A single lightbulb swayed gently from the ceiling, casting a warm glow over the room.
The furniture was old, but spotless.
There wasn't a trace of dust anywhere.
From that alone, it was easy to tell the family living here wasn't well off.
Poor, even.
And yet, beneath that dim yellow light, the little family felt incredibly warm.
"The omurice is ready!"
Little Nami came running out of the kitchen carrying a steaming plate of omurice, then deliberately set it right in front of Kairos D. Vale.
"Big brother, hurry and try it! This is Bell-mère's specialty!" Nami looked at him expectantly, though her eyes kept drifting back to the food and she couldn't help swallowing.
She wanted to eat it too.
But she wanted Kairos to taste it first even more.
"Alright."
Kairos smiled and rubbed her head before picking up a spoon and taking a bite.
"It's really good."
After the first mouthful, he immediately gave it his approval.
The texture was soft and smooth, the egg tender and rich.
It was genuinely delicious.
"Try this too, hurry!"
Nojiko came running over with a bowl of beef, her face full of bright excitement.
"This is good too."
Kairos suddenly found himself surrounded by dishes from both sides.
"Hehe. As long as you like it."
Only then did Nami and Nojiko look satisfied. The two of them happily climbed back onto their seats.
"How come I never get this kind of treatment?"
Off to the side, Genzo let out a long, aggrieved sigh.
He had originally planned to invite Kairos to dinner himself.
Then Nami and Nojiko showed up halfway through and stole the guest outright, insisting that everyone eat at Bell-mère's house instead.
…
About an hour later, the table had been completely cleared.
"Thank you, Mr. Kairos."
Bell-mère had drunk quite a bit by now. Her cheeks were slightly red, and her words were beginning to slur a little as she thanked him.
"I should be the one thanking you for the meal."
Kairos patted his stomach contentedly.
Since transmigrating into this world, this was the most comfortable meal he had eaten.
"Big brother is amazing. When I grow up, I'm going to marry him!"
Nami swung her legs happily under the table, grinning from ear to ear.
"Me too! Me too!"
Nojiko immediately joined in with a loud shout.
"Haha…"
Kairos had also had a little to drink. He set down his bottle and merely shook his head with a laugh, not taking the little girls' childish words seriously.
"You two are talking nonsense."
Bell-mère, already tipsy, waved a hand before half-collapsing onto Nami and Nojiko and rubbing their heads hard.
"Ow! That hurts!"
The two girls cried out as they clutched their heads.
"Stop drinking, stop drinking."
Seeing Bell-mère reach for more alcohol, Genzo hurriedly tried to stop her.
Watching the warm chaos before him, Kairos felt something stir faintly in his chest.
He chuckled and reached for another bottle—
Then froze.
The sounds around him suddenly seemed to drift far away.
At that moment, the only things left in his mind were two cold mechanical notifications.
"Ding. Host has successfully used the Ikki Kurogane Card and obtained Ikki Kurogane skill: Partial Swordsmanship Techniques."
"Ding. Host has gained the admiration of young Nami and obtained Ikaruga Card (Fairy Tail Version — 1 Use)."
"…?"
Kairos was genuinely stunned.
The first notification made sense.
He had used the Ikki Kurogane Card specifically hoping to get a skill from it, and now he had received swordsmanship techniques. That was a good result.
But the second one…
Admiration?
System, are you messing with me?
Even with Kairos' steady temperament, he couldn't help glancing at Nami a second time.
Nami was only six years old.
No.
Absolutely not.
That was way too dangerous a train of thought.
Kairos immediately shook his head hard, trying to fling the idea right out of his mind.
"Kairos, are you drunk too? I told you people with bad tolerance shouldn't drink so much. One of you is yelling nonsense, and the other is sitting there shaking his head like crazy. What are you even doing?"
Genzo snatched the bottle right out of Kairos' hand.
His own face was bright red, obviously drunk as well.
And perhaps because he was drunk, he was finally relaxed enough to act naturally around Kairos.
"Well… that accidentally solved one problem."
Kairos let Genzo take the bottle, his eyes flickering with thought.
He had actually been wondering how he could "defeat" Nami and get a card from her.
Luffy was a boy, thick-skinned and durable, so that had been one thing.
But Nami…
There was no way Kairos could bring himself to hit her.
He wasn't unhinged enough to bully a six-year-old girl just for a reward.
And now, the system notification had solved that problem for him.
Still… he couldn't quite understand it.
Did admiration count as a kind of "defeat" too?
…
Another night passed.
Morning light spread across the earth once more.
The matter at Cocoyasi Village was settled, and there was no reason for Kairos to remain any longer.
So early the next morning, he arrived at the harbor, ready to set out once again in search of strong opponents.
"Big brother, goodbye!"
Nojiko cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted as loudly as she could.
"I'm going to find you on the sea one day!"
Nami waved her small pale hand with all her strength, tears of reluctance glistening in her eyes.
"The sea is dangerous. Wait until you're older."
Standing on the boat, Kairos drew in a slow breath and looked at Nami seriously.
Whatever the system said, he had no intention of ending up with some cursed reputation.
That said, he didn't truly believe the system's "admiration" message anyway.
In Kairos' view, Nami was still far too young.
Her mind wasn't mature yet.
That so-called admiration was nothing more than a child's admiration for a powerful adult.
It was innocent talk.
Nothing more.
Kairos didn't dwell on it.
He crouched down and untied the rope binding his small boat to the shore.
It was time for him to leave Cocoyasi Village.
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