I, Garen, Farm Gold

"Huh?"

When it came to wilderness survival and swordsmanship, Garen's experience was equally zero when dealing with pretty girls.

The sudden appearance of this beautiful young woman sitting beside him plunged Garen into an awkward predicament.

He overperformed his noble nature as an FFF member and blurted out:

"Why are you sitting here next to me?"

"..."

Nami's smile froze on her face instantly.

This was the first time she'd encountered such a clueless rich fool, and it was rare for her to have such an uncontrollable emotional fluctuation.

Nami glanced discreetly at the ornate greatsword lying horizontally on the table, drawing strength from the massive sapphire on its hilt to sustain her fight:

As long as I can fool this wealthy nouveau riche and pry out his property information.

Getting rich overnight, buying the village, gaining freedom—all of that would be a beautiful future within reach.

A few seconds later, Nami's smile bloomed again like a flower.

She followed up on Garen's clumsy opening line and continued:

"I'm just a little curious, Sir Knight—who is that girl you mentioned who looks like me?"

"Oh."

Guided by Nami's simple conversational tactics, Garen finally pulled himself together.

He thought for a moment, then replied:

"That girl isn't real, actually. She's just a fictional character from a comic in my hometown."

"A comic?"

"That sounds interesting."

Nami flattered him insincerely, while her opinion of Garen dropped another notch in her mind.

In the pirate world, comics existed as a form of entertainment, but limited by underdeveloped communication methods, such works only appeared in bustling islands with a large enough market base.

And the audience for comics was mostly immature little brats, with extremely childish subject matter.

After all, in this world, children who grew up a bit would consciously seek out the real supernatural heroes roaming the seas, rather than searching for empty fantasies in thin pages of drawings.

"Speaking of which,"

Garen didn't notice the faint disdain in Nami's heart. He was just struck by a sudden melancholy at his own bizarre situation in this unknown world:

"I'll probably never get to see the ending of that comic in this lifetime."

"What a shame."

Nami forced herself to follow the conversation, but inside she was already cursing:

Here I am, a beautiful young woman sitting right in front of you, and you're still enthusiastically chatting about kiddie comics?!

But Nami's feigned cooperation still worked.

At least, she left an impression on Garen as someone "easy to talk to."

For Garen, who had just emerged from the wilderness and was alone in this other world, this friendly and beautiful young lady was practically the only person he knew.

So Garen decided to make his first friend in this other world and glean some basic knowledge about it from her.

Yes, he treated her like the welcoming NPC in a newbie village.

Ignoring whatever etiquette this other world might have, Garen extended his broad hand with a smile:

"My name is Garen. May I ask yours, miss?"

Finally making normal conversational progress, Nami readily placed her fair, soft little hand into his thick palm, while maintaining a reserved tone:

"Nami."

"My name is Nami."

"Even the name's the same?"

Garen blurted out in surprise.

"What?"

This startled reaction left Nami confused.

Garen quickly pulled his hand back awkwardly and explained, "The comic character I mentioned—her name is Nami too."

"Is that so? Haha."

Nami's fake smile was barely holding up:

I, a beautiful young woman, am being this cooperative, and this big dummy still only wants to talk about kiddie comics with me?

But the fool she thought him to be, Garen, had triggered his high-IQ detective mode from the memories of that comic—

A three-meter-tall Big Teddy, all kinds of bizarre plants, strangely shaped humans—there was no doubt he was now in another world.

And this other world was steeped in a strong Earth culture aesthetic:

Katana blades, flintlock guns, Western-style architecture, English signage, Chinese calligraphy.

Add to that the orange-haired girl before him, who looked like she had stepped straight out of a picture book—

All these bizarre, surreal elements lined up perfectly with the comic Garen remembered.

Besides, his current body was already a game character;

so crossing over into a comic world wasn't really that hard to believe.

Garen sifted through all these clues, but ultimately couldn't hold back the question burning in his mind. He tested the waters with the girl in front of him:

"Miss Nami, could I ask where we are right now?"

"Where?"

Nami replied, a little taken aback. "Samwell Island."

"A bit broader—Samwell Island in which territory?"

Garen pressed on.

Nami was completely thrown off by this guy who didn't play by the rules. Only her faith in money kept her going as she answered:

"The East Blue. One of the four seas—the East Blue."

"The East Blue."

Garen muttered to himself, then followed up:

"Do you know about the Grand Line, Pirate King Roger, and One Piece?"

"Of course I do!"

Nami's voice carried a hint of barely restrained irritation.

Asking such a common-knowledge, idiotic question—either he was an idiot, or he was deliberately messing with her.

"So it really is the World of One Piece."

Garen sank into deep bewilderment, but then suddenly grew excited:

"Then the one sitting in front of me is..."

"The real Nami?"

Garen's eyes lit up like gold, staring at the orange-haired girl as if she were some rare animal.

That kind of look was terrible—easily mistaken for a lecherous fiend.

But Nami breathed a huge sigh of relief:

For some reason she couldn't explain, this big dumb guy had finally returned to the normal, pervy nouveau-riche mindset.

That kind of behavior made it easier for her to swindle money.

So she decided to take the initiative and close the distance between them:

"Sir Knight, asking me all these questions—are you not from the East Blue?"

"No!"

Garen answered cheerfully.

He was the brooding type—stiff as a proper lady around strangers, but a thick-skinned veteran who could drift through five hairpin turns when among friends.

And to Garen, Nami could probably count as a "friend."

Once he figured out where he was and who the girl in front of him was, all his stranger-anxiety vanished.

In its place was curiosity and excitement written all over his face.

Of course, in Miss Nami's eyes, that emotion was just the disgusting look of a pervert.

"Are you from some great kingdom?"

Nami chatted idly about things she didn't really care about, not holding back on the flattery:

"Judging by your outfit, you look really noble and mighty."

"Hmm..."

Garen thought for a moment, then answered without changing his expression:

"I come from the Kingdom of Demacia."

There were countless kingdoms on the sea, and Nami had no idea where Demacia was.

She just went along with it: "So are you a noble of the Kingdom of Demacia?"

"That's right."

Garen fully slipped into his role:

"I am the leader of the Dauntless Vanguard, a close friend of Prince Jarvan, and the kingdom's Champion, bearing the title 'Might of Demacia.'"

It sounded like he was bragging.

But the expensive armor he wore didn't seem fake.

If this guy's identity was real, then he was undoubtedly an ATM just waiting to be squeezed dry.

So Nami kept playing the naive sweetheart who admired noble heroes, smiling brightly as she listened to Garen's boasts.

"My family are hereditary nobles of the kingdom, with countless fiefs and farmlands."

"I also have a gifted little sister, revered as the Lady of Luminosity."

Garen bragged on, but then suddenly changed the subject:

"Only now, I'm stranded alone in a foreign land."

"Don't worry, Sir Knight."

Nami deliberately played along with pleasantries: "If you have any difficulties, I can do my best to help."

Heh.

I'll do my best to help you spend every last coin in your pocket.

"Is that so?"

Garen said excitedly: "That's great!"

"As you know, I'm a Demacian noble stranded abroad."

"Actually, I'm a bit tight on cash right now and need some funds to get by."

"If you can cover this meal for me, I promise:"

"Once I return to Demacia, I'll have my friend Prince Jarvan grant you the title of Count as repayment!"