“Hehehe, what a cute little girl.”
Makino really liked Nami’s personality; her quirky behavior revealed a kind and warm heart.
“Kazi, let’s help them move the tangerines too.”
Kalmande saw that there were only three women on the other side, two of whom were still children, and he didn’t feel right just watching.
“Let’s go, let’s all help.”
“I’m coming too.”
The three of them joined in the work, and several hours passed by in laughter and joy.
“Belle-Mere.”
“Belle-Mere!!”
Busy at work, Belle-Mere heard the familiar voice and hurried to the entrance of the tangerine orchard.
“Genzo?”
“Why are you here?”
Just as Belle-Mere reached the entrance, she saw Genzo with a look of anxiety, panting heavily; it looked like something urgent had happened.
“Belle-Mere, I just heard from people in the neighboring village that a group of pirates has landed on the Konomi Islands.
There are three of them in total, one woman and two men.”
“Nothing has happened on your end, has it?”
After catching his breath slightly, Genzo hurriedly told Belle-Mere the news he had just received from the neighboring village.
As the sheriff of Cocoyasi Village, he was well-informed, and because he had a good relationship with Belle-Mere and the others, he rushed over to warn them.
After all, they were pirates.
The three of them—a widow and two orphans—would have a hard time escaping if they ran into them.
It was better to leave the orchard for now and go hide for a while.
“One woman and two men?”
Belle-Mere blinked.
Thinking of Kazi and the others who were chatting and moving tangerines in the orchard, she really couldn’t bring herself to think of these warm-hearted and generous guests as pirates.
However, Genzo wouldn’t joke about something like this, so she had to take it seriously.
“Genzo, I do have a woman and two men here, they…”
Belle-Mere briefly told Genzo about Kazi and his group.
“So, they are indeed likely the pirates who came from the neighboring village, but their behavior doesn’t seem like that of bad people.
They might be the kind of people who set sail out of a love for adventure.”
Belle-Mere had once been a Marine and had seen many evil pirates, but she also knew that there were special kinds of pirates out on the great sea.
They set sail for dreams and freedom, not for burning, killing, and looting.
It’s just that such people are very rare; it would be good if there were one or two in every hundred pirate crews.
“But regardless, we cannot let Nami and Nojiko stay in such a dangerous place for long.”
“Let them go home, and I’ll help you sell this batch of tangerines.”
Seeing Belle-Mere say this, Genzo, who trusted her judgment, could only come up with this compromise.
“Mhm, you’re right.
Then I’ll leave it to you, Genzo.”
Belle-Mere agreed with Genzo.
Anything could happen, and what if they were just pretending?
Nami and Nojiko were too young, and it would be easier for the two adults to handle any sudden situations.
“Nami, Nojiko!”
“Coming!”
“What is it, Belle-Mere?”
Belle-Mere called out toward the depths of the tangerine orchard.
Although Nami and Nojiko didn’t know what was happening, they put down their work and ran over immediately.
“Kazi, did they run into some trouble?
Should we go over and help?”
Makino was a warm-hearted and kind girl.
She thought Belle-Mere needed help with something but was too embarrassed to ask them, so she only called the two children to lend a hand.
Kazi and Kalmande exchanged a glance, then looked back at Makino.
“No problem.”
“I’m fine with that too, let’s go.”
The three of them walked to the entrance of the tangerine orchard and happened to see Belle-Mere and Genzo saying something to Nami and Nojiko.
“Belle-Mere, have you run into some difficulties?”
“Do you need our help?”
Makino waved with a smile and asked about the situation.
“Thank you for your kindness, Makino, but there’s nothing major going on here.”
Belle-Mere, with a cigarette in her mouth, smiled at Makino.
“You two, hurry back home.”
“Mhm, okay, we’re leaving then.”
“Uncle Kazi, Uncle Kalmande, goodbye Sister Makino!”
Nami and Nojiko waved at Kazi’s side, then happily headed home.
Belle-Mere, of course, didn’t mention that Kazi and his group were pirates, fearing it would scare the two children.
She just made up an excuse, telling them to go home and help pack some things, and that since Genzo was here to help, they didn’t need to worry.
“Uncle again!”
Kazi and Kalmande felt they were still quite young.
Why did all the brats they met like calling them “Uncle”?
And they called Makino “Sister” at the end.
It was truly hateful—they were judging people by their appearance.
“Alright, they didn’t mean anything by it.
In Nami and Nojiko’s hearts, you two are just like me—big brothers and big sisters.
Why are you getting angry at children?”
Makino patted Kazi on the shoulder to dissuade them.
Kazi and Kalmande pulled long faces, clearly unhappy about being called so old.
“Tch, Makino, call me Big Brother.”
“Huh?”
“Why, Kazi?”
Makino didn’t understand what Kazi meant.
Why did he suddenly bring this up?
It was as if he had some strange illness.
Kazi pouted and said, “Nothing.
Nami and the others call you’Sister.’ If you call me ‘Big Brother,’ that means we’re of the same generation, so wouldn’t that make me Nami and Nojiko’s ‘Big Brother’ too?”
“Hahaha, are you impressed by my amazing intelligence yet?”
Makino: “…” Kalmande: “…” Belle-Mere: “…” Genzo: “…”
Genzo now truly agreed with Belle-Mere’s judgment; this Captain named Kazi was indeed quite interesting.
He acted so naturally; it didn’t seem like an act at all.
“Alright, stop talking nonsense.
We still need to go pack tangerines.”
Makino clearly didn’t want to entertain Kazi’s topic and hurriedly gave Belle-Mere a look, signaling her to tell them to continue working on the tangerines.
But before Belle-Mere could speak, Kazi’s words came first.
“Ah, ah~”
“Sure enough, you were just saying that we are the same as you, all big brothers and sisters.
I knew you were just trying to fool me.”
Looking at Kazi’s punchable expression, Makino was in a dilemma.
“I, I didn’t mean it like that…”
“Then call me ‘Big Brother’ so we can be on the same level.”
Makino: “…”
“Big…”
“Big Brother.”
Makino’s voice was very soft; if you didn’t listen carefully, you might not even hear this “Big Brother.”
“Hahaha, good, what a good little sister you are.”
However, Kazi clearly knew when to stop; he was afraid that if he kept teasing Makino, she would get angry.
Belle-Mere and Genzo looked at each other, wondering if they had overthought things earlier.
“Let’s go, let’s continue packing tangerines.”
The three of them continued into the depths of the tangerine orchard, and Belle-Mere and Genzo hurriedly went over to help.