Marines, Teacher

Bill's affair had created a rift between Li Ziming and the villagers—or perhaps the rift had always been there, and Bill's affair had merely been the fuse. Li Ziming still greeted the villagers when they met, and the villagers still supplied him with liquor and drank at his bar, but the barrier between them could no longer be erased.

"The people in my village have gone too far!" Alto was dejected—or perhaps confused. Neither side bore any ill will, so why had their relationship become so strained? Alto, who could sense people's hearts, simply could not understand.

"This is normal." Li Ziming shook his head. "How long have I even lived with you all? If someone made you choose between me and the villagers, who would you choose?"

"Uh, I..." Alto froze.

"Forget it, it's only human nature." Li Ziming shook his head. "Besides, things being this way between us doesn't really affect me much, does it?"

"That's..." Alto had just begun to speak when a villager came running over.

"Someone else—someone else is here!" the villager gasped.

"What?" Alto looked at Li Ziming, his eyes pleading.

Li Ziming could only nod helplessly. Though he was displeased with the villagers, he still thought Alto was a decent person. He had even begun to see him as a friend, and Li Ziming had never been stingy with his help when it came to friends.

"No need. This old man merely came for a drink." A tall figure appeared in Li Ziming's shop, though the right sleeve of his clothes hung empty. "I heard from the villagers that the liquor here is good?"

"Teacher!" A crisp female voice rang out. "We're here for supplies. Don't go looking for alcohol everywhere you go!"

"Just let Teacher drink. It's not as if we can stop him anyway," a male voice said helplessly.

"Exactly. Don't worry, we're not bad people." The tall man laughed. "We're Marines."

"Honestly, Teacher, you aren't even wearing your coat. How is anyone supposed to know you're a Marine? That face of yours is terrifying, you know." The woman finally appeared, her dark blue hair and white Marine coat making her look valiant and dashing.

"Teacher has always been like this, Ain." The man appeared as well. Seeing the length of his limbs, Li Ziming could not help but marvel at how strange this world truly was.

"Alright, these are all my students. They're a fine bunch of kids." The tall man proudly showed them off. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm Zephyr. These days, I'm just an old Marine instructor. These two are my prized disciples. The boy is Binz, and the girl is Ain. Besides them, I've taught plenty of other outstanding kids." When Zephyr introduced his students, he sounded as though he were displaying his most treasured possessions.

"I can tell that Mr. Zephyr really likes his students..." Li Ziming poured each of the three a glass of beer.

"Beer?" Zephyr seemed somewhat dissatisfied. "The alcohol content's a little low. It doesn't have enough kick."

"Uh, how about trying this?" Li Ziming directly poured gin and vermouth into a glass, then handed it to Zephyr.

"Haah!" After drinking it, Zephyr drew in a deep breath. The sharp, profound flavor combined with its spicy bite utterly captivated him. "What kind of liquor is this?"

"Martini."

Bill's affair had created a rift between Li Ziming and the villagers—or perhaps the rift had always been there, and Bill's affair had merely been the fuse. Li Ziming still greeted the villagers when they met, and the villagers still supplied him with liquor and drank at his bar, but the barrier between them could no longer be erased.

"The people in my village have gone too far!" Alto was dejected—or perhaps confused. Neither side bore any ill will, so why had their relationship become so strained? Alto, who could sense people's hearts, simply could not understand.

"This is normal." Li Ziming shook his head. "How long have I even lived with you all? If someone made you choose between me and the villagers, who would you choose?"

"Uh, I..." Alto froze.

"Forget it, it's only human nature." Li Ziming shook his head. "Besides, things being this way between us doesn't really affect me much, does it?"

"That's..." Alto had just begun to speak when a villager came running over.

"Someone else—someone else is here!" the villager gasped.

"What?" Alto looked at Li Ziming, his eyes pleading.

Li Ziming could only nod helplessly. Though he was displeased with the villagers, he still thought Alto was a decent person. He had even begun to see him as a friend, and Li Ziming had never been stingy with his help when it came to friends.

"No need. This old man merely came for a drink." A tall figure appeared in Li Ziming's shop, though the right sleeve of his clothes hung empty. "I heard from the villagers that the liquor here is good?"

"Teacher!" A crisp female voice rang out. "We're here for supplies. Don't go looking for alcohol everywhere you go!"

"Just let Teacher drink. It's not as if we can stop him anyway," a male voice said helplessly.

"Exactly. Don't worry, we're not bad people." The tall man laughed. "We're Marines."

"Honestly, Teacher, you aren't even wearing your coat. How is anyone supposed to know you're a Marine? That face of yours is terrifying, you know." The woman finally appeared, her dark blue hair and white Marine coat making her look valiant and dashing.

"Teacher has always been like this, Ain." The man appeared as well. Seeing the length of his limbs, Li Ziming could not help but marvel at how strange this world truly was.

"Alright, these are all my students. They're a fine bunch of kids." The tall man proudly showed them off. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm Zephyr. These days, I'm just an old Marine instructor. These two are my prized disciples. The boy is Binz, and the girl is Ain. Besides them, I've taught plenty of other outstanding kids." When Zephyr introduced his students, he sounded as though he were displaying his most treasured possessions.

"I can tell that Mr. Zephyr really likes his students..." Li Ziming poured each of the three a glass of beer.

"Beer?" Zephyr seemed somewhat dissatisfied. "The alcohol content's a little low. It doesn't have enough kick."

"Uh, how about trying this?" Li Ziming directly poured gin and vermouth into a glass, then handed it to Zephyr.

"Haah!" After drinking it, Zephyr drew in a deep breath. The sharp, profound flavor combined with its spicy bite utterly captivated him. "What kind of liquor is this?"

"Martini." Li Ziming shrugged. "You could say it's one of the cocktails with the most variations. The one I gave you is the simplest and most direct version, but it's also the best way to bring out the flavor of this drink."

"Martini? That's an interesting taste..." Zephyr narrowed his eyes. "Looks like I'll have to stock more of it on my ship in the future... By the way, what liquors is this made from?"

"Vermouth and gin." Li Ziming deliberately brought out both bottles and poured Zephyr a glass of each. "Try them. If you use the wrong liquor, the flavor can change drastically. But that's the fun of mixing drinks—different temperatures, different liquors, different proportions. Change even the smallest thing, and the result can be completely different."

"Interesting stuff." Zephyr sighed. "Kid, the people in this village don't seem very friendly toward you..."

"More or less." Li Ziming did not wish to say much about it. He did not have much of an opinion about the villagers either. Perhaps when he truly integrated into this world, he would genuinely care.

"Kid, if you're unhappy staying here, how about coming under me? What do you say to becoming a Marine?" Zephyr directly voiced his hopes.

"Me?" Li Ziming shook his head in surprise. "Sorry, but I don't really like that kind of adventurous life. For me, perhaps this little bar is all I want to pursue."

"That's fine. I'm only asking you to mix drinks. For you, it'd just be a change of workplace." Zephyr had not given up.

"Really, no need..." Li Ziming shook his head. "Maybe I'm just not interested in ships. At least, I'm not interested right now. If I ever decide to go out and see the world, Mr. Zephyr, your ship will be my first choice." Li Ziming gave Zephyr an apologetic smile.

"Ah." Zephyr shook his head in disappointment, then took out a notebook. "This contains some of my insights on training Haki and the Six Powers. If you make up your mind to go to sea, bring these things and come join the Marines." After saying that, Zephyr finished the liquor in his glass and rose to leave.

"Wait!"

Hearing Li Ziming call after him, Zephyr smiled smugly.

"Thank you for your patronage. One hundred and fifty-six Beli." Those words immediately made Zephyr's face fall.

"Teacher, why did you invite that guy to join the Marines?" Ain asked in confusion.

"Ain, didn't you notice? When that kid mentioned those villagers, what he showed wasn't anger or pity, but indifference. And from the villagers, we learned that whether he faced pirates or us, he wasn't the slightest bit flustered. In his eyes, I didn't see any pretense. He truly faced us with complete calmness. That shows this kid has an exceptionally strong heart and powerful will. People like that will succeed no matter what they do. I merely planted the seed of the Marines in his heart, so that when he considers things in the future, he'll lean a little more toward us."

"That guy is really that strong?" Binz asked in disbelief.

"Hah, just wait and see. That kid will leave everyone stunned!" Amid his booming laughter, Zephyr's ship sailed away from the village.