Chapter 333: Robin’s defense mechanism

Robin is a very intellectual woman, her elegant smile, her scent of old books are refreshing. Her relaxed face can easily arouse people’s goodwill.

This is what happened to Ian. After he sat down, he looked at the gorgeous woman, who seemed very modest, and couldn’t help staring at it for a while.

Robin still wears her cowboy hat… Beneath the brim was a beautiful black shoulder-length hair, she has a pair of dark deep eyes and exquisite facial features. Perhaps because of her tragedy at a young age, many betrayals, and endless escape from the authorities, Robin looked quite mature, she knows how to get along with others. When Ian looked at her, she didn’t have any restraint, but she smiled calmly and looked back at Ian.

What Ian doesn’t know is that Robin while he was staring at her, she was also observing him.

Describing the situation of the two, it may appear as if they were engaged in a “long-term relationship.”

Ian knows Robin very well, her past, where to find her, and what she’s currently doing, but he has never seen her, face to face, and nor did Robin. This is her first time meeting Ian, but she has been paying attention to his activities and news.

Ian’s process of becoming a Shichibukai was very different from other members, such as Crocodile and Doflamingo. They were recruited by the world government purely because they were strong evil pirates. Ian has always been standing against the World Government, after failing so many times to take him down, they decided to make him a Shichibukai.

The World Government controls all Buster Calls and the Admirals, which can all be considered nightmares that have been hunting Robin since her childhood. The annihilation of O’Hara is the darkest and saddest thing she has ever witnessed, so when it comes to the World Government’s power, she becomes horrified and feels hopeless and powerless.

However, a brave man, the black dragon Ian, openly set fire to the Celestial Dragons’ manors and rescued hundreds of slaves from Marijoa. Such actions would directly make him archenemy of the World Government, and such a person can never escape the pursuit of the world government, but Ian survived and forced them to give him the title of a Shichibukai.

All people are like this… When they are unable to face the things they fear, they will secretly worship others who can withstand these things…

Yes, what Ian doesn’t know is that Robin actually admires him, which is why she has been observing him.

After the two looked at each other silently for a while, Ian suddenly smiled and asked Robin: “It was you who spoke in the crowd before, right!? Your voice is very distinctive, and you can be distinguished in any fuss.”

Robin smiled and said: “I hope you don’t mind exposing your identity.”

Ian shook his head. After he entered Alubarna, he didn’t think about hiding his identity anymore. It was better to be recognized, because, in this way, Crocodile could find him easily.

Just… Ian rubbed his chin, looking at Robin, and said: “Why did you come out, not him? What about Crocodile, where is he?”

When the two started talking, the waiter had already poured the wine and quietly left. In fact, this pub was actually under the organization of the Baroque Works. After getting the order of Crocodile, Robin chose this place to meet and talk with Ian. This is the reason why there are no other guests in the tavern, so even if Ian directly referred to Mr.0 as Crocodile, no one would hear it.

Robin smirked and giggled, then took a sip of the wine glass in front of her. “You really know the true identity of the president. I am very curious now. Does all the Shichibukai have a top-notch intelligence agency?”

“Hah!” Ian smiled and knew that Robin has misunderstood him, so he said, “We don’t need to discuss how I knew, these are minor problems.”

“Alright!” Robin nodded, and said: “The president has some doubts about your intentions, that’s why I came first to greet you.”

Hearing Robin’s answer, Ian couldn’t help but curl his lips… This Crocodile guy is really cautious, but then again, this kind of vigilance is normal! After all, no fool should be getting such a title… (T/N: without including that shadow guy XD!)

But unfortunately, Crocodile would never expect that Ian’s purpose of coming to Alabasta was not to find him or Pluto, but to meet Robin. Thank God he was cautious, sending Robin to contact him first was actually a great thing, saving Ian a lot of trouble and time.

Therefore, Ian didn’t mind Crocodile’s “Rudeness”, and directly said: “In fact, I came here not to meet him, but to see you!”

Robin blinked and asked curiously: “You are looking for me?”

“Hmm… Well!” Ian nodded, suddenly said: “Miss all Sunday, this should not be your name, just an alias, right? Can you tell me your real name?”

Robin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and said with a smile. “My name!? Is that important?”

“Of course!” Ian said with a smile: “Because what I’m looking for is not Miss all Sunday, but a woman called Nico Robin!”

Robin looked puzzled: “Nico Robin? Who are you talking about? I don’t know her, Sir Ian… I think you have mistaken me with someone else!”

Robin tried to conceal her identity, but he caught a trace of panic in her eyes when he said her name.

Ian can understand her feelings of being unwilling to reveal her real name. If he remembers correctly, Robin’s current wanted poster still has the photo of her childhood. She has been on the run for so many years, hiding since she fled O’Hara, and as she grew older, her appearance changed a lot from that of her childhood, and she kept on hiding her name as much as possible…

Since she started following Crocodile, she has been using the alias, Miss All Sunday, and stayed in the shadows. Unexpectedly, Ian called her by her name, which of course made her a bit flustered.

“Don’t get me wrong!” Ian smiled and said, “I won’t do anything to you. I’m also aware that Crocodile knows your true identity. So it doesn’t make sense if I didn’t know who you are, right?”

Robin understood that she was found, but the smile on her face was gone. She gently pressed the brim and covered her bangs. She started to talk: “I see… you are right, I am Nico Robin, but why are you looking for me?”

Seeing her movement, Ian was a little helpless. He knew very well that Robin’s movement was actually a manifestation of her defense mechanism, it was just her subconscious.

Robin has been used to the hideousness of mankind for so many years, that’s why she set up a defense mechanism against others…

Ian knows that revealing her real name will arouse her vigilance, but he didn’t have another way to reach his goal. As he said before, he is looking for Nico Robin, not someone else, if she does not concede, then things will be more difficult.

After all, Ian is looking for Robin to translate the ancient script of the Poneglyph he found…

Ian rubbed his eyebrows due to a headache, and felt that he had to let Robin put down her guard, so he thought about what to say for a while…: “Robin, can I call you that?”

“You are a Shichibukai after all, you can do whatever you want!” Robin said faintly.

Hearing Robin’s faint tone, Ian sighed and said to her positively: “Let me be honest, although I know your past and who you are, I never thought about acting against you or using you, believe it or not… but if the atmosphere stays like this, we won’t be able to communicate.”

Robin looked at Ian with a little surprise in her eyes. Ian said this with a very serious tone, which really had a little effect. She finally nodded and said, “Ok…”

Ian looked at her and confirmed that she was really willing to listen, so he started to talk again: “I heard that you are the only survivor of O’Hara, and that you are capable of reading the Ancient script, so that’s why you were chased by the World Government. I deeply sympathize with what happened to O’Hara… but there is nothing you or I can do to change the past. All you have to do is continue living happily!”

Robin looked up at Ian in surprise. She didn’t expect that after many years, someone would tell her to live happily!

Listening to what Ian said, Robin found that Ian, the new Shichibukai, seemed to be very different from Crocodile.

Sincerity is an emotion that can infect others deeply. Ian back then pulled Fujitora onto his group by showing him the respect he deserve and staying true to his words. This is why he is different from many other captains. Now, Robin started feeling that he is really different.

With a smile, Ian said to Robin: “As I imagine, you want to be an archaeologist, right!? But how much do you know about Poneglyphs?”

This sentence completely stunned Robin.

“You know about the Poneglyphs; too?” Robin whispered in surprise.

Ian spread his hand and shrugged, saying: “I know much more than you think. In fact, after entering the New World, you will find that these mysterious steles are no secret.”

“Wha… is it!?” Robin stared at Ian.

Ian said: “There are about thirty Poneglyphs around the world, four of which are red Poneglyph, which contain the road to the last island, and other types… But if my information were correct, then that year, O’Hara started translating a Poneglyph with the records of the void century…”

He told Robin all that he had learned about these steles, and obviously, this was her first time hearing this information, so she looked at Ian intently, and she eagerly wrote down every word Ian said.

Although Robin has been living a life of upheavals, she still wants to fulfill her dream of reading all the Poneglyphs and revealing the true history, because this is the legacy pursued by her mother at that time…

However, she was alone and didn’t have the strength needed to protect herself, she needs to rely on a strong fellow like Crocodile to pursue her dream.

Therefore, even if she can read Ancient script, she hasn’t found a Poleglyph yet. Even what Ian said is something she never heard before…