"So, this is your ship?"
Nami and Eden arrived at the village dock. As Nami looked at the pirate ship—a vessel she recognized instantly—her eye twitched slightly.
This was clearly Arlong's flagship, wasn't it?!
So, Arlong really was Eden's angel investor, huh?
Money, ship, even the navigator—Arlong had provided everything.
Arlong… what a generous guy~
"Yeah," Eden nodded.
"How many people do we have now?"
Nami thought briefly, then asked Eden.
"Just you and me," Eden answered honestly.
"Okay... alright."
Nami opened her mouth slightly, already beginning to regret her decision. No matter how she looked at it, Eden's actions felt a bit unreliable, didn't they?
Shouldn't a pirate crew have at least ten members?
But Nami still saw Eden through the lens of a hero rescuing a damsel...
Thus, she endured.
"Goodbye, Cocoyasi Village~"
After leaving all her life savings with her sister Nojiko, adoptive father Genzo, and the villagers, Nami boarded the Shark Superb—a ship Eden had "borrowed" from Arlong—and set sail with him toward distant horizons.
At this moment, Eden sensed the timing was right.
"Oh, right, Nami."
Now that Nami had fully accepted Eden's invitation and boarded the "pirate ship," Eden decided to come clean.
Since his goal was already achieved, there was no need to pretend.
Eden casually scratched his head, looking at Nami earnestly. "There's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?!"
Suspicion flickered in Nami's eyes. Her intuition was sharp, sensing something was off—alarm bells began ringing in her mind...
Putting on a bold front, Nami patted her ample chest and declared loudly, "Eden, if you have something difficult or extremely important to say, just spit it out! Now that we're comrades, there should be no secrets between us!"
Eden nodded vigorously.
"In that case, I'll be straight with you..."
"Actually, it's not that big a deal."
"It's just..."
"I'm actually not from this world..."
"I come from a magical world called Earth-Land! I came here mainly to find my lost companions."
Eden laughed awkwardly as he finished.
"Huh?"
Listening to this, Nami felt her entire being freeze. She stared at Eden incredulously. "Are you messing with me right now?"
"Nope," Eden replied seriously.
"..."
"That's 'not a big deal'?"
"You should have told me everything before inviting me to join, not after!"
Nami was stunned.
"I was worried you'd run away," Eden muttered quietly.
Nami glared at Eden seriously, her eyes wide.
"Mr. Eden, please tell me every single thing you've been hiding—right now! I don't think my heart can handle another shock like this. Thanks."
"Alright, I'll start from the beginning…"
"This happened, and that happened..."
"Then we got blasted away by a giant black lizard's roar!"
"And when I woke up, I was already in this world…"
"Oh, by the way, I can feel it—most of my companions likely ended up here too. We just got separated…"
Eden summarized everything from his adventures in the Fairy Tail world, carefully omitting that this was actually his second transmigration.
After a long silence, Nami rubbed her forehead and stared at Eden.
"So you weren't joking? You're genuinely a visitor from another world—a magical place called Aislanden?"
"And you're a mage from a kingdom called Fiore, in the strongest wizard guild called Fairy… something?"
She struggled slightly, trying to recall Eden's guild name.
"FAIRYTAIL… Fairy Tail," Eden repeated.
"Alright, alright..." Nami nodded, pressing her head as if it might split apart, reluctantly accepting Eden's story.
Then she looked at Eden seriously again. "Is there anything else you're hiding from me? Better tell me everything now."
"Well… there is one more thing."
Eden smiled slightly.
He calmly walked to the ship's railing and—"blegh"—vomited a mouthful of sour water.
Yeah, Eden chose to demonstrate his predicament through action.
"You… what's this?"
Nami's ominous feeling intensified.
"Also... due to my magic's side effects, I'm weak against transportation. In other words—I get seasick."
Eden looked utterly miserable. The real reason he'd wasted so much time reaching the nearest Navy branch and missed Colonel Nezumi wasn't just unfamiliarity; it was because, as a Dragon Slayer mage, he was naturally countered by vehicles.
"What?!"
"You're not joking, right?"
"You're a pirate who gets seasick?"
"Then why the heck are you sailing?"
Nami laughed in disbelief, exasperated.
Seriously, was there anything more absurd than a mighty pirate who actually gets motion sickness?
"That's why I keep saying—I'm not a pirate! I'm a mage!" Eden argued confidently.
Fair enough.
"Save it! In this world, people like you and your chaotic companions are called pirates!"
Nami sighed, rubbing her temples helplessly.
"So, where are we heading next?"
"I mean, can you sense your nearest companion's location?"
Nami paused, watching Cocoyasi Village fade away in the distance, recalling her impulsive slap to Colonel Nezumi's face, knowing there was no return now. Regret gnawed at her.
Since they had already set out, there was no turning back.
"Of course, east!"
Without hesitation, Eden confidently pointed west.
"Yeah, we're doomed..."
Nami smiled helplessly, resigning herself to her fate.