"Good morning, Robin!"
"Good morning, dear."
(T/N: I changed the name from Nico to Robin to make the reading experience more pleasant.)
This unique address suddenly jolted Ian awake from his sleepiness, and he couldn't help but think of last night's engagement party, which felt like a wedding banquet.
Looking at the figure busy in the kitchen, he froze in his tracks.
"Breakfast will take a while. Please wait a moment. You can go wash up first."
"Okay."
Robin's voice brought Ian back to his senses. With a strange expression on his face, he went to wash up.
He still felt a little uneasy!
Especially when he returned from washing up and saw Robin, who had already prepared breakfast and was waiting for him, humming a little tune, he felt something was wrong.
"What's wrong, dear?"
Apparently noticing Ian's gaze, Robin said sheepishly as she spread jam on the bread she had baked herself and handed it to Ian.
"Is there something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"… "
Had she already accepted her role this quickly?
Ian took the bread with a smile. Although he felt a little uneasy, he still said confidently: "Because you're beautiful."
He was right. Robin was incredibly beautiful and had a stunning figure. Honestly, when he was called dear, he even regretted not agreeing to Chief Martin's proposal last night to get married to Robin immediately.
As he finished speaking, Robin's face flushed with both shyness and happiness.
Ian found it amusing, but at the same time, he felt relieved.
At least he believed that the Devil Child would never blush at words like that.
"By the way, is there anything you need?"
Ian said as he ate. "I'm going out for some exercise later. If you need anything, I can bring it back on the way, or you can go buy it yourself in the village."
"Something I need?"
Robin frowned in thought, then, without the slightest embarrassment, already sounding like a proper fiancée, she said: "I noticed the kitchen doesn't have any vegetables prepared, and the seasonings are running out too. We should stock up on some vegetables and seasonings. Or maybe we can grow some ourselves?"
With a playful wink, she smiled and said: "Also, if possible, could you get me a bigger wooden tub? I think I really like soaking in baths."
"I see."
Ian nodded, cleaned up his empty plate, then went to the door, picked up the one-handed axe he had brought back from the Marine branch, and said as he pushed the door open: "I'm heading out then."
"Alright, be careful not to get hurt, and come back soon, dear."
With Robin waving him off, Ian, carrying the one-handed axe, happily walked towards the back mountain.
Maybe getting married like this, and quietly living out his life here, wouldn't be so bad after all?
But after walking for a while, a sarcastic voice rang out: "Hey, kid, you're up so soon? How come you still have the energy to go to the back mountain?"
"Village Chief Martin."
Ian turned and turned to look at Village Chief Martin, who was strolling along the road, and casually greeted him.
But Martin didn't seem to care about the greeting. Instead, he circled around Ian meaningfully, then sighed and shook his head, a bit disappointed.
This completely confused Ian.
"You kid…"
The hunched-over Village Chief Martin, with his hands behind his back, shook his head and squinted at Ian.
"Didn't you say you came back to get married? Isn't such a beautiful girl good enough for you? Or do you want to marry some noble lady instead?"
"I was planning to get married, but I didn't expect it to be so sudden."
Ian sighed helplessly. Because of his lack of strength, his ambitions of conquering the seas had already quieted down. He had decided to settle in Sibia Village and start a family.
But…
Ian paused for a moment, then adopted a serious tone. "Did Robin bring anything else with her when she drifted over?"
"Anything else with her?"
Village Chief Martin frowned, thought for a moment, and said: "No, why?"
"It's nothing, actually, it's better that way."
Seeing Village Chief Martin about to say something, Ian continued: "By the way, there should be some vegetables in the village. Please prepare some vegetables and seasonings for me later, and…"
He paused briefly, then smiled: "Do you have a larger, better wooden tub?"
"Vegetables are easy to prepare, but I don't know if the village has seasonings or a better wooden tub."
Village Chief Martin pondered for a moment, then patted his head.
"I almost forgot to mention it. A merchant ship will arrive at the Sibia Village this afternoon. Perhaps you could look there."
"Will the merchant ship arrive today?"
Ian was taken aback by Village Chief Martin's words. Sibia Village was located on the Sibia River Archipelago in the West Blue. On the island flowed a long river that connected the smaller isles and served as the most important freshwater source.
Although the Sibia River Archipelago falls within the jurisdiction of the 315th Branch, they are not connected to any other countries. Furthermore, with only a few villages, productivity is quite low, and most supplies rely on periodic merchant ships.
"I understand. I'll take Robin there later."
With another wave of his hand, he put the one-handed axe on his shoulder and headed towards the hills behind Sibia Village.
"This brat… Hmph."
Village Chief Martin snorted coldly, his hands clasped behind his back, humming a little tune as he walked towards the village.
"He keeps saying no, but he's actually quite obedient. Now that guy, Tok, should be able to breathe a sigh of relief!"
After walking a few steps, he seemed to remember something and froze in his tracks, muttering to himself: "Oh, right, it seems a few books did float over with her. Never mind, they are just a few books anyway. I can deal with them next time."
He continued humming his little tune as he walked forward.
Elsewhere, Ian, having reached the back hills, quickly found his prey.
A tiger as tall as the elephant in his previous life, with ferocious fangs protruding from either side of its mouth.
Ian didn't attack directly. Instead, he took off his shirt, making his muscular body bathed in the sunlight.
He held a one-handed axe in his right hand and stared expressionlessly at the tiger.
At this moment, his entire aura changed completely.
The terrifying aura seemed to alert the tiger. Its massive body crept forward slightly while letting out a low growl as it locked its gaze firmly on the human before it.
Ian didn't hesitate. His upper body muscles instantly bulged, and he twisted slightly to the right, his right hand gripping the one-handed axe, extended backward.
His slender, symmetrical yet powerful waist twisted backward in an exaggerated motion, only to snap back to its original position a second later.
At that moment, with the twist of his waist, the axe in his hand swung towards the tiger.
Instantly, a surge of overwhelming, indescribable power burst from Ian.
"Dust slash!"
With a deep roar, Ian's axe swung forth with a terrifying flying slash, seemingly shattering all obstacles before him.