"Haaah…"
Today's weather was maddeningly perfect—clear blue sky, calm seas, a gentle breeze. The kind of beautiful day that felt like it existed solely to mock the storm churning in my chest.
With another heavy sigh, I looked down at the bounty poster in my hands.
Newspapers loved slipping these things in like junk mail: names, faces, reward amounts—everything neatly printed, as if a life could be reduced to ink. For pirates, the wording was almost always the same:
DEAD OR ALIVE.
As a former bounty hunter, I knew these posters inside and out. They were tools of the trade. I'd even kept a tidy stack of "promising" ones for later.
…The problem wasn't the poster.
It was what was on it.
No matter how many times I checked, nothing changed. Of course it didn't. Still, every time I looked, my stomach sank a little deeper—and another sigh slipped out before I could stop it.
"Haaaaaah…"
Because…
WANTED
Venerdi Toto Sue
Bounty: 55,000,000 berries
"How did this happen?!"
The face printed in the center was the same one I'd seen in the bathroom mirror this morning.
How in the world had I become a wanted criminal?
If I'm going to explain it, it started about two weeks ago.
---
It began like any other day—when I set out on an "adventure" to a certain island.
That adventure had wrapped up without a hitch. Honestly? It was a great experience. And with it behind me, I was heading back home.
On the return trip, we decided to stop at another island. Sleeping on land sounded a lot better than staying on the ship, and we needed to restock supplies anyway.
The island itself was nothing special. Not a tourist hotspot overflowing with развлечений, but not particularly dangerous either. To be honest, I wasn't even looking for adventure right then, so "ordinary" suited me just fine.
Still, the town was busier than it had any right to be. The reason became obvious fast: a large group had arrived and booked out the inns.
"Is this one… full too?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry," the innkeeper replied. "All our rooms are currently occupied by the Marines. We're only accepting guests with prior reservations."
Third inn. Third rejection.
Ugh… I can't find a place to stay. How many Marines are in this town—dozens? Hundreds?
The innkeepers must've been thrilled, but for travelers like me, it felt like they could've spared a little consideration for regular folks.
At this point, it was like the Marines had swallowed the whole town's lodging.
Not that I was going to take it out on the innkeepers. It was business. Complaining wouldn't change anything.
"Do you know if any other inns might have vacancies?"
"I'm afraid we wouldn't have that information. This town doesn't have many inns to begin with, so there might not be any vacancies left at all."
"Seriously…"
"We don't usually get many visitors in this town, so it's never been a problem…"
So why did the Marines have to flood in today of all days?
"…I understand. Thank you anyway."
"Yes, I'm sorry we couldn't meet your expectations."
I gave the innkeeper a small nod. She bowed deeply as she saw me out, and I stepped back into the street.
Looks like I'm sleeping on the ship after all… even though I finally made it to land.
Deflated, I started walking.
And then a large man brushed past me, heading into the inn.
Marine uniform. Definitely one of them. Staying here, I guess.
…Huh?
Was it my imagination? That guy… I felt like I'd seen him somewhere before.
---
"Hey, Innkeeper. I'm back."
"Welcome back, Instructor. Did you enjoy your walk?"
The innkeeper greeted the towering Marine with a smile as he stepped inside—just as Sue disappeared out the front door. He was so broad-shouldered he looked like he might get stuck in the doorway.
Close-cropped hair. Sun-browned skin. Sharp eyes behind glasses. A face carved into stern lines. He looked intimidating at a glance, but after several days of conversation, the innkeeper knew the truth: he was a classic gentle giant.
She also knew what he meant to the young Marines staying here. As their "Instructor," he was admired almost to the point of worship.
Unfazed by his size, she kept her usual composure. That easygoing attitude seemed to relax him, and his mouth tugged into a rough, honest smile.
"This is a good town," he said. "Quiet. Peaceful. Even if this stop wasn't planned, it'll give the boys a chance to breathe."
"Oh, don't praise this dull little place so much," the innkeeper replied, waving it off. "You're being far too kind. Still… we're making good money thanks to you, so stay as long as you like."
"I appreciate that, but…" He glanced toward the door. "The girl I passed at the entrance—did she leave because she couldn't find a room thanks to us?"
A flicker of regret crossed his face as he watched the young woman's back vanish down the street.
The innkeeper hesitated. "Ah…" Her awkward pause was answer enough.
"Maybe I shouldn't say this in front of you, Innkeeper, but I might've messed up."
"Don't worry about it, Zephyr-sensei," she said gently. "It's not like you did it on purpose. You just wanted your Marines to get proper rest in real beds, right?"
As their instructor, he had taken his students out to sea for a medium-to-long training exercise.
During the voyage, their ship needed maintenance—unexpected, unavoidable. It forced them off their planned route and into this island's port. They only meant to stay a few days, until the repairs were finished.
To let the boys recover from weeks at sea, he'd arranged rooms at the town's inns. What he hadn't expected was how small this town was—and how few inns it actually had.
In the end, the Marines had booked nearly all of them.
Normally, it wouldn't have caused trouble. The town didn't see many visitors.
Normally.
Except for the one unlucky traveler who'd shown up at exactly the wrong time.
Zephyr scratched the back of his head, looking genuinely embarrassed.
"Ah, Zephyr-sensei! Welcome back!"
"Lunch should be ready soon! Come eat with us!"
His students called out as they spilled into the hall, bright-eyed and relaxed.
Seeing them resting the way he'd intended, Zephyr—once a Marine Headquarters Admiral, known across the seas as "Black Arm"—broke into a broad grin. The harshness of his face softened as he strode toward them.
He still felt a pang of guilt for the girl who couldn't find a place to sleep, but he wasn't about to ruin his students' hard-earned reprieve.
For now, he pushed the thought aside and led them toward the mess hall.
He wouldn't learn the truth about the girl he'd just passed—a truth she herself didn't know, and the strange thread that connected them—until later.
---
"Damn it… why would the Marines come to a backwater dump like this?"
"And of all times… the deal's tomorrow, isn't it?"
"Relax. There shouldn't be any problem. Looks like they just happened to stop here. No way they sniffed out our business. We hand over the goods, take the cash, and we're done."
"Yeah. Nobody's going to suspect a shady deal in some run-down inn on a remote island. That's why we picked a place this far off the route."
"…Right. Don't overthink it. We act like normal tourists and wait."
"Exactly. Hehe… just thinking about it gets me excited. Turning a scrap of paper into a fortune… Tomorrow night can't come soon enough. I don't even know what this thing is, but you never know what those big shots will pay for."
"Once it's done, we're free. Take our cut and live it up—real vacations, real money."
To be continued...