"Congratulations on completing the Sea Train!!!"
Caterina draped a sash that read "Today's Star" over Tom's shoulders and enthusiastically set off a party popper.
Iceburg, Franky, Kokoro, and Yokozuna, Tom's employees, also set off party poppers, filling the room with confetti.
While Twilight had provided financial and material support, they had barely managed to finish the project on time. And it was all because Caterina, who was supposed to be helping, kept suggesting unnecessary additions.
"Let's add this! I think this would be useful!"
No one blamed her, as it was partly Tom's fault for not stopping her.
"Hahaha… To think I'd be celebrated like this. I'm glad I lived this long!"
"What are you saying, Tom-san?! It's the Sea Train! Even the government officials are acting all friendly, saying they'll assign us a security detail!"
"Well, I didn't expect the government to change their attitude this much… But I'm glad Tom-san has finally been recognized."
"Exactly! I brought lots of good sake to celebrate. Let's drink!"
Caterina proudly puffed out her chest, gesturing towards the mountain of celebratory gifts.
Iceburg picked up one of the bottles and looked at the label.
"Well… This is some really good sake! Where did you get it? How much did it cost?"
"Twilight handles shipping, so we can get anything. It was about 500,000 berries per bottle."
"That expensive?!"
Caterina had no concept of money, but it was a ridiculously expensive bottle of sake.
Iceburg almost dropped the bottle in shock, but managed to steady his hand and carefully placed it back on the table. Knowing its price, he doubted he would even be able to taste it properly.
Franky and Tom, hearing the price, also retracted their hands.
"What? You're not going to drink it?"
"We wouldn't be able to taste it! We can't touch it after knowing the price!"
"Is that so? Tom-san, how about this sake from Fish-Man Island?"
"Oh, that's one of the best sakes from Fish-Man Island! Great, let's drink!"
Franky was shocked by the price, but Tom, recognizing the sake Caterina had chosen, uncapped the bottle and poured it into a glass.
The aroma alone told him it was a high-quality sake. He had only had the opportunity to drink it once or twice in his long life. It was that rare and expensive.
He felt fortunate to be able to drink it on this special day.
After Tom poured himself a glass, Caterina took the bottle and poured drinks for Franky, Iceburg, Kokoro, and Yokozuna. Since Yokozuna couldn't drink alcohol, she got juice.
"Now then… To celebrate Tom-san's exoneration and the completion of the Sea Train! Cheers!"
"Cheers!" they all shouted in unison, clinking glasses.
No one had doubted Tom's innocence, but the recent visit from the disgruntled Cipher Pol agent, informing them of Tom's exoneration and the assignment of a security detail, had confirmed it.
However, the tracks hadn't been fully laid yet. The stay of execution was still in place until the mobile court officially delivered the verdict after all the work was completed. He had also been warned not to flee.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot to give you this."
"This is… the Sea Train blueprints, isn't it? Are you giving them to Caterina?"
Tom, fearing he would forget once he was drunk, brought out a copy of the Sea Train blueprints. Iceburg, seeing this, wondered if Caterina was planning to build her own Sea Train.
Caterina shook her head.
"I'm taking the blueprints, but it's just collateral for Kanata-san's financial assistance. It seems she's actually planning to build trains on land."
"On land? Don't they already have ways to travel on land?"
Iceburg tilted his head, confused. The Sea Train was developed to connect islands separated by treacherous seas. There were more convenient ways to travel within an island.
Caterina hadn't been given the details. She had simply been instructed to collect them.
She flipped through the blueprints, confirming there were no errors.
"Well, it's certainly complete. Thank you, Tom-san."
"No problem. She helped us a lot. Not just us, but the entire island."
Water Seven, constantly threatened by the annual high tide, Aqua Laguna, was sinking, making it impossible to obtain construction materials on the island.
They had shipyards, but without materials, they couldn't build ships. Without Kanata's help, transporting massive amounts of materials, the island might have lost its vitality and simply sunk.
While Twilight had recruited some shipwrights, there were too many to begin with. They were all busy with work, no longer competing for jobs.
"It was a mutually beneficial agreement. You don't need to thank us."
"Even so, she saved everyone. Hypocrisy or not, I'm grateful."
"Fufu… Then it's your turn to be thanked."
"Exactly, Tom-san! Everyone will be thanking you! The Sea Train can transport people and materials!"
Twilight wasn't abandoning Water Seven, so there would be some competition, but the Sea Train's introduction would hopefully break Twilight's monopoly and lead to price competition.
It would be beneficial for the citizens.
Franky and Yokozuna entertained everyone with their party tricks, Caterina showed off some magic tricks she had prepared, they listened to Tom's stories – the sounds of laughter and celebration continued late into the night.
***
Dragon received Kanata's report and smiled.
"So, that's the end of my request?" Kanata asked.
"Yes, I'm grateful. We couldn't have resolved this on our own," Dragon replied.
"The Flevance citizens are currently under our protection at our North Blue base. It's a small country, but it's almost the entire population. While they can be utilized as a workforce… It was an incident caused by the World Government's negligence. Some might be reluctant to stay under my command, considering I'm a Warlord."
Even with gratitude, some would surely criticize Twilight for being a pawn of the World Government, considering they were the ones who had caused the incident in the first place.
Dragon pondered the situation for a moment.
"We'll take in some of them. If they harbor resentment towards the World Government, we can welcome them as comrades."
"Please do. We don't have enough work for that many people."
Twilight was always recruiting, but taking in the entire population of Flevance was impossible. They simply had too many people.
And considering they had closed off the country, preventing the citizens from returning, simply abandoning them would be irresponsible.
Having the Revolutionary Army take in some of them would be a great help.
"And… Have you contacted Tiger?"
"No, he seems to be avoiding me."
Kanata sighed. She hadn't had any particular business with him, but she had hoped to catch up with an old friend. But being close to a Warlord was dangerous, and Tiger was aware of this.
The World Government was actively hunting him, and his high bounty made him a target for bounty hunters and ambitious pirates.
There was very little Kanata or Dragon could do for him.
…But Kanata, who handled shipping routes around the world, knew where Tiger was operating.
"He hasn't contacted us for a while. Something must have happened… But there's no need to pry."
"You're right. I'm going to be busy for a while… I'd like to see him again, but it would be troublesome if the government found out."
"You don't need to worry about that. Come visit anytime. We occasionally get government spies, but we haven't lost anyone yet."
That was one of the things that made Kanata so terrifying. But if you were on her side, there was no one more reliable.
Dragon exchanged a few more words with Kanata, then ended the call. He would surely need her help again in the future.
He stood up and walked onto the deck, gazing at the moon while enjoying the night breeze.
"…The world is heading in the right direction. She's truly remarkable."
There were many things they wouldn't have been able to achieve without Kanata's help. Gaining her trust early on was a stroke of luck.
He could only pray that their luck would continue.
They still had a lot to do.