"Like… I said it was the pirates who destroyed it," Gordon quickly calmed himself down and answered calmly.
'There is no way he could know since everyone in the world knows the story of it already,' It was a widely known fact that Elgia was destroyed by Shanks it was already an established fact and no one else aside from them knew what happened that day, not even Uta knew of the truth.
So, there was no way Adam didn't know about it but, Gordon's worries came true in the next instant.
"Why are you lying?" Adam asked with a small smile and Gordon was bathed in cold sweat.
"I-I am not," And even if he wanted to suppress the feeling of dread, but he could not do that in front of Adam, and that caused him to stumble on his words.
'It was a bad idea to let him in… even while knowing what he was,' Gordon thought as he looked about ready to attack Adam if needed, even if he knew that it could be futile since there was no way he would be able to do anything to Adam.
"Well, I can see that you have a good reason for lying, it is for the girl's sake right?" Adam asked and Gordon gulped his saliva since he had hit the nail right on the head.
'I thought he might not be after Uta but, did I make a mistake? I am sorry Shanks,' Gordon was really regretting his choices, but there was no way he could do anything anyway since Adam was already here.
"Now Now, no need to make that sort of face, I am not here to hurt you guys," Adam could read Gordon's line of thoughts easily just from his face.
"Then…. Why did you lie?" Gordon asked while narrowing his eyes and Adam smiled, There was no way this guy hadn't caught onto his lie since he already seemed to know him.
"It wasn't entirely a lie since I did end up here by chance but the lie was convenient so I told you guys one… and as you can see it was unraveled and now we look like enemies. It did nothing but worsen the situation," Adam tapped the table with his finger before continuing, "No matter how convenient a lie is …in the end, it will cause things to get worse when the truth comes out and cause more harm than what you try to avoid."
'There's no way… does he know?' Gordon's eyes widened but…
"I don't know why you have lied to Uta but you should know that because of that lie. She now has an intense hate for Pirates and part of that hate is also directed at herself," Adam had noticed it right away when he saw Uta at the pier and after Gordon mentioned what happened to Elgia.
"But…" Gordon was at a loss, it wasn't that he wanted to lie, it was just that…
"I know that you must have a good reason for that and I am not chastising you for lying since it can help the situation now... but you also need to think about what you'll do in the future since depending on your choice her life could be altered greatly," Adam said as he stood up leaving Gordon in the dining room.
'I know that he isn't wrong but what can I do?' Gordon slumped on his chair, There was no way he could tell Uta about the truth since it might cause her to break.
That is why he lied alongside Shank's crew to keep Uta safe even if it meant that she'd hate them, and he knew that he had to tell her the truth sometime in the future but…
'I can't…. I can't do it….' Gordon grabbed his head, he couldn't help but think what the truth could do to Uta, just like Adam had said the lie was more convenient in this situation, but he also understood that if he continued with this lie there was no knowing what damage it could do to her when she learns of the truth herself.
'Is that why I invited him …here?' Gordon knew who Adam was and what he did, No it would be true to say that most people in this world would know him, even then he invited him in here.
What was his purpose?
'Was It so that I can die and I don't have to tell Uta the truth?' Gordon gritted his teeth, It was a cowardly move that he had made unconsciously just like he had continued to let Uta live in the lie because he wasn't strong enough to tell her the truth.
"Damn…It," Gordon was crushed, this wasn't good, this wasn't what he promised.
And while Gordon was in this state of mental turmoil the night came.
"…No dinner?" Adam asked as soon as he came into the dining room again.
"Huh?" Gordon looked up, his face covered in tears and snot as he realized what Adam was talking about.
"I didn't make any dinner for Uta!!" Gordon stood up in shock as the chair went flying behind him, he hastily wiped his face as he was about to run off to get something done because it was already past dinner time but…
"Get Uta. I already made the dinner," Adam said with a smile as he turned to get back to the kitchen.
"What…?" Gordon froze in place and looked at Adam.
"I mean I got the dinner covered just go and get Uta. It is getting late," Adam shook his head as Gordon rushed away after hearing that it was late.
It wasn't good for a kid to go without food, especially when their diet was already limited. But Gordon knew that Uta wouldn't complain, she didn't even come down to ask what was happening when there was no call for dinner today.
"Uta, Dinner is ready!" Gordon said as he knocked on the door to her room and…
"…Yes," He got her usual bland response, this was how she had been since the day Elgia was destroyed and he had to lie to her.
'She still has ...that day on her mind,' Gordon could see that from the way Uta behaved, the only thing she would do in her room was look out of the window and then she would go to the pier once in a while.
It was like she was waiting for something not to mention that…
'She had even stopped singing since then, Someone like her who used to be so happy while singing... has stopped it,' Gordon couldn't help but think things over in his head, but no matter how much he tried he couldn't tell her the truth.
"Oh, you two finally came, I thought the food might get cold," It was then that the two heard Adam's voice which made the two look up and…
"W-What?" Gordon was shocked to see the amount of food on the table, it was nonsensical since Uta wouldn't eat more than one plate and he himself didn't have the appetite these days.
But Adam could feed more than 10 people with that amount of food easily, not to mention that…
'What's with this different amount of food? Where did he get the ingredients?' Gordon thought as Uta silently went to her seat, she wasn't even focused on the food.
'I'll just eat a little and then go back,' Uta thought as she picked up her spoon and took a spoonful of the fried rice topped with an egg.
She wasn't thinking of who made the food or how it looked or where the ingredients suddenly came from, she didn't care at this moment since it didn't matter at all.
But that changed as soon as she took a bite…
Her hand moved and she took a second bite, then the third, and within seconds she had finished the plate.
And this was the time even she'd stop, She didn't care what was made, she'd never have more than one plate, but today her hands refused to listen as she grabbed drumsticks with both of her hands and started to munch down on them.
'W-What?' Gordon couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Uta eating like that.
He hadn't seen her eat that way in over a year, after that incident she had never eaten more than a plate and never complained about anything.
But now...
'She is eating ...so well!' Gordon was moved to tears just by seeing this but Adam gestured him to try some of the food.
'I want to leave all of it for Uta but, I'll try…' Gordon was also hooked by the appetizing aroma of the dishes, but he was too focused on Uta to care to be taken over by the food before.
But all of that changed as soon as he took a bite of the Napolitan.
"Tasty~!!"