Sister, want to sleep together?

Did I say something wrong?

Watching the expression on Rear Admiral Shizi's face, Noah felt his heart drumming with unease—

This reaction wasn't right. Momousagi had told him personally that Rear Admiral Shizi was a close friend of Vice Admiral Tsuru and a long-time comrade-in-arms of Garp, and that their relationship was excellent.

Could it be that their relationship was even more complicated than he had imagined?

Recalling the subtle change in Shizi's expression just now, Noah felt that was very likely.

A romantic entanglement? A soured bond of comradeship? He didn't dare to conclude, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the reason she had resigned from Marine Headquarters and returned home three years ago without a word had everything to do with Garp.

"Let's eat, little Gion."

After a long silence, Shizi finally sighed, breaking the stillness at the dining table. "Don't overthink it. It's not your fault. Just try not to mention that guy in front of me from now on."

"Mm-hmm."

Noah nodded obediently.

Beside them, little Hina looked completely bewildered. She had picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks but didn't dare put it in her mouth, unable to understand what was going on between Grandma Shizi and Sister Gion.

...Weren't they just fine a moment ago?

Seeing this confused, adorable little face, Noah couldn't help but chuckle. He pinched Hina's cheek and began to continue the topic from before the meal—namely, the various interesting anecdotes from the Elite Training Camp at headquarters.

He described some of the funny incidents that happened among the new recruits from Momousagi's perspective, making Hina giggle non-stop. Rear Admiral Shizi, who had been in a bad mood, listened silently for a while before shaking her head, a smile finally appearing on her face as well.

The atmosphere in the dining room quickly became lively again.

Noah felt a weight lift from his heart. What he feared most was the atmosphere becoming awkward, which would have made the mission of persuading Rear Admiral Shizi completely hopeless.

However, it was clearly not the right time to bring up Garp again today. Since he had to wait on this island for five or six days anyway, he decided to wait a couple of days and see how things developed.

After dinner, Noah took the initiative to help Rear Admiral Shizi clear the dishes and even cleaned the kitchen until it was spotless.

The two chatted for a while longer. When she heard that Noah had to wait here for a few days for a warship, Rear Admiral Shizi was beaming with joy and went straight to the second floor to tidy up a room for him without a second word.

Noah had intended to go help, but the stubborn old lady insisted on keeping him on the first floor, refusing to let him tire himself out any further.

With no other choice, he went to the courtyard for a walk.

It was dark outside, and the night sky was filled with brilliant, twinkling stars, though the moonlight was conveniently obscured by dark clouds. As the cool night breeze blew, a sense of loneliness from being away from home suddenly welled up in his heart.

"By this time tomorrow, Shiryu and Rossi should be arriving at Celeste Island, right?"

Noah thought silently, still feeling a bit of regret and unwillingness. "I can't participate anymore, but I hope you two bastards can get good results in this assessment..."

As if!

His own assessment score was a big fat zero. Since they were good brothers, they should fail together and keep him company at the bottom of the rankings!

After wandering around and returning, the guest room upstairs had already been tidied up. Just as Noah was about to go in to rest, he was called out by Shizi.

"Little Gion..." The old lady looked at him with confusion. "Aren't you going to take a bath?"

Noah's expression stiffened.

Damn it, he had forgotten that Momousagi was a germaphobe and normally took a bath every single day.

As someone who had watched Momousagi grow up, Rear Admiral Shizi definitely knew this. But he had explicitly promised Momousagi that while he was out of her sight for these few days, he would absolutely not bathe or change clothes without permission!

He was a man, and his word was his bond.

"I'm too tired today, let's skip it..." Noah could only mumble an excuse. "I'll just take a quick rinse when I get up early tomorrow."

"That works too."

Although Shizi still felt it was a bit strange, she didn't think too much of it and said with a smile, "Goodnight then, get some good rest. I'll wake you up for breakfast tomorrow and let you taste a few desserts I've learned to make over the last few years."

"Sounds good, Sister Shizi."

Watching Shizi head downstairs, Noah closed the door and lay down in bed, feeling exhausted. Before he could even stretch, he felt something poking him from beside him, and then—

"Ha!"

A small pink-haired head popped out from under the covers, making a playful face at him with a grin: "Good evening, Sister Gion!"

"Hina?" Noah's eyes widened. "You... when did you..."

"When Grandma Shizi finished cleaning the room and went downstairs to call you, Hina snuck in."

Hina scooted closer, hugging Noah's waist tightly. Breathing in the faint, delicate fragrance coming from him, she giggled:

"How about it, Sister Gion? Did Hina give you a big scare?"

"Scare is an understatement..." Noah's expression was awkward. "Stop messing around, Hina. Sister has been walking all day and is very tired. I want to get some sleep, so why don't you go downstairs and find Sister Shizi?"

"No!"

Hina huffed, burying her little face into Noah's ample chest. "Hina wants to keep hearing stories about the Elite Training Camp. I want to sleep with you tonight, Sister!"

Hiss...

The sensation of skin-to-skin contact made Noah gasp. Realizing that something was wrong, he hurriedly pulled Hina away from his embrace.

Are you kidding me!

A girl nearly thirteen years old was, in a sense, already on the threshold of becoming a young lady. He had to maintain the proper distance.

To uphold his principles and moral bottom line, he certainly didn't want to have to carry a sack of rice up and down the stairs while sleeping.

"No, that won't do."

Facing Hina, who looked utterly bewildered and couldn't understand why she was being rejected, Noah could only speak as gently as possible, "Hina, after over a decade in the Navy, your big sister here has grown accustomed to sleeping alone."

"If there were suddenly another person in my bed, I probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep all night. I've been exhausted all day; do you have the heart to see me wake up tomorrow with dark circles under my eyes?"

"...Alright then."

Hina was quite sensible. Although she felt a bit disappointed upon hearing this, she obediently climbed out of the covers. However, just before leaving, she seemed to think of something, her eyes suddenly lighting up as she turned back to ask:

"Then, is it okay if Hina sleeps on the floor?"

"Hm?" Noah didn't react for a moment.

"I mean, making a floor bed."

Hina excitedly went to the closet, pulled out a thick stack of bedding, and looked at Noah with a face full of anticipation:

"Hina wants to stay with Gion-sister and hear you talk about the Elite Training Camp at headquarters. If you get sleepy, Hina will just close her eyes and go to sleep; I definitely won't disturb you. Is that okay?"

Why is there another person wanting to sleep on the floor? What is this, some kind of traditional skill?

Wait, why did I say "another"?

"..."

Noah hesitated repeatedly. Looking at the little girl's hopeful gaze, he truly couldn't bear to refuse again. "Alright then, but you're still young and shouldn't stay up late, so we'll only chat for a little while, and then you must go to sleep early."

As long as there was no intimate physical contact, even sleeping in the same room shouldn't be a problem, right?

"Mm, no problem!"

Hina beamed with joy, happily set down the bedding, and began to make the bed on the tatami mats.

Seeing her struggle a bit, Noah simply got out of bed to help. His movements were quick and practiced, and he had the floor bed set up in no time.

After the lights were turned off, the two lay in their respective beds, and Noah began to continue telling her the amusing stories he had mentioned at dinner, even adding in quite a few jokes from his past life.

For instance, the "suicide squad" stories from Watanabe, once slightly adapted and stripped of their crude humor, were perfect for use as funny anecdotes from the barracks...

Before they knew it, the night grew deep.

Noah's voice became quieter and quieter, and Hina grew increasingly drowsy. After her eyelids struggled and fought for a while, her head finally tilted to the side, and she drifted into a deep sleep.

Turning his head to look at the sweet, satisfied smile on little Hina's face, Noah let out a sigh of relief. Not feeling very sleepy himself, he stared up at the ceiling, thought quietly for a while, and then opened his system panel.

He then went straight to the inventory page and clicked on the Swordmaster Ryuma's Insight Notes he had exchanged for earlier that day.