The afternoon sunlight was a bit too bright. As Nao stepped out of the hospital doors, he instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.
"Damn it!"
"Of all the times to get promoted to Vice Admiral, why now?!"
Storming down the tree-lined avenue toward his dorm, Nao muttered resentfully under his breath. "I knew I shouldn't have said that crap about sunbathing in front of Sengoku's grave... It should've been Fleet Admiral Kong's grave instead!"
Just thinking about Gion's smug, teasing smile when he left made his blood boil.
Rear Admiral was already a big deal, but one step higher was Vice Admiral — full-blown Marine upper brass. Expecting a fresh recruit like him to jump straight into that? Not even close.
Never mind whether he had the strength for it—where was he even supposed to earn the battlefield merit?
Even monsters like Sakazuki and Kuzan had only graduated as Rear Admirals. It took them a couple of years and a lot of combat achievements to get bumped up to Vice Admiral.
Still, there was no one to blame. Just bad timing and bad luck.
In the G-7 battle, even though the Marines took a major loss, Gion had done incredibly well—taking out several high-ranking officers with bounties close to 100 million Berries before she was ambushed. Add in the fact that she'd already been a Rear Admiral for years… her promotion to Vice Admiral was practically inevitable.
"Ugh, what a headache."
Nao shook his head, brushing those frustrating thoughts aside. His fingers drifted up to his chin, feeling the light stubble as his mind wandered back to that kiss…
—He still didn't know what got into him in that moment. Some kind of brain short-circuit, maybe. But he'd gone for it—he'd jumped her.
And judging by the aftermath, he had no regrets.
That proud little bunny had finally let her guard down. She'd been open with him—said what was in her heart. That kind of honesty and boldness was one of the things he loved most about her.
Also…
Her lips were so soft and sweet, and neither the scent nor the feel remotely compared to when Shia had tried to imitate her. No—Gion's were the real deal. And they were amazing.
"Oh, right."
Suddenly remembering something, Nao opened his system interface with a thought.
Compared to normal girls, Gion had been ridiculously hard to "clear." Despite mutual affection and more than a few intimate moments, they'd never quite reached the threshold for the system's "ambiguous relationship" status—and that had been driving him nuts.
But after what happened today, no way they hadn't crossed that line… right?
He scanned the upper-right corner of the interface.
["Momousagi" Gion has been preliminarily conquered.]
[You've earned the first-tier reward: 100,000 points.]
[Romantic relationship not yet established. Keep working to unlock the final reward.]
[Projected second-tier reward: 250,000 points.]
[New side quest "True Confession from a Superior" triggered. Check quest log (bottom-right).]
[New side quest "A Man's Dignity" triggered. Check quest log.]
Whew.
Nao exhaled in relief.
At least the system hadn't gone totally off the rails — finally, some recognition for all that effort.
100,000 points in one go—aside from quests, he'd never earned that many at once before.
And now there was 250,000 more on the line, if he could just fulfill his agreement with Gion.
Granted, becoming a Vice Admiral right after graduation was pretty far-fetched, so he'd already begun reconsidering. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he had to be the one to confess first again.
Yeah… mostly for Gion's sake, of course. When they were old and gray, sunbathing in front of Garp's grave telling stories to the new recruits, it'd be nice to let her save a little face.
Totally not because the reward was ridiculously tempting.
Also—he hadn't even finished the "Thousand Hearts (Ladykiller Legend) " quest yet, and now the system suddenly dropped two more?
"These quest names already sound like trouble…"
Nao squinted suspiciously and opened the quest log.
[Side Quest: "True Confession from a Superior"]
You've planted the seed of love in the heart of Marine HQ's ice queen. But if you want to fully win over this incredible swordswoman, it'll take even more effort.
Objective: Within 180 days, have Gion publicly confess her love to you—in front of at least 1,000 witnesses.
Rewards: 350,000 Points, 1x S-Rank Gift Box, 3 Random Stat Points
"…Huh?"
Nao blinked at the description in disbelief. This lined up exactly with his original plan, didn't it?
350,000 points?
An S-Rank gift box?
Three whole stat points?
Whatever doubts he'd had before vanished instantly.
Screw grave-side stories! As a man, it was only right that he make Gion confess to him, the great and invincible Lord Nao!
…Though the "public" part might be tricky. A confession was one thing, but dragging in a thousand spectators?
Nao fell deep into thought. He'd have to find a special occasion—maybe a promotion ceremony?
Those events were always packed with high-ranking officers. Pulling it off in front of a crowd like that… yeah, that'd be wild.
Now for the second side quest…
He glanced further down and nearly froze in place.
[Side Quest: "A Man's Dignity"]
A man should always keep his word. Remember that old vow? It's time to settle the score with Gion.
Objective: Within 180 days, while aboard the same Marine ship, kick Gion into the sea as payback for the past.
Rewards: 100,000 Points, 1x S-Rank Gift Box, 2 Random Stat Points
"…What the hell?"
Nao stared at the screen blankly for several seconds, then closed the system interface with a deadpan look.
"That's insane," he muttered. "Sure, I thought about it once—but that was then. No way could I bring myself to kick her overboard now."
He was the kind of guy who didn't fall for people easily—but once he did, he was all in: devoted, affectionate, and seriously loyal.
Still… the time limit on that quest was long enough.
Maybe once they were officially together, if they ever did end up on the same ship… he could, uh, talk it over with her? Run a little play for the system? Like a couple putting on a skit?
Nao was a master of finding loopholes and squeezing every benefit out of the system.
———
When he returned to the dorm, it still wasn't time for afternoon assembly.
Both his roommates were in.
Shiryu was hanging underwear on the balcony while puffing a cigar and humming some off-key tune.
Meanwhile, Rosinante was playing with Sadaharu. When the giant fluffball saw Nao walk in, it gave a delighted bark and waddled over, flopping down by his knee with a pitiful tail wag.
"…What the hell?"
Nao stared in disbelief at the now-almost-pig-sized Sadaharu.
"It's only been like a month. How the hell did you get this big?!"
Not only had he gained weight like crazy—his whole build had exploded like he'd been pumped full of steroids.
Sadaharu used to be somewhere between a corgi and a toy poodle. Now he was closing in on full-grown Alaskan Malamute territory.