Chapter 38: Cloaks, Blades, and Bloody Escapes
"Why should I believe you?"
Under her dark cloak, Nico Robin bit her lip. Hesitant. Uneasy.
"What do you think?" Mio shrugged casually. "Right now, the initiative is in my hands, isn't it? Besides," he added with a smirk, stepping a little closer, "you don't need to worry about what I think of you. After all..."
Mio tilted his head, pinching her chin gently as he eyed her with a teasing expression. "Even with that cloak on, I can tell—you're not exactly curvy. So what's there to be interested in?"
Robin's cheeks flushed crimson, her eyes wide with a mix of shame and anger. The words stung, not because they were cruel, but because they were bluntly true. Still, oddly enough, the tension she had felt began to ease. Maybe it was because Mio didn't take her too seriously, or maybe because the conversation had shifted to something less deadly serious.
She took a deep breath and made up her mind. "Fine, I'll agree. But you have to promise me—promise me you'll really take me to see the Poneglyphs."
Even at her age, Robin understood the situation perfectly. Her agreement or refusal was meaningless in the face of overwhelming strength. If Mio truly wanted to force her, she wouldn't stand a chance. But something about him sparked a flicker of hope. The possibility that he might actually lead her to her dream.
The dream that had kept her alive all this time.
Most people scoff at dreams. Call them childish or delusional. But for people like Robin, dreams are everything—the anchor that holds them together through the storm.
For her, this was the reason to survive.
Because without that dream, any child who had faced the nightmares she had would've already broken long ago.