"Already returned, I should think," Ashelia replied. "Luffy..." She trailed off, searching for the right words. She was the Queen of Dalmasca - she often gave her men words of encouragement, had supported them unshakably as they had rebuilt their kingdom together. There were times, though, that she still felt like that lost princess on the bridge in Jahara. Vaan had poured his heart out to her, an act she did not take light even at the time, but all she had been able to say was 'I wish I knew.'

"Luffy...you are many things, but you are not weak." Ashelia stopped for a moment, sighed, and then continued "What we faced that night in the wood is far beyond anything we've yet to face on Crystallis - I have battled gods, and what I saw there rivaled their power." This was all said very matter-of-factly. "You did all you could - 'twas inevitable that some of our number would fall in the face of such an onslaught."

While all of that was true, it didn't feel very genuine, even to Ashelia. She took a breath and changed tactics. "Lack of power does not always speak to weakness, Luffy. You were powerless to stop Zelda's death, but you stood and fought despite that. That is not weakness."