[Cover Story Serial – Shiryu of the Rain, Part 1: 'Promotion and Marriage – Double Happiness']
From early morning, visitors had been streaming in non-stop. After finally seeing off yet another group of colleagues who came to offer congratulations, Shiryu of the Rain sprawled tiredly on the sofa, lit a cigar, and gazed lazily out the window, blowing smoke rings in utter contentment.
"Starting today, I'm a Marine Headquarters Captain, huh? How amusing. These fools think it's such a big deal to be promoted to Captain just a year after graduating? You've clearly never seen a real monster before…"
"Compared to that bastard Nao, what does this little achievement of mine even count for?"
Shiryu shook his head, about to put out his cigar, when someone suddenly knocked on the door. He quickly got up and opened it. The person who had come was a postman. He opened the letter and saw that it was from his girlfriend, who was visiting her family. In the letter, she excitedly said that her parents had agreed to their marriage and planned to come with her to the G-6 branch this time to preside over and attend their wedding.
"Hahaha, that's great!" Shiryu of the Rain couldn't help but burst into laughter. In his excitement, he couldn't help but hug the postman and give him a big kiss on the cheek. Then, he thanked him and closed the door, leaving the young postman standing there, looking bewildered…
...
Cre-eak.
Nao pushed the door open, holding a finger to his lips to shush Shia behind him, then cautiously leaned half his head inside to scan the living room.
The dining table was empty of people, but covered with an untouched, lavish breakfast that had already gone cold.
In the corner of the sofa, Belle-mère sat curled up like a kitten, hugging her knees and silent. His father and mother sat on either side — one trying to comfort her, the other furiously scolding some philandering, irresponsible bastard.
"Hm?"
The sound of the key turning and the door opening made two pairs of eyes — blazing with killing intent — instantly lock onto him.
"So you still know how to come home, huh?"
"We've been calling for ages, and you only get back now? Unbelievable! Get over here this instant and explain to Belle-mère what's going on!"
The parents played their parts in perfect sync, outrage written all over their faces, while secretly shooting him frantic winks.
"…."
The hestnut-red ponytail girl on the sofa naturally knew who had come home, but she never once raised her head. She just bit her lower lip and hugged her knees even tighter.
Is this really Belle-mère?
Noticing the girl's actions, Nao sighed inwardly.
The Belle-mère he remembered was always strong and unyielding, always wanting to have a clear and fair fight with him about everything. When had she ever looked so wronged?
Was the blow too great for her?
Pressing his lips together, Nao shot her parents a reassuring look, signaling that they could ease up — no need to overact.
He took off his coat, hung it by the wall, and strode toward the sofa.
Trailing behind him, "Shiryu of the Rain" Shia politely introduced herself to old Captain Natsuya and Yukika, then took an empty seat at the table, subtly sneaking glances at Belle-mère from the side.
She had been curious about Nao's childhood friend for quite some time.
And, of course…
There was a faint, nagging jealousy in her heart. This woman was lucky enough to have met Nao since childhood and grown up and lived with him for more than ten years.
Damn it, why didn't I get that kind of opportunity?
Did this woman save the world in her past life?
Meanwhile—
"What's going on here?"
Nao plopped down right next to the girl, grinning as he reached to wrap an arm around her slender waist. "Weren't you just fine last night? How'd you end up crying like a little kitten by morning? That's embarrassing…"
Belle-mère's mood was so low her personality had gone out of character. It would be difficult to communicate with her like this, so he had to stimulate her a little with words to get her back on track.
"Who's crying!"
As expected, at his words, the previously silent, knee-hugging Belle-mère immediately wiped her tears, then snapped her head up, smacking away his arm with a sharp slap, grinding her teeth in fury.
"You… you bastard! You have the nerve to ask me?!"
Yep, that was more like it.
Only then did Nao get to the point. Lowering his head slightly to meet her glare, he sighed. "Is this about Gion?"
"…You're just pretending not to know… Tell me! What exactly is your relationship with her? Why does everyone at Headquarters say you're a couple?"
"Couple?"
Nao blinked. "Hah? It's gotten to that level of misunderstanding already?"
"Misunderstanding?" She frowned, eyeing him suspiciously. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, it's a long story…"
He smiled.
"You remember the year before last, when I came back to East Blue, I told you about my time in the Elite Camp — my first real combat assessment?"
"…Yeah, I remember."
Belle-mère nodded. "But what does that have to do with this?"
"That assessment was when I met Rear Admiral Gion for the first time.
Nao went on: "Due to some coincidences, I helped her out a bit. After that, we got to know each other, and over time, we gradually built a friendship…"
"And then you started dating her?"
Belle-mère sneered.
"Of course not."
Nao shook his head helplessly.
"You've got it all wrong. We're just close friends. And since we're both swordsmen, we'd often meet to exchange swordsmanship pointers. If people saw us together, well, misunderstandings were bound to happen…"
"Misunderstandings?"
Belle-mère clearly didn't buy it. "And what about that confession at the promotion ceremony? Was that a 'misunderstanding' too?"
"As for that…"
Nao said quietly, "I told you before — because of its importance, every promotion ceremony is held with great pomp. Lots of visitors come, including many retired veterans, right?"
"…." She just nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"One of those veterans was Gion's grandmother."
"She was already in poor health, and before she passed, her only wish was to see Gion — who had always been alone — find someone suitable…"
Nao trailed off, finding it hard to go on.
For some reason, the memory of that bright winter day surfaced again — Gion, striding up to the podium under countless astonished gazes, smiling radiantly as she declared her love.
He could never forget the impact and emotion of that moment.
But now… he was making up these baseless lies for Belle-mère. Even if it was just a temporary measure, was he being fair to Gion?
"So you're saying…"
Belle-mère was starting to piece it together. "That confession was just you playing along, to fulfill the old lady's wish?"
That… did kind of make sense.
Nao's reasoning was a bit cliché, but it fit together well enough.
If it were the current Vice Admiral Nao, a public confession from Rear Admiral Gion would be plausible. But a year and a half ago, when he was still her subordinate? Not likely.
She glanced up at his helpless expression, feeling a twinge of guilt.
—Looks like I really did misunderstand him.
After all, she'd jumped to conclusions just because some female officer had made a few offhand remarks, then sulked the whole morning — making Aunt Yukika skip breakfast to comfort her…
"I'm sorry, Nao…"
Biting her lip, she hesitated before apologizing. "I acted on impulse without knowing the full story. I wronged you."
"It's fine," Nao said after a pause. "As long as the misunderstanding's cleared up. Breakfast's cold already — you haven't eaten, have you? Go grab some."
"Mm…"
With her parents and Shiryu of the Rain present, Belle-mère was a bit embarrassed to stay in his arms. She gently pushed him away, took her plate to the kitchen, and started reheating her food.
Yukika and the old captain exchanged a strange look.
When Belle-mère wasn't looking, Yukika gave Nao a sharp kick.
—The meaning was clear: What are you doing? Is this really the excuse you came up with?
This is so ridiculous!
I was watching you stay calm these past few days and thought you were confident and had a perfect plan ready. But this is it?
Just friends?
The confession was a show?
Just to fulfill an old lady's wish before she died?
This might fool Belle-mère for a little while, but it can't withstand scrutiny. If Belle-mère were to ask around a little more carefully, wouldn't she easily find a bunch of flaws in your story?
Not to mention.
In just a few days, Gion would be back at Headquarters. If the two met face-to-face, wouldn't this "plan" just toss him straight into the fire pit?
The old couple glared at him in exasperation, but Nao just made a subtle hand gesture telling them not to worry.
This was, of course, just a temporary measure.
He had no illusions that such a hollow excuse could maintain peace among the women in his life.
If he'd dared bring Belle-mère to Headquarters to meet Gion, it was because he'd intended from the start to confess everything to all three women.
Originally, he'd planned to wait until Gion returned — then, with all three together in the same room, he would lay it all out, sincerely apologize, and use his "Craftsman Spirit" skill to eliminate all lingering problems in one go.
But now…
Nao shook his head. He felt like he still couldn't cross that line in his heart. He had only ever used Craftsman's Spirit on Celestial Dragons before, and it was meant to be used on enemies. Using it on his own wife would be too much…
Should I just come clean now and be sincere, even if I have to face the most serious consequences? Or should I stick to my original plan, which wasn't really a plan at all?
"Hm?"
Nao suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that Shia, who had been by his side just a moment ago, had disappeared at some point.
He quickly walked out of the living room and looked around. He then found that Shia had quietly gone to the nursery at some point and was squatting by the bed, looking at the sleeping little Nami.
She was so focused that she didn't even notice Nao walk up to her. Her eyes were shining like little stars.
Did little Nami charm her, too?
Nao let out a soft laugh and watched quietly for a while. He was still hesitating between the two options, but the feeling of guilt in his heart quickly tilted the scale towards the first option.
Forget it!
I'll just be honest!
A man should be responsible!
Without hesitating further, he strode toward the kitchen where Belle-mère was still busy.
But just then—
Nao heard a soft chime in his mind. Then, a blue notification box appeared in front of him.
[You have met the conditions for a temporary quest. Do you want to accept this temporary quest?]
[Note: This is a special type of random quest. Compared to regular side quests, accepting this quest will trigger an unpredictable random event. The rewards will be more generous upon completion, and there will be no penalty for failure.]
…
Huh?
What is this?
Nao looked at the notification box in front of him with a surprised expression. He had received quests that had suddenly triggered before, but it was the first time that the system's notification box had popped up on its own.
A special random quest…
He carefully looked at the note again. No information was revealed. It seemed that he would only know the specific quest description and rewards after he accepted it.
"Yeah, I'll take it."
There was nothing to hesitate about. Nao immediately chose to accept it. After all, the note said that even if he didn't complete the temporary quest, there would be no penalty, so he didn't have to worry about getting screwed over.
[You have accepted the temporary quest.]
[Event has been triggered.]
A new text box appeared, but before Nao could read it, he suddenly felt the world spin around him. Then, everything around him was plunged into complete darkness.
He didn't know how much time had passed .
It was as if he had been in a deep sleep, and yet, it was as if only a moment had passed. When he opened his eyes again, Nao was astonished to find that he, who had been standing by the baby's crib, was now on a Marine ship.
All around him was nothing but endless blue ocean. The sky was overcast, with a steady drizzle, and the distant view blurred by rain.
Marines patrolled along the deck's edge.
Suddenly—
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
A hurried shout came from the lookout tower above. It seemed to be calling out to him:
"Rear Admiral Gion! Pirate ship spotted at three o'clock, approaching at full speed!"