An hour later, at home.
"I'll go over everything that happened during your month at sea. You help me check if I got anything wrong. First—your height shot up by more than ten centimeters?"
"Yes, it's just puberty, completely normal."
"You won the Kendo Tournament on Asakura Island?"
"Yes… I accidentally won."
"And you also foiled a major conspiracy on the island, becoming a well-known figure in the East Blue?"
"Yes, though not that famous. The hype comes in waves; soon everyone will forget."
"And you became a billionaire!!!"
"Yes, four hundred million Berries. I withdrew fifty million; the rest is still in the bank. Here, the card shows it."
Bellemere inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. But looking at the muscular man before her, her vision darkened and she fell backward.
Shanu quickly caught her. "What's wrong, Bellemere?"
"I'm fine… let me process this on my own…"
Bellemere sat cross-legged on the carpet, staring blankly at the coffee table for a long while.
She took the water Shanu handed her in one gulp before slowly beginning to accept reality.
"I knew it… I said it… your bloodline must be extraordinary. Once the age came, you started awakening. Your parents must be remarkable figures… maybe even royalty…"
"No, I don't think this has anything to do with my bloodline," Shanu said, confused. "I just won a tournament and made some money—it's all good. Why is this so hard for you to accept…"
"I'm talking about your height! Height! Puberty is fine, but who grows over ten centimeters in one month?!"
Bellemere angrily smacked Shanu's calf with her fist. "What were you thinking?! Do you know that while you were gone for a month, I knitted you two sweaters, three pairs of long underwear, plus half-finger and full-finger gloves…"
"And now none of them fit! I have to unravel them all again, boohoo…"
Ah! That's why she was upset!
Shanu rubbed his forehead and noticed a thick stack of newspapers on a wooden cabinet. "You were buying newspapers every day while I was gone?"
"I was worried you might have missed something," Bellemere replied, pouting.
"But I didn't read them. They just sat there. It was only when the Asakura Island incident blew up in the news that I heard about it from the neighbors. I didn't sleep well all night."
"How did Nami and Nojiko react?"
"You can guess," Bellemere replied sourly.
She had worried, but also felt a bit relieved, tossing and turning all night.
Nami and Nojiko, on the other hand, were thrilled beyond belief—especially Nami, who practically wanted to jump to the sky in excitement.
She ran from one end of the village to the other daily to show off, wanting everyone to know her brother had become a major figure in the East Blue.
Even the big white dog at the village entrance got its ears tugged every day, eventually learning to run away whenever it saw her.
The two budgerigars next door were even worse; their favorite phrases now were, "My brother! The champion!" and "My brother! The hero!"
Shanu listened, sweating profusely.
For the next while, even the village's chickens, ducks, and geese would probably look at him oddly.
He shook his head, grabbed the stack of newspapers, and sat on the sofa.
He intended to read through them and see what news was worth noting.
At that moment, the door creaked open slightly. A dirty, small orange-haired figure tiptoed in, carrying shoes, moving from behind the sofa toward the bathroom…
"Come here!"
Bellemere snapped. "Do you think I'm blind? Can't you see a little mud-monkey sneaking in, and those two rows of dirty shoe prints on the floor?"
Oh no! A tiny oversight!
Nami turned, looked at the black footprints, smacked her head in frustration. She should've snuck in from the kitchen window!
"Honestly, where have you been? Didn't you say you were going to the bookstore this morning?"
"I wasn't lying, Bellemere. At first, I went to read, but the bookstore was tiny. I finished nearly everything I was interested in—navigation, charts… wait, brother?!"
Nami, looking down, suddenly realized someone was lying on the sofa. Seeing Shanu's familiar face, her eyes widened with joy.
"When did you come back?!"
She threw herself into Shanu's arms, hands reaching for his cheeks. "You didn't even come call me back. That's so unfair… ouch! That hurts!"
She had run into his chest too hard, and her nose ached so much she nearly cried.
"Tsk tsk, turning into Buggy, huh?"
Shanu teased, seeing her red, swollen nose.
But when he looked down at his mud-splattered shirt and dirty handprints on the mirror, his face darkened.
"Hehe, serves you right~~"
Nami made a mischievous face. "Serves you right! Who leaves the house alone that morning without saying goodbye to me and Nojiko?!"
"That's because I didn't want you two to become little crybabies," Shanu grumbled, wiping his face with a towel. "Besides, I trusted Nojiko, but if you had come along that morning, you might have sneaked onto the ship while we weren't paying attention. I don't want to drag a tagalong everywhere."
"I'm not a tagalong! I'm much bigger now, and I'm strong in fights! Just now, I beat those two monkeys in the mountains until they ran all over!"
"Monkeys in the mountains?"
Bellemere, sharp as ever, realized something and flew into a rage. "Wait! You got yourself all dirty fighting monkeys in the mountains?!"
"I had no choice."
Nami blinked innocently. "I held up the newspaper picture and told them, 'My brother is the champion!' but they just kept eating fruit in the trees, rolling their eyes at me. I got mad, threw some stones, and then we fought. I almost won…"
That unlucky child!
Bellemere gritted her teeth, dragged Nami to the bathroom by the ear. "Go wash up properly! Honestly! Next time, I'll see how I deal with you. I don't expect you to be like Shanu, but when will you ever be as sensible as Nojiko?!"
Squeak~
The door opened again. Both Shanu on the sofa and Bellemere at the bathroom turned instinctively.
A dirty blue-haired girl appeared, bruised, pants torn in several places, and wearing only one shoe.
She saw Shanu and lit up with joy, but then met Bellemere's murderous glare. She shrank back and awkwardly smiled.
"Well… there's a reason. I was talking to the village goose about Brother Shanu. It got impatient halfway, so I fought it. Almost won, but not quite…"