East Blue, Oykot Kingdom.
Cocoyasi Village.
Within the orange grove near the sea, neat rows of trees stretched in every direction. Bellemere, who had been retired for many years, held the hands of two girls as she moved between the fruit trees, carefully inspecting their growth.
It was early autumn. The orange trees in the orchard had long since borne green fruit. As the sea breeze brushed past, scattered flecks of gold could be seen amid the sea of green.
"Bellemere!"
"Look, this orange should be ready to pick, right?"
The orange-haired girl beside Bellemere suddenly broke free of her adoptive mother's hand and dashed toward a nearby fruit tree. As she spoke, she reached the tree and excitedly pointed at a yellowing orange high above.
Even oranges growing on the same tree ripened at different rates. A few that had borne fruit early were already ready to be picked.
"Slow down, Nami."
With a lady's cigarette between her lips, Bellemere watched Nami run off with a warm smile. After reminding her to be careful, she looked in the direction the girl was pointing.
Just as Nami had said, a small portion of the oranges in the orchard had ripened. Over the next month or two, Bellemere would need to come by often and pick the ripe fruit in time, or the birds and fruit bugs would get to them first.
"Mm, it's ready to pick."
"Here, Nami. Give it a taste. See if it's good."
Still holding Nojiko's hand, Bellemere slowly approached. She gently supported the ripe orange with one hand, inspected it briefly, then pinched the stem and plucked the palm-sized fruit, placing it in Nami's hand.
Bellemere was not yet thirty, but after retiring from the Marines, she had adopted two orphans. Nojiko was the older of