"Huh?"
Just like with wilderness survival or swordsmanship, Garen had zero experience dealing with pretty girls.
So when a beautiful young woman suddenly sat down next to him, Garen was instantly plunged into an awkward situation.
Displaying the chaste nobility of a proud member of the No Girlfriend since Birth Organization, he blurted out:
"Why are you sitting here next to me?"
"…"
Nami's smile froze on her face.
It was the first time she had ever encountered such a clueless rich oaf, and she found herself experiencing a rare emotional twitch.
She glanced subtly at the massive, ornate sword lying flat on the table beside him, and from the enormous sapphire embedded in its hilt, she drew the strength to keep up the act:
As long as she could trick this moneyed idiot and get him to spill his financial details...
then wealth, the freedom to buy a village, and a beautiful future would all be within reach.
Several seconds later, Nami's bright, charming smile returned.
She smoothly followed up on Garen's awkward attempt at conversation:
"I was just curious, Sir Knight… the girl you said I resemble—who is she?"
"Oh…"
Guided by Nami's gentle prompting, Garen finally gathered himself.
After a moment of thought, he replied:
"She's not a real person. Just a fictional character from a manga back in my hometown."
"A manga character, huh?"
"How interesting…"
Nami forced a compliment, but in her mind, Garen's standing dropped another level.
In the world of One Piece, manga did exist as a form of entertainment. However, due to the underdeveloped communication systems, they were mostly limited to populous, bustling islands with strong commercial foundations.
And their audiences? Mainly immature little kids. The stories were childish at best.
After all, in this world, once children grew up even a little, they naturally began to chase the supernatural heroes of the seas—real ones—rather than lose themselves in make-believe fantasies printed on thin paper.
"Now that I think about it…"
Garen didn't notice the trace of disdain in Nami's heart. He was caught up in the strangeness of his current situation and sighed emotionally:
"I guess I'll never get to see how that manga ends."
"What a shame…"
Nami forced herself to continue the conversation, though in her heart she was screaming:
I'm a beautiful girl sitting right in front of you, and you're seriously talking to me about kiddie manga?!
Still, her polite faking seemed to be working.
At the very least, Garen now saw her as someone "easy to talk to."
To Garen—who had just walked out of the wilderness and found himself alone in a strange new world—this friendly and attractive girl was the only person he knew here.
So, he decided to make her his first friend in this world and hoped to learn some basic knowledge from her.
Yep, Garen had mistaken Nami for the "starter village NPC."
Not caring about the etiquette of this world, Garen smiled and extended his large, broad hand:
"My name is Garen. May I ask, young lady, what your name is?"
Finally, a normal part of the conversation. Nami readily placed her soft, pale hand into his firm grasp and said, still pretending to be reserved:
"Nami."
"My name is Nami."
"Even the name is the same?!"
Garen blurted out in surprise.
"What?"
Caught off guard, Nami didn't quite follow his reaction.
Garen quickly pulled his hand back, a little embarrassed, and explained:
"The character I mentioned from the manga—her name is also Nami."
"Really… hahaha…"
Nami's fake smile was starting to crack:
I've been playing along this much and you're still talking about children's comics?!
But Garen—whom Nami had mentally labeled as a clueless oaf—was now slipping into full detective mode, triggered by his memories of the manga.
Three-meter-tall dogs, bizarre plants, strange-looking people… there was no doubt he was in another world.
Yet, this world seemed to carry strong elements of Earth's culture:
Katana swords, flintlock pistols, Western-style buildings, English signs, calligraphy…
And right before him sat a vibrant, orange-haired girl who looked like she had walked straight out of an artbook.
All these strange elements matched up with that manga in his memories.
And considering his current body belonged to a game character, then ending up inside a manga world didn't seem too far-fetched anymore.
Piecing all the clues together, Garen couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer. He tentatively asked the girl before him:
"Miss Nami, may I ask… where exactly are we?"
"Where?"
Nami blinked in confusion, then answered: "On Samwell Island."
"Can you give me a broader location? Where exactly is Samwell Island?"
By now, Nami was completely thrown off by this guy's strange line of questioning. Still, her faith in money kept her going:
"In the East Blue. One of the Four Seas."
"East Blue…"
Garen muttered the words to himself, then asked again:
"Then… do you know the Grand Line, the Pirate King Roger, and One Piece?"
"Of course I do!"
Nami's voice was now tinged with thinly-veiled irritation.
Was he seriously asking these kinds of idiot-level questions that everyone knew the answers to? Either he was a fool, or he was making fun of her on purpose.
'It really is the world of One Piece…'
Garen sank into deep thought, then suddenly perked up:
'Then the girl sitting in front of me must be…'
"…the real Nami?"
His eyes lit up with excitement, staring at the orange-haired girl as if she were a rare animal.
It was a terrible kind of look, the kind that could easily be mistaken for a lecherous pervert's.
But Nami actually let out a huge sigh of relief.
She didn't know why, but this big idiot finally seemed to be thinking like a proper, lecherous rich guy again.
That made him easier to scam.
So she decided to take the initiative and build rapport:
"Sir Knight, are you not from the East Blue?"
"Nope!" Garen answered cheerfully.
He was a bit of a tsundere—shy and stiff like a noble lady around strangers, but a shameless speed demon with his close friends.
And to Garen, Nami had more or less crossed into the "acquaintance" category.
Now that he understood where he was and who this girl was supposed to be, he shed all the nervousness he'd had before.
What took its place was unfiltered curiosity and excitement.
Of course, to Miss Nami, this looked like the classic behavior of a money-hungry pervert.
"Are you from some great kingdom across the sea?" she asked with a smile, feigning interest while shamelessly flattering him.
"Your outfit really does look noble and imposing."
"Hmm…"
Garen thought for a moment, then replied with a straight face:
"I come from the Kingdom of Demacia."
There were countless kingdoms on the sea, and Nami had never heard of one called Demacia.
So she simply went along with it:
"Are you a noble of the Demacian Kingdom?"
"That's right."
Garen fully stepped into his character:
"I'm the leader of the Dauntless Vanguard, a close friend of Prince Jarvan IV, and a knight who bears the title of 'Might of Demacia.'"
Sounded like total nonsense… but that expensive armor he wore didn't seem fake.
If his identity was legit, he could definitely be milked for a lot of money.
So Nami kept playing the part of a wide-eyed, hero-worshipping airhead, smiling sweetly as she listened to Garen's bragging.
"My family is hereditary nobility in the kingdom. We own countless acres of land…"
"I also have a cute younger sister with incredible talent—people call her the Lady of Luminosity."
But then Garen suddenly shifted gears:
"Unfortunately, I'm now stranded alone in a foreign land."
"Don't worry, Sir Knight."
Nami responded with well-rehearsed sympathy:
"If there's anything you need, I'll do my best to help."
Heh. I'll do my best to help you spend every coin you've got.
"Really?"
Garen lit up: "That's great!"
"As you know, I'm a Demacian noble stuck far from home…"
"I'm a bit short on cash right now and could use some emergency funds."
"If you could help cover the bill for this meal, I promise you—"
"When I return to Demacia, I'll ask my friend, Prince Jarvan, to make you a count as a reward!"
(End of Chapter)