Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Bellemere's Compromise.
"Click..."
In Bellemere's house, in the room of the three little ones, Nami gently pushed open an air door.
She tiptoed and peeked into the room. Seeing no one, she walked out with light steps.
Ryuen did the same. They both returned to the room and let out a long breath, feeling much more relaxed.
Ryuen and Nami looked at each other and smiled with relief.
"Great, Ryuen, Bellemere and the others aren't back yet." Little Nami was happy. The later they were discovered, the later she would get scolded.
"Yes, Nami, let's put the meat in the fridge first, or it will spoil." Ryuen said softly.
"Huh? Then let's do it quickly!" Little Nami immediately ran to the kitchen.
After opening the space door, they started putting the pieces of meat into the fridge, and Ryuen quickly came to help.
But there was too much Beast King meat, and their fridge couldn't hold it all.
They had no choice but to go to Genzo's house and fill his fridge too, but there was still a lot left.
"What should we do, Ryuen? There's still so much left..." Little Nami looked at the Beast King meat in the space, frowning.
"We'll have to wait for Bellemere and the others to come back and figure it out. Tonight, we'll have a barbecue feast!" Ryuen had no other solution, so they would just eat more tonight.
In the future, they would need to buy several big fridges, and Nami's space would need some too.
The two of them walked back to Bellemere's house, and halfway there, they ran into Bellemere and Nojiko coming home.
Nami saw Bellemere from a distance and ran over: "Bellemere, you came back just in time! There's so much meat left, we don't know what to do with it. Bellemere, what should we do..."
"What meat? Where is it?" Bellemere asked, confused.
Ryuen slapped his forehead. Nami was so focused on the meat that she forgot about their trip to sea.
Sure enough, when Bellemere asked, Nami realized.
She didn't know how to explain and looked pitifully at Ryuen.
"Well... Bellemere, we went to sea today." Ryuen said, bracing himself.
They had to confess sooner or later, so it didn't matter if it was now or later.
"What!!!"
Suddenly, Bellemere's angry roar echoed through Cocoyasi Village!
Half an hour later, at Bellemere's house, Ryuen and Nami stood with their heads down in front of Bellemere.
Nojiko was hiding at the door, listening in.
After scolding Ryuen and Nami for half an hour, Bellemere finally calmed down a bit.
"So, Nami is a devil fruit user now?" Bellemere asked seriously.
"Yes, Bellemere, I'm a Door-Door Fruit user now. I can open doors anywhere. Look!" Nami said excitedly.
Hearing Bellemere ask about the devil fruit, she forgot about the scolding and proudly opened a space door in front of everyone.
Nojiko, who was peeking from the room, was shocked.
"This is amazing..." Bellemere said, her expression complicated.
Devil fruits were very rare treasures of the sea. She had been in the Marines for so long and never encountered one.
But now, two of her three kids were devil fruit users.
She knew that people who ate devil fruits couldn't be seen as normal anymore.
"We'll deal with the meat tomorrow. Tonight, we'll have a barbecue feast. Ryuen, go get Genzo to come back early." Bellemere said with a smile.
"Okay, Bellemere, I'll go right away!" Ryuen quickly went to the village to call Genzo back.
Seeing Bellemere calm down, Nami's little heart finally relaxed.
Then she happily told Bellemere about her and Ryuen's adventure at sea.
Nojiko came out of her room after things calmed down.
When Bellemere heard that they had gone to Oykot Kingdom, her face became serious again.
"Nami, you can't go to Oykot Kingdom anymore, understand?" Bellemere warned.
Although she knew it was Nojiko and Nami's hometown, her investigation in the Marines back then showed that the destruction of that country was not normal.
She was afraid Nami might encounter danger in Oykot Kingdom.
"So... Bellemere, does that mean Ryuen and I can go to sea in the future?" Nami asked in disbelief.
"Yes! I agree, but you must report to me first!" Bellemere said sternly.
Now that Ryuen and Nami were Devil Fruit users, Cocoyasi Village couldn't hold them back. It was better to let them fly free.
"Wow! That's great, Bellemere, thank you!" Little Nami cheered, dancing with joy.
From now on, she could finally go to sea freely with Ryuen!
"Alright, I'll go prepare the barbecue tools." Bellemere said as she walked into the kitchen.
Neither of them noticed the hint of envy on Nojiko's face.
She was still a child too, and of course, she wanted to go to sea and play with Ryuen like Nami.
At this moment, Nami walked over to Nojiko and happily said, "Great, Nojiko, we can go to sea together in the future, but..."
At this point, little Nami's eyes sparkled, and she circled around Nojiko.
"Hey? Nami, are you saying I can go to sea too?"
Nojiko didn't notice Nami's look. Did she hear Nami say she wanted her to go to sea too?
Suddenly, Nojiko's face lit up with a happy smile. As expected of her sister, she thought of her even when going out to play.
"Nojiko, according to Ryuen, you're too weak now.
You need to train hard and get stronger. Going to sea is very dangerous!" Little Nami said seriously, like a little adult.
"But... but Nami, I can't go to sea with you now.
Bellemere can't handle everything at home alone, I need to stay and help!" Nojiko said seriously, putting away her smile.
Now that Ryuen and Nami were mysterious Devil Fruit users, she was just an ordinary person. Going to sea with them would only hold them back.
"Um... that's true... Bellemere can't manage alone.
But in the future, our family won't lack Berries. Then you can go to sea with us.
Ryuen and I will protect you, Nojiko, hahaha~" Little Nami said proudly, patting Nojiko's shoulder.
"Darn it! Who needs your protection? You're the younger sister, I'm the older sister, I should protect you!" Nojiko said defiantly.
"I'm stronger than you!"
"I'm the older sister!"
"I'm stronger than you!"
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