest in spoils of war.
Although they were called siblings, Nanamo was quite different from the rest of the Charlotte family.
Nereus and Charlotte Linlin had separated early, and their relationship hadn’t lasted long either.
Nanamo had spent most of her time on Nereus’s side.
While she did occasionally play with the others, it was more like being the neighbor’s kid than a true family bond.
To Katakuri, this “big sister” wasn’t unfamiliar—but she wasn’t someone he fully understood either.
“Relax, relax.
We’ll split it fifty-fifty.
No need to worry.
Hermes!
Stop hovering up there and come down to help!”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
Nanamo ignored him and continued rummaging.
Soon she found several treasure chests.
Without even opening them to check what was inside, she casually split them in half as if picking blind boxes.
She then tossed her share toward Hermes, who had just landed.
Seeing the incoming chests, Hermes opened its mouth and swallowed them one by one.
Its cloud body swelled noticeably larger.
Its structure was quite complex—essentially a fusion of all types of Sky Island clouds.
Inside, it contained a special “stomach” formed from Orb Clouds and Swamp Clouds.
Orb Clouds were spherical clouds capable of holding objects, while Swamp Clouds had a marsh-like nature that could contain and absorb a great deal of material.
Although it didn’t possess a true spatial storage ability, it could still function like a portable pocket—something Hermes frequently made use of.
“Princess Nanamo, please be careful.
These guys are too weak… unnaturally so.
For people of this level to ambush Mama’s children, I think the mastermind behind this hasn’t made a move yet.”
As an elemental lifeform, Hermes had no fixed physical form.
Its eyes shifted around its body, carefully scanning the surroundings.
Although Homies possessed intelligence, Hermes was made of various types of clouds.
If it were an animal, like the Kung-Fu Dugong from the original timeline, it might have been able to cultivate Haki through training.
But for Hermes, such a thing was practically impossible.
This was also why Homies generally only served in support roles.
Without Observation Haki to sense its surroundings, Hermes could only rely on sight.
“Mamama~ Mamama… Hermes, you’re as timid as ever.
Don’t worry, there are no enemies left around here.”
A familiar voice came from nearby, causing Hermes to relax its vigilance.
That voice belonged to its creator—Charlotte Linlin.
Still, Hermes couldn’t help but defend itself.
“Mama, this isn’t cowardice—it’s prudence!
I’m protecting Princess Nanamo’s safety!”
“Your ‘prudence’ is a bit excessive.
I thought we were dealing with some serious opponent—Perospero even rushed to contact me.
Turns out it was just a bunch of small fry.”
Charlotte Linlin had come here because Perospero had ultimately followed Hermes’ suggestion and contacted her.
But the scene before her made her feel like she had come for nothing.
A cap-wearing Zeus floated over to Hermes’ side.
Although they were different clouds, their natures were quite similar.
“Hermes, what tasty stuff did you get?
Share some with me~”
Zeus’s voice was languid.
The gluttonous cloud immediately noticed Hermes’s now round, treasure-swollen belly, and to Zeus, anything inside it could only be food.
Hermes said nothing, silently drifting away, seemingly embarrassed by this senior who was always thinking about eating.
Zeus, however, persistently chased after it, and the two clouds began circling each other in midair.
Charlotte Linlin no longer paid attention to Hermes and the Homies.
This was just how they were—she had long since gotten used to it.
…
“Mamama~ Mamama… Katakuri, as expected, you are my most outstanding son.
You’ve improved again.”
“Mama, about Brûlée…”
“There’s no threat to her life.
It’s just a minor injury—nothing worth worrying about.”
After dealing with the enemy, Katakuri continued to worry about Brûlée’s condition, but Charlotte Linlin showed no concern at all.
As long as no one died, injuries didn’t matter in her eyes.
Compared to a daughter weak enough to be targeted for revenge, she was far more interested in the powerful “daughter” standing before her.
“Nanamo… how is life living with that Nereus guy?
It’s about time you came back to live with Mama, isn’t it?
Your younger brothers and sisters are all here.
This is your real home.”
When it came to custody of her children, Charlotte Linlin placed great importance on it.
More precisely, what she had was not maternal affection, but a pure desire for control.
She had a particular kind of obsession with her children.
She might not necessarily “like” them, but they had to act strictly within the boundaries she set.
Her children were not allowed to defy her.
They were expected to carry out every order perfectly, and failure meant punishment.
For example, the original Sweet Commanders had once been reduced from four to three after a single failure.
At this point in time, Linlin was still relatively young, so this tendency was somewhat restrained.
In her old age, however, this philosophy would be taken to its absolute extreme.
Under normal circumstances, Linlin would never hand over custody of her children to anyone else.
Nanamo was an exception.
Of course, back then she had also tried to take the child back—but the root cause of this situation was simple: she couldn’t beat Nereus.
In the ordinary world, people would settle custody disputes through legal proceedings.
The two of them settled it with a single thing: violence.
At Linlin’s question, Nanamo’s movements stiffened for a moment.
After blinking, she replied rather tactfully,
“Well… actually, living with Dad has been pretty good.
I think this arrangement works just fine.”
Linlin’s question made Nanamo slightly uncomfortable.
It wasn’t the first time she had asked it—almost every meeting ended up like this.
Nanamo herself didn’t want to follow Linlin’s wishes, but she was constantly forced into this kind of conversation.
Still, she couldn’t simply ignore her mother.
“…Mamama~ Mamama I see.
Then let’s leave it like that for now.”
Linlin’s expression darkened at Nanamo’s answer, but the shadow vanished almost instantly.
She quickly returned to a smile, like a kind and loving mother.
However, to Katakuri, this “compromise” looked like something entirely different.