Kujaku

"I'll take it!"

"I'll buy it."

The two voices rang out in unison as Lin Qi's hand collided with another soft hand.

Lin Qi looked up and saw a golden-haired girl.

Before he could say anything, the girl smiled sweetly.

"Hey, Big Brother, you wouldn't fight me over this, would you?"

The girl looked no older than fifteen and wasn't wearing a naval uniform, so she was most likely a Marine family member.

But... Lin Qi sensed fluctuations of Haki from her.

Then again, people in this world matured early. She looked fifteen, but no one knew her actual age.

Having Haki in her teens made her a genuine little genius.

"Right, Big Brother? You wouldn't want to steal something from a little girl, would you?"

When Lin Qi remained silent, the girl repeated herself.

"...Of course." Since she had put it that way, Lin Qi could only let her have it.

"Thank you, Big Brother. Bye-bye~"

After getting the hairpin, the girl cheerfully paid and left, swinging her long hair behind her.

Ding! Life Choice triggered.

Choice One: Dirty Hands. Secretly steal the hairpin and make the girl cry. Reward: One lesson from Vice Admiral Tsuru.

Choice Two: Take the Black Silk Stockings from Kujaku's legs and keep them as a collection. Reward: World Transfer Scroll.

Choice Three: Take Kujaku to a small room to watch Jie Ge perform. Reward: Title: Loli Killer, damage against little lolis +5.

"Umm... System, you really are getting more perverted by the day."

Lin Qi no longer had the strength to criticize his System.

"But the codename Kujaku sounds awfully familiar."

Lin Qi remembered. Wasn't she Vice Admiral Tsuru's granddaughter?

The World Transfer Scroll from Choice Two came in two halves. Holding one half allowed him to freely travel between the two locations.

Something practically equivalent to a portal had appeared. If it were in the System shop, it probably wouldn't cost less than fifty thousand Points.

Yet the requirement to obtain such a good item was merely getting the girl's stockings.

"But I'm an upright gentleman. Did you really think I'd do something so utterly insane just for a portal, System?"

Lin Qi scoffed.

Five minutes later.

Lin Qi stopped Kujaku in a secluded alley.

"Hey, mister, you're blocking my way."

Lin Qi had used Life Return beforehand to alter himself until even he could barely recognize his own appearance, so the girl didn't recognize him.

"It's like this." Lin Qi took out two unopened packs of Black Silk Stockings and explained, "I work for a manufacturer of black stockings."

"We're currently conducting a market survey. As long as you take off the black stockings you're wearing and give them to me, you'll receive two new pairs."

"What do you want my stockings for?"

Kujaku tilted her little head in confusion, looking innocent and harmless.

"We need to test the stockings you've worn so we can improve our products."

The girl fell silent for a moment before suddenly scolding him in a sweet voice, "Pervert! Big pervert!"

"You're not planning to use my stockings to wipe your gun, are you? So disgusting~"

Kujaku looked at Lin Qi with contempt.

"W-wipe a gun?!"

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Lin Qi never imagined such words would come from a little girl's mouth.

"Move aside, pervert. I'm going home."

Kujaku shoved Lin Qi aside and ran toward the alley exit.

"Shave!"

Lin Qi instantly flashed over and knocked the girl unconscious with a chop to the neck.

"Sorry. Since you refused to take them off yourself, I have no choice but to offend you."

Lin Qi swiftly removed the Black Silk Stockings, pulling them inch by inch from the girl's slender, jade-like legs.

A faint fragrance wafted from the stockings.

With a solemn expression, Lin Qi tossed the girl's freshly worn stockings into his Storage Ring.

He wasn't really a pervert. How could he possibly smell them?

If he wanted to smell them, he would at least have to go somewhere private.

"One for two. It's not like you're losing out."

Lin Qi placed the prepared stockings beside the girl, lit a cigarette, and tucked it between Kujaku's fingertips.

Once the cigarette burned down, the heat would wake her.

"Perfect."

After confirming he had left no trace behind, Lin Qi quietly departed.

"System, collect the reward."

Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission. World Transfer Scroll being issued...

With a flash of light, a scroll split into two halves appeared in Lin Qi's hands.

As long as he held one half, he could instantly travel to wherever the other half was.

Next, Lin Qi wasted no time finding the Pirate Hunters who had come to Marine Headquarters to collect bounties.

For five million Berries, he had them deliver the item to the West Sea.

Safe, harmless escort missions like this were enthusiastically welcomed by Bounty Hunters.

After making two round trips, night had already fallen.

He dragged his exhausted body back to his doorstep and found the inside completely dark.

"That idiot cat Tom doesn't even know to turn on the lights when he's home."

The moment he pushed open the door, the room suddenly lit up.

With two popping sounds, streamers drifted down from above.

"Surprise!"

"Congratulations on becoming a Rear Admiral!"

A huge crowd poured out from the corners.

There were Marines who had followed him to sea for the past year, fellow trainees from his class, as well as Hina and Momousagi.

"Captain Lin Qi—ah, no, we should call you Rear Admiral Lin Qi from now on."

"Rear Admiral, you're the first person from our Elite Camp to reach the rank of Rear Admiral. Congratulations!"

"Thank you, everyone." Lin Qi's heart warmed.

Momousagi stepped forward gracefully.

"Big Sister Momousagi, you're back."

"Mm."

Momousagi nodded, then suddenly grabbed Lin Qi's head, lowered her face, and kissed him.

"?!"

Lin Qi's eyes widened.

Hina's little mouth fell open.

The stunned onlookers even dropped their beers, hurriedly looking away.

Tom seemed utterly unsurprised. He lit a cigar nearby and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke that formed words.

A happy union for a hundred years

"Little Brother Lin Qi, welcome home," Momousagi said happily.

Lin Qi looked at himself in the mirror, his mouth covered in lipstick marks. "That surprise came out of nowhere."

It was a night of revelry.

Early the next morning.

Lin Qi rubbed his aching head as he climbed off the sofa, only to be stunned by the sight in the room.

"Did a hundred Huskies come through here?"

Everyone had already left, but the living room was full of empty bottles, with miscellaneous junk scattered everywhere.

Tom hung from the light bulb like a noodle.

With a crash, the bottle in Tom's hand fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

"Tom!"

Tom instantly woke up, darted over to Lin Qi, and gave him a military salute.

"Good morning, Master. Your most loyal soldier offers you his blessings."

A magnetic, raspy voice came from Tom's mouth.

"Damn, you can talk!"

Lin Qi was genuinely shocked this time.

Tom also realized something was wrong. He hurriedly covered his mouth and shook his head repeatedly.

"Stop pretending. I'm not that drunk. What exactly is going on?"

Tom cautiously studied Lin Qi's expression, pulled out paper and a pen from his tail, and wrote: Aren't you curious?