"So, tell ..."
Nao's tone was light as he helped Bell-mère set up their cutlery. "What exactly is so important that you need to save money for three whole years to do it...?"
"Stop playing dumb!"
His words were like lighting the fuse of a powder keg. The chestnut-haired girl in a ponytail lunged at him, grabbing both his cheeks and snarling:
"Marriage! A wedding, dammit! I've been saving for our wedding—we should've been married ages ago, you idiot!"
The entire room went silent in an instant.
Swish, swish, swish.
All the surrounding diners' gazes focused on them. Nao hurriedly wriggled free from Bell-mère, stood up, and awkwardly pressed his hands down, smiling dryly:
"Misunderstanding, big misunderstanding! Everyone, please carry on—eat, drink, don't mind us…"
Once the curious onlookers turned back to their als, he sat down, grimacing at Bell-mère: "Could you not shout like that? The way you said it, it's like we're getting married tomorrow or sothing…"
"Then why don't you give an actual date?"
Belle-Mère pouted, clearly unhappy. "I asked you in the very first letter I sent six months ago, and you just kept dodging the question. Never gave a straight answer…"
"The marriage thing, I never actually promised, right? That was just sothing I said when we were kids to coax you down from a tree, just playing arou—"
"Hm?"
Seeing Bell-mère's expression suddenly turn cold, Nao choked, wisely swallowing the words "just playing around." Instead, he said softly:
"We'll definitely get married, but Bell-mère, don't you think it's a bit too early for us to be talking about this at our age?"
"Too early?"
The girl scoffed, staring intently into Nao's eyes.
"After the New Year, we'll both be twenty! This is the perfect age to get married! Don't forget, Aunt Yukika and Captain Natsuya also got married at this age, didn't they?"
"..."
Nao found himself unable to argue.
Different worlds, different norms. In his past life, being nineteen and obsessing over wedding plans would've seed way too premature—but here in this world, it wasn't uncommon at all.
Especially considering how far his relationship with Belle-Mère had gone. They were far beyond the typical childhood friend dynamic.
If he hadn't been taken to Headquarters by Garp back then, they might have already been arranged to marry by their parents, perhaps even had children by now.
Thankfully, at that mont, the tension at the table was broken by a stream of waiters carrying plates of grilled at.
Nao thanked them and took the platters, placing them neatly. But when he saw the drinks, he raised an eyebrow.
"Why's it all milk? You guys don't serve anything else?"
"No, sir," the waiter replied with a smile. "We only have milk, but it's unlimited and free. You can order as much as you like."
"Alright then, milk it is."
He sighed. Seriously, grilled at without cola or beer? What kind of sense does that make?
Speaking of which, this restaurant was feeling stranger and stranger to him.
Not only unlimited grilled at, but also unlimited milk. Was the owner of this restaurant really so rich old man who, after retiring, got bored and decided to do charity?
"The at tastes pretty good."
He took a bite of the grilled at on his plate, his eyes lighting up in surprise. "It's surprisingly fresh, and all the best cuts of beef..."
"Don't change the subject."
Belle-Mère poured him a glass of milk and thoughtfully handed him a prepared dipping sauce, but she wasn't letting it go.
"Tell —when exactly do you plan on marrying ?"
"…When I beco an Admiral," Nao said after thinking it over.
"...What?"
She blinked, not quite processing it.
"Once I beco a Marine Admiral and fulfill my life's dream, we'll have our wedding," Nao counted on his fingers. "It shouldn't be too many years from now. We'll still be young then..."
Before he could finish the sentence, Belle-Mère, thoroughly pissed off, pinched his cheeks again.
"Ow."
"I'm not even squeezing hard yet!"
She glared at him. "Are you kidding ?! Admiral?! You think I'm still so clueless little girl who doesn't know how hard that is?! By the ti you beco an Admiral, you'll be fifty or sixty and balding! You're obviously just brushing off again!"
"I'm not."
Nao looked at her innocently. "I'm already ranked pretty high. Admiral's just one small step away."
He held up his hand and brought his thumb and index finger together. "See? Just this much."
"Pretty high rank already?" Belle-Mère looked at him suspiciously. "What do you an? Weren't you just a rookie?"
Earlier that morning, they had only chatted about his internship at G-2 Branch. Nao hadn't had a chance to tell the girl about taking the graduation assessnt early and being promoted to Rear Admiral, intending to talk about it in the afternoon.
Since the topic had co up now, he might as well lay it all out.
"I've already graduated. As for the rank I was given..." Nao had just begun when a sudden commotion erupted from the staircase.
"Look, it's Captain Samor!"
"He has such an aura. As expected of the highest-ranking officer of our island's branch..."
Listening to the whispers of the surrounding diners, Nao instinctively turned to look. He saw a man draped in a white cloak of Justice slowly ascending from the staircase, personally accompanied by the BBQ restaurant owner.
The man appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, tall, over three ters in height, with a beard, a cold expression, and his hands clasped behind his back, exuding a natural air of authority without needing to be angry.
"Why are there so many people on the second floor too? Are there any seats left?"
Seeing the noisy and crowded second floor, he looked displeased, glancing at the owner behind him and speaking indifferently.
"Yes, there are, please rest assured, seat number seventy-eight is empty. Please follow , Captain." The owner, smiling obsequiously, respectfully extended his arm to guide the way.
This is Captain Samor? Nao observed him for a few monts, then indifferently withdrew his gaze.
He had heard his dad talk about him briefly last night, saying that this branch Captain had only been transferred here last year.
He usually put on a grand air, acting high and mighty, rarely interacting closely with his subordinates or the civilians under his jurisdiction.
However, those were his only flaws.
As the highest-ranking officer of the base, Captain Samor was usually very responsible in handling affairs, and he was always at the forefront in battles against pirates. He also never engaged in any immoral acts like extortion or bribery.
Therefore, after a year in his post, his overall reputation was still quite good.
He then looked at Bell-mère across from him, only to find that the girl, who had been so fierce monts ago, was now curled up in the corner of her seat.
Every now and then, she would nervously glance back towards the staircase, looking as if she were terrified of Captain Samor noticing her.
"What's wrong?" Nao found it sowhat amusing. "It's your normal day off today, you didn't sneak out of the base. Why are you trying to hide?"
"You wouldn't understand."
Bell-mère sighed, lowering her voice:
"Captain Samor is especially strict. Everyone usually tries their best to avoid him. When I enlisted last year, he even reprimanded and criticized in front of many people for not having standard shooting posture. I still have psychological trauma from it..."
Just as she said this, she suddenly heard the BBQ restaurant owner's voice. "Oh, seat seventy-eight is taken too, how unfortunate... Then please, Captain, follow . There should still be a seat available at table thirty, by the window."
Table thirty?
Bell-mère instinctively looked down at their number: twenty-six. Table thirty was right across the corridor. aning the only path from the stairs... was right beside her seat.
Oh no!
Her expression crumpled. The footsteps behind her drew closer. She silently prayed: Please don't notice . Just walk past. Don't stop...
No such luck.
The footsteps stopped right beside her. With her head bowed, she could clearly see the polished black shoes—Captain Samo's.
He saw , didn't he?
With a groan, she began to rise and salute—only to realize he wasn't even looking at her.
He was staring, stunned, at Nao across the table.
"You… you wouldn't happen to be—"
Even without a uniform, he recognized ?
Nao, still sipping milk, gave a resigned smile and t Samo's gaze.
"You're not mistaken. It's ."
Smack!
The next mont, Bell-mère watched in astonishnt.
The normally stone-faced, commanding Captain Samo straightened like a new recruit, snapping a perfect Marine salute, face flushed with excitent:
"It really is you! Rear Admiral Nao!"
"I—I'm Captain Samo, East Blue Branch 16! Among all the young officers at Headquarters , aside from Mr. Sakazuki, you're the one I admire most!"
"I heard you ca ho last night to visit family—I was so excited I couldn't sleep! I planned to wait a few days before calling on you, but I never imagined I'd bump into you here, just out for lunch..."
Is this really Captain Samo...?
Bell-mère, across the table, was dumbfounded.
There wasn't a trace of authority left in him. He looked like a crazed fanboy eting his idol.
Your whole image just collapsed, Captain!
"Well, Shibari Island's not that big," Nao said calmly, clearly used to this. "Bumping into each other while eating out or shopping isn't that strange. No need to be formal—want to sit and join us?"
Captain Samo's eyes lit up, but then he glanced at Bell-mère, still frozen beside him. He quickly caught himself and waved his hands apologetically.
"No, no! I really appreciate the offer, Rear Admiral, but I wouldn't want to intrude. The owner already found a seat—I'll just have a quick bite on my own."
His tone was respectful, his posture humble. After a few more pleasantries, he bowed and followed the owner away.
He seems like a better guy than I gave him credit for.
Nao watched him go, then casually popped a piece of grilled at into his mouth. If this were my previous life, he'd be the equivalent of my hotown's mayor or governor...
And now he's my biggest fan. Kind of a cool feeling.
At this mont, Bell-mère across from him was slowly recovering from her dazed state.
"You..." She looked at Nao in disbelief.. "You're already a Rear Admiral at Headquarters?"
"Bingo."
Nao snapped his fingers with a grin. "Five ranks above Captain Samo, and just two below Admiral. So no, I wasn't lying earlier. I'm really that close."
Before he could finish, she pinched his cheeks again.
"Ow—why again?"
"You just looked so smug—it annoyed ," she huffed. "And the fact that Captain Samo found out before I did..."
She paused, then grew serious. "So you really believe... you can beco an Admiral within a few years?"
"At the rate I'm going? Yeah."
Nao thought for a mont. "I might be a Vice Admiral as early as next year. As for Admiral... maybe four or five years. Ten at the absolute most."
He was being modest.
Back in Sea Calendar Year 1510, when Fisher Tiger died, Kizaru was still a Vice Admiral, also stationed at G-2 Branch.
So Sengoku's promotion to Fleet Admiral, and the rise of the new Three Admirals, were still at least eight or nine years away.
"Four or five years is fine. But ten? No way!" she shook her head firmly. "Marrying at thirty? Absolutely not—we'd be ancient!"
"Thirty is a bit late," Nao admitted. Then he offered, "Alright, how about this—if I beco an Admiral within five years, I'll co back and marry you."
"And if you don't?"
"Either way—we'll hold the wedding before my twenty-fifth birthday."
"It's a deal! No backing out!" Bell-mère held out her pinky. "Pinky promise!"
"You're still into this kind of thing?" Nao chuckled, but he eventually linked his pinky with hers. "Alright—pinky swear, cross my heart, one hundred years, no breaking it."
Their pinkies swayed gently.
Looking at her serious expression, Nao smiled.
This was the first ti he'd made a serious promise about sothing as big as marriage.
But it felt good—like a weight off his shoulders. No more dodging the topic every ti he saw Bell-mère.
And speaking of progress...
With things out in the open, the system should've recognized their relationship had advanced—should've triggered the second-tier rewards, right?
He opened the system panel quietly—and sure enough:
[Bell-mère has been fully captured. Love relationship established.]
[Player receives second-tier point reward: 70,000 points.]
[Third-tier sign-in reward activated. Maintaining the love relationship will accumulate sign-in days.]
[Bell-mère: Current sign-in days: 1]
[After one month of accumulated sign-in days, an additional point reward will be granted. After one year, an A-grade gift box * 1 will be granted.]
[If either party announces the termination of the love relationship, or if either party's feelings deteriorate and disappear, the love relationship will be considered ended, and sign-in days will be interrupted.]
70,000 points, plus the 200,000 points obtained after establishing a relationship with Gion, brought Nao's remaining points to just over 300,000, making him affluent once again.
"Looks like I can add more points again?"
Just as he had the thought, another alert popped up:
[New side quest "Grand Wedding" triggered. Please check in the quest log.]
[Side Quest Na: Grand Wedding]
[A youth will eventually mature, and a 'Sea King' will ultimately need a final destination. A sufficiently grand wedding is the best dividing line between a boy and a man.]
[Quest Content: Simultaneously hold a wedding and enter the hall of marriage with at least three wives. There is no ti limit for this side quest.]
[Quest Reward: 400,000 points, S-grade gift box 2, Shop 80% Off Coupon 1.]
[Note: After this side quest is completed, the system will undergo a comprehensive upgrade, entering ga version 2.0. Please look forward to it.]
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