Chapter 40 — The Plan
"How is it?"
"Mm~."
Eiger lifted a ladle of freshly brewed wine, took a deep swig, and under everyone's anxious gaze, nodded with a smile.
"Not bad at all."
The moment those words left his lips—
The entire room erupted.
"Great!"
"I knew it! If Eiger says it's good, then it's definitely good!"
"I told you we'd pull it off! Nico taught us—how could we fail?"
"This time, those crooked merchants won't be able to push our price down!"
"Quiet! Quiet!"
Village Chief Marin, just as excited as everyone else, waved his hands urgently while grinning from ear to ear.
"We still don't know if it'll sell yet! Calm down, all of you!"
Once he said that, everyone froze, then quickly stifled their cheers, turning to Eiger with glowing, expectant eyes.
"Eiger," Marin rubbed his hands together, embarrassed yet hopeful, "about the wine…"
"Let Nico contact Ginny."
Eiger chuckled helplessly, but didn't keep them in suspense.
"Baiskaiborg Island is the commercial hub of these waters. Countless merchant ships pass through every year. Have Ginny put it on the market there first. If it doesn't work out, I'll talk to Colonel Enchi."
"That'll do, that'll definitely do!"
Hearing this, all of Marin's worries vanished. He beamed, eyes shining with hope.
"Our West Siberian green-grape wine is amazing—it'll definitely be a hit."
"That's right! Our wine is sure to be popular!"
"Eiger is just too humble!"
"Oh, right."
Looking at the re-excited crowd, Eiger suddenly remembered something.
"Are the oak barrels ready?"
"Nico already asked Ginny about that," Marin said proudly. "We're ordering them from outside. They'll arrive in a few days."
"Ordering from outside, huh?"
Eiger nodded. Nico really had everything planned out. As expected of an educated woman—thorough and reliable.
Seeing everyone still buzzing with excitement, Eiger decided not to disturb their joy. He turned to leave and go find Nico—
—but was immediately grabbed by Chief Marin.
"???"
What now?
Before Eiger could ask, Marin spoke with great enthusiasm:
"Where are you going, brat? We're holding an opening celebration banquet later. Don't you dare sneak off!"
"..."
Another banquet?
How many have they had already?
Eiger's mouth twitched. But when he saw the villagers' glowing faces, their excitement and anticipation overflowing, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. He simply nodded in resignation.
Fine.
He did make a major breakthrough today too.
A banquet celebration didn't sound so bad.
Still…
This sea really does love its banquets.
"Drink as much as you like! Eat as much as you want! Today, the wine flows freely!"
"Awesome, Chief Marin!"
"Hey! At a time like this, you should be calling him Acting Chief Marin! Do you even know what respect is?!"
Laughter rippled through the crowd as the village celebration officially began—everyone cheering the brewery's first successful batch. Villagers threw their arms around each other's shoulders, already dreaming aloud about the good days that would come once the wine started selling.
Zephyr, who had come here for recuperation, and his student Binz had also been invited.
However—
"Ain." Already half-drunk and deep in the festivities, Binz raised his cup and greeted the newly arrived Ain with a goofy smile. "Where'd you go? Why're you so late? The wine today is great—come, come, come—let's have a drink! A toast… to the successful brewing of the Sibia Archipelago!"
"..." Ain stared at Binz speechlessly, decided to ignore him, and turned instead toward Zephyr—who was currently locked in a drinking contest with a group of village elders.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something. But seeing Zephyr enjoying himself so carefree, she swallowed her words.
Her eyes drifted toward another table. Her serious expression softened into a helpless smile when she spotted Eiger—who was frantically shoveling food into his mouth as if in a life-or-death battle.
Just then, a voice spoke beside her.
"What are you smiling at that kid for?"
"???"
Ain nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around to find Zephyr—who had been drinking just moments ago—suddenly standing right next to her. Before she could speak, he chuckled.
"Judging by that face, you're trying to ask me something, aren't you? Something about him?"
Ain opened and closed her mouth, clearly conflicted, unsure how to put her thoughts into words. After a moment, she nodded… then shook her head.
Her strange expression made Zephyr—holding his drink with his left hand—tilt his head curiously. "What's gotten into you?"
"Teacher Zephyr, I…" Ain paused, her eyes complicated. "I think I'm starting to understand what you meant by 'the heart of a strong one.'"
"You're still hung up on that? There's nothing to overthink. Even without some 'heart of the strong,' when you're meant to grow stronger, you will. The sea will push you forward, whether you want it or not. All you need to do is train." Zephyr took a long drink, visibly relieved.
Truth be told, that overly complicated expression she wore just now—especially when she was looking at Eiger—had almost made him think she was about to confess something ridiculous, like fighting the Demon Child for a man.
After draining his cup, Zephyr looked at her, a knowing smile rising. "Let me guess—you secretly watched his training, didn't you?"
"?!"
"I'm not blind. That blazing column of light at noon—did you really think I wouldn't notice?" Zephyr shook his head at her stunned reaction, chuckling. "I thought you'd gone to spy on him long ago. So—what did you see?"
"T-The mountain… the mountain was split."
"The mountain? Split? So he's cutting rocks now?" Zephyr blinked, then nodded in approval. "Good training method. Back in the day, that bastard Garp also did mountain-hammering."
"No. The mountain was split cleanly. From top to bottom… the entire thing was cut in half." Ain shook her head, voice serious.
"…A whole mountain? Split perfectly from top to bottom?!"
Zephyr froze, eyes widening as the meaning hit him.
"You're telling me that kid can already cleave a mountain clean through? A whole mountain?!"
"Yes. I saw it with my own eyes."
"?!"
Zephyr whipped around, staring at Eiger—who was still devouring food like a starved beast. Then he burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! I didn't expect the brat to reach this level so fast!"
He stared at Eiger solemnly.
"A… great swordsman already?"
---
"Hachoo—wugh…"
"You brat, slow down! Why're you eating like you're being chased?"
"Thanks." Eiger took the drink Nicole handed him, gulped it down, finally forcing the massive chunk of meat down his throat. He grinned at the approaching Chief Marin. "Just in a good mood, that's all. Forget it—why aren't you enjoying the party? What're you doing over here?"
"Got something to ask."
Only when he saw Eiger wasn't choking anymore did Chief Marin sit beside him, leaning in with a conspiratorial whisper.
"I've been wanting to ask for days… You're really alright, kid? Those three—what did they come for? Especially that Zephyr fellow—he seems like some big Navy figure, isn't he?"
"He is. But don't worry." Eiger waved reassuringly. "He's only here to recover."
"Recover? In our tiny village? What's there to recover here? Are you sure nothing's wrong?"
"Relax. It's fine. And actually…" Eiger's eyes glimmered mischievously. "It might even be a good thing. That guy is the Chief Instructor of the Navy Headquarters. He's trained some of the Navy's biggest names. If he teaches a few of the village kids… wouldn't that be great?"
"And even if he doesn't—imagine this: word gets out that the Navy's Chief Instructor personally comes here just to drink our wine. What do you think happens to our sales?"
"What happens? It'll sell like crazy, of course!" Chief Marin slapped his thigh and squinted at Eiger. "You mean…"
"That's right."
"Hehehehe~"
"Hehehehe~"
"..."
Nicole rolled her eyes dramatically as the two men exchanged a shared, scheming grin.
These two idiots…
---