Chapter 44 - The Pub, Part 2

"Oh..." Victor arched an eyebrow and questioned, "You mean all six of us as one unit? On one ship?"

He liked where this was going, after all, this is what he wanted ultimately. But he still played a nonchalant expression as he wasn't sure if all had the same idea.

"Hmm, I kind of like Kylian's suggestion..." Lilly expressed her agreement before Kylian could elaborate further.

"I'm with you… It'd be a lot of fun…" Zlatan, too, chimed in with a 'Yes!'.

"Zlatan, you do know we trained our behinds for the past two years, not for the purpose of having parties..." Salah commented on Zlatan's, apparently very irresponsible, rapid response.

He was their friend, but he stood out from the rest of the group since he had a propensity for taking things much too seriously.

And Victor thought immediately that Salah might be the most difficult one to get onboard his plans.

Lilly tsked, not liking the comment that was taken far too seriously. "We're not machines like those Cipher Pol agents are, unlike them... While still doing our duties as marines, we can and will have fun..." She said with a hard tone.

"I…" Salah wanted to say he did not mean entirely like she had remarked but paused to put his thoughts together first. "I get what you're saying... and I agree… It's just that... Who knows if we'd even be given the opportunity to establish a team in the first place...?"

Sensing that this might be a good time to bring it up, even though it was far too sooner than Victor had planned out, he decided to take a gamble.

*SIGH*

Everyone turned their attention to Victor after he let out a sigh that could be heard.

"You're right… We're not robots like you said Lilly… We'll get to have a life… However, with the possibility that it may never be possible to go back to it… And Salah," before continuing, Victor cocked his head to the latter's side, while fully immersing into the character.

"You're also right… We trained hard not for having parties. But that doesn't mean we can't have one… Also, I will personally submit a request to the Fleet Admiral for us to form a unit, if it is something that all of you, the six of us, are in complete agreement that we desire…" Victor let out the script, albeit a rough one, and got ready for everyone's response.

The five people in question quickly perked up, almost to the point of forgetting the little disagreement that had just taken place. "You-… You'd really do that, Victor? You'd want to join with us to establish a team?" It was Lilly who questioned first.

At first, she considered the concept to be a mere notion, which is a kind of proposal that has a very small chance of actually being put into practice. In addition to that, she had not the slightest idea that Victor would ever consider doing something like that.

Victor, on the other hand merely nodded and grinned at all of Lilly's questions. Of course, that's what he wants. He was extremely happy that it had worked out as he hoped.

And moreover, he's not going to spend his life in this world without companions. That would be tedious and uninteresting.

His goal was to nurture a friendship based on mutual trust so that when he revealed his schemes to them, they would be completely on board and supportive of him.

After all, he's only one person, and there would definitely come times when he and his other identity would have to appear at once, or even fight in front of people. And the only solution he has for now is to have powerful companions to play that role.

Of course, this will happen much later, once he's established a reputation for himself.

The other four, Salah, Kylian, Zlatan and Lionel all had an anticipating expression while waiting for Victor's verbal response.

Not just for Victor, but to all of them, this conversation happened completely unplanned, and the outcome was even more unexpected.

Similar to Lilly, they all thought Victor would not take the suggestion seriously. But after hearing what Victor had said, they had all given the idea a chance. After all, who wouldn't want an Admiral-caliber comrade on their squad, or even as a leader? Although they were powerful, they were aware of the enormous disparity between themselves and the three monsters.

Looking at everyone's faces, Victor had now practically confirmed their thinking. But still, he wanted to hear from them. This wasn't something trivial, after all, his future plans may all be altered after this.

"What… Why're you all looking at me like that…?" Asked Victor playing oblivious.

"I really hope that you weren't playing around, mait, with that full speech that you just gave... Because if you did, well, it wouldn't be very humorous..." Zlatan spoke first.

"Victor, he's correct... I'm sure we, I mean myself… I may not have expressed in words, but... I'd love the opportunity to work under you. I've been getting to know you for the last seven or eight months... You are very, very different from those two guys…" Salah offered his viewpoint.

"I agree…"

"Same here…"

Lionel and Kylian both answered likewise.

Victor subconsciously skipped his gaze on Lilly, to which, the latter too responded similarly, "You know my answer," and ended by smiling sincerely.

Victor was ecstatic, at the same time, a bit startled. He was aware that the five of them considered him a friend, after all, his character was carefully portrayed, half performed and partially real.

But he never had thought these five powerful individuals truly desired to report under him so soon. After all, out of the most elite marines, they were the top eight strongest individuals.

He had planned to get them under his command much, much later, but now, it seems he may have to change or hasten parts of his plans.

"I'm... *SIGH*... pleased... I won't disappoint you... And for the record, my uncle claimed I would be promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral. Borsalino and Sakazuki too." Victor said, spilling some secrets to show sincerity.

"Heehee, I know…" Lilly laughed, appearing even more joyful at this point.

"Oh… Does your dad always spill marine secrets to you…" Victor smiled sarcastically.

"Doesn't your uncle too…" she didn't back down.

"Haha…" The others too joined in.

The hours ticked by slowly and the six people remained, now more contentedly engaged in discussion, as tonight would be the start of something truly incredible, that would change their lives for the better, forever.

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AN:

This and the previous chapter were the most challenging for me to write. I am not extremely pleased with it. I lost count of how many times I had rewritten the conversations...

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STONES STONES STONES, KEEP SENDING POWER STONES AND UP THIS PIECE TO THE SUMMIT... ☺☺☺✌

Please, do spare those precious stones, and see if we can raise my novel to at least top 20.

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