Sally.
Snake Princess.
Hmm…
Snake Princess was the name of the Serpent Tribe girl.
The Serpent Tribe—half human on the upper body, and a serpent's body below. Similar in form to the merfolk.
Long ago—
The Serpent Tribe had once been part of Fish-Man Island.
However—
In an ancient war, the merfolk drove out the Serpent Tribe and became the royal race of Fish-Man Island, while the Serpent Tribe was cast into exile.
Under constant hunting and slaughter by humans, their numbers dwindled more and more.
To this day—
Whether there were even ten thousand Serpent Tribe members left in the entire world was uncertain.
Because of this—
Snake Princess could be sold for the staggering price of 100 million Beli.
After all—
A single Marine warship built at Water 7 cost roughly 100 million Beli.
For a slave to be worth that much was already astonishing.
At this moment—
Snake Princess and Sally had been brought onto the ship. Both girls trembled in fear, their bodies shaking.
If they had been bought by nobles, they might have suffered some hardship.
But if they were bought by pirates—
They might not even know how they died.
"Ike!" Newgate looked at the two girls, rubbing his chin. "They don't look like they're in a good state."
"Indeed."
Ike nodded. "If they're this scared, it could become a problem."
He wasn't afraid, but—
If they suddenly stabbed him in the middle of the night while sharing a bed…
That would be troublesome.
"Husband!"
"Brother!"
Selina stepped forward, her voice soft and gentle. "Leave these two sisters to me."
"Alright." Ike nodded. "Selina, I'll leave it to you."
"Mm."
With a gentle smile, Selina led the cautious Snake Princess and Sally into the cabin.
Meanwhile—
Ike and Newgate discussed finances.
"Big brother, the money situation is fine, right?" Ike asked.
"Gurararara~~~"
Newgate laughed carefreely. "No problem! Not a problem at all! Money? We've got as much as we need. If we run out, we just rob some more! Pick a wealthy country and take a few hundred million Beli—it's easy."
Honestly—
For a pirate as strong as Newgate, money meant nothing.
He didn't lack it.
He didn't need to target World Government member nations either.
Just pick a wealthy country without protection—
And taking three to five hundred million Beli was effortless.
For example—
Selina's homeland had obediently handed over 600 million Beli.
And they even called it a "dowry."
"As long as there's no problem with money, that's fine." Ike nodded. It would be embarrassing if they ended up broke just from buying Snake Princess.
"Still…"
Ike took out the treasure map and pondered. "Big brother, we might as well go take a look. Honestly, I feel like this map might be real."
"Real? Why?"
"Instinct."
Newgate's mouth twitched, clearly thinking Ike was messing with him.
But Ike genuinely felt it was real.
His intuition told him so.
As for whether a man's intuition was reliable—
That was another matter entirely.
"Fine then…"
Newgate smacked his lips, looking unconvinced. "Isn't that 'intuition' stuff something women talk about?"
"Big brother, just stop talking." Ike rolled his eyes.
"Alright, alright…"
Newgate still didn't believe it.
After all—
If a random treasure map—one they didn't even pay for—led them to one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades worth at least 7 billion Beli…
From then on, whatever his little brother said, he'd follow without question.
"This thing… is it real or not?"
Honestly, even Ike wasn't sure.
It did feel a bit strange.
But his instinct insisted—it was real.
Since they were sailing anyway—
They might as well go check it out.
That night—
Ike didn't know what Selina had said, but in the end, both Sally and Snake Princess obediently became his concubines.
Well—
Nothing more needed to be said.
The next day—
Ike prepared a proper wedding.
Even if they were concubines, each one deserved proper respect.
That much was unquestionable.
…
The joy of a wedding night was always delightful.
As the saying goes—
"The bridal chamber on the wedding night."
One of life's four great joys.
As for the other three—
Not important.
At least, not to Ike.
"Husband!"
Selina brought over a bowl of soup and handed it to him gently. "Husband, I made this for you."
"Good."
Ike took the bowl and drank it in one go.
The taste—
Was surprisingly excellent.
Looking at Selina, he hadn't expected her cooking to be this good.
"Hehe…"
Selina covered her mouth as she laughed softly.
She didn't say anything—
But her meaning was clear.
Husband—
Don't underestimate me.
In truth—
Although she was a princess, Selina wasn't a sheltered noble lady who had never done anything herself.
On the contrary—
She was skilled in many things.
While these skills might not seem remarkable—
At the right time, they proved invaluable.
And to her—
This was only natural.
Ike smiled as well.
After all—
Who wouldn't want harmony in their household?