Chapter 77: Dream!

Seeing Jessica regain her composure, Asa felt relieved. If something like this had broken his future chef, he wouldn't know what to do.

"So, do you still want to bet?" Asa asked, glancing at the dimming lights on the first floor, where a slave was being pushed onto the stage by the auction staff.

Jessica bit her lower lip tightly, her face filled with conflict. After a while, she sighed and said, "No more betting. You win. Let's just get out of this disgusting place..."

"Hahahaha! So, you're finally agreeing to be my chef?" Asa grinned happily.

"Go away, you liar and bastard!" Jessica suddenly snapped, her anger flaring out of nowhere as she looked like she was about to bite him.

"It looks like I won't have to go hungry anymore!" Asa nodded with satisfaction.

He had already tasted Jessica's cooking and was more than pleased with her skills. After spending three days together, she had learned many of his secrets, and there was no way he was letting her go now. Bringing her aboard was definitely a reason to celebrate.

"What are you standing around for?!"

Even when Jessica got angry, she had no real intimidation—just like when she would insist that Asa eat vegetables, but he never listened.

"My first crew member… Congratulations on joining the Thor Pirates!" Asa laughed as he walked out of the second-floor box in the auction house.

Jessica didn't say anything, but she followed closely behind him. Unknowingly, a small smile appeared on her lips.

After three days of being together—whether intentionally or unintentionally—she had grown accustomed to Asa's presence.

At just fourteen years old, her worldview was still forming, and she didn't have a firm set of beliefs yet. It was easy for someone like her to be influenced.

This experience would surely help her mature.

As they stepped out of the auction house and Asa deactivated his electromagnetic field, they walked straight toward the port of the City of the Queen of Spring without stopping.

There was nothing left for them on this island. Asa had no interest in staying. His only goal was to enter the New World—the paradise of the strong.

"But… there's no ship. How are we supposed to leave?" Jessica suddenly asked.

"Hahahahaha!" Asa burst out laughing at her question.

"What's so funny?!" She pulled off her red scarf and threw it at him.

"We're pirates… Isn't it natural to just steal a ship, little girl?"

Jessica still hadn't fully embraced her new identity. Her Marine upbringing was still ingrained in her mindset.

"Don't call me little girl!" she yelled, charging at him as if ready to fight to the death.

Asa calmly reached out, pinched the back of her neck, and lifted her up like a kitten.

She was so light that, in Asa's hands, she felt no heavier than a feather.

"Let me go! Put me down, you bastard!"

As they neared the port during their scuffle, Asa suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He loosened his grip on Jessica's neck, completely unfazed as her small fists rained weak blows on him.

"Come out," Asa said, turning his gaze toward an alleyway between the buildings.

"Tap. Tap. Tap."

The sound of steady, measured footsteps echoed.

A Marine in a Justice coat emerged from the shadows.

"A Marine? Are you here to die?" Asa asked calmly, sparks of blue electricity flickering in his eyes.

"No, Hippolyte D. Asa, you misunderstand. I'm here to see Miss Jessica," the Marine replied, his expression unreadable as if he had no concern for his own life.

"You're here for Jessica?" Asa glanced at the Transponder Snail in the Marine's hand, which was adorned with a Marine cap. He turned to Jessica and said, "Since he's looking for you, I'll step away for now."

Jessica might act like she wanted to kill him, but in reality, she had already accepted him.

Asa believed in giving his crew personal space. There was no point in having a crew if he didn't trust them. Constantly monitoring everyone would be boring.

After walking about a kilometer, he stopped and waited.

Jessica would definitely come back. He was sure of it.

Once someone had tasted true freedom, they would never willingly return to a life of chains.

After a while, he heard a heated argument in the distance. Thanks to his enhanced hearing, he could clearly pick up Jessica's voice—it seemed her family didn't approve of her following him.

Jessica's parents were both chefs at Marine Headquarters, and her father held a military rank as the head chef. There was no way he would willingly allow his daughter to become a pirate, especially not under someone whom the World Government had marked for extermination.

A few minutes later, Jessica returned, her eyes red. She held the Transponder Snail in her hands, glaring at it with frustration.

Her father wanted to speak with Asa.

"Hey," Asa answered flatly, showing no emotion.

"Hippolyte D. Asa? Tell me, what will it take for you to let my daughter go?!" The voice of a middle-aged man came through, shaking with barely restrained anger. The sound of gritted teeth was audible even through the snail.

"Tsk! You seem to have it all wrong... Your daughter followed me voluntarily," Asa sneered.

"You… Do you even understand the risks of following you?! You've made enemies of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons! You're doomed to be hunted down! There is no place for you on this sea!" Jessica's father roared, his anger boiling over.

"I know. But I'm confident I can protect Jessica from anyone the World Government sends after us. If they come for her, they'll have to get through me first," Asa replied firmly.

"Arrogant fool! You'll get her killed!" Jessica's father shouted furiously.

Asa ignored him and continued, "Haha! Uncle, since you're Jessica's father, I'll call you 'uncle' out of respect. Do you even know what Jessica's dream is? Or have you ever had a dream of your own?"

"You..." The man on the other end of the line was momentarily speechless.

"Her dream is to find the legendary All Blue. Isn't that the ultimate dream of every chef? Didn't you ever try to find it when you were young?" Asa asked.

He admired those with dreams. In this vast sea, people without dreams were nothing more than nobodies—they didn't even have a reason to live.

"Hoo… hooo..." Jessica's father's breathing was ragged, as if Asa had struck a nerve. Then, in a low, furious voice, he growled, "What do you know?! All Blue is just a chef's fantasy! It doesn't exist! It's nothing more than a dream!"

"Shut up!" Asa snapped, cutting him off.

"Jessica wants to find All Blue. Are you going to stop her? Are you going to force her to spend her life imprisoned at Marine Headquarters with you? You're just a coward who abandoned his own dream!"

"I wanted to find All Blue!" Jessica's father shouted, his voice filled with frustration and regret. "But how could a sea where all the ingredients of the North, South, East, and West Blue gather in one place possibly exist?! Tell me!! How could it be real?!"

"You don't have to know how it exists," Asa replied coldly. "At least she has the courage to take the first step toward her dream. But you? You're just running away! You have no right to stop others from chasing their dreams!"

He was about to hang up—

"It's not your place as a pirate to judge me!" Jessica's father snarled.

"Just take care of my daughter, like you said. If you fail… I will hunt you to the ends of the earth!"

Click.

Asa immediately hung up the call.

(End Of Chapter)

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