He certainly made it sound nice.
Makino had only just arrived and wasn't familiar with the ship's affairs, so he needed to teach her some basic navigation skills.
The innocent Makino believed him and even prepared a little notebook to take notes.
And that lesson lasted four whole hours.
"Damn it, can't you be a little more considerate of women?!"
Inside the room.
[Congratulations, Host, for successfully recruiting crew member Makino. Reward available. Claim it?!]
The system prompt arrived right on schedule.
Reno ignored it.
Makino lay quietly on the three-meter-wide bed, her face faintly flushed.
She stared at Reno without a word, her eyes full of resentment.
Bad man!!
He had said he was going to teach her navigation skills.
How had it turned into this?!
"Since you've joined my pirate crew, you're naturally one of mine. Don't worry, I'll treat you well."
Reno gently comforted Makino.
This wasn't sweet talk.
He wasn't the kind of man who would wipe his mouth clean and walk away after having his fill.
Once they had spent more time together, Makino would understand how good he was to her.
In truth, although the process of teaching Makino navigation had lasted a full four hours, Reno knew there was a clear gap between Makino's Physical Quality and Nami's.
So his teaching methods had been different as well.
With someone like Nami, he could keep giving instruction nonstop, with barely any breaks in between.
But with Makino, he would deliberately slow the pace and keep it within the limits she could handle.
"Mm." Makino responded softly, her voice somewhat weary.
Reno gently closed the door behind him and turned toward Nami's room.
What was he going to do?!
Naturally, claim his reward!
[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the skill—Teleportation!]
Teleportation?!
Reno was ecstatic.
In the fantasy novels he had read in his previous life, teleportation was merely a basic ability.
But in the Pirate World, it was absolutely a bug-level power.
He opened the skill description.
Instant Movement: Within the Host's perception range, the Host may ignore obstacles and arrive anywhere he wishes to go.
Spatial Transfer: The Host may leave coordinates at places he passes through. No matter where he is, he can instantly return to those coordinates.
Simply put.
At close range, he could blink around however he pleased; at long range, he could sense coordinates.
Reno nodded in satisfaction.
In the Pirate World, many powerful fighters were often said to teleport during battle, but that was merely an exaggerated way of describing incredible speed.
Though the naked eye could not see it clearly, it could still be tracked with Observation Haki.
But what Reno possessed was true teleportation.
What was true teleportation?!
As fast as his thoughts were, that was how fast Reno could move.
Even if Observation Haki could lock onto his location, the body still needed time to react.
In that brief gap, Reno would already have teleported to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
Not only that, but when Teleportation was paired with the Healing Fruit, it would be difficult for him to die even if he wanted to.
Reno grew even more eager to see how much his strength would rise after recruiting every Plot Beauty.
By then, he could probably crush even Imu to death with ease, right?!
No, Imu seemed to be a woman.
He couldn't kill her. He could only bed her.
Night fell.
At the dining table, Reno, Nami, and Makino sat together.
Nami stuffed herself without the slightest concern for her image.
"Eat slower. No one's going to steal it from you," Reno complained.
"It's delicious, really delicious."
"Big Sister Makino, your cooking is so much better than Reno's."
Nami spoke through a mouthful of food.
While praising Makino, she did not forget to take a few jabs at Reno.
"You didn't need to say that last part." Reno was speechless and casually flicked Nami on the forehead.
Nami rubbed her aching forehead, glared at Reno, then went right back to wolfing down her food.
The sight made Makino lower her head and smile softly.
Although they had not known each other long, she felt that Reno was not quite like the man she had seen in the tavern today.
Was it just her imagination?!
"Makino, from now on, you'll serve as the Reno Pirates' brewer and cook."
Reno was also surprised. Though Makino was a brewer, the food she made was incredibly delicious, perfect in color, aroma, and flavor.
"No problem."
Makino smiled gently and agreed.
In fact, from the moment she agreed to join the Reno Pirates, she had no other choice.
Since she was here, she might as well make the best of it.
Besides, she had already given her most precious thing to Reno, and in her heart, she had accepted him.
If Reno liked the food she made, she would be very happy.
"Captain, are we going to recruit more companions next?!" Having blended into the group, Makino joined in the casual conversation.
There were only three people aboard now. They did not even meet the most basic requirements for a pirate crew.
"That's right." Reno nodded firmly. "For a while, we'll be traveling to many places to recruit companions."
Hearing this, Nami suddenly tilted her head back and sighed. "It's over. Who knows how many innocent, kind girls you're going to ruin next."
Reno's face immediately darkened as he said sternly, "Nami, what are you talking about?!"
"I was joking, Captain. I was joking." Seeing Reno raise his hand again, Nami hurriedly begged for mercy.
All female crew members?!
Makino froze, recalling scene after scene of Reno teaching her Navigation during the day, and immediately felt unbearably ashamed.
Why was her captain so lewd?
Sailing on the Great Sea was very dull.
Fortunately, Reno had Nami and Makino to keep him company.
Every day, he would trade a few insults with Nami until she jumped around in anger.
Or he would tease Makino, whose threshold was much lower, then leave in satisfaction.
These little daily moments always put Reno in a good mood.
Of course, the most important thing was discussing navigation skills with the two women.
After Nami and Makino became more familiar with each other, Reno directly played Fight the Landlord.
Sharing the favor equally!
Several times, they had even become so absorbed that the ship drifted away from its original course, wasting quite a bit of time along the way.
"Reno, keep it up. At this speed, we'll reach Syrup Village tomorrow. You'll finally get to meet that beautiful ship's doctor you've been longing for."
Under the parasol, Nami leisurely took a sip of juice.
After spending so many days with him, Nami had become very curious.
How did Reno know which places had beautiful women?!
And he could even call every one of them by name.
It had been the same with Makino from Foosha Village and Kaya from Syrup Village.
Reno's answer to that question had been utterly ridiculous.
An inborn sense for beautiful women?!
One that ignored distance, at that?!
Who would believe that?!
Seeing Reno deliberately dodge the question, Nami could only let it go.
Makino emerged from the cabin with a towel and gently wiped the sweat from Reno's forehead.
"My Makino is still the most thoughtful."
Reno stared straight ahead at the sea and kissed Makino on the cheek as a reward.
A flush quickly spread across Makino's face.
"I'm going to prepare lunch. Is there anything you want to eat?!" Makino asked gently.
"As long as you make it, I'll love it." Reno answered with complete sincerity.
Makino's face turned even redder.
It was clearly a perfectly serious question, so why did it feel like they were flirting?!
"Nami, what about you?!"
"I'm fine with anything." Nami waved her hand casually.
Makino nodded and headed toward the kitchen.
After Makino left, Reno focused on steering the pirate ship again.
During their voyage, aside from flirting with Nami and Makino, Reno had also repeatedly tested the Teleportation skill he had just acquired.
Whenever they passed deserted islands, Reno would temporarily have Nami take over the helm.
Then he would activate Teleportation.
The instant the thought arose, he had already appeared on the island within his perception.
It was simply incomparable to techniques like Soru.
What surprised Reno even more was that, within a certain weight limit, he could even teleport others with him.