章 30: Revolution
(A/N: Since I've seen some people a bit confused about the cities' names {Probably because it has been a long time since they have seen them in the anime or the manga} I will put a brief explanation about what important things happen there in case some of you don't remember
Nanohana, for example {The town where Farid was just a few chapters ago, is the port town of Arabasta, and the place where we first meet Ace and discover that he is Luffy's "brother". There's also the second meeting with Smoker... and well.. that's pretty much it.
Hope it helped you remember a little bit, anyway, let's go on with the chapter.)
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|Farid's POV:|
...
"Seriously, this will give me a migraine..."
Three days have passed since I met the three kids and helped them reunite with their village head.
After discovering the fact that several villages had been affected by the drought supposedly caused by the king, I immediately decided to end the matter there and guided them to the nearest city so that they wouldn't need to wander across the desert anymore.
I also gave them a little bit of money when we parted ways, so that they would sustain themselves at least until they managed to reunite with the other surviving villagers and figure out what to do from then on.
Honestly, I would have helped them quite a lot more. However, I was simply too annoyed to be getting involved with matters related to the king, so I just ended the matter there.
I had already sorted my life over here, so there was no need to go and get involved with the royalty again.
Besides, there was also the fact that I was on vacation, so I didn't want to get entangled in anything like that when I was supposed to be resting at home.
Thus, as sour as our parting was, I just left the kids and the village head behind and enjoyed the solitude here in my house for the next days in complete peace.
...
That's what I'd like to say that happened. However, in reality, for the past few days, the words from the village head and the images of several people all over the kingdom being deprived of water kept appearing on my mind and constantly made me frown deeply.
I tried focusing on other things, like cleaning the house for example, but in the end, the images would still appear in my mind if I let my thoughts wander even the slightest bit.
And honestly... Being alone in the middle of the desert wasn't really the best place to not let your thoughts wander... Especially since you don't have anyone to talk to.
Because of that, I kept remembering the words of the village head, and I wasn't able to do anything about them up until now.
-Groan...-
At this rate, it wouldn't be strange if I got a migraine from all this...
I was supposed to rest calmly for the month to come and stay away from annoying things for the time being...
So... how come I was feeling so annoyed....?
"Shit..."
Cursing under my breath as I tightly grabbed my head, I looked at the door of the house, before I then involuntarily started tapping the floor with my foot.
Probably because I was getting impatient...
-Sigh...-
"Should I just try to forget about all this by getting a drink...?"
I hadn't brought any alcohol with me since I didn't think there would be a time when it would be worth drinking during this month of vacation. After all, these were supposed to be peaceful and calm vacations, devoid of exhausting and irritating situations.
Goddamnit...!
"... Just when did things become such a pain in the ass...?!"
Surely, a drink would be wonderful at a moment like this.
However, since I hadn't brought one with me, if I wanted to get one then I would need to go to Nanohana and get one myself.
Though, I would need to walk several kilometers for that.
Well, free time was something I had a lot of right now, so going there for a drink certainly wasn't hard, and even less with my speed.
At most, it would take me a few minutes to reach Nanohana by running.
-Sigh...-
"Well, whatever. If I can get these shitty memories out of my brain at least for a bit, then I guess it's worth it"
Shaking my head in annoyance I got up from the couch while sighing deeply as I continued grabbing my head, before then I patted off the dust from my pants and started walking towards the door.
Hopefully, this drink would help me to forget about these useless thoughts...
If not... Then, I won't be able to relax properly for a long time.
...
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|An hour later, in a nameless tavern of Nanohana...|
...
*Cling, cling, cling!*
Entering the tavern, I heard the usual small bells from the entrance ringing as if telling the owner that a new customer had arrived, before then I ignored the usual gazes from the other customers that were directed at me, and immediately walked towards the counter.
There, the old man John was cleaning a cup as always while wearing a calm expression on his face, as if it was the most calming thing in the world.
"Seriously, why is he always cleaning a cup when I visit him...?"
Muttering something like that in a low voice, I shook my head briefly, before then I noticed that the old man John noticed me and widened his eyes as soon as he saw me.
He was one of the only people I tended to talk to nowadays since he was the first person that helped me get accustomed to Nanohana when I left the royal palace and arrived here to work as a bounty hunter, so in a way, you would say that he was an acquaintance of mine since a very long time.
He was also the bastard that got me into drinking, but that's a story for another time.
"Well, isn't this a surprise? You actually came to visit twice in less than a week!"
Smiling broadly, John welcomed me with his arms wide open, before he placed the cup down and looked at me with a goofy grin.
"I guess you wanted to enjoy your vacations at the old John's bar, huh? Don't worry kid, everyone is the same here... My tavern isn't the best in the entire Nanohana for nothing, you know? Hohoho, either way, what will it be?"
Gesturing to me with his head to choose from the collection of drinks he had on display behind him while smiling, John stared at me silently, as if waiting for my response.
"You... -sigh...- Whatever, just give me that one" Shaking my head while doing my best to ignore his annoyingly proud smile, I sighed, before then I pointed towards the drink that I usually always drank whenever there was something annoying me and told him that I wanted that one.
Hopefully, it would help me this time as well.
"The raging cow, huh? Why do you always pick up the same drink? Well, whatever... Right away!"
"Thanks..."
Turning around, John immediately began preparing the drinks, while I just made myself comfortable in my seat and waited for him to finish.
It made me annoyed that he thought I chose to drink because I wanted to have fun, but since I was too lazy to explain anything, in the end, I just chose to let it slide.
-Whisper...-
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, as I was calmly watching John prepare the drink, my ear twitched, and some whispers entered my ear accidentally.
I don't know why I did it... Maybe it was to do something to appease my boredom while waiting for the drink to be ready, or simply because I wanted to overhear the conversation of others because of simple curiosity... But in the end, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation at one of the tables.
However, that soon proved to be a mistake...
...
"Goddamnit, there are more and more people whose village had gotten completely dried up nowadays... Today I saw a whole alleyway filled with them. Apparently, they didn't have anywhere to go, and were simply living in the streets until they would find a way of surviving..."
A man, who was several meters away from me, massaged his eyebrows while groaning in a low voice, as the man in front of him nodded his head while hearing the words of the man.
'You can't be serious...' I thought.
"Yeah, I saw one too, there were even kids and old people there! How can the king use dance powder when there are entire villages perishing because of that?! It's no wonder that the rebels are getting angrier and angrier as time passes. At this rate, the conflict will start at any moment... And we as well will probably get involved in it" Speaking with a pained voice, the other man said while looking at the ceiling with a worried gaze, as if tired or fearful of the future
The other man scoffed briefly at the words of his companion before he then looked around and gave off a resigned sigh.
"Obviously... In fact, it wouldn't be strange if the ENTIRE Arabasta got caught in this conflict... After all, they are trying to take down the current king, and that won't come without repercussions..."
After finishing his words, the man and his companion let out exasperated breaths, before one of them looked at the window of the tavern and closed his eyes briefly.
"-Sigh...- King Kobra used to be such a good king... I wonder what happened to him all of the sudden for him to start using dance powder solely in the capital...? Weren't the consequences very obvious from the beginning?"
Looking silently at his companion for a few seconds after hearing his words, the man shook his head, before he then shrugged his shoulders and let out a wry smile.
"Who knows, royalty think very different from us commoners, so it's not that surprising"
...
Finally stopping myself from listening to their conversation, I stared silently at the counter for a few seconds, before then I lowered my head and cursed in a low voice.
"Shit..."
Tightening the grip on my fist, I groaned inside my mind, before I leaned my back on the chair and started looking at the ceiling with a tired expression on my face.
I had come here to stay away from matters related to the royalty... However, fate didn't seem to want to go my way once again.
Moreover, the situation seemed way worse than I had thought in a beginning... Now, it seemed like the entire Arabasta was going to get involved in this problem, regardless of how far it was from the capital...
It was not just a few problems that the king had to solve on his own as I had thought in a beginning, but a goddamn REVOLUTION.
"Holy cow, and here I thought that simply ignoring this fact would solve everything..." Grabbing my head with both hands in frustration, I looked at the calm John, who didn't seem to know anything, and groaned inwardly.
I was seriously starting to consider abandoning Arabasta and going somewhere else while this conflict lasted... However, I didn't want to leave this guy or Altair on their own. They were pretty much the only few people that I talked to nowadays, so I had gotten somewhat attached to them...
Goddamnit, why can't this world just be peaceful and let me be?
"Here it is, Farid!"
-Tap!-
Suddenly, as my thoughts were running wild, I heard the voice of John calling me, and saw a cup filled with a tempting red-colored liquid be placed in front of me.
'This is...'
"I made it with extra care, so I assure you its quality it's the best you will find in Arabasta!"
...
Hah.
Yeah, let's just leave the problems for later... No need to worry so much.
"Thanks"
Giving him a brief thanks, I immediately grabbed the cup in front of me and began drinking to my heart's content.
Either way, the problems of the future were for the future Farid.
I, on the other hand, would make sure to enjoy my vacations to the fullest.
...
Unless, of course, this superhuman hearing of mine got in the way, as always.
...
"... But hey, talking about villages perishing because of this horrible drought... Have you heard about Yuba lately...?"
"What? Yuba...? Wasn't that the base of the rebels?"
"Yeah, though, not anymore thanks to the sandstorms that destroyed it. However, it was a peaceful village that was stationed beside an oasis until just a few years ago... At least until it was destroyed by the sandstorms as I said"
"Oooh! I remember now, what about it?"
"There have been a lot of wanderers that have seen the village head of that village digging in the sand to look for water, hoping to rebuild that destroyed village once there's water"
"What...? Alone?!"
"That's what they say... It seems like all the other villagers migrated because of the lack of water, but only he stayed there in hopes that water would one day appear again"
"That's horrible... -Sigh...- Just what kind of future is awaiting Arabasta, I wonder...?"
"We can only hope that nothing bad happens..."
...
-Crack...-
Accidentally, grabbing too tightly the glass in my hand, and cracking it slightly, I took a deep breath, before I looked at the exit of the tavern with squinted eyes.
"..."
-Sigh...-
'What a pain in the ass...'
For some reason, problems didn't seem to leave my side... Nor did it seem like I could stop myself from meddling in other people's problems.
...
"Goddamnit..."
What am I gonna do with myself, I wonder?
...
-To be continued...-
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