A moment later, Sherwin and the Felynes returned to the real world.

"Sherwin, Sherwin! Was that Sing-Sing Fruit world fun, Meow?!"

Jinx approached with overflowing curiosity the moment they woke up, asking eagerly. The other Felynes were equally curious, though they didn’t show it as urgently as Jinx did.

"Um... Klee thinks it was just okay, Meow..."

The little Ragdoll pouted and shared her thoughts.

Sherwin patted her small head. "That’s because we were busy dealing with Tot-Musica this time. When we have time later, we’ll have Uta take you there to play again. That Sing-Sing Fruit world has great potential for development."

Setting aside that foolish "Eye of the Moon" plan, the Sing-Sing Fruit world itself was like a massive virtual reality world, and Uta was the programmer and GM who could modify data at will.

Most importantly, there was no distance limit for pulling people in; as long as they heard Uta’s singing, they could be drawn into the Sing-Sing Fruit world.

So, theoretically, Uta could use the Sing-Sing Fruit to establish a virtual community akin to a metaverse and recreate all sorts of things from fantasy within it... such as the movies and games Sherwin had seen and played back on Earth.

Of course, those were matters for the future. The key now was Uta’s current mental state, and...

That sheet music capable of summoning Tot-Musica.

Fortunately, the Felynes quickly told Sherwin that before they returned to the real world, the music score had already been burned to ashes by Kaido Meow’s Heat Breath, and there was no situation where the destruction of the score caused Tot Musica to reappear.

Additionally, Klee Meow took the opportunity to quietly whisper into Sherwin’s ear, telling him that Uta, who still looked conflicted, was much more stable in her overall emotions than before.

Although she still "sounded" painful and sad, the intensity had eased considerably.

Clearly, Sherwin’s previous series of actions and hints had achieved some results.

Sherwin nodded with satisfaction. With "emotion monitors" like Klee Meow and Shirahoshi, along with the help of a think tank including Huamei, Sasha, and others, he felt confident in playing the role of a psychiatrist.

However, just as Sherwin was planning which move to use next to improve Uta’s mental health, Klee Meow suddenly tugged on his ear.

"Sherwin, someone is coming meow."

(=ω=)σ

The little Ragdoll pointed toward the horizon.

Looking in the direction of Klee Meow’s small paw, he saw three figures flapping their arms up and down, slowly descending from the sky. Behind them followed about a dozen large News Birds.

Sherwin: "..."

This group of personnel could not be anyone else besides those colleagues from the News Agency.

At the same time, Sherwin also remembered that he had previously promised to give Morgans a batch of Ibuki wine, and Morgans had said back then that he would send people over to collect it...

It seemed it was these few.

"Lord Sherwin!"

Looking at the Winged People and News Birds bowing respectfully before him, Sherwin felt a slight headache.

Giving the Ibuki wine to Morgans was certainly not a problem; what truly gave Sherwin a headache was that the people from the World Economic Journal had found out about them dealing with Tot-Musica...

"Sherwin! You rascal! Didn’t you say you didn’t plan on making big news in Elegia?!!"

Sure enough, after those Winged People finished greeting Sherwin, they immediately placed a Visual Den Den Mushi in front of him.

In the projected image, Morgans was excitedly waving his large wings, spitting as he demanded accountability.

"Cough, cough, cough... I didn’t know that such a thing was actually hidden within the ruins of Elegia either..."

Sherwin spread his hands and decisively played dumb.

"Previously, when Robin deciphered information about the music demon Tot-Musica in the ruins, I thought ancient people had mistaken some Devil Fruit user for a music demon. I didn’t expect such a thing to actually exist!"

"Tot-Musica? Music demon?"

Morgans immediately became interested and hurriedly pressed for more. "Quick, tell me in detail! I can sense the scent of big news in this!"

"I’ll contact you later." Sherwin waved his hand. "We just finished off that guy, and I still need some time to wrap things up here."

After sending Morgans away, Sherwin did not continue trying to adjust Uta’s psychological state. He had done enough today; she needed time to calm down on her own.

So, Sherwin casually joined the Felynes in repairing the areas damaged once again by Tot-Musica, even dragging along several colleagues who had just arrived.

However, Sherwin had underestimated the mental fortitude—or perhaps the thick-skinned nature—of the characters in this pirate world.

He had intended to let Uta rest for a while, but she ended up approaching him first.

"Sherwin, can I talk to you?"

After handing the Ibuki Gourd over to her winged colleagues and calling Morgans to briefly explain the situation regarding Tot-Musica, Uta suddenly walked over and asked with a serious expression.

Sherwin did not agree immediately. Instead, he tilted his head to look at Klee Meow on his shoulder.

(つω)つ

The little Ragdoll did not speak, only hugging Sherwin’s head and gently rubbing against him.

This indicated that Uta’s current emotions were stable and she was fit to talk.

Only then did Sherwin nod and ask, knowing full well what she meant, "What do you want to talk about?"

A look of conflict appeared on Uta’s face. Her mouth opened and closed several times without a single word coming out.

Finally, she glanced back at the worried Gordon before making a determined expression.

"It’s about Tot-Musica," she said.

"Don’t worry, the score has already been..."

"Ten years ago, I also summoned it. Elegia wasn’t destroyed by Shanks back then, it was... me..."

Without waiting for Sherwin to continue playing dumb, Uta took the initiative to speak the truth that everyone already knew.

"Uta!"

Gordon stood up in a panic.

Even though Sherwin had made guesses before, he still held a glimmer of hope. Now that Uta had revealed it herself, Gordon was momentarily overcome with a mix of emotions.

At this moment, his heart felt relieved yet guilty, and above all, utterly lost.

Having kept the secret for Shanks for so long, only to be suddenly told it was all for nothing, Gordon didn’t know how to face Uta.

"It’s okay, Gordon, I know it wasn’t your fault."

Fortunately, the current Uta was not as extreme as she was in the movie. After taking the initiative to comfort Gordon, she looked at Sherwin again.

"If it were Sasha who caused that mistake back then, what would you do? Act as if none of it ever happened?"

Sherwin had a rough idea of what Uta was thinking now.

Previously, Sherwin had told Sasha Meow that even if things turned out badly, he wouldn’t blame her.

This was completely different from Shanks’ approach of silently taking all the guilt upon himself while abandoning Uta.

While this approach made Uta feel envious, her heart was filled with enough guilt that she couldn’t peacefully believe she bore no responsibility at all.

Therefore, she wanted to understand Sherwin’s thoughts in more detail.

"Of course I wouldn’t think that nothing happened."

Sherwin shook his head. There was no need to act; he simply spoke the truth:

"While Tot Musica was summoned unintentionally and the people of Elegia themselves bear some responsibility, the one who summoned it was, after all... uh... Sasha.

If it were me, I would stay by Sasha’s side and do as much as possible to compensate those who were harmed, such as taking care of their families or helping to rebuild Elegia."

He patted Uta on the shoulder and comforted her,

"I won’t tell you that you bear no responsibility at all, but back then, you didn’t subjectively intend to summon Tot Musica.

So while it’s natural to feel guilty, there’s no need to push yourself too hard... Isn’t Gordon the former King of Elegia? He has never resented you, has he?"

"Sherwin is right!" Gordon stepped forward.

"Uta, I have never blamed you. Just as Sherwin said, you were simply bewitched by the sheet music of Tot Musica.

If we are truly talking about responsibility, the fault lies with me, the King who could never make up his mind to destroy that music!"

Then, Gordon, who had also begun to gradually understand Uta’s feelings, said with tears streaming down his face

"I’m sorry, Uta. Shanks and I thought the truth would be too cruel for you, so we wanted to keep it from you. We never considered that leaving you alone on this island was also a very cruel thing to do..."

"I... I... Waaaaah! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!"

Uta threw her arms around Gordon, wailing loudly as she apologized.

Seeing Uta finally vent her emotions, Sherwin breathed a great sigh of relief.

Solving the matter had been much easier than he had anticipated.

Except...

Shanks should already be rushing toward Elegia, shouldn’t he? He wondered if the current Uta would still forgive him.