"Hehehe, what an adorable little girl."
Makino really liked Nami's personality. Her mischievous antics revealed kindness and warmth.
"Kazu, let's help them move the oranges too."
Carlmand saw that there were only three women, two of whom were children, and felt he couldn't simply stand by and watch.
"Come on, let's all pitch in."
"I'll help too."
Kazu and his two companions joined in the work, and several hours passed amid laughter and cheerful conversation.
"Bellemere."
"Bellemere!!"
Busy with work, Bellemere heard the familiar voice and hurried to the entrance of the Orange Grove.
"Genzo?"
"What brings you here?"
As soon as Bellemere reached the entrance, she saw Genzo panting, his face anxious. It looked as though something urgent had come up.
"Bellemere, I just heard from someone in the neighboring village that a group of pirates landed on the Conomi Islands. Three of them, one woman and two men."
"Nothing's happened here, has it?"
After catching his breath a little, Genzo hurriedly told Bellemere the news he had just received from the neighboring village.
As Cocoyasi Village's patrol officer, he was well informed. On top of that, he was close to Bellemere and the two girls, so he had rushed over to tell them.
They were pirates, after all. With just a mother and two girls, they would probably have a hard time escaping if they ran into them. It would be better to leave the Orange Grove alone for now and go into hiding for a while.
"One woman and two men?"
Bellemere blinked. Thinking of Kazu and his companions chatting and moving oranges with them in the Orange Grove, she really couldn't picture these helpful, generous guests as pirates.
But Genzo wouldn't joke about something like this, so she had no choice but to take it seriously.
"Genzo, a woman and two men did come here. They..."
Bellemere briefly told Genzo about Kazu and his companions.
"So they probably are the pirates who came over from the neighboring village, but they don't act like bad people. Maybe they're the sort who set sail because they love adventure."
Bellemere had once been a Marine and had seen plenty of evil pirates, but she also knew that there were unusual pirates like that out on the sea.
They set sail for dreams and freedom, not to burn, kill, and plunder.
There simply weren't many of them. Even one or two out of a hundred pirate crews would be a lot.
"But whatever the case, we can't let Nami and Nojiko stay somewhere this dangerous for long."
"Send them both home. I'll help you sell this batch of oranges."
Hearing what Bellemere said, Genzo trusted her judgment, so this compromise was all he could come up with.
"Yes, you're right. Sorry for the trouble, Genzo."
Bellemere agreed with Genzo too. There was always a chance something could go wrong. What if they were putting on an act? Nami and Nojiko were too young, and it would be easier for the two adults to handle anything unexpected.
"Nami, Nojiko!"
"Coming!"
"What is it, Bellemere?"
Bellemere called into the depths of the Orange Grove. Though Nami and Nojiko didn't know what was going on, they put down their work and ran over immediately.
"Kazu, did something happen? Should we go help too?"
Makino was a kind, helpful girl. She thought Bellemere needed help with something but felt too embarrassed to ask them, leaving her to call the two children over instead.
Kazu and Carlmand exchanged a glance, then turned back to Makino.
"No problem."
"No problem here either. Let's go."
The three made their way to the entrance of the Orange Grove, just in time to see Bellemere and Genzo saying something to Nami and Nojiko.
"Bellemere, are you having some trouble?"
"Do you need our help?"
Makino smiled and waved, asking about the situation.
"Thanks for offering, Makino. It's nothing major."
With a cigarette between her lips, Bellemere smiled at Makino.
"You two should head home."
"Okay, we're off, then."
"Bye, Uncle Kazu, Uncle Carlmand, Big Sister Makino!"
Nami and Nojiko waved toward Kazu and his companions, then happily headed home.
Of course, Bellemere hadn't told them Kazu and his companions were pirates, afraid of frightening the two children.
She had simply made up an excuse for them to go home and help tidy some things up. With Genzo here to help, they didn't need to worry about things here.
"Uncle again!"
Kazu and Carlmand felt they were still young. Why did all these brats they met like calling them uncle? And then they called Makino big sister. How awful, treating people differently like that.
"All right, they didn't mean anything by it. In Nami and Nojiko's eyes, you're both just like me, big brothers and a big sister. Why get upset with children?"
Makino patted Kazu's shoulder and tried to talk them around. Kazu and Carlmand wore long faces, clearly unhappy about being called something that made them sound so old.
"Tch. Makino, call me big brother."
"Huh?"
"Why, Kazu?"
Makino didn't understand what Kazu meant. Why bring that up out of nowhere? He seemed a little sick in the head.
Pouting, Kazu said, "Nothing. Nami and Nojiko call you big sister, so if you call me big brother, that means we're in the same generation. Wouldn't that make me their big brother too?"
"Hahaha! Aren't you impressed by my astonishing wisdom?"
Makino: "..."
Carlmand: "..."
Bellemere: "..."
Genzo: "..."
Now Genzo really agreed with Bellemere's judgment. This captain named Kazu certainly was interesting.
He acted so naturally too. It didn't seem like an act.
"All right, stop talking nonsense. We still have oranges to pack."
Clearly unwilling to entertain this topic, Makino hurriedly gave Bellemere a look, signaling for her to tell them to get back to the oranges.
But before Bellemere could speak, Kazu's words came first.
"Ahh~"
"Just as I thought. You were saying we were all big brothers and big sisters just like you. I knew you were only stringing me along."
Looking at Kazu's punchable expression, Makino was caught in a dilemma.
"I-I didn't mean that..."
"Then call me big brother so we're in the same generation."
Makino: "..."
"Big..."
"Big brother."
Makino's voice was so quiet that anyone not listening carefully might not have heard her call him big brother.
"Hahaha! Good, that's my dear little sister."
But Kazu clearly knew when to quit while he was ahead. He was afraid she would get angry if he kept teasing her.
Bellemere and Genzo exchanged a look, wondering whether all their earlier worrying really had been unnecessary.
"Come on, let's get back to packing oranges."
Kazu and his two companions headed back into the depths of the Orange Grove, and Bellemere and Genzo hurried over to help too.