"Leave already?" Garp asked.
Amon glanced at Garp, who was still lingering, and shot back, "What, you want to finish dinner here before you go?"
"Sure, sure." Garp immediately brightened, patting his stomach like he meant it. "I happen to be hungry…"
"Get lost."
Amon did not bother arguing. He simply lifted a foot and kicked him away in one clean motion.
Eat here?
Not a chance.
The people of Cocoyasi Village were simple, honest villagers. The longer Garp and Sengoku stayed, the more restrained everyone would become, the more careful their smiles would look. Amon wanted none of that, so he chased them out without mercy.
Garp dusted himself off, laughing loudly anyway. "Amon, you really have no heart. Fine. I won't stoop to your level."
He was in an excellent mood. He had walked away with two solid treasures.
Sengoku's gains were even bigger. He had dealt with a private problem that had been bothering him, and he had obtained a powerful method besides. If the area were not crowded with eyes, he would have sat down and started comprehending it on the spot.
And he had not seen his wife in a long time either.
Sengoku gave Amon a brief farewell and headed straight for the warship anchored offshore.
The Marines arrived fast, and they left just as fast.
Before long, the ships vanished beyond the horizon.
Only then did Cocoyasi Village truly breathe.
After what happened with Nezumi, the villagers still carried a small, stubborn resistance toward the Marines. Seeing those uniforms disappear made the tension in their shoulders finally release.
Then the wave hit.
Gratitude.
They looked at Amon like he had dragged them back from the edge of a cliff.
The villagers surged forward all at once and lifted him up, hoisting him high.
They were plain people. They did not have elegant words or formal ceremonies.
So they used the only language that felt honest.
They carried him.
Because if Amon had not arrived, none of them wanted to imagine what kind of darkness Cocoyasi Village would have fallen into.
That night, the villagers threw a grand banquet to celebrate surviving and to repay him.
Amon, naturally, became the guest of honor.
...
As the night warmed up, more and more girls gathered around him.
They came after hearing the stories. Some came just to see if the rumors were real.
Then they saw his face and stopped pretending.
They circled him with bright smiles and bold eyes, each one trying to land closer than the last, hoping he would notice her first.
If they could be "favored," even once, it would be a proud moment of their lives.
They started offering drinks, leaning in close, speaking softly into his ear.
"Hey Amon, have a drink with me."
"Hey, handsome, do you have a wife?"
"Ow, who kicked me…"
Cocoyasi Village's girls were shamelessly direct.
They whispered sweet talk right against his ear. Even Amon, who was not exactly conservative, felt his ears heat up.
Some went even further, tugging their collars low, letting their curves show openly, trying to use body and scent to steal his attention.
Others simply pressed close, rubbing against him with no subtlety at all.
It looked tempting.
And it made someone nearby burn with anger.
Nami.
She had arrived holding Amon's hand. A moment later, those girls had swarmed in and pulled him away like he was a prize.
Nami's small face tightened, her cheeks puffing.
She did not know the word "jealousy," but she knew exactly what this feeling was.
She did not like it.
So she shouted, loud enough for the whole banquet to hear.
"Shame on you! Shameless! Mr. Amon doesn't like you at all. Mr. Amon likes me!"
The girls blinked.
Then they burst into laughter.
"What are you doing, Nami? You're so young and you're already fighting for a man?"
"Yeah, yeah, what's a little brat doing here?"
"Nami, be good. You're still a kid, don't get involved in this."
"A kid like you doesn't even understand what 'liking' is. Go eat something, okay?"
They pinched her cheeks, amused, and tried to shoo her away like she was a noisy kitten.
Nami jerked her face free, eyes fierce, hands on her hips.
"So what if I'm little? When I grow up, I'm going to marry Mr. Amon! So don't you dare try to steal him!"
The words were so serious, so stubborn, that Amon nearly choked on his drink.
Then Nami made it worse.
She pulled out the trick Amon had taught her, the Shepherd Boy's Lie: The Wolf Is Coming, and released fake red bubbles.
The bubbles popped as they hit the ground.
Flames exploded up in front of the girls, a sudden wall of fire.
They screamed and scattered in panic.
"Fire! Run!"
Nami watched them flee, satisfied. She sprinted forward, grabbed Amon's hand, and tugged hard.
"Mr. Amon, come on. We're leaving!"
"Nami." Amon's voice carried a warning, but it was more resigned than angry.
They had not even made it a few steps before Belle-mère and Nojiko intercepted them.
Belle-mère planted herself in front of Nami, hands on hips, eyes sharp.
"Nami, how can you ruin Mr. Amon's good thing?"
By "good thing," she meant the "benefits" those girls were pushing at him.
If she did not already have Nami and Nojiko, with a man like Amon, she would have considered helping things along herself. She understood exactly what those girls were thinking.
Nami huffed.
"I just can't stand them acting like that." She turned and looked up at Amon, suddenly switching to an innocent, pitiful expression. "Mr. Amon doesn't like them anyway, right?"
Amon laughed and gave her a light pat on the head. "Yes."
He really had not been interested.
The girls were not ugly, some were even pretty, but none of them hit his personal line. And being surrounded by a crowd of hands and perfume was not a blessing, it was pressure.
He was a normal man.
Too much of that, and even self-control started to creak.
So Nami dragging him away had actually been a relief.
Nami instantly turned smug and looked back at Belle-mère.
"See? Mr. Amon said I'm right!"
Then she raised her chin even higher, eyes shining with mischief.
"And I already made a promise with Mr. Amon. When I grow up, I'm going to marry him!"
She delivered it with such certainty that even Belle-mère froze for a beat.
Amon, for his part, could only stare, half amused, half stunned, as the little girl announced it like it was already decided.