3

After preparing the bathwater, Makino came out and saw that Mark had finished eating.

She opened her mouth and asked, "Are you full? I prepared bathwater and a change of clothes."

Mark looked at himself and realized he really needed to be cleaned up. The other party was so considerate.

Such a good woman made Mark's heart flutter.

After all, there wasn't much difference between the two. As the saying goes, if a girl in her junior year holds gold bricks, she will hold a few more gold bricks in her arms.

When he looked at the other party for a moment, Mark's eyes were filled with a hint of heat.

And Makino looked at Mark's eyes as he looked at her, as if he wanted to eat her, which made her face turn rosy.

"Kid!"

"Go wash up quickly!"

Then she ran out of the tavern with a red face to calm down.

She didn't know why she became shy when being looked at by a kid.

Maybe it's because she had reached the age to get married.

There is some truth to the saying that thirty is like a wolf and forty is like a tiger.

Seeing the other party leaving, Mark realized that he had been a little hasty, but thankfully, the other party didn't have any extreme reaction, right...

When he came inside, Mark saw a big wooden barrel, still steaming.

People here usually bathe like this. Mark took off his clothes in a few quick moves.

Looking at his thin body, he thought, he really doesn't have any appeal.

"Ah! It's so comfortable!"

Leaning back in the wooden barrel, the feeling of taking a bath was truly relaxing.

The previous fatigue of this body seemed to be radiating out at this time. In such a comfortable environment, Mark fell asleep directly.

This was very difficult for Makino. She had been waiting outside for a long time.

"Why hasn't that kid finished washing yet?"

Originally, she was going to rest for a while after cleaning up the tavern and wait for it to reopen in a few hours.

An hour had passed now, and there was still no movement.

"Mark, are you done washing? Mark."

Mark."

Seeing that there was still no response from the bathroom, Makino started to worry.

After all, he looked pretty worn out earlier. Could something have happened? Was he injured and passed out?

Panicking at the thought, Makino rushed into the bathroom, only to find Mark lying unconscious in the tub, completely still.

Mark wasn't snoring, and no telltale bubbles were coming from his nose to suggest he was just in a deep sleep.

Makino hurried to his side, her heart racing as she looked at him lying there, seemingly unconscious. What should she do now?

He stepped forward and shook Mark, stretched out his hand and felt that Mark was still breathing very regularly.

"Yeah! What's wrong?"

Feeling someone shaking him, Mark opened his eyes sleepily and saw a very anxious Makino

"Makino, why did you come in?"

Looking at the awake Mark, Makino seemed to have thought of something. The other person had fallen asleep just now.

This made her blush with embarrassment, so she turned away again.

Just when Mark was awake, her eyes were wandering very unconsciously, and she saw things she shouldn't have seen.

I didn't expect that the other party was very capable at a young age.

Mark looked at Makino, who rushed out covering her face, leaving him confused.

What just happened?

He couldn't make sense of it.

The water had cooled down by now, and the bath was nearly finished. It had been incredibly relaxing.

After that brief nap, Mark felt completely recharged. The bath had rejuvenated him, and there was nothing wrong anymore.

Once dressed, he glanced in the mirror and couldn't help but think, *I really do look like a handsome guy.

It wasn't that Mark was full of himself, but with his current appearance, if he were back on Blue Star, he would definitely stand out—no way he'd be mistaken for some random guy.

As Mark stepped out, he noticed Makino sitting quietly at the front desk.

"Makino, can I ask you something?"

He still hadn't figured out exactly where he was in the timeline of events, which was critical for what he had planned next.

Now that he was in this world, he needed to make an impact.

After all, what's the point of being here if he just drifted through life like some nobody?

Makino looked at Mark, puzzled by what he wanted to ask, but willing to help. It was best for him to confirm the timeline first—everything else could be figured out later.

"Sure, go ahead and ask!"

Her kind smile never wavered, and Mark couldn't help but think how rare it was to find such warmth in a world like this.

"Makino, I wanted to know... do you know Luffy?"

If Luffy had already been at sea for two years, he might have already entered the New World. If that were the case, it would be too late for Mark to intercept Nami or Robin before they formed their strong bond with Luffy.

With such a strong bond between them, there wasn't much he could do, even if he crossed paths with them.

However, if Luffy had just started his journey or hadn't set sail yet, Mark still had a chance to intervene.

Mark wanted to build his own pirate crew and, naturally, needed to gather reliable companions.

And everyone aside from him...

The thought of that kind of adventure was exhilarating and filled with excitement.

"You mentioned Luffy—he's already set sail. He just left yesterday. I'm still worried about how he's doing out there," Makino said, a hint of concern in her voice.

She treated both Ace and Luffy like younger brothers, and Luffy was only 17 years old now.

The world outside was dangerous, and with both of them dreaming of becoming the Pirate King, she had her share of anxiety when they went off to chase their dreams.

Hearing what Makino said, Mark realized that, being the protagonist, everything would fall into place for Luffy at just the right time.

Mark could now head straight to Cocoyashi Village or Orange Town to help Nami deal with the Arlong Pirates.

With that, he could recruit a very dependable navigator, who would also…

But what worried Mark more was whether he could actually defeat Arlong right now.

At the moment, he only had one freezing magic ability, and it seemed like it would be a struggle to go up against someone like Arlong.

The real issue was his weak physical state, and his ice wasn't hard enough to fully unleash the power of his ice demon magic.

If only he could get another draw from the lottery system.

"Do you know Luffy?"

Seeing Mark ask about Luffy, Makino looked at him with slight confusion.

Of course i knew him —how could i not? Luffy was the one who dreamed of becoming the Pirate King.

After all, Luffy was so focused on his goal that not even the charms of the Pirate Empress affected him. He was truly the man destined to become the Pirate King.

So the other party didn't react at all to the empress's sweet fruit. He was the man who wanted to become the Pirate King.

It is inferred from this that the current Pirate King is a woman.

"We know him. He and I have been good friends for many years."

After all, he had been with him for many years when he was in school and was a very good friend.

"Yeah! That's great."

Maginot was very happy to hear that Luffy was Mark's good friend.

But she also guessed whether the other party also wanted to go to sea and become a pirate.

"Then are you going to go to sea and become a pirate?"

Even Ace, Luffy, and Sabo, those three little brats, all want to become pirates. After all, it is a mainstream profession in this world.

"Every time Ace, Luffy, and the others go to sea, I also want to go to the sea."

The big era is coming; how could I let go of such a good opportunity?

I don't know how many treasures and beauties are waiting for Mark.

He's not a good person, but he's not a bad person either.

I have always hered to the principle that I will not offend others unless they offend me. Of course, if I want something, I will do whatever it takes.

"I wish you good luck. This is not much, so take it and use it. You can also buy something to eat on the way."

Makino took out a wad of money from the counter and placed it on the table.

This is not easy for a small hotel proprietress.

I don't know how long it will take to earn 100,000 Baileys.

Originally, Mark didn't want to accept it, but Makino insisted, "Take it. If you meet Luffy and Ace, say hello to them for me. And if they are in danger, please help them."

After speaking, she bowed deeply.

For Mark, Makino regarded him as a younger brother, someone she wanted to support.

Seeing her like this, Mark felt he had no choice but to accept it.

"Okay, I will definitely convey it."

With this in mind, Mark thought about how he could save Ace when the war broke out.

He had always felt it was a pity that Ace died during his first viewing of the series. Many fans speculated that Luffy and Sabo could save each other in the Fruit of Time and Space.

Now that he was here, Mark agreed with Makino's request.