3 Chapter 3. Arriving In Logue Town

The duo played with each other for some hours without caring about the time and the people who were getting disturbed because of the sounds.

In the afternoon, the duo came out of his room after cleaning themselves thoroughly. They both went straight to the deck of the ship to watch the sea.

"Prepare two seats for us." He gave the order to one of the sailors who nodded and immediately walked inside the cabin.

Soon he came back with two chairs in his hands followed by another sailor who was carrying a large umbrella.

They placed the chairs on the deck and then placed the large umbrella behind the chairs so it could protect them from the sunlight.

The duo sat on the chairs and began to look at the majestic sea in front of them. For Sophie, it was her everyday view however for Carl, this was something very new.

"How long will it take us to reach the Gates of Justice, Momousagi?" He asked out loud while glancing at the Vice-Admiral who was standing at the end of the deck.

"We are very close to Marineford now," Momousagi replied calmly. Her eyes were fixed on the figure of the Marineford in front of her.

Carl nodded at her words and didn't ask anything. Instead, he turned to look at his guard only to see her yawning cutely. He chuckled amusingly, attracting her attention. "You can take a nap, Sophie. We are very close to Marineford now so no one would be dumb enough to attack us." 

A smile appeared on her face when she heard his suggestion. "If Lady Augur learnt about this, she would be very furious about it." Even though she spoke such words, she still closed her eyes to relax.

Soon a crescent moon-shaped island that is composed completely of bricks and steel, with cannons on the edges appeared in front of his eyes. This was the Marineford, the main base of Marines where the higher-ups lived along with the low levelled officers and their families.

The ship passed through the giant Gates of Justice and entered Marineford Bay. The captain of the ship circled the ship around the Bay and then came in front of the Gates of Justice.

Though this time, the moment the ship entered the Gates of Justice, it was affected by the Tarai current causing its speed to be increased by a large margin.

The Tarai Current was a very dangerous area as it was filled by a lot of sea kings just like the Calm Belt so if anyone wants to sail there, they would need a ship whose bottom is coated by sea stone.

Since he hasn't eaten since the morning, he ordered one of the sailors to bring some food for him. The sailor nodded and hurriedly walked inside to prepare fresh food.

From the captain's cabin, a sailor came out and walked toward the place where Carl was. He lowered his eyes in front of him and spoke in a respectful tone. "According to the captain, the ship will reach the Calm Belt in half an hour." 

"I see..." Carl nodded at him with a thoughtful expression. "From the Calm Belt, how long would it take for us to reach the East Blue?"

"East Blue….?" The sailor mumbled and began to think about the distance. "Since we will appear in the middle of the Calm Belt, it will take us around 3 to 4 hours to reach East Blue."

"Logue town should be the nearest island from there, right?" Carl asked to which he nodded affirmatively. "You can go now. Make sure to inform me when we are near Logue town."

"I understand, young master." The sailor nodded and walked back to the captain's room.

After some time passed, a sailor came to inform him that the lunch was ready. Carl stood up from his seat and woke her up by shaking her shoulder rapidly.

Sophie grumbled under her breath but still followed him closely to the dining room. She hadn't noticed it before but now, even she was feeling hungry.

Momousagi who was watching them from the corner of her chuckled amusingly at their interaction. She was gradually finding it hard to believe that he was one of those disgusting Celestial Dragons.

Shaking her, she got rid of these annoying thoughts. Feeling her stomach growling, she decided to head inside to have some lunch.

~~~~~~~

After sailing for half an hour, the ship finally reached the Calm Belt, an area that is devoid of wind blowing and ocean currents which makes it impossible for any non-self-propelled ships to travel through.

Though this didn't affect their ship as the moment they entered the Calm Belt, the captain started the engine which allowed the ship to move forward.

Both Carl and Sophie were inside his room, sleeping peacefully while cuddling with each other on the giant bed. They were getting quite sleepy after eating lunch so they decided to relax.

Momousagi on the other hand went back to the deck after having her lunch. Since she was sent here by the higher-ups to protect him from any kind of harm, she couldn't go and sleep as it might jeopardise his security.

Even though she couldn't take a nap that didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy herself so she ordered a sailor to bring some ice cream for her which she happily ate while sitting on a chair.

The ship kept sailing for another 4 hours and soon reached the dockyard of Logue town, a place that was known as the town of the beginning and the end.

Momousagi stood up from her seat and stretched her arms. She glanced at the port and then walked inside to inform them.

Standing out of the room, she knocked on the door twice. "We have reached Logue town." She loudly spoke and walked out of the cabin.

After hearing the loud voice, Sophie opened her eyes groggily. Turning around, she looked at Carl's face with an amused smile. "Wake up, young master. We have reached Logue town. Saying that she leaned in and pecked his lips with a playful smile.

"Do you wanna do it right now?" Carl suddenly opened his eyes and attacked her lips ferociously much to her surprise and delight. 

"I would love to do it again with you, young master, alas, we need to get off this ship now," Sophie replied in a regretful tone.

"Let's go then." He pecked her lips and then let go of her body.

Standing up from the bed, both of them stretched their bodies for some time before walking out of the room.

"Should I book a hotel or do you wish to see someplace first, young master?" She asked with a curious expression. 

"I have a task for you, Sophie," Carl spoke in a serious tone. "There is a very good devil fruit on this island. I want you to look for it and bring it back to me, you understand? If anyone tries to take it away, just get rid of him."

"Devil fruit…..?" She mumbled with a confused expression not understanding how a devil fruit managed to enter his eyes even though he always used to ignore the ones that are in his family treasure room. "Don't worry, young master. I will search for it to the best of my abilities."

"By the way, have you eaten any devil fruit?" Carl asked curiously.

"No, I haven't, young master." Sophie shook her head. "I haven't found a devil fruit that is compatible with me."

"What kind of devil fruit are you looking for anyway?" Carl asked.

"Hmm...." A thoughtful expression appeared on her face after hearing his question. "I guess, I want a devil fruit that can boost my speed and fulfil my long-range attack arsenal."

"I see...." Carl nodded at her words and began to think about devil fruits that can match her requirements. "If I ever come across a devil fruit like this, I would give it to you, Sophie.

"Mmm. I will be grateful to you, young master." Sophie nodded with a small smile, not taking his words seriously. She has already looked for a devil fruit like that with the help of the Augur family intelligence gathering unit and still, she couldn't find anything so she doesn't have much hope now.

The moment they reached the deck, Sophie waved at him before disappearing from the ship using Soru, one of the techniques from the martial arts called Rokushiki.

Seeing her disappearing suddenly, a trace of surprise appeared in Momousagi's eyes. "It seems that I have underestimated her strength..." She mumbled under her breath and quickly calmed down. 

"Young master." She called out his name, attracting his attention. "The civilians here don't know your identity..."

"And?" He looked at her with a confused expression. "What should I do with this information?"

"Could you please spare them in case they unknowingly did something that you didn't like…..?" She asked with a hopeful expression.

Hearing her sudden request, a surprised expression appeared on his face. "Tell me, is this your first time giving out with Celestial Dragon as his security?"

Seeing her nodding affirmatively, he couldn't help but chuckle amusingly. "Why did you think that I would follow your words? What gives you the confidence that I will even listen to you?

"This...." Momousagi was left speechless by his questions. She wanted to say that they are people like you, however, when she recalled his identity, she couldn't help but scold herself mentally.

Just because he wasn't looking at her and the sailors in disgust, she has forgotten that he was one of those Celestial Dragons. The fact that he was treating that girl so nicely made her believe that he would treat everyone the same.

"Is she causing your trouble, young master?" Suddenly an old man appeared behind Momousagi with his sword touching her throat.

His sudden appearance shocked her greatly however she kept herself calm even though she could feel the cold blade pressing against her throat.

Seeing the old man, Carl was a little surprised. "I should have known that Father won't let me go without your protection, butler John." He spoke with a wry smile on his face.

"The master wanted to make sure that you have absolute protection, young master so he decided to send me as the ship captain," John replied with a calm expression.

Hearing his words, Carl chuckled slightly. The old man in front of him is the personal guard of his father just like Sophie is the personal guard of his mother.

Although both of the guards have the same status in the family, when you compare them in strength, there is a very big difference between them.

The old man has eaten Supido Supido no Mi, a devil fruit that enhances his speed and reflexes and that too without activating the devil fruit. He is also a master swordsman which grants him an advantage over Sophie.

"You don't need to do anything to her, John." Carl motioned him to withdraw his sword. "She was just being very friendly with me."

"As you wish, young master." Saying that he bowed slightly and then disappeared from the ship.

"Wait!" Carl hurriedly spoke to stop him however he still disappeared. "I wanted to send him to look for that devil fruit. With his devil fruit ability, it would have been very easy for him. He mumbled under his breath.

Shaking his head, he turned to look at Momousagi again who was now staring at him warily. "You know what, I am willing to hear your words but I have two conditions."

"Tell me the conditions first….." Even though she was happy inwardly that he was willing to spare those innocent civilians, she was still wary of him especially now that she knows that he has two very powerful bodyguards around him.

"My first condition is that I want you to act as my maid for this entire trip," Carl spoke with a playful smile. "And my second condition is that you can't deny any of my orders during this time."

"Tell me, are you willing to lose your freedom over the life of those innocent civilians?"