"Everyone—"

  "Linlin, Big Sis..."

  "Linlin, you're awake!"

  "Are you okay, Linlin..."

  "Sorry for causing everyorouble!"

  "Not at all, Linlin. No one wahis to happen, and we know you didn’t do it on purpose!"

  "Boss El is over there. Do you want to see him?"

  That afternoon, Linlin woke up from her a.

  The first thing she did was run outside the , gazing bnkly at the chaotic se before her.

  The children from Dream House, though still showing her respect as their "Big Sis," now carried a sense of fear in their as. They were no longer as enthusiastic as before. Linlin could see the fear lurking deep in their eyes, even though they tried to hide it.

  However, what brought her some fort was that her old panions from the inal Sheep’s House still greeted her cheerfully, just like before.

  No one bmed her, and no one deliberately distahemselves from her.

  Unfortunately, everyone had grown up. Besides their training, they were now busy with their own responsibilities and no longer had time to py together as they once did.

  Especially when Linlin looked at Dreamnd, still in ruie being partially restored by El’s fruit powers.

  Normally cheerful, straightforward, and kind, Linlin—who could easily set aside her high rank in the Fallen Angel Pirates to py happily with everyone—now felt a wave of sadness.

  She truly didn’t want things to be like this.

  But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t trol herself.

  “I’m sorry, Oni-…”

  Like a child who had done something wrong, she approached El, full of guilt.

  Standing at over seveers tall, the slender aiful girl hung her head in deep self-bme. There wasn’t a trace of the bloodthirsty, ferocious, and violent figure she had been in the m.

  “It’s okay, Linlin. You don’t o bme yourself…”

  El, of course, did not reprimand her.

  He gently patted her head and smiled, saying, “You’ve done well. At least, before I got back, you were able to suppress your destructive urges aain some rationality without causing too much damage!”

  “And pared to before, you’ve made a lot ress!”

  This wasn’t just a f remark; El had truly noticed great improvement in Linlin.

  With a gentle smile, he looked her in the eyes and said early, “I believe that as long as you keep trying, you’ll eventually be able to suppress that ravenous hunger with your willpower and overe your straing disorder!”

  “But so many years have passed, and I still ’t do it. I ’t suppress this strange illness!”

  This ret outburst had clearly left Linlin feeling down, and she slumped in discement.

  “Don’t be in such a rush, thinking everything has to happen all at once. As long as there’s progress, that’s a good thing…”

  El pced his hand on her shoulder, tinuing to ence her: “You o have fidend patien everything you do, and believe in yourself unshakably!”

  “In the end, it’s just aing disorder. If you work hard to sharpen your willpower aermination, you’ll overe it one day!”

  “Mm-hmm—” Linlin nodded early.

  Looking at El, her Oni- who had always cared for her like a big brother, her fideurned once again.

  Her previous sadness and discement faded, repced by a bright smile.

  "But, everyone…”

  She seemed to remember something and instinctively g the children in the distance, clearing rubble and preparing to rebuild Dreamnd.

  “Don’t worry about how those kids are ag…”

  El wasn’t surprised and smiled as he said, “It’s impossible for ao be universally liked. Just like how gold gleams, drawing tless admirers, there will still be those who don’t care for it…”

  “They’re just iably filled with fear and awe of your overwhelming power!”

  At the core, the children were simply scared of the terrifying force Linlin had unleashed in her frenzy, seeing her as a monster.

  But this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

  Sometimes, a bit of respectful fear was needed.

  El wasn’t naive enough to believe that everyone in the world was born equal, nor did he have any iion of ging that pletely.

  In the dream nation he sought to create, where all races could live in peace, harmony was the goal.

  But he wasn’t a saint; there was no way he could be selfless or without personal ambitions.

  Iure, the Lunarian race was destio stand at the top of the world.

  And Linlin, as the one he had long since chosen as his “primary queen”—

  Or rather, the future “empress” of the Lunarian god race—

  Naturally o be respected.

  "Linlin, you’re awake…”

  In the distance, Gerd, who was helping up, immediately dropped her tasks and ran over joyfully upon hearing that Linlin had awakened.

  Over the years, the two girls had developed a deep bond.

  They had bee inseparable, sharing everything like sisters.

  "Gerd—" Linlin squinted her eyes happily, showing a bright smile as she dashed over and hugged her friend.

  After all, only Gerd and the others wouldn’t fear or distahemselves from her.

  Scratg her head, Linlin said awkwardly, “Sorry for making everyone worry!”

  “Hehe, it’s okay, don’t be too hard on yourself. Linlin, you’re an ho and kind girl—you didn’t mean to do it…” Gerd ughed, f her.

  Such a level of damage might have been catastrophi Elbaf, but for the Fallen Angel Pirates, it wasn’t a big deal.

  With El’s fruit powers, everything could be easily restored in time.

  And given the curreh of the Hell Trading pany, this kind of loss was insignifit.

  “Linlin, it’s not like you don’t have friends, right?”

  El smiled, lightly ping Linlin’s cheek. He said with a ugh, “Me, Gerd, Hajrudin, and the others, along with the kids from the inal Sheep’s House—no one dislikes you or fears your presence, right?”

  “You’re a natural-born monster, just like me. We were destio stand at the top of this o, to be admired and feared by tless people…”

  “No matter how others fear, envy, or resent us... That’s an ungeable fact!”

  “Right, all we have to do is be true to ourselves. Don’t worry too much about what others think…”

  As El spoke, Gerd, who had just arrived, seemed to grasp what had been troubling Linlin.

  With gentle uanding, she stroked Linlin’s head and said with a smile, “Mountain Beard once said that pirates should live freely, unbound by anything…”

  “And Old Waterfall Beard also said that overthinking and w too much about every little thing will only make life exhausting and leave you with nothing but wasted time!”

  “Eh? Did the two of them really say that?”

  Linlin seemed to uand but was also full of surprise, her eyes wide in amazement.

  She had deep resped admiration for those two former leaders of the Giant Warrior Pirates, the world’s oldest warriors. She had followed El many times to visit them in Elbaf and loved hearing their thrilling, adventurous stories from the past.

  “So, Linlin, don’t think too much…”

  El chuckled softly, patting her head, and said with a smile, “In short, all you and Gerd o do is follow my lead…”

  “I’ll guide you to the very top of the world!”

  Equality? In the end, that was only retive.

  How could true equality ever exist?

  At best, beh the Lunarian race…

  All beings would be equal.

  Democracy? Freedom?

  None of that mattered to him!

  "El/Oni-—"

  At that moment, Linlin and Gerd, filled with excitement, gazed in admiration at the tall, handsome, and imposing figure before them.

  It was clear that only a man of such strength and ambition could capture the hearts of those who, as they grew, saw the world with sharper vision aheir sights ever higher.