Bellemere instinctively reached out and caught it. The heavy feel of the gold jewelry made her heart skip a beat.
With just a quick glance, she knew this item was valuable, far exceeding the worth of a few meals and a broken wooden hut—it was worth at least tens of thousands, perhaps even over a hundred thousand Beli.
"This is too valuable, I can't accept it."
She immediately moved to return the brooch. Although she was poor, she had her principles.
"Keep it."
Lorne waved his hand, his attitude resolute,
"I'll be imposing on you for the foreseeable future; I can't really freeload. Besides, this is the only valuable thing I have left on me, and it's useless for me to keep it."
He acted completely nonchalant, as if he had just tossed away a worthless stone.
This frankness and generosity momentarily stunned Bellemere.
She looked at the brooch in her hand, then at Lorne, and finally chose not to refuse again. She quietly put it away, deciding to hold onto it for him and return it when he left.
"Alright, I'll hold onto it for now."
She carefully tucked the brooch into her pocket, signifying her acceptance of the transaction.
"Come with me, I'll show you where you'll be staying."
Bellemere turned and led Lorne toward the depths of the orange grove.
Nami and Nojiko followed behind, their two small heads pressed together, curiously observing this suddenly appearing "sucker."
"Nojiko, he's so rich!"
Nami lowered her voice, her eyes sparkling,
"That golden thing could definitely buy lots and lots of books!"
"Don't talk nonsense."
Nojiko was more composed. "He's from an unknown place; we should still be careful."
Their whispers naturally didn't escape Lorne's ears, and he found it rather amusing.
This mischievous future Grand Navigator was currently just a little money grubber whose head was filled with books and money.
Lorne was quite satisfied with the hut; after all, he hadn't expected any special treatment.
After settling in, Lorne ate a simple dinner under Bellemere's watchful eye.
The dinner consisted of oranges, bread, and a little cured meat. Although simple, it was delicious to the famished Lorne.
After the meal, Bellemere went to attend to her own affairs, leaving Nami and Nojiko to "supervise" him.
"Hey, your name is Lorne, right?"
Nami, being the boldest, dragged a small stool and sat opposite Lorne, resting her chin in her hands and blinking her big eyes at him,
"Were you really shipwrecked? Did you come from a very far place?"
Lorne leaned against the wall and casually replied, "Something like that."
"Then if you have money, why didn't you just go stay at an inn in town instead of our broken hut?"
Nami's questions came one after another, full of curiosity.
Lorne smiled without answering, closing his eyes to silently feel the changes within his body.
The shackles confining his magic were loosening bit by bit.
Next was the waiting—waiting for his magic to recover, waiting for the arrival of the fish-man who would bring disaster to this small island... Arlong.
Eliminating him would not only completely change the fate of Nami and this village but also serve as his first step in testing his abilities in this world.
After that would be the vast, boundless ocean, the training of Haki, and confrontations with those monsters.
Thinking of this, Lorne felt a long-lost surge of excitement.
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Lorne got out of bed.
Without disturbing anyone, he left the orange grove alone and wandered around Cocoyasi Village.
The village was small and the people were simple. Most villagers cast curious glances at his unfamiliar face.
Lorne smiled and greeted everyone he met. The best way to integrate into a place is to let everyone know and become familiar with you.
His gentle and polite manner quickly earned him the initial goodwill of the villagers, and everyone soon knew that a nice young man was staying temporarily in Bellemere's orange grove.
He circled the village and happened to run into Genzo, who was wearing his windmill hat.
"Oh? You're the young man Bellemere took in?" Genzo scrutinized Lorne from head to toe.
"Yes, Mr. Genzo. Please look after me."
Lorne offered him a cigarette he had "borrowed" from Bellemere.
Genzo took the cigarette, and his impression of Lorne improved slightly. The two began chatting casually at the village entrance.
Lorne subtly extracted information from Genzo, correlating the recent situation in this world, especially in the East Blue, with the intelligence stored in his memory.
"The sea hasn't been peaceful lately."
Genzo exhaled a smoke ring, looking worried. "The East Blue has seen quite a few vicious pirates pop up recently. There's just no peace!"
After saying goodbye to Genzo, Lorne walked alone to the cliff edge by the sea and unfolded the newspaper he had obtained from Genzo.
And at that very moment, he clearly felt the shackles that had confined him for a full twenty-four hours completely break apart and dissipate, accompanied by a faint, almost inaudible crisp sound.
The familiar, icy magic surged and flowed within him once more.
Lorne walked back toward the orange grove, feeling great.
He had preliminary control of the information, and his power had recovered. Next was the systematic execution of his plan.
As he walked, he mentally sorted through his subsequent arrangements.
First was physical training. Every strong person in this world possessed a monstrous physique. This was the foundation for cultivating Haki and the weakness he most urgently needed to address.
Second, and most important, was waiting.
Waiting for that greedy, vicious shark to bring his henchmen ashore onto this peaceful island.
Thinking of this, Lorne stopped walking.
He spread his palm, and with a thought, a small, crystal-clear hexagonal ice crystal condensed in his palm out of thin air, emitting wisps of cold air before quietly melting away the next second, leaving no trace.
He clenched his fist, feeling the power he had regained, and cast his gaze toward the distant horizon where the sea met the sky.
Arlong... don't make me wait too long!
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