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Logan took out the Wadō Ichimonji and handed it to Tashigi. "This sword is for you."
"From now on, you have to keep a close eye on me. If I do anything wrong, you must point it out immediately."
Tashigi looked at the Wadō Ichimonji in her hands, completely overwhelmed.
"This is a Grand Grade Sword—are you really giving it to me?!"
In the world of pirates, the twelve Supreme Grade Swords are the rarest. Below them are the Grand Grade Swords.
Logan was gifting her a Grand Grade Sword on their very first meeting. She was utterly thrown off.
Logan gently stroked Tashigi's forehead, his tone affectionate. "You've joined my pirate crew; we're family now. It's just a Grand Grade Sword; I'll get you even better ones in the future."
This wasn't just an empty promise. He knew exactly where to find higher-quality blades.
For Tashigi, who loved collecting famous swords, the Wadō Ichimonji was a treasure she couldn't put down. Its quality was far superior to her current Fine Grade Sword, Kashū.
Why does this suddenly feel like... being doted on?
Logan seemed different from other pirates. Could my joining him really have caused him to change?
Tashigi's head was swimming; she couldn't process it all at once.
"Th-then I'll accept it," she mumbled, lowering her head, her voice barely a whisper.
Logan smiled and nodded. While he was simply catering to her passion, Tashigi truly needed a better personal sword. He already planned to groom her into the Logan Pirate Crew's Master Swordswoman. The Kashū simply wasn't up to par.
"Don't worry, I promise to guide you onto the path of true justice," Tashigi said earnestly, sheathing the Wadō Ichimonji and looking up at Logan.
Logan instinctively smiled. "I believe you."
"Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the gir—er, the rest of the crew." Logan took Tashigi's hand and led her out of the room.
After a round of simple introductions, Tashigi was thoroughly surprised. How is this pirate crew so different from any other I've seen? Especially the crew composition. Aside from Logan, everyone was a beautiful girl.
Logan suppressed a chuckle and stayed silent. Just you wait and see; you'll never want to leave this crew.
A few days passed quickly.
The greatest advantage of flying through the air was safety. With Nami, the genius navigator, predicting the weather, they could preemptively avoid many natural hazards. Crucially, they wouldn't encounter other people looking for trouble. After all, besides himself, the only other person who could fly in the sky was Golden Lion Shiki.
Logan wasn't in a hurry to start training Tashigi. The adorable girl's emotions had only just settled down; forcing lessons on her now would be counterproductive. They had all the time in the world.
However, after a few days of getting to know them, Tashigi had gained a deeper understanding of Nami and the others.
Kaya possessed the ability to heal any injury. Nami was a genius navigator who trained daily to develop her Weather-Weather Fruit abilities. Sister Makino's homemade liquor was the best she had ever tasted. And Karumen's cooking was the most exquisite she had ever encountered, conquering her taste buds with every meal.
It seemed only Nojiko was relatively ordinary, diligently tending to the tangerine trees on the deck every day.
What surprised her most was how harmonious all these beautiful women were on the same ship. They were always laughing and talking, easily opening up conversation. In this peaceful environment, Tashigi's own anxious heart slowly calmed, and she gradually adapted to life here.
There was only one thing.
Every time Logan finished his own training, he would find a girl to flirt with.
For example, Nami would be watering the tangerine trees, and Logan would casually walk past and naturally pat her butt.
Kaya would be intently reading a medical book, and Logan would pop out of nowhere and kiss her on the cheek.
In just a few days, she had witnessed similar situations dozens of times. Yet, the girls seemed completely used to it. Except for Nami, who was always left stamping her foot in anger, the other girls would smile and enthusiastically respond. Karumen would even actively seek out his affection.
Tashigi was utterly bewildered.
If she could somehow accept those things, what completely overwhelmed her was...
The Going Merry really wasn't soundproof!
Even wearing earplugs and burying her head under the blankets, the rhythmic sounds would still surge into her ears. She simply couldn't not hear them.
Tashigi was inexperienced, but she wasn't completely naive about certain matters. Those monotonous sounds left no doubt as to what the two people were doing.
And they went on for so long!
Back in the Navy, she had inadvertently overheard sailors discussing those "dirty" topics. She remembered one marine bragging smugly about his "unbeatable record" of forty minutes, which had earned him the envy of the other soldiers.
But Logan... he seemed to start at an hour. Wasn't that a bit too much?
Reflecting on Logan's other actions, were those just little terms of endearment between a man and a woman?
Tashigi was suddenly flustered, lowering her head every time she saw Logan, afraid to meet his gaze.
"Is this a task for all crew members? Am I going to have to do that too...?" Tashigi nervously laced her fingers together. This was the question that had plagued her for days.
She had promised Logan to correct him before he made a mistake, but after thinking it over, wasn't this sort of thing just natural human behavior? Unless a person had something physically wrong with them.
But if Logan really wanted to be with her... what would she do?
Tashigi was lost again.
At the dinner table.
"Tashigi, leave your door unlocked tonight. I'm coming over to teach you some navigation knowledge," Logan suddenly announced.
"Huh?! Okay," Tashigi replied automatically, still lost in her own thoughts.
Nami and the other women exchanged odd glances with Tashigi. What a sweet, clueless girl, agreeing so readily without knowing what she's in for tonight. The women subtly exchanged knowing looks and lowered their heads, stifling giggles.
The laughter brought Tashigi back to reality, her dark eyes full of confusion. "What are you all laughing at?"
Karumen looked at Tashigi with mild exasperation. "Dear sister, you don't hear the noises at night?"
"That's just the Captain teaching us knowledge!"
"What?!" Tashigi gasped, and her fork clattered onto the table. Her small face instantly turned as red as an apple.
Is that sort of "teaching" proper?!
The women realized: Oh, she gets it after all. This makes things easier.
"I... I understand, Captain," Tashigi replied, head still bowed, struggling to finish her dinner amid the suppressed laughter of the women.
"....."