Chapter 12: You Will Definitely Become the King of the Sea
Rosse smiled and did not deliberately make things difficult for Stella.
Rather, it was exactly because Stella looked like a pushover that he felt more like bullying her.
"STELLA!", The sudden shout stood out sharply on the quiet street.
"Tesoro?", Stella exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand, and looked at the green-haired youth running from afar.
Even though she knew Tesoro couldn't possibly buy her, after all, the companionship over these past few days was real, and she was still very grateful to Tesoro.
"Tesoro, huh..."
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[Gild Tesoro]
[Comprehensive Rating: E Level]
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Rosse only glanced at it and immediately lost interest.
Even if he was a plot character, before he had grown up, his rating was unexpectedly low, it was even worse than Stella's.
Perhaps only those characters related to the main storyline could have higher ratings even before they rose to prominence.
"Stella, I'm here, I've gathered enough money to buy you," Tesoro excitedly waved his hand, completely unaware of what had just happened, his mind solely focused on the matter of buying Stella.
Today, he had finally gathered enough money to buy Stella.
"Stella, I'll go handle the procedures right now," Tesoro said excitedly, at this moment his mind was filled with thoughts of buying Stella, and he didn't notice Rosse's presence at all, nor did he see the slightly unsightly look on Stella's face.
"No need!", Stella suddenly spoke.
"Huh? Stella, what's wrong?"
Only then did Tesoro notice that something was off about Stella and hurried forward to ask with concern.
"I've already been bought by this gentleman. You're too late," Stella looked at Tesoro with an extremely indifferent expression, as if she was looking at a stranger.
"Why? Didn't we agree already?", Tesoro was completely stunned. He couldn't believe that the Stella who had always gently encouraged him would actually say something like this.
'Damn it, am I still too late?'
For some reason, a wave of angry fire surged in Tesoro's heart.
Seeing Stella's disdainful appearance, he couldn't help but want to strangle her.
'Damn it, I loved her so much.'
'Why... why make that expression?'
"Agreement? That was just your one-sided wishful thinking," Stella pretended to be disgusted and turned her head away, only to meet Rosse's interested and encouraging eyes, which made her heart flutter nervously.
She was a kind person.
Even after being kidnapped by human traffickers, even after being confined in a glass showcase and viewed like an animal for days, she still chose to believe in the goodness and beauty of human nature.
Tesoro turning over a new leaf truly made her happy.
But this was enough, staying away from her was the most correct and safest choice.
"Stella, don't tell me... all of this was you lying to me?"
"Don't tell me, you always treated me as a tool to gain your freedom?"
"Answer me!"
Tesoro didn't realize Stella's emotional state and kept asking his questions over and over.
In his view, Stella's sudden change of heart could only be explained by her regaining her freedom and him no longer being useful.
The more excited he was before, the more disappointed he was now.
He never expected that Stella could be such a scheming person.
"That's right," There was reluctance in Stella's eyes, but she still pushed all the blame onto herself.
'This way, the noble Celestial Dragon next to me won't hold Tesoro accountable, right?'
"Wrong," Rosse suddenly interrupted Stella and slowly said, "She said that to save you. Otherwise, you would've been carried out of here sideways today."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand toward the glass showcase where Stella had been confined.
Zannie understood and punched the outer wall of the glass showcase, pulling Stella out from within.
Zannie was selected from a young age and received the best training. Her strength was on a completely different level than Guernica. Breaking the glass without injuring Stella was a piece of cake for her.
Before Stella could even steady herself on the ground, she was pulled into Rosse's embrace.
Suddenly falling into a warm hug, Stella's face immediately flushed red.
"You're talking nonsense!", A trace of viciousness flashed in Tesoro's eyes as he glared fiercely at the blushing Stella.
Seeing Stella being held in someone else's arms and showing such an intimate expression, his heart completely died.
And along with it, the filter he had for Stella in his heart shattered completely.
"Tsk, already angry?", Rosse clicked his tongue in boredom, though he hadn't had high expectations for Tesoro anyway.
He was just a street rat who gambled and stole. Without going through any transformation, what could anyone really expect from him?
Moreover…
Rosse silently glanced at Zannie standing beside him.
The Succubus Fruit didn't only release its charm after transformation. As long as Zannie wanted to, she could instantly turn Tesoro into a simping dog.
She didn't even need to do anything. Just standing simply beside Stella was enough to shatter Tesoro's image of her and awaken the negativity in his heart.
"Tesoro, he didn't lie to you. Go. From now on, when we meet, we're strangers," Stella pressed her lips together, not daring to go against Rosse's words.
She didn't know why Rosse helped her, but Tesoro's angry expression at the moment really made her tremble with fear.
'Why can't everyone just part on good terms?'
"Strangers? Fine, fine, fine! Stella, that Stella who belonged to me—IS ALREADY DEAD!!!"
Tesoro roared and suddenly pulled out a self-defense dagger from behind, stabbing toward Stella's neck.
The sudden attack completely terrified Stella.
She shrank into Rosse's arms, her mind going blank, she couldn't believe this scene was really happening.
Kachak!
Zannie flashed in front of Stella, grabbed Tesoro's attacking hand, and twisted it fiercely.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
Accompanied by a shrill scream, Tesoro's dagger fell to the ground, and his arm was twisted by Zannie into a pretzel shape.
"Assaulting a Celestial Dragon, capital offense," Zannie said coldly, about to strike a fatal blow to Tesoro.
"Stop," Rosse's voice came at the last moment and made Zannie stop her movement, though she still kicked Tesoro in the stomach, sending him flying and crashing to the ground, unable to get back up.
"Forget it, give Stella some face. Since he wasn't trying to kill me, spare him," Rosse glanced at the utterly shocked Stella, reached out and pinched her pale cheeks, finally bringing her back to her senses.
Even though she had recovered, Stella still curled up silently in Rosse's embrace and didn't even glance at Tesoro again.
"Let's go. Got what we came for. Time to head back to the Holy Land," Rosse hadn't intended to kill Tesoro, this was far from the right moment.
Tesoro hadn't even posed a threat to a Celestial Dragon yet, so there was no reason to kill him.
Killing him now would only yield an E-level reward. It'd be better to raise him a bit longer. Then when the time comes, it'd be at least an A-level reward. [T/N: It is called fattening the pig]
Rosse was still quite looking forward to Tesoro's growth. If only he could grow faster.
Ignoring the Tesoro who lay on the ground like a dead dog, Rosse simply held the kitten-like obedient Stella and slowly walked out of the market.
No one dared stop his departure.
This was a noble Celestial Dragon. It was already merciful of him not to kill at will. Who would dare get in the way?
After Rosse left, the slave shop manager came out to clean up the scene, and Tesoro was directly dragged away to avoid affecting the shop's business.
Inside the slave shop, Trebol stood by the window, watching Rosse's departing figure, holding a Den Den Mushi that looked like Doflamingo.
"Young master, our best product was taken by a Celestial Dragon."
["Fufufufu, being taken by a Celestial Dragon is a good thing. Spread the word, say our slaves are so good that even a Celestial Dragon noticed them."]
"Young master, there's one more thing. The Navy sealed off the slave auction house. This matter is also related to the Celestial Dragon."
["Fufufufu, it was only a matter of time. Those useless fools didn't have a Celestial Dragon backing them and still dared to make money off of them. Once things settle down with the slave shop, return to the North Blue."]
["The slave auction house doesn't need to be managed. Let them fight and scramble over it. When we're strong enough to reach the Sabaody Archipelago, the auction house will bear the name Donquixote!"]
"Young master, you will definitely become the King of the Sea!"
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