When Wood opened his eyes, the familiar ceiling greeted him. He tried to sit up, but the moment he moved, a sharp pain shot through the left side of his body.
The room was still his own, and the bed was the one he had always slept in. But now his left arm and leg were wrapped in bandages, making them look like giant radishes.
Sensing movement beside him, Aine—who had been asleep by his bedside—sleepily opened her eyes. When she saw Wood was awake, her face lit up with delight, and she cried out.
"Thank goodness, Brother Wood, you're finally awake! You've been asleep for a whole day and night.
Don't get up yet. I'll go tell Mom and the others, and bring you something to eat while I'm at it."
Wood had wanted to ask the girl what had happened after he passed out, but before he could say a word, Aine had already happily run out of the room.
Never mind. From Aine's expression, it seems like everything turned out all right. I've been lying here all day, and I really am hungry. I can ask for all the details after I've had something to eat and drink.
Not long after Aine ran out, her mother, Stia, came into Wood's room carrying a steaming meal, her face beaming with delight.
Besides Aine and Stia, whom Wood knew well, someone else had come in: a tall, broad-shouldered man with purple hair and a resolute expression.
He wore a purple suit, with a white cloak bearing the word "Justice" draped over his shoulders.
From his attire alone, it was easy to tell he was a Marine, and one of officer rank at that.
A Marine needed to hold a certain rank to wear a Justice cloak. Ordinary grunts, sergeants, and even commissioned officers of lieutenant rank and below didn't have one.
There were too many Marines to keep track of, and the current timeline was more than ten years removed from what Wood knew. So he didn't recognize the purple-haired man in front of him.
Still, he could be fairly sure the man wasn't one of those odd, color-themed animals.
"Brother Wood, did you know? The Marines arrived after you defeated that big guy.
This Marine uncle took on all the bad guys, knocking them flying with just one punch each.
He also said the Marines would establish a Marine Branch on Maple Leaf Island. With the Marines protecting us, those bad guys won't dare come back."
Having such a strong older brother had always made Aine proud, but seeing Wood gravely injured this time had frightened her.
She was afraid that, after losing her father, she might lose the other brother who doted on and protected her, too.
But when she heard from the Marine uncle beside her that the Marines would be setting up a branch here, she was happy again.
With the Marines protecting them, her Brother Wood wouldn't have to get hurt defending everyone on the island.
Wood patted Aine's head, then looked at the purple-haired man in front of him and recalled the results of his earlier Simulated Life.
During the life simulation, the system had indeed said that just after he left Maple Leaf Island, the Marines—concerned about the island's resources—had sent a warship there.
But this time, unlike in his first life simulation, Wood hadn't just passed the Marine warship by. He had met them here.
"Kid, the people on the island told me that before the Marines arrived, you were the one protecting everyone here.
Given that you're strong enough to kill a pirate with a bounty of 20 million Berries, you could have left this wretched place. Why didn't you?"
Zephyr looked at the boy and asked the question on his mind with complete seriousness. Wood's actions had already earned his approval, but he still wanted to hear the answer from the boy himself.
Looking into the Marine's sincere, serious eyes, Wood wanted to boast that he'd dreamed of becoming a champion of justice ever since he was a child.
But when the words reached his lips, he couldn't bring himself to say them. For one thing, Zephyr didn't seem like an ordinary man, and Wood's clumsy lie might be seen through at once.
And after the islanders had risked their lives to help him in his final moments, Wood couldn't bring himself to tell such a lie to them, either.
"Mr. Zephyr, you may be a Marine Admiral, but that was a very rude question to ask.
Wood is still a child. Of course he stayed to protect his home and the people who live here. If you still think he has ulterior motives, then I'm afraid Maple Leaf Island won't welcome you."
Wood had just been about to answer Zephyr when Stia, who had been standing nearby, heard the question. Usually gentle, she was uncharacteristically furious.
Little Aine didn't understand what Zephyr had meant, but when she saw her mother's expression, she puffed up her cheeks and stood in front of Wood, joining in against Zephyr. "Hmph! If you bully Brother Wood, Aine and everyone on the island won't welcome you!"
"My apologies, my apologies. I was out of line. This boy is simply so exceptional. The resolve and look in his eyes at that final moment moved even me, and I keep forgetting that he's still just a boy in his teens."
Zephyr quickly raised his hands in surrender to Stia and Aine, who were glaring at him with hostile expressions.
But he didn't know that when Wood heard Stia address Zephyr, he was stunned, too.
A Marine Admiral from Marine Headquarters—Zephyr...the Black Arm Zefa?
"Then let me ask you something else, kid. Would you be willing to join us and become an outstanding Marine?
I see immense potential in you. Both in strength and in character, you're one of the most exceptional young people I've met in all these years.
And what's even rarer is that, beyond your strength and character, you have the resolve to uphold justice!
With my guidance, your talent and potential will make you a pillar of the Marines in no time."
Looking at the black-haired boy lying on the bed, gravely injured, Zephyr gave him exceptionally high praise.
Strength and talent were only part of it. In all his years as an instructor, Zephyr had seen plenty of promising Marine recruits. What mattered more to him was that Wood had a heart devoted to Absolute Justice!
Words could deceive, but eyes and actions could not. Even on the brink of death, Wood had still gone out of his way to save the other residents of Maple Leaf Island.
That alone convinced Zephyr that Wood's sense of justice was stronger than that of most of the current Marine officers!
At the same time, Wood had reminded Zephyr of himself when he was young!
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