The moment Momousagi walked through the cafeteria doors, the entire hall instantly fell silent. Everyone's eyes turned toward her in unison!
Momousagi, who had just entered the cafeteria, blinked in confusion when she saw how quiet the hall had become.
Just then, Chaton, who was standing on the dining table, put the rose between his teeth, then leaped down and hurried over to Momousagi. He dropped to one knee and said excitedly, "Gio~n—"
"Wow, Auntie…"
Before Chaton could finish, Tashigi suddenly emerged from the crowd and waved at Momousagi, shouting, "Here, here! I'm over here!"
Chaton, whose confession had been interrupted halfway through, immediately developed a head full of black lines. He turned around awkwardly and looked at Tashigi. "Kid, could you wait a moment? This is my hundredth time confessing to your aunt. Could you please…"
"No!"
Tashigi interrupted Chaton again, pouting unhappily. "You're really annoying! Auntie has rejected you so many times, yet you still follow her around like a fly…"
As she spoke, Tashigi ran over to Momousagi and pulled her away.
Momousagi said nothing and simply let Tashigi pull her toward Kairo D. Arashi's table! But when she saw Kairo D. Arashi sitting among Stork and the others, a surge of inexplicable happiness welled up inside her, and her footsteps unconsciously quickened!
"Hahahahaha…"
Seeing this, the Marines who had been silent as the grave just moments ago couldn't help bursting into laughter. Bastille was especially exaggerated. He stood up while laughing and shouted at Chaton, "Chaton, looks like you got rejected again!"
The Giant Vice Admiral John Giant encouraged him by shouting, "Hey, Chaton! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and catch up!"
"That's right, Vice Admiral Chaton! Lady Momousagi hasn't said anything yet. You still have a chance!"
"Go for it, Vice Admiral Chaton!"
Hearing the voices coming from all around him, Chaton suddenly snapped out of it. He cast the mocking laughter aside, stood up, rushed in front of Momousagi, and dropped to one knee again. He said excitedly, "Gion, can you give me two min—no, one minute?"
"Mr. Chaton!"
Seeing Chaton kneeling before her again, Momousagi stopped Tashigi, who was about to speak, and said softly, "You don't have to do this anymore, because Gion already… already has someone she likes!!"
The instant Momousagi finished speaking, the entire cafeteria was stunned.
The always-proud Vice Admiral Momousagi actually had someone she liked?
If this news got out, all of Marine Headquarters would explode!
After all, Chaton wasn't the only one who had pursued Momousagi over the years. Countless Rear Admirals, Commodores, and even other Vice Admirals had confessed their feelings to her. Without exception, Momousagi had rejected every single one of them!
Because Momousagi had always rejected her suitors without the slightest hesitation, people gradually gave up. Some even secretly wondered whether Momousagi simply didn't like men. Others had placed their hopes on Chaton, believing that his persistence would eventually melt this iceberg!
But now it seemed they'd all been wrong!
Not only had Momousagi ruthlessly rejected Chaton yet again, she had even told him in front of everyone that she already had someone she liked!
Someone she liked?
That wasn't merely liking someone. This was practically a declaration that she intended to give herself to him!
After the brief shock, everyone became intensely curious. Just which lucky bastard had managed to win Vice Admiral Momousagi's favor?
"What… what do you mean?"
Chaton had obviously taken a devastating blow. He stammered, "Before… before, didn't you say you weren't considering marriage yet? How… how did you suddenly…"
"That was before, Chaton."
Momousagi slightly raised her head and looked toward Kairo D. Arashi. Her voice was soft as she said, "Now I have someone I like. And he's right here."
Holy crap!
What was this woman planning?!
Seeing Momousagi looking at him with such deep affection, Kairo D. Arashi blinked in confusion. His eyes then widened as he thought to himself, "!!!! Don't tell me she's actually going to confess to me right here…"
Before Kairo D. Arashi could recover, Momousagi walked past Chaton, never taking her eyes off him.
Seeing this, Stork and the others standing in front of Kairo D. Arashi first blinked in bewilderment. Then, as if struck by lightning, they suddenly understood and hurriedly moved aside to clear a path for Momousagi!
As Stork and the others stepped aside, every gaze in the cafeteria instantly converged on Kairo D. Arashi!
Likewise, Chaton, still kneeling on one knee, turned around and stared blankly at Kairo D. Arashi. When he clearly saw the face of the man sitting at the dining table, his eyes suddenly tightened, and he blurted out, "That man is… Traveler Kairo D. Arashi?!!!"
"What?!"
"He's Traveler Kairo D. Arashi?"
"Wasn't he the one who took Kaido's attack head-on last night? Wow, he's Traveler Kairo D. Arashi? He's so handsome!"
"Could Vice Admiral Momousagi's sweetheart really be this Traveler Kairo D. Arashi?"
Momousagi slowly walked up to Kairo D. Arashi and stopped in front of him. Ignoring the voices coming from all around her, she gazed at him without blinking and said with deep affection, "Mr. Kairo D. Arashi, Gion likes you."
The instant Momousagi finished speaking, the entire cafeteria exploded!
"AAAAAH! Vice Admiral Momousagi just confessed in public!!!!"
"My heart! It's shattered!"
"This is huge news! Absolutely massive news! No, I have to go tell my superior!"
"Hey, hey, Gion, are you serious? You're being way too reckless!"
"Hahahaha, Chaton! Why are you still kneeling there? Hurry up and find somewhere to commit seppuku!"
Chaton, still kneeling on one knee, froze as though he'd been struck by lightning.
Although the entire cafeteria had erupted into chaos, to him, his entire world had already collapsed!
He had never imagined that his hundredth confession would end in such a tragic and devastating manner! Momousagi had rejected him during each of the previous ninety-nine attempts, but at least he'd still had hope!
But now, Momousagi had directly confessed her feelings to Traveler Kairo D. Arashi in front of everyone. It was practically a death sentence for him.
After confessing her feelings to Kairo D. Arashi, Momousagi wasn't shy or flustered. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on him, filled entirely with his reflection and her affection for him!
Momousagi hadn't used Kairo D. Arashi as an excuse to reject Chaton's confession. She had already discovered that she had fallen for Kairo D. Arashi when she returned to Marine Headquarters from the West Blue.
Therefore, her confession to Kairo D. Arashi just now had nothing to do with Chaton! In that brief moment, she had finally gathered the courage to reveal her feelings to the man she loved!
Yes, she liked Kairo D. Arashi. There was no need to hide it, and even less reason to sneak around!
After a brief commotion, the Marines around them gradually quieted down again. Although Momousagi had confessed to Kairo D. Arashi in front of everyone, they still wanted to see how he would respond!
Besides, quite a few of them had heard of Traveler Kairo D. Arashi's name long ago but had never had the chance to see him. Now that Kairo D. Arashi had appeared before them in the flesh and had just received a confession from a Vice Admiral, how could they possibly miss such a rare spectacle?
However, they were destined to be disappointed!
Although Kairo D. Arashi hadn't expected Momousagi to make such a shocking public confession, he had long since understood her feelings toward him. So after everyone's eyes turned toward him, he raised his head slightly and said gently, "You've been busy since last night. You must be starving, right?"
Before Momousagi could react, Kairo D. Arashi turned his head toward Tashigi. "Little Kiki, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up and get something for your aunt to eat!"
"Eh…?"
Tashigi blinked her big eyes, a little slow to process what had just happened. Then she happily nodded. "Okay, okay!"
With that, Tashigi ran toward the cafeteria counter!
None of the spectators had expected Kairo D. Arashi to react like this. They were all left with question marks practically floating above their heads, blinking blankly!
What was going on?
"You must be starving"?
This wasn't about whether she was hungry, big brother! Vice Admiral Momousagi had just confessed her love to you!
Although the Marines were utterly baffled, Momousagi revealed a sweet smile that none of them had ever seen before and obediently walked over to sit beside Kairo D. Arashi.
Grand declarations of eternal love might sound beautiful, but they were merely fleeting moments of brilliance!
What Momousagi truly wanted was the quiet beauty of an ordinary life, and Kairo D. Arashi's simple words—"You must be starving, right?"—were exactly the emotional home she'd always longed for!
Although she knew that Kairo D. Arashi was a wanderer who would always keep moving forward, she was willing to become the woman who stood beside him amid the vast sea of people!
Extra chapters are already prepared… waiting to be unleashed.
Get early access on Patreon:
patreon.com/c/DreamWriterStudios
Want more chapters? You decide the pace:
✨ 10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
🔥 200 Power Stones = Another Release
Your support fuels the journey.
The stronger your backing… the faster the story unfolds.