So, what's your relationship with Bell-mère?

"It's over. You can stand up now."

Uta did nothing but stare up at me with teary eyes, and even when I tried to take her hand, she resisted as if she was scared.

Only now did I realize that some blood was still left on my hands. Thus, I went back to the bodies of the Fish Man to simply wipe my hands and knife with the clothing they had worn before concealing the bodies behind the bushes.

"If you're scared, you can wait on the beach with Johnny and Yosaku."

Uta wiped her tears away as she walked past me and said, "Who's afraid? I'm just disgusted by you."

We didn't have to walk for long before we came upon the appearance of another village. To our good fortune, this time, we came across some regular humans who didn't have any fish parts attached to their bodies. It was obvious that these people were ordinary villagers.

"Who are those kids? I've never seen them?"

One of them, who couldn't stand the thought of anything bad happening to us, yelled, "Are you lost? You better go back to where you came before the Fish Man finds you."

I thought this would be a good opportunity to ask them about Nami's house, so I went up to an old man who had obviously lived in this village for a long time and asked, "Do you know where Bell-mère's house is?"

Immediately, the elderly man's face changed into one of surprise, but he responded with a sigh and said, "I don't know your relationship with Bell-mère, but that woman is dead... if you look for her house, she lives up on that hill."

"Bell-mère? Who is it? How do you know her?"

I didn't answer right away, but after we were some distance away from the village, I then replied, "Bell-mère is a member of the Marines, and after going through a deadly war in the Oykot Kingdom, she decided to live peacefully in this island."

"How do you know this kind of thing? This Bell-mère is just an ordinary marine, right?"

I simply cast a sidelong glance in Uta's direction before saying in a low voice, "This is why you're stupid. At least read up some book…"

Because having information is another one of the most important powers to possess, I decided to read up on Bell-mère's history. The truth is that I don't really know very much about her either.

"Shut up! I can hear it... ahhh, why is that woman not here to take my place at a time like this? Aren't you two really close?"

I know the woman that Uta was referring to because, shortly after I decided to pursue Nami, Makino, on the other hand, took the initiative to express a desire to learn how to cook food of the highest quality at the Baratie restaurant.

-

"Nojiko, I know this is hard for you, but locking yourself in the house won't solve the problem. Why don't you come out?"

Only the old man, Genzo's voice, could be heard as I sat by myself in this empty and peaceful living room. Earlier, he had not stopped trying to convince me to go outside. Even his voice had gotten so hoarse that it was barely audible.

"What is that old man thinking? He might even die at any moment if I leave him under the sun for too long... *sigh..."

When I was on the verge of opening the door, suddenly, old man Genzo stopped yelling, and I could hear other people's voices that sounded unfamiliar to my ears coming from outside.

"Is this really Bell-mère's house?"

"And who are you… Stop talking nonsense. You, kids, can't possibly be Marines!"

"I'm sick of other people taking me for granted. If you still don't believe, I can knock you out with one punch, old man… so don't piss me off!"

At first, my heart started beating really fast because I was terrified that Captain would return, but After giving it my full attention, all I could make out were the voices of a man and a woman.

After that, I went outside to satisfy my natural curiosity, and there I was greeted by the sight of old man Genzo, who had fallen to the ground when he was trying to charge at the girl.

"Hmph! Even though you're a veteran, you can't even touch a little girl like me. How do you feel now?"

Meanwhile, I could immediately feel a sharp gaze directed at me the moment I opened the door. A boy wearing a straw hat approached me before taking a close look at me.

"w-what do you want?"

"Nothing, it's just that I'm a little curious why your eyes are so red... have you been crying?"

Upon hearing that, I momentarily felt self-conscious before turning my attention to something else. The boy continued his line of questioning, "Old man, did you do something to this girl? Don't tell me..."

"You impudent brat!... I will never make Nojiko cry, don't talk carelessly!"

Genzo, who had just stood up, immediately and vehemently denied the accusation. Seeing him panting as he struggled to walk brought to mind the gunshot wound sustained in his leg, so I hastily helped him and led him inside.

"So, what's your relationship with Bell-mère?"

I was genuinely interested in the answer to my question because, much like old man Genzo, I find it hard to believe that these two youngsters, who are almost exactly the same age as me, are Marines.

"Nothing important, our superiors would like to express their gratitude to Bell-mère for her service during the war against the Oykot Kingdom, and they regret that she chose to resign after the conflict."

Not only me but also the old man Genzo looked so surprised because what this boy said was quite convincing given that he knew some things about the history of Bell-mère.

"Too bad Bell-mère died at the hands of the Fish Man so many years ago."