CHAPTER 22 — A Village That Believes in Him
📅 20 April, S.C. 1510
👦 Ren — 7
👦 Luffy — 5
👦 Kiro — 7–8
📍 Windmill Village
---
The morning sun painted the sea gold as Ren walked to the beach, humming quietly. His clay basins lined the shore in neat rows—six small ones, three mid-sized, and two big ones he finished last night.
Windmill Village had started calling the area:
"Ren's Beach."
Ren blushed every time he heard it.
Kiro stretched beside him with a yawn.
"Ren… why are we up so early? Only old fishermen get up at this hour."
"Salt forms better in morning sunlight," Ren said matter-of-factly.
Kiro stared. "…You're seven, not seventy."
Before Ren could reply, Luffy came running full speed.
"RENNNNN!!"
Ren braced for collision.
Too late.
Luffy slammed into his back, hugging him tightly.
"I AM HERE! LET'S MAKE SALT!"
Ren wheezed. "L–Luffy… oxygen…"
Kiro snickered. "Your little brother is energetic today."
"He is NOT my brother," Ren said.
Luffy jumped on Ren's back. "YES I AM!"
Ren sighed.
"…Fine. You're my brother."
Luffy cheered triumphantly.
---
PART 1 — SALT PRODUCTION EXPANDS
Ren knelt beside the basins, running his fingers across yesterday's crystals. Tiny white flakes sparkled in the rising sun.
Kiro whistled. "Looks like snow."
Luffy stuck out his tongue. "NO! IT TASTES BAD!"
Ren sighed. "Stop licking the salt."
Makino walked toward them carrying a basket of bread. She placed it near Ren.
"You've been working so hard lately, Ren. I thought you might be hungry."
Ren blinked.
"Oh. Thank you."
He still wasn't used to people taking care of him.
In his past life, nobody had.
Makino smiled gently. "Eat before you faint again."
"I didn't faint last time."
"You almost did."
Ren pouted.
Kiro nodded seriously. "You absolutely did."
Luffy waved his arms. "YOU FELL LIKE A TREE! BAM!"
Ren covered his face with both hands. "I hate all of you."
Makino laughed softly. "Ren, you're adorable when angry."
Ren blushed violently.
---
PART 2 — VILLAGERS BEGIN TO NOTICE
By mid-morning, several villagers gathered to watch Ren work.
Mrs. Muri, the vegetable seller, pointed at the basins.
"Ren, can you teach my son how to make those?"
Mr. Wolt, the fisherman, asked,
"You think you can scale this for trade? Merchants will pay more."
Old man Roji chuckled,
"This little genius will make our village rich!"
Ren felt heat rising into his cheeks.
"I-I'm just… experimenting."
Makino placed a warm hand on his shoulder.
"Ren… people admire you. Accept it a little."
He nodded shyly.
Then a villager asked the question Ren always feared:
"Where did you learn all this?"
Ren froze.
His mind screamed —
In another world.
As an adult.
With books, internet, knowledge you can't imagine.
But his mouth said the safest thing:
"…I just think a lot."
Villagers laughed lovingly.
"That you do!"
Makino's eyes softened in understanding.
She sensed Ren was hiding something—but didn't push.
---
PART 3 — SUBTLE SIGNS OF STAGE 1 INTELLIGENCE
Ren studied the salt crystals, something tugging at the back of his mind. He noticed minute differences:
shape
arrangement
evaporation pattern
impurities
His brain started comparing them—automatically.
He whispered to himself:
"Basin 4 forms larger grains… meaning it dried slower… maybe because the clay mixture was different…"
Kiro blinked. "Ren… did you just talk to the salt?"
Ren snapped out of it.
"…Pretend you didn't hear."
Kiro nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll pretend."
Luffy shouted, "REN IS TALKING TO ROCKS AGAIN!"
Makino raised an eyebrow. "Again?"
Ren quietly reconsidered his life choices.
---
PART 4 — THE NEW BASINS
Ren began arranging three newly crafted clay basins. Luffy tried lifting one.
"IT'S HEAVY!!!"
"That's because it's bigger," Ren said.
"WHY IS IT BIGGER?"
"To make more salt."
"SO WE CAN EAT MORE?"
"No—"
"SO I CAN EAT MORE?"
Makino smacked Luffy lightly.
"Stop yelling. You're scaring the seagulls."
Ren set the basins in a long row.
He explained:
"The sun angle here is perfect. Morning heat dries faster. Afternoon winds help the surface harden."
Kiro groaned. "Ren… you speak like an old scientist."
Ren shrugged.
Maybe he was one.
---
PART 5 — FIRST PAYMENT FROM MARLO
As the sun reached its peak, Marlo's trading ship arrived again—sooner than expected.
Marlo waved a pouch at Ren.
"Kid! I came early. That salt of yours? Sold out!"
Ren blinked. "Already?"
Marlo laughed heartily.
"People LOVE pure salt! Here's your payment!"
Ren opened the pouch—
100,000 Beli.
His hands trembled.
It wasn't much by noble standards…
but to a child living in a small bar in a small village,
it was huge.
Makino gasped softly. "Ren… that's almost a month's earnings for some families."
Ren looked overwhelmed.
Villagers clapped.
Luffy grabbed Ren's hand and jumped.
Kiro smirked proudly.
Marlo patted Ren's head.
"Keep producing. I'll buy everything."
Ren whispered:
"…Thank you."
---
PART 6 — NIGHTFALL AT THE BAR
That evening, Ren sat on the bar counter eating stew Makino made "as a celebration."
Kiro swung his legs beside him.
Luffy ate like a wild animal.
Makino leaned close to Ren.
"You worked hard today."
Ren looked down. "I… didn't do much."
Makino gently lifted his chin.
"Ren. You helped the whole village. Don't shrink from that."
He swallowed.
"I'm… not used to being praised."
She smiled warmly.
"Then get used to it. We're proud of you."
For the first time since arriving in this world,
Ren felt something like peace.
A home.
A family.
A purpose.
---
PART 7 — REN'S NIGHT THOUGHTS
Later in his small shed, Ren opened his notebook and wrote:
> Salt project: scalable, profitable
Village relations: stronger
Experiments: stable
Goals:
→ Build bigger basins
→ Learn more about local plants
→ Improve furnace
→ Take things slow
Ren paused, tapping the pencil.
A strange thought stirred.
He whispered:
"…Maybe I can build something bigger one day."
He didn't know what.
But something inside him—
the first spark of Stage 2—
felt awake.
---
END OF CHAPTER 22