"Leona, don't you think it's about time we left this island?"
"Huh?"
It had been about three weeks since Leona and I started camping and training on Little Garden when I suddenly brought it up.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not talking about going to that Facility or anything. I'm just… getting kind of bored here."
Unless I'm settling somewhere as a base, I'm not the type to stay put for long. After a while, I start itching to see something new.
And sure, food isn't a problem here, but eating dinosaur for every meal is starting to lose its charm…
Don't get me wrong—it's delicious. I'm just craving something different. Something we can't get on this island.
Also, this jungle is thick, which means bugs. Endless bugs.
I've been burning insect repellent to keep them out of the house, but it's not perfect. Just the other day, Leona got bitten and came down with a fever, stuck in bed for a while.
And of course, it had to be a tick carrying that nasty disease from the manga.
Good thing I brought medicine in advance. She recovered fast. The moment we decided to come here, I made sure to stock up on every medical supply I could think of.
And… even though it's never spelled out in the original, I'm pretty sure this is a Summer Island. Dense jungle, blazing heat.
Lately it's been getting even worse. We're probably sliding straight into peak summer on a Summer Island.
It's also dawned on us that we're not exactly here to grind ourselves into the dirt. This is more like a survival-flavored camping trip that happens to include training. Neither of us is particularly eager to endure miserable conditions just to stay on Little Garden.
Still, as training grounds go, this place is hard to beat.
Nobody lives here besides those two giants, so we can go all-out without bothering anyone. Food is everywhere—hunting dinosaurs is good practice, too. Leona's even managed to bring down a few small-to-mid-sized ones, though she struggled.
And we even got a surprise taste of real combat against other people once.
A pirate crew stumbled onto the island using a Log Pose. They made it ashore… and immediately proved they were weak, sloppy, and completely out of their depth. Dinosaurs swarmed them almost right away. The crew collapsed into chaos, survivors scattering across the island in a blind panic.
A few of them eventually found us and tried to take our shelter and food.
…And honestly, judging by the slime in their eyes, "comfort" was probably on their minds too.
We crushed them without effort and used them as training partners for Leona.
They fled after we drove them off. I don't know what happened to them afterward.
But a few days later, the only human presences left on Little Garden were the four of us: me, Leona, and the two giants.
So… you can guess how that ended.
Even Dorry and Brogy say almost nobody who sets foot here ever leaves alive. For ordinary pirates, landing on Little Garden is basically signing your own death warrant.
And then there's the real reason.
My chronic illness.
I can tolerate a stimulating routine for a while, but if the scenery never changes, I start to itch. I crave the next experience. A writer needs input before she can output.
Sure, I'm currently living through the bizarre experience of raising a foundling who's latched onto me as her mother figure, but even so… an unchanging environment suffocates me.
So. We're leaving.
"Well, I don't really have any complaints. Have you decided where we're going next?"
"Hm… since we've been living like this, I want somewhere with actual civilization. We can still train in quiet places, but I'm in the mood for real food—proper, elaborate cuisine, not just survival meals."
"Elaborate cuisine, huh… Well, I still love Mama's cooking, y'know."
"Ahahaha. That's sweet. But even if I'm confident in my skills, I've still got a long way to go. Professional chefs are on a different level. The way they balance flavor and texture is so precise it's almost… moving. Like every bite is designed to amaze you."
"O-oh… huh…"
Figures. The glutton is hooked.
I can practically see the drool. I get it, but wipe your mouth.
"Hm… the closest place that fits would be…"
"Let's go to Alabasta! The food there was incredible, and there are plenty of secluded spots we can train in!"
"Huh. I wouldn't know, so I'll leave it to you."
"Alright, it's settled. Let's go. Ugh… a desert country, though. It'll be even hotter than here. Well, port towns near the sea—or anywhere near a river—should be cooler. We'll manage."
After saying goodbye to Dorry and Brogy, we left the island.
And then—
"Eeeeeh?! W-wait, Mama?! Th-this… this ship can fly?! E-eh?! It can fly?!"
"Yep."
"Then why didn't we fly here in the first place?"
"Because flying the whole ship burns a ton of energy. Unless we're in a hurry, we usually just sail. It's also kind of flashy. But this time, we need to fly."
"Need to…? Why?"
"There's a monster that attacks anything trying to leave the island. If you just sail away, it'll swallow you whole. We could brute-force our way through, but… too much trouble."
The Island Eater—that giant goldfish.
Big as, or bigger than, a super-colossal Sea King. An omnivore that eats islands.
Last time I came here, I completely forgot about it and sailed off like normal. I almost got eaten alive. I had to push my powers to the absolute limit just to barely escape… I genuinely thought I was done for.
Maybe it lost sight of me because my ship was small. Or maybe it decided I wasn't worth the effort.
Either way, dealing with that thing is a hassle, so we're taking the skies.
Farewell, Little Garden.
---
Some time later…
We reached the Alabasta Kingdom, stayed until I got bored, then moved on. Island to island—train a little, indulge in local specialties, enjoy whatever entertainment was on offer.
Leona… maybe because of her memory loss, everything felt new. She was having the time of her life, experiencing things like it was her first time.
Delicious food. Games she'd never played. Scenery she'd never seen.
When I say "all sorts of things," we've only visited three or four islands so far, but still.
There's so much more I want to show her. Things she'd love.
If we felt like it, we could explore not just the Grand Line, but the Four Blues, too. Or even the New World.
'And somehow, without even noticing, I've started dragging Leona around like it's the most natural thing in the world. More than before, I've stopped minding being treated like her parent—or treating her like my kid.'
Recently, she's started calling me "Mama" without any embarrassment.
She'll catch herself, then just shrug and keep going like it's nothing.
Even choosing our next destination has turned into casual banter.
"Where to next?"
"I want fish!"
Getting a food request in response to "where" is… very her.
"Well, then let's find an island famous for fish dishes. And… huh?"
It happened on a day like that.
Leona and I were on deck, exchanging our usual slightly airheaded chatter, when something felt off.
'The wind… what's wrong with it?'
The moment unease prickled up my spine, I released several Weather Vanes into the sky to probe the currents.
Leona tilted her head, a question mark practically hovering above her. Right—this might be the first time she's seen me use them.
But before I could explain, the wind answered for me.
"…Looks like a storm's brewing. The wind's picking up. It could turn into a real one."
"Ugh?! A storm? W-wait, is this ship going to be okay? Like—capsize or something…?"
"It's sturdier than it looks, so we should be fine. But if it gets really bad… hey, this ship can fly, remember? We can just go above the clouds. No rain up there."
"Ah… right. Then we're safe for now."
Leona visibly relaxed.
"Hey, Mama—what was that bird just now? And you sensed the weather changing all of a sudden… Is that one of your powers too?"
"Well, I guess you could call it that. I'm just naturally sensitive to humidity and wind shifts. It's hard to put into words. As for the paper birds… I call them Weather Vanes. If I send one out and wait a bit, it can read changes in wind, humidity, air pressure—enough to give me a rough idea of what the weather's about to do."
"Huh… that's handy."
Being a Paper Human probably makes me extra sensitive to wind and moisture. Paper flutters at the slightest breeze, after all.
I'm lucky I have at least a basic grasp of navigation and weather—enough to make the most of it.
And compared to Nami from the original… honestly, she's absurd. Predicting weather beyond warning signs on instinct alone? That navigator is something else.
But setting that aside—like I told Leona, we'll probably be fine, but I'd still prefer to ride out a storm on solid land. Not some flimsy reef. A proper island would be reassuring.
The problem was… there shouldn't be any nearby.
Land… there…
"…There is!"
"Huh?"
Far ahead, faint on the horizon, was something that looked like an island.
I pulled out my pocket telescope.
It wasn't a mirage. It wasn't my imagination.
There was definitely an island there.
But that's strange. There shouldn't be an island in this part of the sea—at that location.
I checked the charts. Sure enough, they agreed with my memory. According to our position, we should've been in the middle of nowhere.
And yet there it was. A massive island.
Well, the Grand Line is a chaotic sea where there's more we don't know than we do. An uncharted island wouldn't be shocking.
But…
There's a ship.
A sturdy vessel sat anchored off the coast.
And near it—what looked like a port town. People clearly living and moving about.
So much for "uninhabited island."
How could there be a town and a well-maintained ship in a place that isn't even on the map?
And the ship wasn't flying any flag at all—no pirate flag, no company mark, no national banner. Nothing to identify it.
Suspicious.
What is that?
While I was thinking that, the ship began to pull away from the port, leaving the island behind.
A chance.
"Leona, sorry. Change of plan."
"Huh? What's up?"
"A storm's coming, so we need shelter. And… I want to take a quick detour. Do a little investigating."
An island not on any map. A ship anchored there. A town where people clearly live.
If it were just bare rock, I'd assume some underground deal spot—an anonymous little island used for black market business.
Like that makeshift auction hall where I was sold into slavery long ago.
But a town that established? That didn't fit.
So what is that island?
Yeah… it's been a while.
Let's do some "reporting."
"You're going there? …Ugh…"
"Yeah? What, you don't want to?"
I'm not sure they'll have fish dishes, though…
"It's not that I don't want to… there's just this weird smell…"
'A smell?'
I can't smell anything, but Leona's a Zoan. Her senses are far sharper than mine.
If the wind is coming from that island… what kind of smell could it be? Sulfur? A volcano?
This is getting more interesting by the second.
What's really going on over there?
To be continued...