The familiar handwriting greeted him like an old friend.
As Nao Natsuya stared at the letter, the image of the stubborn, serious girl—his childhood friend who, though the same age as him, often acted like an older sister, always sticking up for him—seemed to come alive before his eyes.
He couldn't help but smile. While sipping the chilled tea provided in the mess hall, he slowly unfolded the letter and began to read, much to the jealous, envious stares of Rosinante across the table.
The first few paragraphs were just as he expected, filled with questions about why he hadn't written back in so long.
The flurry of exclamation marks almost leapt off the page, as if the flustered girl herself were popping out to knock on his head in frustration.
Only by the middle of the letter did her tone soften, the exclamation marks vanishing, replaced by words filled with concern about his well-being.
She asked things like: had he been bullied by his seniors at Headquarters, was the food there to his liking, had he grown taller since he left East Blue—he had been just over 180 cm then.
"She's spot-on…" Nao scratched his head. He had indeed grown several centimeters taller over the past few months. At this rate, he might break 200 cm by the end of the year.
When he saw her again, Bellemere would probably have to stand on her tiptoes just to reach his chest. He wondered if she'd be surprised…
As he continued reading, he reached the final paragraph where the exclamation marks returned.
[That's all I have to say! Hehe, aren't you so moved by now that you're crying and missing me like crazy?]
[Lastly, you big idiot, Natsuya! You promised me we'd get married when we turn twenty, and now there's less than a year left. Are you ready? When are you coming back to East Blue to marry me?]
Pfft!
Nao spewed out his tea, unfortunately spraying it onto Shiryu across from him. But he didn't even notice Shiryu's furious glare; he sat there, stunned, holding the letter with a dumbfounded expression.
"Marry her after turning twenty?"
When the hell did I say something like that?!
Yes, he and Bellemere were childhood friends with a deep bond, but they'd never even had a serious romantic relationship. How did things suddenly escalate straight to marriage?!
…Oh, wait.
A long-buried memory resurfaced. Nao suddenly remembered that back when they were six or seven years old, Bellemere had once fallen from an orange tree while trying to pick fruit for him, bawling her eyes out.
In a panic, he had said all sorts of comforting things—including, apparently, a promise to marry her when they were twenty.
Siiigh…
Nao gulped down some tea in shock.
No way… Could that childish promise from so long ago still count? Back then, he'd made all kinds of outrageous promises under that orange tree, but she'd fixated on that one?
Rubbing his temples, Nao felt a headache coming on. In his mind, shaped by his previous life's views, marriage was something for after twenty-five—he was still practically a kid!
And to make things worse, he'd just activated a Love Cell Cultivation System today. He was counting on it to help him overcome his current physical limits and achieve his dream of becoming one of the Marine's top fighters.
If he became a married man just like that, how could he possibly enjoy a proper romance or complete any system objectives?
"Wait a second…"
A realization hit him, and his expression shifted. Since Bellemere had been so direct in the letter, did their relationship now count as a "romantic connection" under the system's rules?
He instinctively reopened the system's interface and scanned the upper right corner of the screen. Sure enough, a new notification had appeared:
[Bellemere successfully captured: Ambiguous relationship established]
[Player awarded First-Tier Point Bonus: 4,000 points]
[Romantic relationship not yet confirmed. Player is encouraged to continue efforts to achieve full capture and Second-Tier reward]
So there really was a reward?
Nao stared at his point balance, which had jumped to 5,501 points. His heart leapt in both surprise and delight—it was like suddenly hitting the jackpot, going from broke to a windfall overnight.
Well, maybe not that big a windfall, but it was more than enough to buy the two affordable random items in the shop, with points left over to boost his basic attributes. No more fretting between options.
"Only 'ambiguous relationship' status, huh…"
Nao held the letter tightly, deep in thought. He figured that establishing an official romantic relationship with Bellemere wouldn't be too hard—after all, their bond was already strong. A single phone call to clear the air would probably do the trick.
But he absolutely couldn't risk that. In fact, Nao decided right then and there to only reply by letter from now on, carefully avoiding any use of Den Den Mushi to call Bellemere—he wasn't about to get dragged into a "marriage talk" vortex.
For now, he'd focus on using the points he'd just earned.
Thinking about the things he could now exchange in the system made his heart race with anticipation.
Intermediate Kami-e, basic attribute points—here I come!
He tucked the letter away, finished off the last bites of his food in a few mouthfuls, let out a satisfied burp, and bid farewell to his friends, hurrying excitedly back toward the training grounds.
Though today's scheduled training was complete, Nao's reputation as a training maniac was well-known in the elite camp. Rosinante and Shiryu were long used to his relentless extra training.
But today felt a little different. Both of them exchanged a knowing look as they watched Nao's retreating back.
"You noticed it too, huh, Shiryu?"
"Yeah, that guy's unusually fired up today…"
The reason was obvious—the letter Garp had delivered, the pink envelope that had made his day.
"Man, it'd be nice to have a girl you love cheering you on. I wouldn't mind working myself to death in the training grounds if I had that kind of motivation!"
"Mm…" For once, Shiryu didn't offer a sarcastic remark.
In the early summer of the year 1501 of the Sea Circle Calendar, the air in the mess hall's corner was tinged with the scent of envy.