18: 18.
How I Signed Up to Be a Maid and Accidentally Enlisted in Hell Training 18: 18.
How I Signed Up to Be a Maid and Accidentally Enlisted in Hell Training = Belle-mere’s POV = If someone had told me a year ago that I would one day accept a secret mission from the Marine Hero, Monkey D.
Garp, I would have laughed and asked them which bar they had been drinking at.
But if they had then added that the mission involved infiltrating a peaceful village disguised as a maid while being trained by a terrifying old woman who could shatter rocks with her foot, I would have stopped laughing and started backing away slowly.
Yet here I was.
Standing in front of the Marine Hero himself.
Listening to a mission briefing that sounded more absurd the longer it went on, while trying to keep a straight face as if this was all perfectly normal.
At first, I thought I had misheard him.
“Infiltrate a village?
Me?” I repeated, blinking at him.
“You mean a dangerous place, right?
A pirate base or a smuggling port or something like that?” Garp bit on his 3rd pack of rice crackers, his expression unusually casual for someone assigning what sounded like a covert operation.
“Nope.
Just a normal village.” That answer did not make things better.
It made them worse.
Because if a Marine of his rank, status, and fame considered something worth this level of secrecy, then the danger was not obvious, which was always more troubling than something openly hostile.
I crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes slightly.
“Vice-Admiral, with all due respect, why would you send someone to infiltrate a normal village?” That was when he told me about some letters he received every month prior to this.
At first, I thought it was a joke.
Mysterious letters that predicted the future sounded like something you would hear from a street fortune teller trying to scam coins out of gullible sailors.
Even Garp admitted that he had thought the same thing when he first received them, which reassured me that I had not completely lost my ability to judge situations.
Then he started listing events.
Events that had actually happened.
“The death of Fisher Tiger and its full cause,” he said.
“Arlong’s revenge and capture.
Jinbe becoming the new captain of the Sun Pirates after Fisher Tiger’s death.
Jinbe becoming the new Warlord of The Sea.
Jinbe’s request to free Arlong from Impel Down.
Arlong leaving the Sun Pirates, separating it into 3 crews.” He paused and looked at me.
“All of it was written in those letters before it happened.” I did not respond immediately, because I could not.
My mind was trying to process the implications, and every possible conclusion led to something that felt unreal.
I had heard of Devil Fruits, had seen abilities that defied logic, but this was something else entirely.
This was someone seeing the future.
And if that was true, then that person had saved my life.
“…Don’t tell me,” I said slowly, the realization hitting me all at once, “the reason you were in our village that day…” Garp grinned.
“Yep.
The letters said that the Arlong Pirates would come to East Blue and attack your archipelago.” He slid one of the said letters on the table.
“Everything was written here.
Down to the exact amount of money he demanded from every adult and child.” My breath was caught in my throat.
If he had not received these letters, if he had not believed them enough to act, then I would not be standing here.
My daughters would not be alive.
Everything I had fought for would have ended on that day.
For a moment, I felt a strange mix of gratitude and unease.
Gratitude for being saved.
Unease for the existence of something that could decide fates so easily.
Then another thought struck me.
“Wait,” I said, straightening slightly.
“If those letters are still coming, then that village you want me to infiltrate…” Garp nodded.
“Will be targeted by another danger, another pirate crew.” That answer settled it.
Whatever this mission was, it was not meaningless.
He explained the situation in detail, telling me about Syrup Village and a pirate named Kuro, also known as Kuro of a Hundred Plans.
According to the letters, Kuro would fake his capture, disappear, and then reappear in that village under a false identity, working his way into the household of the richest family before eventually taking everything from them.
“The richest family there is a merchant family,” Garp said.
I nodded slowly.
“That means he would not just gain wealth,” I replied.
“He would gain influence.
Control over trade, over people, over the entire village.” “Exactly.” The situation was clear.
The danger was real.
And yet, I hesitated.
“I’m not a Marine anymore,” I said.
“And more importantly, I have children.
I can’t take a job that puts them in danger.” Garp’s expression softened slightly, though his tone remained firm.
“I’m not asking you to rejoin the Marines.
This is a personal request.
You won’t be fighting.
You just need to gather information and report to me.
If Kuro shows up, I’ll handle the rest.” That sounded reasonable.
Too reasonable even that it started bothering me.
“Why are you so interested in this?” I asked.
“You’re the Marine Hero.
A pirate with a bounty of sixteen million Berries shouldn’t even register as a problem for you.” Garp laughed loudly.
“BAHAHAHA!
You’re right.
He’s not the main reason.” He leaned back slightly, his grin widening.
“I’m interested in the person sending those letters.
Besides, what kind of Marine would let pirates wreak havoc in peaceful villages and endanger civilians.
It doesn’t matter if the pirates didn’t have bounties yet.
We Marines still have the duty to stop them.” That answer made everything click into place.
Of course, a person who could predict the future with that level of accuracy was more valuable and more dangerous than any pirate.
“Do you want to recruit this fortune teller?” I asked.
Garp did not answer directly, he simply smiled, and that was enough.
I understood.
He did not want that power to be misused, not by pirates, and perhaps not even by the Marines themselves.
“If someone like that joins the wrong side,” I said quietly, “it would be a disaster.” “Exactly,” he replied.
“So we find them first.” I took a deep breath.
There were still risks.
There would always be risks.
But when I returned home that night and saw my daughters sitting at the table, eating simple food while wearing worn-out clothes given by neighbors, the answer became clear.
I needed more.
More stability.
More security.
More strength.
The next day, I gave him my answer.
“I’ll do it,” I said.
“But you need to guarantee my daughters’ safety.” Garp grinned.
“I won’t just protect them,” he said.
“I’ll make sure you can protect them yourself.” At the time, I did not fully understand what he meant.
I understood a week later, when he returned.
With HER.
He brought a seemingly frail old woman.
The kind you would expect to see resting on a chair while complaining about the weather.
Not someone involved in any kind of training or combat.
Her back was slightly hunched, her hair thin and gray, and her presence did not immediately suggest anything extraordinary.
“This is Mrs.
Sti,” Garp said.
She smiled.
“Oh my, you can just call me your instructor,” she said sweetly.
“Or your worst nightmare.
Either works.” I blinked.
That did not sound reassuring.
“She used to be the head maid at Marine HQ,” Garp added.
“And his wet nurse,” Mrs.
Sti chimed in proudly.
Garp sighed.
“You don’t have to tell everyone that.” “Of course I do,” she replied cheerfully.
“It’s my greatest achievement.” I stared at them, trying to understand what kind of relationship this was.
Then Garp dropped the real explanation.
“She’s not just a maid,” he said.
“She’s a combat instructor.” I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
Mrs.
Sti casually picked up a large stone nearby, one that would have required both of my hands to lift, and tossed it into the air.
As it reached its peak, she swung her leg and kicked it.
The stone exploded.
Not cracked.
Not chipped.
Exploded.
Fragments scattered in every direction, and when she lowered her leg, it looked completely unharmed.
I stared at her.
“…Are all maids like this in Marine HQ?” “Not all,” Garp said.
“Only a handful of them.” I reconsidered my life choices immediately.
“She’ll train you,” he continued.
“You’ll need both the skills of a maid and the ability to defend yourself.” I nodded slowly.
I had been through Marine training before.
I knew what hard training felt like.
This would be manageable.
At least, that was what I told myself.
Mrs.
Sti smiled.
“Don’t worry,” she said gently.
“I’ll go easy on you.” For some reason, that made me more nervous than anything else she had said.
Looking back on that moment now, I could confidently say one thing.
That was the exact moment I made a mistake.
Because what followed was not training.
It was my struggles to survive.
And by the time it was over, I would never again underestimate a “harmless old maid.” —————————————————————- Thank you for your support.
CHAPTER 73.
Crew Against Desert CHAPTER 72.
HolyRicekun