Robin could hardly believe her ears: This must be a hallucination before I die, right? Yes, it must be. But having such a hallucination isn't too bad!
At that moment, Robin felt a salty liquid trickle down the back of her neck. She turned her head and saw the person holding her tightly had removed his mask.
"Shan... Shan... Shanter! Is it really you?"
"It's me, girl, it's really me!"
Robin relaxed immediately, muttering softly, "I guess I'm not going to be killed."
Hearing this, Shanter felt a pang of sorrow. He gently caressed the right side of Robin's face, the one he had struck three years ago, and then ran his fingers through her smooth, silky long hair. He pulled her in even tighter. "As long as I'm here, no one can harm you!"
Then, in a somewhat clumsy manner, Shanter took out some bread and handed it to Robin. "Here, eat up. You've run so far, you must be hungry! After you're done, we'll find a place to stay."
"Mm." Robin's fear gradually began to subside. She obediently took the bread and started eating, occasionally glancing at Shanter cautiously.
Seeing Robin almost devour the bread, Shanter felt heartbroken. She must have suffered a lot!
Actually, if Shanter compared his own situation, he could roughly guess what Robin had been through. After all, both of them had been wanted criminals from a young age. While Robin's strength was far weaker than his, her bounty was much higher, which made it clear how difficult the past three years had been for her.
"Let's go!" Shanter scooped Robin up and started walking, and she didn't resist, letting him hold her in that uncomfortable position.
Although Shanter was only 12 years old, he had already reached 174 cm, almost a whole head taller than Robin. Not only could he carry her, he could even carry her on his shoulder if needed.
---
Inn - First Floor - Standard Double Room
"Alright, girl! We'll stay here for now!" Shanter set Robin down.
"Is it alright for us to stay in an inn?" Robin asked, worried. "But I'm a wanted criminal!"
"Relax, relax, don't worry," Shanter lightly patted Robin's head and reassured her, "No matter what happens, I will protect you!"
"But I'm a wanted criminal. Won't you hate me?" Robin timidly asked.
"Of course not! You're my sister!" Shanter affirmed firmly.
Then, without thinking, Shanter joked, "So you'd better listen to me from now on! Otherwise, I'll sell you for 79 million Berries! A huge sum!" He made a dramatic face after saying that.
Robin's face instantly turned pale, and her body started trembling.
Seeing this, Shanter slapped himself on the face. "Look at you, what kind of joke is that? Why bring up something like that?"
"Relax, relax, I'm sorry, girl. I was just joking!" Shanter quickly apologized.
"I know," Robin said, though she still looked worried.
"I'm sorry, girl! I was wrong, please forgive me!" Shanter regretted his thoughtless words and immediately softened, repeatedly slapping his own "left and right halves" as a sign of his remorse.
"It's alright," Robin forced a smile, her face returning to calm.
Shanter knew Robin was still a bit uneasy, but he couldn't make her feel better, and he hated himself for causing this unnecessary discomfort with his careless words.
---
Nighttime
"Girl, try my cooking, how does it taste?" Shanter served the food to Robin.
"It's quite good," Robin tasted it and gave her evaluation.
"Really? Thank you! I've been running around for three years, and didn't have many chances to cook a proper meal, so I thought my skills had gotten worse," Shanter said with a shy smile.
In reality, Shanter's cooking skills had declined. However, Robin had been constantly hiding these past three years, and just having something to eat was good enough. She had no chance to enjoy a proper meal, so she gave a slightly exaggerated evaluation.
Of course, Shanter's cooking skills were still pretty good. Although it was far below the level of the chefs at Baratie (which hadn't even been established yet), or the chef Jessica at the G-8 base (who wasn't at the G-8 at this time either), it was still better than most cooks.
"Eat and then rest. Go to sleep after. You can sleep in the inner room," Shanter said as Robin almost devoured the food, and he felt a bitter ache in his heart.
---
"Shanter, what about you?"
"I'll sleep outside! I'm not really tired yet!" Shanter rubbed Robin's head and ran his fingers through her smooth, glossy black hair.
"But I still want to read for a while."
"Do whatever you like! But don't stay up too late, it's bad for your health."
"Mm." Robin obediently nodded.
Robin entered the inner room, and Shanter sat cross-legged on the sofa, starting his daily essential practice—training his Haki.
There are many methods for training Haki, but they're all secretive, and Shanter didn't have any resources to acquire Haki training techniques, so he could only figure things out on his own.
For the "Armament Haki," Shanter strengthened it through constant fighting and training. He didn't have the conditions to train in it at the moment. As for the "Observation Haki," it was cultivated through comprehending the world, but in the past three years, Shanter's mind had been in turmoil, so he couldn't calm down to contemplate the profound mysteries of the world. Hence, his Observation Haki hadn't developed much.
So, the only remaining option was to cultivate the "Conqueror's Haki."
Shanter's method was quite peculiar—absolutely unique: remembering.
Yes, remembering. This was something Shanter had discovered by accident, and even he didn't know how it worked. Every time he remembered, his memory would flow backward, starting from yesterday and going all the way back to his early childhood, a time he couldn't even fully recall. Eventually, it would merge into a strange, dreamlike illusion and the deep, unknown chaos. And every time he woke from such deep recollections, Shanter felt an immense sense of joy and satisfaction, as if he had experienced many wonderful things and completed some great aspirations.
And every time this happened, his Conqueror's Haki would seem to increase slightly. Although Shanter wasn't sure if it was truly effective, the process was undeniably comfortable.
Just as Shanter immersed himself once again in his memories, he suddenly felt something was wrong. As he snapped back to reality, he saw a delicate little hand on the wall, which disappeared with a soft "pop."
Shanter immediately realized what had happened: It was Robin's ability—she was observing him!
A wave of intense anger surged within him, but it quickly dissipated, replaced by deep guilt and frustration. It's all my fault for not taking care of her.
"I'm sorry, girl, I know you don't trust me right now! And that's understandable; it's all my fault! For three whole years, I haven't been by your side, and you've endured so much hardship. And now, after saying such things, it's no wonder you'd be suspicious." Shanter clenched his fists, then released them, only to clench them again, repeating this process several times. "But don't worry, no matter what happens, no matter what you do, I will protect you!"
"Trust me, girl! My intentions will be clear to you!" Shanter absentmindedly rubbed his nose and absentmindedly pushed his left index finger upward.
---
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