Clark Kent's Glasses

After the mobilization meeting ended, Zephyr announced that everyone would have half a day to prepare. At dawn tomorrow, they would officially board the ships and set out.

After the dismissal was announced, the entire recruit camp erupted.

Rayne undoubtedly became the center of everyone's discussions.

The guy who had undergone half a year of special training under Commodore Gion had become the public enemy of all the male recruits, and now he had voluntarily chosen Vice Admiral Sakazuki, the highest-risk option.

"Has that guy gone crazy? He passed over Vice Admiral John Giant?"

"Heh, I bet half a year of special training under Commodore Gion made him forget his own name!"

"Exactly. He thinks he's invincible. Just wait—he'll regret it."

Rayne turned a deaf ear to all the chatter.

He returned to the dormitory, where Smoker was sitting on his bed with a dark expression, wiping down his weapon. The moment Rayne pushed open the door, another voice came from the corner of the room.

"You're finally back, Rayne."

Hina stood with her arms folded against the wall, clearly having waited for a long time.

Smoker also got up from the bed and looked at him with a complicated expression. "You're seriously doing this? Sakazuki... why did you have to pick that guy's ship?"

Rayne calmly began packing his things—though there was really nothing to pack, since everything was in his [Storage Ring].

"Hina is worried about you." Hina spoke coldly, but she could not hide the concern in her eyes. "Vice Admiral Strawberry will also see real combat, but at least he won't use recruits as cannon fodder. It's not too late to change your mind."

Smoker irritably scratched his head. "I wanted to choose Vice Admiral Sakazuki too, but you're different."

He stared hard at Rayne. "I know you're strong—strong like a monster. But there's no need for you to push yourself this hard, is there?!"

Smoker knew very well that Rayne's way of doing things had nothing in common with Sakazuki's justice. There had to be a reason Rayne chose Sakazuki's ship, one Smoker did not know.

Rayne looked at the two of them in mild surprise. Over the past half year, he had constantly ordered them around, yet their relationship seemed to have grown better and better.

"Don't worry." Rayne patted Smoker on the shoulder and smiled faintly. "You know how strong I am. I'll be safe wherever I go."

"Bastard! Who the hell is worried about you?!" Smoker snapped as if someone had stepped on his tail. "I'm just afraid that if you die, no one will cook for us anymore!"

"Hina agrees." Hina echoed him expressionlessly.

Rayne laughed. "All right. Midnight Diner tonight. I'll make the food for you first, let you have a hot meal, then I'll go find Commodore Gion."

"At least you've got a little conscience."

That night, in Gion's dormitory.

Perhaps out of guilt that he would be unable to continue fulfilling his duties as her private cook for some time to come.

Tonight's meal was especially lavish. Rayne held nothing back and displayed the full extent of his [Top-tier] Cooking.

When dish after dish was placed on the table, the rich, layered aroma was so captivating that even the ever-composed Gion could not help feeling her appetite stir.

"Looks like you're in quite a good mood tonight." Gion poured them each a glass of expensive red wine.

"Commodore, I'm not an adult yet. I can't drink alcohol," Rayne reminded her.

Gion shot him an amused look. "Cut the nonsense. The first time you snuck food in the kitchen, weren't you drinking with Smoker? Don't pretend to be innocent in front of me."

Rayne: (・_・;)

He could only lift his glass and lightly clink it against Gion's.

The two quietly enjoyed the lavish dinner. Gion's movements remained elegant, but the speed at which she ate revealed just how satisfied she was with the meal.

"Tell me." After they had eaten nearly enough, Gion set down her wineglass. Her phoenix eyes looked especially bright beneath the light. "Why did you insist on choosing Sakazuki?"

Rayne put on his "standard answer." "Reporting to Commodore, the Navy's duty is to eradicate evil! I want to go to the front lines—"

Bang.

Gion kicked Rayne in the shin, cutting him off.

"Don't feed me the bullshit Teacher Zephyr likes to hear." She looked at Rayne seriously. "Tell me the truth."

Rayne fell silent for a moment.

What a pain... he sighed inwardly, knowing he would not be able to fool her unless he revealed something heavy today.

Since that was the case...

He raised his head. The somewhat carefree expression on his face instantly faded, replaced by a measured calm tinged with restraint—the same story he had used to brush off Hina on Gigantia Island.

He turned to look at the moon outside the window. The red wine in his glass reflected the cold moonlight.

"Commodore Gion," he began softly, "my hometown... was a very small island in the East Blue."

Gion froze. This was the first time Rayne had voluntarily mentioned his past.

"When I was very young," Rayne said calmly, as though he were telling someone else's story, "a group of pirates landed there. They took everything and burned down every house..."

He paused, and his voice lowered. "I was hidden in a cellar at the time. For an entire day and night, I listened to cries of alarm and screams. When I came out, I was the only survivor."

Rayne turned back to meet Gion's gaze. Her reflection was mirrored in his dark eyes, which revealed just the right amount of hatred.

"My reason for joining the Navy was simple from the very beginning. It wasn't for any lofty justice."

"I only wanted... to make all pirates pay the price."

He raised his glass and drained it in one gulp.

"Vice Admiral Sakazuki's route will definitely be the one that encounters the most pirates."

Gion was completely stunned.

The teasing, languid expression on her face instantly froze, replaced by indescribable shock and... heartache.

She looked at the handsome young man before her and suddenly realized that, at some point, he had grown nearly as tall as she was.

She had grown used to his flippant, laughing demeanor, and to the way he used delicious food and little jokes to fool around in front of her.

Only at this moment did Gion suddenly realize that this boy, not even seventeen yet, carried such a heavy past.

Instinctively, she reached into her pocket for a lady's cigarette, intending to light it and settle her complicated emotions.

The slender cigarette was already between her fingers, but just as she was about to light it, she abruptly stopped.

She thought of the boy across from her. It seemed... he did not really like seeing her smoke.

Gion's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Then, with two fingers, she gently snapped the unlit cigarette in half.

She casually tossed the broken cigarette aside as though nothing had happened.

"Rayne..." Her voice softened involuntarily. "The justice Sakazuki believes in is magma that burns away everything. I'm worried that you..."

"I'm worried that your hatred will burn you to ashes first."

"Thank you for the warning, Commodore." Rayne's expression returned to calm. "I'll be careful."

If the system could record acting too, I'd probably have [Top-tier] Acting by now. Seeing that Gion was no longer pressing him, Rayne secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"..." Gion looked deeply into his eyes.

"Forget it." She stood, took an exquisite wooden box from the weapon rack behind her, and tossed it over.

"What is this?" Rayne caught it.

"You've been neglecting that sword of yours." Gion folded her arms. "That's a set of whetstones and maintenance oil I used before. Consider it... payment for all the meals you've worked so hard to make for me over the past half year."

Rayne opened it, and his heart stirred.

This set of tools was quite valuable.

"It's late. Go back and get some rest." Gion waved a hand. "In three months, if you can still come back alive... remember to make up all the meals from this period for me."

"Okay."

Rayne returned to Dorm 307. Smoker was already asleep, snoring like war drums.

Rayne frowned, casually pinched up a small paper ball, coated it with a thin layer of Armament Haki, and flicked it with his finger.

Smack.

The paper ball struck Smoker squarely in the forehead. The snoring stopped abruptly, turning into faint teeth grinding.

Today was the monthly refresh day for [Dimensional Curiosities].

Although it had been quite a while since anything Rayne liked had appeared, he had still developed the habit of checking on time every month.

This time, however, the instant he opened it, his eyes were drawn in.

[Clark Kent's Glasses]

[Description]: A pair of seemingly ordinary glasses that contains the power to distort perception. As long as you wear them, no one will be able to recognize your identity. Friendly reminder: do not use them near a phone booth, and do not expect them to stop bullets.

[Price]: 10,000 Sin Points

Rayne's eyes lit up at once. "Good stuff!"

This thing was practically tailor-made for him! Ten thousand points was not expensive!

"Purchase."

As the points were deducted, a pair of ordinary black-framed glasses appeared in Rayne's hand. He smiled in satisfaction and put them away.