Shilute Mountains, A Small Goal

According to Obi-Wan's own account, Rami had been a shipwreck survivor he encountered in the second year after leaving the Dunhold Family.

That was two years ago, Aeneas thought. Then the ship docked, and Rami skipped about in delight, overjoyed to see Obi-Wan arrive.

However, after only hopping around a few times, Rami was already clutching her chest and gasping for breath.

"All right, little Rami. Didn't I tell you to stay in your room? Too much sea wind will make you catch a cold." Obi-Wan lovingly picked Rami up, while she buried her face directly against his chest.

Obi-Wan was already in his forties or fifties and had never had children, so he treated Rami like his own daughter.

This poor girl had also lost her memories. She had no idea where she had lived before the shipwreck, nor whether she had any other family.

Obi-Wan had adopted Rami on the spot and then traveled everywhere seeking treatment for her illness.

But the results had all been mediocre. Those doctors either could not identify what was wrong with her at all, or they turned them away and refused to even see them—as though she had some terrible contagious disease.

"Rami, let me introduce you. This is the young master of the family I used to serve, Lord Aeneas. You can just call him Aeni." Obi-Wan set the dainty little Rami on the ground and introduced the Aeneas standing beside him.

"Lord Aeni." Though weak and frail, Rami was very polite. She even curtsied to Aeneas.

"No need. Just call me Aeni!" Aeneas looked at Rami. Her complexion was poor, and her brown hair had turned somewhat pale, but her large eyes were bright, and she was very polite.

Aeneas immediately took a liking to the little girl and deeply sympathized with Rami's plight.

"Rami is only a few months younger than you, Lord Aeneas, and she has always hoped she could have an older brother. I wonder..." Obi-Wan watched the children's first meeting and said to Aeneas.

"What are you saying? You're being far too formal. We'll be family from now on!" Aeneas said the first half to Obi-Wan, then turned to Rami for the rest. "From now on, I'm your big brother!"

"Big Brother Aeni..." Rami said timidly. When Aeneas affirmed it, a smile appeared on her face.

Aeneas arrived at the place where Obi-Wan and Rami were temporarily staying: a small wooden house with a yard full of all kinds of flowers and plants—all of them planted by Rami.

Because Rami had spent the entire day by the shore, her head had already begun to burn by the time they returned. After feeding the girl medicine, Obi-Wan sent her to her room to rest properly.

The other room belonged to Obi-Wan, and now it had to squeeze in Aeneas as well.

"Has Rami's body always been like this?" Aeneas asked worriedly.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Actually, no. When I first met her, she was a very lively girl. But in the past few months, her health has worsened drastically. She has lost a lot of weight, and her hair has turned white."

"I know a doctor in Tinos who is far more reliable than those quacks. However, she should still be aboard some pirate ship right now. We'll have to wait for her to return, then have her examine Rami."

Obi-Wan then took out a bounty poster and placed it in front of Aeneas.

It read: "'Herbalist' Stephanie, a Herb-Herb Fruit Herbalist who can transform her body into herbs she has consumed, including poisonous herbs. Highly dangerous. Bounty: 30,000,000 Beli!"

"A herbalist?" Aeneas exclaimed. "And a pirate with a thirty-million-Beli bounty? Aren't you a pirate hunter? How do you know a pirate, and why is she even your friend?"

Obi-Wan had long known Aeneas would react this way.

"She is indeed a pirate, but she owes me a favor. I know she'll stop here, probably within the next half year. If we don't meet her this time, she'll be heading for the Grand Line!" Obi-Wan continued, "It's something from years ago. Ah, it's nothing. You can trust her!"

The look Aeneas gave Obi-Wan suddenly became strange.

"A man and a woman, hehe..."

Aeneas did not care what sort of relationship Obi-Wan had with this Stephanie. As long as she could help Rami, that was enough.

Although this was Aeneas's first time meeting Rami, he was quickly won over by the adorable little girl. If possible, he certainly did not want such a kind and lovable child to suffer from illness.

"All right. Next, I'll tell you about Tinos. Your training regimen will be changing as well..." Obi-Wan cleared his throat and spoke solemnly to Aeneas.

Aeneas nodded and listened to what Obi-Wan had to say next.

"I already told you that Tinos is an unclaimed land. The former First Marine Branch has been destroyed, and the situation in North Blue has become even more complicated lately. The Marines still have not reclaimed this place."

Obi-Wan warned Aeneas.

"To the west of the island lies Tinos Town, but you cannot trust everyone there. They all come from pirate or bandit backgrounds, and most of their guests are dangerous criminals who live by the blade. They're very dangerous!" Obi-Wan continued. "So from now on, I'll handle all the shopping."

"Huh?" Aeneas exclaimed in surprise. Did that mean he had to remain in this remote wilderness forever?

After all, Aeneas had been thinking of doing something to raise his reputation. Being given a bounty in Dunkirk had already made him stand out. If he did a few more things, wouldn't he soon become famous?

Then forget Silver rewards—even Gold rewards might be possible.

But he was destined to be disappointed. For one thing, he was still far too weak. Entering Tinos now would be nothing but throwing his life away.

So Obi-Wan directly restricted Aeneas's range of movement.

"The place where we docked earlier was White Claw Beach. This is the southeastern side of the Shilute Mountains, and countless wild beasts roam the mountains. If you want to enter town, rely on your own strength and cross the Shilute Mountains." Obi-Wan folded his arms. "Once you can do that, Tinos won't be so dangerous as long as you remain cautious. Only then will I allow you to enter town."

"After that, I won't care what you want to do." Obi-Wan set a small goal for Aeneas: deal with the beasts in the jungle first.

However, before facing real combat, Aeneas still needed a long period of training.

Because the beasts of the pirate world were nothing like those in Aeneas's common sense. Animals growing more than ten meters tall was perfectly ordinary—after all, even humans could grow three, four, five, six, seven, or eight meters tall. There was no natural law of development whatsoever.

But that was simply how this world was, and Aeneas had no choice but to accept it.

"Whew..." Aeneas let out a breath. "All right, then what will my training involve next?"