Starting from this chapter — listen along.
The night passed quietly.
Kairo didn't sleep on the ship. Instead, he stayed at the inn in Foosha Village.
What surprised him was that Makino didn't just run the tavern—she also managed the village's inn.
That was something the original story had never mentioned. In fact, the anime never even showed a single shot of a village inn.
Naturally, Kairo had always assumed Makino was simply a tavern owner.
Now it seemed he had underestimated her ability to run a household.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Makino possessed every quality of an ideal homemaker.
Gentle.
Kind.
Warm-hearted.
She could manage a household while also running a business.
The very definition of a virtuous wife and caring mother.
"Mr. Kairo, did you rest well last night?"
The moment Kairo stepped out of the inn, Makino walked over to greet him.
"I just went around the village," she continued. "All the villagers who fainted last night have already woken up. Just like you said, they're all fine."
After a short pause, she added,
"Oh, right. Since I didn't know your tastes, I didn't prepare breakfast beforehand. If you'd like, I can cook some ramen for you now. Luffy and the others love it."
The moment Makino mentioned Luffy, Kairo's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Luffy?"
"Oh, right! You wouldn't know him yet."
Makino laughed awkwardly.
"He's a boy from our village—Vice Admiral Garp's grandson. He's been living up in the mountains these past few years, though he comes back to the village sometimes."
"Thinking about it, he should come back today."
"If he finds out that you're a traveler, Mr. Kairo, he'll definitely be very happy!"
"MAKINO—!"
"I'm back!"
Before Makino could finish speaking, a youthful voice suddenly echoed from the distance.
A moment later, a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy wearing a straw hat came running around the corner and stopped in front of Makino.
"Luffy!"
Makino blinked in surprise.
"You're back so early today. Have you eaten?"
Luffy glanced at Kairo beside her and instantly switched into hunger mode.
"I want ramen! And lots and lots of meat!"
Makino shook her head with a smile.
Then she turned toward Kairo.
"Mr. Kairo, this is the Luffy I mentioned."
After a short pause, she introduced him the other way around.
"Luffy, this is Mr. Kairo. He's a traveler!"
"A traveler?"
Luffy's eyes lit up immediately.
"Have you been to a lot of places?"
Kairo didn't answer right away.
Instead, he looked at Luffy with interest.
Ever since arriving in this world, the system had already informed him of the timeline.
The current year was Sea Circle Calendar 1517.
Which meant—
Luffy was only fourteen years old right now.
"Mr. Kairo, you two chat for a bit. I'll go prepare breakfast."
Seeing that Luffy had already become curious about Kairo, Makino smiled and headed inside.
"You're Luffy?"
As soon as Makino left, Kairo spoke casually.
"Garp's grandson?"
Luffy widened his eyes.
"You know my grandpa?"
"Yeah," Kairo said with a faint smile.
"Just last night."
"Because of a little misunderstanding, my partner gave your grandpa a good beating."
"…Huh?"
Luffy's eyes widened even more.
"Your partner beat up my grandpa?"
Then—
Luffy burst out laughing without the slightest concern.
"Hahaha! Really?! That's awesome!"
"I've wanted to fight my grandpa for a long time, but I'm not strong enough. Every time he hits me, I end up with bumps all over my head!"
Kairo's mouth twitched slightly.
Sure enough.
This guy's thought process hadn't changed at all from the original story.
But honestly, it made sense.
According to canon, Luffy's childhood training consisted of things like:
Being thrown into forests full of wild beasts.
Or being tied to balloons and left floating in the sky.
Under Garp's brutal training regime, if Luffy thought he could actually win, he'd probably have already yanked out Garp's beard.
"Hey Kairo, tell me about your travels!"
Luffy suddenly changed the subject and leaned forward excitedly.
"I'm going to sail out to sea one day too! But I'm not going to be a traveler—I'm going to become the Pirate King!"
"Wait—!"
Before Kairo could respond, Luffy suddenly remembered something.
"Have you ever met a guy with freckles who's a little older than me? His name is Ace! He's my brother!"
"You're really not shy at all, are you?"
Kairo chuckled and walked over to a wooden bench beneath a tree across from the tavern.
He sat down as Luffy happily followed and plopped down beside him.
"So," Kairo asked, "do you want to hear travel stories… or do you want to hear about your brother Ace's glorious adventures?"
"Hmm… let me think."
Luffy thought for about two seconds before deciding.
"I want to hear about Ace more! Do you… know anything?"
"Of course I do."
Kairo nodded confidently.
"After all, I'm a traveler—and a novelist—who has journeyed across the Four Blues and the Grand Line."
"Really?!"
Luffy nearly jumped up with excitement.
"Tell me! How's Ace doing? Has he entered the Grand Line yet? Did he find any companions?"
Kairo glanced sideways at the overly eager Luffy and almost laughed.
He had never actually met Ace.
But as a transmigrator who knew the story, answering these questions was easy.
Just then—
A familiar voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
"Foster father!"
"Dad—!"
"Don't tell me you're planning to stay in Foosha Village for a while again?"
The system's voice fired off like a machine gun, full of grievance.
"Please, I'm begging you! Let's go out to sea already!"
"This backwater Foosha Village where birds don't even poop—"
"…Wait. Who's that beside you?"
"…HOLY SH*T. That's Monkey D. Luffy!"
"I get it now!"
"You're planning to eliminate the chosen protagonist first, steal his destiny, and then sail out, right?"
"Ku ku ku… truly worthy of you, Father. So calculating. So steady!"
???
Listening to the system's rambling nonsense, several giant question marks appeared above Kairo's head.
I just came to Foosha Village for a casual trip…
And you've already imagined me murdering the protagonist?
First the system downgraded from a God-tier Choice System to a freebie system…
Now it's evolved into a bootlicker system?