A Letter from Home Is Worth Its Weight in Gold

"Hey, Noah, why haven't you gone back yet?"

Just then, a familiar sound of surprise suddenly came from the right side of the training ground.

Saved!

Noah hurriedly turned his head. Looking at Rosinante, who had appeared before him, he pretended to wipe away sweat and smiled. "I'm heading back soon. I still had plenty of energy today, so I trained a little longer."

"Oh."

Rosinante nodded blankly. He was wearing pajamas and holding a carton of milk, his sleepy eyes making him look as though he were still dreaming.

Noah could tell at a glance that he had just come out of the dormitory—whenever this guy couldn't sleep, he had a habit of wandering out to buy a carton of milk, drinking it, then going back to sleep.

"Come on, we can head back together."

He took the coat draped over the wall and left the training ground with Rosinante, who had no idea what had happened. Chatting and laughing, they headed toward the male soldiers' dormitory building.

He never looked back, not daring to glance at Shiya beneath the streetlamp again. He was afraid she would stop him and trigger some melodramatic soap-opera scene.

Only after entering the dormitory building and reaching the door to their room on the fifth floor did he look back toward the training ground through the corridor railing.

The black streetlamp still gave off a dim glow in the night, but the silently crying figure beneath it was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed Shiya had more or less thought things through.

Noah recalled everything that had happened on the training ground. After thinking seriously for a moment, he once again confirmed that he had not felt the slightest flutter of attraction the entire time.

Then there was no problem. Since he truly did not like her, he believed he should reject her confession firmly and clearly.

One had to treat feelings as seriously as training. It was a matter of personal principle.

He stopped looking downstairs, turned around, and knocked on the dormitory door.

A moment later, the door was pulled open from inside, revealing Shiryu's thoroughly displeased face.

"Well, well. Our training fanatic finally decided to come back?"

Shiryu was over three meters tall. Looking down at Noah from above, he made no attempt to hide his irritation at being woken up. With a cold sneer, he said, "You usually came back by eight at the latest. It's almost ten today. If you'd knocked any later, I would've thought it was morning and time to gather on the field."

"And you!"

Shiryu suddenly raised his head and noticed the bleary-eyed Rosinante. Seeing the unopened milk carton in his hand, he flew into a rage. "You went out in the middle of the night to buy milk, and you didn't think to bring your key?"

"I... I..."

Rosinante jumped in fright and subconsciously took half a step back. "I wasn't very awake. I only thought about going out to buy milk to drink, so I... I forgot..."

Shiryu's gaze immediately turned murderous as it swept back and forth between Noah and Rosinante.

"I promise I'll come back earlier next time."

Noah apologized with utmost sincerity. His expression was grave, his right hand pressed to his chest, as though he were one step away from swearing to the heavens.

"Me too, I'll definitely remember to bring my key next time!" Rosinante hurriedly copied him.

"..."

Shiryu stared at the two of them in grim silence. Though his mind was still foggy from just waking up, he vaguely remembered hearing words like these many times over the past year...

A few seconds later, the two were finally allowed inside, obediently closing the door for Shiryu.

Only, both of them had gained several bumps on their heads, which sizzled with green smoke beneath the light.

Then, catching Rosinante off guard, Shiryu suddenly snatched away the milk carton he was holding and tipped his head back to drain it in one gulp.

Glancing at the dumbfounded blond youth, he finally felt much better. Happily climbing into bed, he let out a satisfied groan, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

"Noah..."

Rosinante came back to his senses and turned to Noah with a pitiful look.

"Wasn't that to keep you from waking up in the middle of the night because you had to pee? Shiryu did it for your own good. Go to sleep."

Noah gave a perfunctory answer without even raising his head.

At his desk, illuminated by the desk lamp, he was reading the letter from home Garp had brought during the day. He had no time to stand up for justice.

As a member of the Marine Headquarters Elite Training Camp, his living conditions were quite good, far beyond those of ordinary soldiers. Most dorm rooms housed only two or three people, with plenty of space and a full set of furnishings such as desks, wardrobes, and refrigerators.

Quite a few books were piled on Noah's desk. Besides training materials like <Summary of the Fundamental Principles of the Six Powers> and Introduction to Swordsmanship, there were also thick volumes covering military theory, naval knowledge, classic battle cases, and many other subjects.

After all, the Elite Training Camp had been established to cultivate high-ranking Marine officers. The so-called "academic classes" did not take up much time in daily training, but they were indispensable.

"Still as nagging as ever..."

After finishing the letter, Noah scratched his head. He placed the white stationery into the envelope along with Bell-mère's pink letter, carefully stored them in his desk drawer, then bit the end of his pen as he agonized over how to write his reply.

There was nothing unexpected in his parents' letter. As always, they had repeatedly urged him to work hard at Marine Headquarters, not disappoint Vice Admiral Garp's support, avoid conflicts with his colleagues, pay attention to maintaining good relationships, and so on...

He understood his parents' good intentions. He even felt that, in this world, being able to have family who cared about him from afar as they had in his previous life was a very happy thing, no matter how nagging they might be.

But Noah's training progress had not gone smoothly before, so he had always felt somewhat ashamed when replying to them and often avoided the subject. From today onward, however, things were clearly different.

After organizing his thoughts, he finally put pen to paper and began writing his reply. At first, he properly responded to his parents' concern, but once his youthful spirit rose up, there was no limit to how much he could boast.

—In the letter, he confidently guaranteed that when he graduated from the Elite Training Camp next year, he would at least be a Marine Headquarters major, four ranks above his father, who was a branch captain.

He also wrote that he would become a Marine admiral in the future and receive a grand villa in Marineford from Marine Headquarters. By then, his father would happen to be retired, and he would proudly bring the entire family over to live there, making everyone back home green with envy.

It was already eleven at night when he finished the letter. Rosinante had eventually fallen asleep without any milk, his snores rising and falling alongside Shiryu's beside Noah's ears.

Noah sealed the letter, intending to send it to the East Blue through the Marines' own channels tomorrow.

He dimmed the desk lamp, stretched as he rose from behind the desk, and was about to take a shower before going to bed when he casually opened the system panel for a look.

Then, upon seeing the written record in the information box, he froze in place.