MTLNOVEL Chapter 574: Judge: Loyalty! Sincerity!!
For someone like Luffy, he would probably be willing to marry Reiju if directly asked.
He already had a favorable impression of Reiju.
Not to mention, in the original timeline, Reiju was the woman who took Luffy's first kiss. The two of them had that connection.
Of course, Luffy would never display his thoughts openly on his face.
Luffy appropriately showed a hint of interest in response to Judge's suggestion.
"Your Majesty, I appreciate your kindness. As for your daughter's marriage, I think it's better to let Her Royal Highness decide for herself. I have always advocated for freedom in matters of love."
"Freedom, of course it means free love. Who says it's not free?" Judge quickly countered. Then, pretending to be embarrassed, he hesitated for a moment before sighing as if he had something to confess:
"To be honest, after I heard about your accomplishments, Admiral, my daughter fell for you. It's just that girls are shy and dare not express themselves. I can see it and feel her anxiety. That's why I had no choice but to make this proposal."
Pretend, keep pretending! Luffy secretly despised him in his heart, but he appeared unmoved and merely continued with his polite deflection.
"But I'm just an ordinary admiral of the Marines, concurrently serving as the administrator of Wano Country. Even if Miss Reiju has some feelings for me, I don't think I am worthy of your family. Perhaps we should just forget about it."
Judge's already determined heart became even more resolute after hearing that Luffy also had authority over Wano Country.
"No, no, no, you are really too modest. To achieve such success at such a young age is rare even counting the 800-year history of the World Government. You and my daughter are a perfect match made in heaven. No one is more suitable than you."
Luffy: "No, no, no, I'm still a little inadequate."
Judge: "No, no, you are the only one who can be my son-in-law."
Luffy: "No, no, no, Reiju deserves better."
Judge: "Don't be ridiculous. There is no young person in this world who is better than you."
Luffy: ...
The two of them went back and forth for quite some time, but Judge seemed to have made up his mind about Luffy and was determined to push Reiju toward him no matter what Luffy said.
Helpless, Luffy couldn't continue arguing and finally had to accept with great reluctance.
However, he still did not forget to emphasize that he would have a private conversation with Reiju later. If she didn't want the marriage, he would never force it.
In response, Judge patted his chest with confidence and made a promise to Luffy.
In fact, at this time, Reiju had no idea that her father had essentially sold her off.
But the reason why Judge remained so confident was that he was certain Reiju would obey his arrangements.
The reason was very simple—just like her three brothers Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji, Reiju had undergone extensive modification. They had all been implanted with instructions to absolutely obey Judge's orders.
Even though Reiju had not been completely deprived of her emotions like her brothers, she still could not disobey Judge's arrangements.
The marriage between the two was thus settled.
Judge, who thought he had paid enough with his offer, finally decided to speak out his demands.
Luffy, who understood the situation well, did not hesitate any longer and kept silent as he prepared to discover Judge's true purpose.
Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning the dowry discussed earlier.
To Judge, it was nothing more than an arsenal and a few snail ships, which he could rebuild if lost.
But for Luffy, these things were better than nothing—just a bonus.
After a few moments of silence, Judge led Luffy to a relatively secluded corner and finally revealed his real intentions.
"Luffy... you don't mind me calling you that, do you?"
Luffy waved his hand to indicate that it didn't matter and motioned for him to continue.
Judge was pleased, feeling that by offering his daughter's hand in marriage, he had brought them closer together.
So he proceeded:
"Luffy, I recently heard from my contacts in the World Government that... the Revolutionary Army has been acting more and more brazenly in recent years, and several member states have already fallen victim."
Luffy didn't say anything, just frowned with a concerned expression, then nodded slowly.
Seeing this, Judge couldn't help but grow more excited and quickly continued:
"I also heard that these member states that were captured by the Revolutionary Army are now beyond the World Government's control. Even the most basic tribute of Heavenly Gold has been discontinued, which has made the noble Celestial Dragons very unhappy. My Germa Kingdom is only a small country without vast territories. But as a member of the World Government, I now understand the government's difficulties and want to help."