Kong Tai steered the Freedom across the sky above the pirates, landing directly in front of Gu Yina.
The large ship touched down, the wind it stirred causing Charles and the others to squint their eyes.
But when they saw clearly the slender, beautiful figure standing by the ship, their faces turned red with excitement.
"Princess Sophie, Princess Sophie, it really is Princess Sophie."
The generals shouted excitedly.
Charles looked at his youngest daughter's slightly emaciated cheeks, his eyes turning red. After half a month without seeing her, his daughter must have suffered a lot!
On the Freedom, Kong Tai's figure disappeared from the bow and reappeared beside Robin. He then extended his right foot and stomped down hard on a specific spot on the deck.
*Crack—!*
The deck, as large as his foot, caved downwards.
As if stepping on a hidden mechanism, the railing in front of them suddenly retracted to both sides, and then a suspended folding staircase extended from beneath the deck. With a creaking sound, the staircase descended all the way to the ground.
"Thank you, Mr. Kong Tai, and everyone."
Despite her excitement and impatience, Sophie's upbringing in etiquette made her bow and thank Kong Tai and the others first.
Robin looked at Sophie with a gentle smile. She stepped forward, helped Sophie up, and then pointed downwards, saying with a smile, "Go! Your father is waiting for you."
"Mm!" Sophie nodded, turned quickly, held the sides of her princess dress with both hands, and then sprinted down the stairs.
"Father~"
Like a young bird returning to its nest, Sophie quickly threw herself into Charles's outstretched arms, and they hugged each other tightly.
Sophie rested her head on Charles's broad chest, tears rapidly breaking free from the confines of her eyes, flowing like streams to gather at her chin, then dripping like raindrops onto the armor on Charles's chest.
In the first few days of being captured by pirates, Sophie still fantasized about her father and brother coming to rescue her. Although it was a fantasy, it was also her hope.
However, as time passed, her heart gradually fell into despair. In that dark and hopeless cage, she became a fledgling bird with broken wings, eventually becoming numb.
Upon arriving at the auction house and witnessing various tragic scenes, she had even lost the ability to cry.
That's why she didn't cry during the auction, and even after being rescued by Kong Tai and the others, she still didn't shed a tear.
It wasn't until, until she truly returned to Cocoyasi, back into her father's embrace, which, though clad in armor, was incredibly warm and filled with a sense of security, that she finally wept uncontrollably.
It was as if she wanted to tell her father about all the grievances and despair she had experienced during this time through her cries.
Charles held Sophie quietly, gently patting her back with his hands, just as he did when she was a child.
His eyes were bloodshot, and tears welled up, on the verge of spilling, but he held them back.
He opened his mouth, his lips trembling slightly. He wanted to say so much, but didn't know where to start. So, a thousand words converged into one sentence.
"It's good that you're back."
He reached out and stroked Sophie's head, just as he did every time Sophie went out to play and returned to his embrace. His eyes were filled with doting affection.
Sophie was his youngest daughter, and his wife, Sophie's mother, had fallen ill and passed away shortly after Sophie was born.
Therefore, Charles had always been both father and mother to this little woman.
It could be said that Sophie grew up showered with love.
And Sophie had not disappointed him. Although his doting was a bit excessive, she had not gone astray.
She was intelligent, wise, and gentle, becoming a worthy princess of Cocoyasi.
Despite the sounds of shouting and fighting from afar, no one dared to interrupt this tender scene of father and daughter embracing.
At the side of the Freedom, Robin leaned her upper body on the railing, propping her chin with her right hand. Looking at Sophie and Charles, a flicker of envy crossed her eyes.
She was born in "Ohara," a famous sacred land of archaeology in the West Blue.
Her father died early, so she had no memories of him.
Her mother was a wanted criminal pursued by the World Government. When she was two years old, her mother left her in their hometown to go out and explore history, entrusting her to her brother's family.
Living under someone else's roof, and with her uncle's family not liking her, she had never truly experienced the warmth of family affection in her life.
As she drifted in thought, Gu Yina appeared beside her at some point. Gu Yina leaned on her shoulder and said softly, "Robin."
"Mm!" Robin replied softly without turning her head.
Gu Yina stared at Robin's profile and said gently, "We are your family, aren't we?"
Robin had been on the ship for a long time, and they all knew about Robin's past, so Gu Yina understood Robin's feelings at that moment very well.
Hearing Gu Yina's words, Robin was slightly stunned, then turned her head and looked at the beautiful face so close to hers. Her lips slowly curved upwards, and she nodded with a smile.
That's right, she hadn't experienced much of family affection, and because of her Devil Fruit, she had been treated as a monster by the children around her since she was young, making her childhood very lonely.
But she was also fortunate.
She had Dr. Clover and the scholars of Ohara who were willing to accept her.
They allowed her to find her life's pursuit.
She had Jaguar D. Saul, a giant, who, though she spent a short time with, became her first true friend.
He taught her to smile happily in the face of anything.
Although they were all dead, the brilliance of their humanity was deeply rooted in her heart, preventing her from truly falling into darkness during her subsequent years on the run.
Until... until she met Kong Tai, met Gu Yina, met Ah Hua, met...
Although her life was full of tragedy, she was also very fortunate.
As Gu Yina said, they were her family.
Although she hadn't experienced much of family affection, since boarding the Freedom, she had found direction, found her life's purpose, found companions who truly accepted her, and now she had found a friendship that, though not familial, was even better than family.
So she was truly fortunate.
She was infinitely grateful to fate, for allowing her to meet Kong Tai and the others.
Kong Tai glanced at Robin, smiled slightly, and then disappeared, reappearing at the top of the Freedom's crow's nest.
He sat cross-legged on the roof of the crow's nest, leaning his back against the mast. He took out his wine gourd and took a sip.
Speaking of family, his life across two worlds spanned nearly fifty years. Although he had never met his biological parents.
He had never lacked family affection.
On Earth, there was the old院长 of the orphanage who treated him as her own, and a master named "Fatty" who had always been with him.
In this world, there was his master Koushirou, who treated him as his own, and Gu Yina, who had always treated him as an older brother and later as a lover.
Although he had not experienced mother's love, having two fathers as solid as mountains was almost perfect.
So, if we talk about luck, how could he not be lucky?
Heaven allowed him to come to this world, gave him a perfect childhood, gave him invincible strength, gave him a childhood sweetheart, gave him a group of companions willing to follow him and support him in everything he did. He...
Was very lucky.