Kureha looked at Kotatsu for a moment, then withdrew her gaze and leaned back on the sofa, waving her hand.
"Forget it!"
"If you don't want to say, don't say it!"
"Really! To fool me with such a lame excuse."
After speaking, she looked up at Kotatsu, "There is indeed a blue-nosed reindeer here, but he is not an ordinary reindeer. He is my son, named 'Tony Tony Chopper', a reindeer who ate the 'Human-Human Fruit'."
"Oh!"
Guina's eyes lit up, and she turned her head curiously, searching the room.
"A reindeer that ate a Devil Fruit e=(´o｀*))) Alas!"
"He must be very cute!"
"Stop looking, he's definitely hiding in the room inside."
"Hiding?"
Guina turned her head, looked at Kureha, and asked, "Why is he hiding? Is he very shy around strangers?"
Kureha picked up the wine bottle and drank again. She swallowed the wine in her mouth, exhaled a breath of alcohol, nodded at Guina, and then shook her head.
Then she said, "Because Chopper's nose is blue, he was abandoned by his parents from birth and was deeply ostracized by his kind."
She paused, then continued.
"Then one day, after he accidentally ate a Devil Fruit, the other reindeer treated him as a monster. The reindeer resolutely drove him out of the herd. Even so, he still longed to have companions!"
"So he then, through the transformation of the Devil Fruit, came to human villages as a human."
"Is it that humans couldn't accept Chopper, which is why he's afraid of strangers?"
"Mhm!"
Kureha nodded, tilted her head and finished the wine in the bottle, then casually tossed the bottle aside and continued to Guina.
"Although Chopper can have human intelligence and walk upright through the Devil Fruit, his appearance is still completely different from humans, so humans cannot accept him."
"Humans are not deer herds. Humans, of course, kill monsters on sight!"
"If it weren't for the appearance of a quack doctor, Chopper, the poor fellow, should have died already. Even if he didn't die, he would have completely fallen and turned into a true monster!"
"That quack doctor wasn't you, was it?"
Guina looked at Kureha and asked.
"No, it was a very foolish and naive person named 'Hiriluk'."
"Foolish? Naive?"
"Mhm!"
Kureha nodded, a flicker of reminiscence in her eyes, and then said.
"That guy's medical skills were not great, but his heart was quite gentle. As a quack doctor, he dared to attempt to save this country through his medical skills. What else could that be if not naivety or foolishness?"
After speaking, Kureha shook her head and tilted her head to finish the wine in the bottle.
Guina looked at Kureha, the corners of her mouth turning up, a smile appearing on her face.
From Kureha's expression, she could tell that Kureha probably deeply admired that doctor named Hiriluk!
"Then what about Chopper?"
"What's the rush!"
Kureha placed the empty bottle in her hand on the table, then picked up another bottle of wine from the side, opened the cap, and took a big gulp.
She exhaled a breath of alcohol and said to Guina.
"Although Chopper's heart was deeply wounded and he was extremely afraid of strangers, thanks to Hiriluk's treatment and his kind nature, he didn't dislike humans."
At this point, a flicker of reminiscence crossed her eyes again.
"Since Hiriluk's death, he vowed, vowed to become a panacea himself, capable of curing all diseases."
"Panacea? Curing?"
Guina thought for a moment, then looked up and asked, "So Chopper is also a doctor!"
"Mhm!"
Kureha nodded. "Since you found your way here, you should know who I am, right!"
"I don't know."
Guina's answer was simple and clear.
"Uh..."
"You don't know?"
Kureha looked at Guina, then turned to look at Kotatsu. "You really don't know?"
Kotatsu shrugged. Although he knew, he had to pretend he didn't know at this moment.
Even though the other party could easily see through his act.
"Alright!"
Kureha withdrew her gaze, sat up straight, and looked up at Guina. "Don't let my appearance fool you, I am actually a doctor, named 'Dr. Kureha'. You can call me Doctor Kureha."
"After Hiriluk died, it was me who took in Chopper and taught him all my medical skills."
"After talking for so long."
Guina looked at Kureha and asked curiously, "Can you call Chopper out to meet us?"
"Well! Isn't he always here?"
"Mhm?"
Guina followed Kureha's gaze to the door of another room.
She saw that the door of the room had been slightly ajar at some point. A figure wearing shorts on its lower body and a pink hat with a cross pattern on its head, standing upright more like a raccoon dog than a reindeer, was propped up by both hands on the doorframe. Its entire body was exposed, with half of its head sticking out, looking at Guina and Kotatsu through the gap in the door.
"This must be Kotatsu's target, 'Chopper'! Other than being cute, there's nothing special about him!"
"Is this Chopper? So cute!"
"Is this a pirate? They don't seem any different!"
A sentence flashed through the minds of Guina, Kotatsu, and Chopper simultaneously.
"Hey! Stop hiding, your whole body is exposed!"
Kotatsu looked at Chopper and shouted.
"Mhm?"
Chopper lowered his head, looked, slowly moved his body, and hid himself within the doorframe. He poked out half of his head and silently observed the outside.
"Hey! Weren't you already exposed? What are you still hiding for?"
Chopper stared at Kotatsu and roared, "Shut up! Human."
"Hahahaha!!"
Seeing Chopper for real, Kotatsu was actually charmed by the guy's cuteness.
He looked at Chopper, who was hiding inside the doorframe with half of his head showing, silently watching them, and couldn't resist the urge to tease him.
As soon as he thought of it, he acted. His figure disappeared instantly.
"Mhm, where did he go?"
Chopper looked outside, looking surprised.
"Hey! Are you looking for me?"
Behind Chopper, Kotatsu squatted down, extended his finger, and tapped the guy's back.
The fur is so soft! And very warm.
No wonder everyone wanted Chopper's clothes.
"Mhm! When did you..."
Chopper trembled all over, then quickly pulled open the door and rushed out shouting.
"Hahahaha..."
Kotatsu looked at Chopper and laughed loudly, "You can't escape!"
Then his body directly disappeared from where he stood and reappeared in front of Chopper. He reached out with both hands, grabbed Chopper's hands, and lifted him up.
"Damn it!"
Chopper looked at Kotatsu, suddenly expanded, transforming into a robust human form. He broke free from Kotatsu's grasp and roared, "Don't touch me, human."
"Oh..."
Kotatsu stared at Chopper and smiled, "So, you're the remnant of the old era, the Chopper who's not even worth a pot in the new era!"
"Hahaha!!"
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
Chopper raised his right fist, turned sideways, roared, and with a backhand punch, swung at Kotatsu's head.
"So, you're still saying you're not Chopper, hahaha!!"
Bang——!
Kotatsu extended his right hand, easily catching Chopper's fist. He grabbed the gourd hanging from his left hand and took a big gulp.
"Hoo~"
"Refreshing."
"Alright, I'm done playing with you."
Kotatsu released Chopper's hand, glanced at Kureha, and then turned to stare at Chopper.
"Chopper."
"What?"
Chopper replied, and his body instantly shrank, returning to his human-beast form. He didn't feel any malice from Kotatsu.
"I came all the way here to see you, and I want to tell you something."
"???"
Chopper looked up, a blank question mark floating in his mind.
"What I want to say is, Hiriluk died with a smile. He willingly went to his death for this country. Although he couldn't truly save this country in the end, he awakened some people who truly wanted to save this country. So, Chopper."
"What?"
"Don't close your heart because of Hiriluk's death. I believe that one day, you will meet companions who truly need you and accept you."
"Companions?"
Chopper looked at Kotatsu, his eyes filled with confusion. He didn't understand why this human was saying these things to him, but he could feel that Kotatsu had no prejudice against him and even liked him.
...