Confession

( Vanze POV )

Calm Belt

'Urgh... I wanted to sleep.' I forced my mind and eyes open, resisting the allure to get some sleep. After all, I need to navigate through this calm belt first.

"Woah... It's really amazing, now we are riding so fast in a boat through the calm belt. I heard there are a lot of sea kings living here. Where are they, Vanze?" Yamato kept firing questions at me like a machine gun, even before I pulled out the speed boat.

"We won't encounter any sea kings here. Our boat is too fast, and I've already made them move with my Haoshoku Haki exposure for three years. So, even if a sea king pops out, it will be very rare, and I just need to stun them again with my Haoshoku Haki." I explained slowly to the curious Yamato. The sea kings in this route have already moved to another place because of me, so I can relax a little on our way home.

'I'm just worried about how I should explain all of this to the others at home. Should I say something like, "Hey, I got teleported to the lair of a future Yonkou, bombed it up, and looted their treasure, including his daughter with me"? I can't just say all of that, can I?'

[ Actually, if you ever want to take them to the other universes later with you, it is inevitable. Whether you like it or not, you need to tell them sooner than later, and you actually already slipped a little when you talked about your dream to them. ]

'Really? I didn't notice that. Sigh... It's getting complicated. Should I just say I ate a System System no Mi? Is that even a thing here? Or maybe just throw old Xen under the bus.' I bet Robin already has her own guess about my secret. My abilities to store and materialize things and now bringing Yamato out of nowhere, I really can't hide these things forever.

"You also have Haoshoku Haki? As expected from my partner, hahaha. That idiot father told me that the one who has it can achieve unimaginable things in their lives. That's why he also keeps beating me, damn him," Yamato said. It looks like Kaido has been beating her up in the name of 'training' since Yamato is still a kid. No wonder she can control her zoan form so well, even though she hasn't reached the hybrid form yet.

'You know what? Fuck it, let's just go with the flow later.' Overthinking about all of this won't solve the problem at all; it only makes my head overload, even though I'm supposed to have an adaptability skill. Emotional feelings toward your loved ones are really complicated.

We kept cruising toward the uninhabited island where the others were waiting, watching the sunset on the horizon. I must have wasted so much time on that quest; I hope they aren't too worried. It looks like my shoulder has already stopped bleeding, and my minor regeneration is kicking in.

.....

(3rd POV)

In a shore of a certain island in the calm belt, three figures could be seen standing there waiting for someone. One of the beautiful black hair girl is becoming impatient and concern filled her tone when she is speaking.

"Where he is? He should be back long ago right? Vuldia island is not far away from here,

did the sea kings cause trouble, making him late?" she queried.

"Impossible. He scared off the sea kings along our route to Vuldia Island with his Haoshoku Haki. Besides, Vuldia Island is secluded, free from the influence of mafia families or the Chinjaou Hippo Navy. He won't encounter any trouble, Hancock," another girl explained to her.

"Then, why is he late? The sun is setting, and traveling through the Calm Belt at night is not ideal," Hancock voiced her concern.

"Vanze-san will be fine," a tall guy with massive black wings assured confidently.

"Well, he will be fine, just like Azel said. I just wonder what crazy thing he did to be this late," a girl named Robin added.

"Maybe he's out picking up some girl, Robin. If he is, we need to beat him up, Hmph!" Hancock retorted.

"Why get upset, Hancock? It'll be livelier if he brings a new member," Robin teased, glancing at her.

"He already has us; he should focus more on training with us," Hancock argued, though it sounded like an excuse.

"Ara~ Is our Amazon Lily beauty getting jealous? You only met Vanze yesterday, fufufu." Robin teased, glancing at Hancock with an amused smile.

"What...!? No, I'm just worried about him," Hancock denied, turning her head to avoid eye contact.

While the two women bickered, Azel kept a lookout toward the sea, wondering when their leader would return. Suddenly, as the sky darkened, he spotted a speedboat heading their way.

"He's back," Azel exclaimed. The two women stopped bickering, looking toward the direction of the approaching boat.

.....

"We are finally back! Let's go meet the others, Yamato." Vanze said, gesturing for Yamato to follow.

"Un, I want to see my new friends." Yamato rushing to the shore and leaving Vanze there speechless.

He followed her, shaking his head while watching the girl with boundless energy. Yamato just seem to never run out of excitement,Vanze wondered whether it was because of her Devil Fruit or her real personality, now free from her father's influence. Regardless, seeing such a pure and cute girl running around with curious eyes in front of him made him feel like everything he had done today was worth it. He stored the speedboat back in the inventory when suddenly he heard someone calling him.

"Vanze!!! You're finally back," Hancock could be seen running toward them, with the other two following behind her.

"Welcome back home, Vanze," Robin said with a smile. Azel nodded in the background.

"Hahaha, I'm back, everyone." While responding to their welcoming words, the three stared at a particular spot where a girl with long white hair and a red horn was walking toward them.

"Wow, there are two beautiful sisters here, and a big guy with black wings and fire on his back. Brother wings, are you from the same race as King? You guys look similar, only King is taller, I guess," Yamato said curiously, wondering if Azel was King's brother.

The two other girls looked at Yamato speechlessly while Azel looked at her with a surprised gaze when she mentioned someone similar to him.

"See, I told you he's going out with another girl, Robin, hmph...!" Hancock snorted, saying to Robin.

"Ara~Ara~ what a cute girl we have here. Care to explain who she is, Vanze?" Robin asked, glancing at Vanze, making him nervous.

"Um... I can expl..." Before he could explain, Yamato beat him to it.

"Hello, my name is Yamato, and I am nine years old this year. I ate a Devil Fruit called Mythical Zoan Inu Inu no Mi, model: Okuchi no Makami. My favorite weapon is my kanabo, and I used it to beat my bastard father because he always beat me up with his own kanabo. My dream is to sail to the sea with my friends and beat up my bastard father. Vanze saved me, and we made a big firework in Onigashima together. So nice to meet you all," Yamato introduced herself with a toothy smile.

Vanze facepalmed himself. He had planned to tell them slowly about what had happened, but Yamato had complicated things, with all of them now staring at him with puzzled looks.

"What is she talking about? Onigashima?"

"Why do you look so beat up, and your shoulder is injured, Vanze?"

"Who is King?"

"Sigh... You know what? Let's get back to the house first. I need to explain a lot of things to you guys, and I hope you can keep it a secret." Vanze walked toward the house after saying that. The others looked at each other puzzled because Vanze looked serious. Yamato remained oblivious, following Vanze with enthusiasm.

.....

( Vanze POV )

After a long ass explanation involving my past lives, reincarnation, and blackie or should I call Kuro no Ishi model: System; for them in a most simple way, we found ourselves back in the living room, shrouded in an awkward silence. Even Yamato, who typically exuded excitement, now seemed subdued. I guess my story was too bizarre and unbelievable for them to process. I deliberately omitted details about the gacha, my wishes, and Seele as my secret; it would only complicate matters further.

"So... You died; some old man reincarnated you while also giving a stone that somehow changed to the so-called system now, and he give it to you without him knowing what it is. It's also the cause that made you mute when you were a kid, right, Vanze?" Robin said after listening and analyzing my story. As expected of her, she's really smart and not looking confused, even after hearing all of that.

"Yes, if you guys are still confused, just think of it like I consumed a devil fruit called System-System no Mi. The twist is, my system is more versatile, presenting random quests with rewards. I can choose to accept or reject them, depending on my choice. For instance, I opted to teleport to Onigashima to disrupt Kaido's lair. Saving Yamato was a selfish act, a bid to invite her to my guild and help her pursue her dreams instead of being confined by her lunatic father," I explained, my nerves escalating. Would their perceptions of me change, especially Robin's?

'Seele, I don't know how they'll perceive me now. I think I fucked up; I shouldn't have revealed all of this yet.'

[ You are overthinking and stop being pessimistic. What matters is you are being honest with them now; honesty in this world is almost extinct, and telling them the truth about you, will definitely touch their hearts. They could feel trusted by you. These people here are acknowledged by the management system, meaning their trust in you is unquestionable as long as you don't betray them, and you literally saved their lives by interfering with their original fate. ]

'Huft... Maybe. I just hope you are right, Seele.' This is more nerve-racking than dealing with those gacha games.

"But why risk so much for such a dangerous quest? You're fortunate that Kaido and his crew weren't there," Hancock queried, concern lacing her words, with Azel and Yamato even nodding when hearing her words.

"Sigh... Because the reward is I can unlock the mall. I think maybe in this mall, there is something that could help us, especially something that could eliminate the devil fruit curse. So, you guys won't need to fear the sea or sea stone again, and it might even enhance devil fruit capabilities," I revealed, emphasizing the importance of the mall for our development.

"Vanze... You're always more considerate to us; thank you. But please be more careful later on," Robin said with a smile to me. Damn, that smile. As expected from my waifus.

"Vanze-san, you also should consider asking us for our help if you want. We will definitely become stronger so that you could rely on us more," Azel said.

"Hmph...! Azel's right. Rely on us more," Hancock said with a hint of pride flashing in her eyes, and Yamato, could you please stop nodding your head like a chicken.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I would definitely ask if it is something that I couldn't handle alone. So... What do you guys think about my entire story?" Let's ask the issue now. Oh... The judgment.

"Huh? What about it? I think it's fine," Robin said, her puzzled expression baffling me. Women... What the hell do you mean fine? I'm feeling anxious right now.

"What...!? Why is it fine? And why are you guys only looking surprised and then calm after hearing all of that?" I'm very confused right now; as a loner in my past life, I don't really understand the interaction between people. The four of them exchanged glances at each other until Robin finally speaks.

"Vanze, for us, your past is just a memory of you at best, because what really matters for us is 'YOU,' who is living in this world at this very moment now. It was Vanze who was born in this world that helped us and gathered us here, not the one whom we never met. Your two lives are different, Vanze. It's like the first story in a book already ended, and now 'YOU' are writing your new story in a new book." Robin stares at me seriously with her eyes when she is saying her opinion. I'm speechless now; it sounds like I'm exaggerating shit for them.

"Yes, Robin is right. So, what if you already died in the past? What matters is you are here right now; without you, our fate might have ended up in a worse situation." Even Hancock said the same thing as Robin, so was it me overthinking everything?

"Vanze, I don't understand most of what you are saying, but I think you are overthinking all of this. What I care and understand is your devil fruit is more powerful than us, hehe." Even the clueless Yamato said that, and Azel keeps nodding, agreeing with every single one of them.

[ See? You are just overthinking this whole shit. For them, reincarnation is simply too bizarre and difficult to comprehend, so they ignore it. And your system is just a more powerful devil fruit for them. ]

'Hahaha, I feel so stupid now for feeling anxious that they will see me in a different light.' Huft... So, I can successfully say it is end smoothly.

[ You are stupid. ]

'Okay, okay. Geez, I'm sorry; that my EQ is not high.' I feel I learn something new the more I experience things in this world. Sigh... I feel a big burden in my chest is gone now.

"Haha, yes, you guys are right. Maybe I just overthought all of this, so I'm sorry for everything. Let's move on to get some dinner and relax our minds after all of the complicated topics we talked about." I suggested, thinking all of this shit and fighting with Sasaki back in Onigashima really makes me hungry now.

"Oh...!!! Let's eat! Let's eat! I'm also hungry after what we have done today." Yamato started to stand up from the sofa and rushing toward the dining table. Looking at her enthusiasm always gives me a smile on my face. Never change, Yamato. Hehehe.

"Fufufu, thankfully I already cooked dinner before you got home." Robin leading the others toward the dinner table. As expected from Robin, I noticed she started to have the ara ara onee-san vibe around her.

But anyway, I feel my stats are increasing after I'm done fighting with Sasaki. It's weird. Let's check it later as well as the mall. For now, let's eat...

.....