Chapter 18 — The Plan
Time slipped by quietly.
After confirming that the messy-haired man truly wasn't coming back, Eiger finally stopped looking for him.
A small part of him felt disappointed—after all, sparring with an Admiral wasn't something you could do every day—
but life went on.
His days returned to their usual rhythm: morning training, helping Nico with small chores, eating together, and living a peaceful life.
Except… today was different.
For the first time in weeks, Eiger hadn't even begun his morning workout.
He'd barely stepped out the door when Marin, the ever-energetic village chief, came charging toward him like a snowstorm—
and before he could ask what was going on, the old man had already grabbed him by the wrist and started dragging him down the street.
"Didn't we agree you and Nico would handle things?" Eiger sighed helplessly as they ran through the snow.
"Why am I being pulled into this again? It's the middle of winter! Shouldn't you be curled up by the fire instead of dragging people around?"
"Are you kidding me? You're the investor!" Marin puffed out his chest proudly.
"And the pride of the entire Sibia Islands! What kind of investor doesn't show his face, huh?"
Eiger groaned. "You're seriously dragging me out here half-naked?"
"Bah, don't be dramatic!" Marin barked, clearly in high spirits.
"Besides, you're not cold anyway! Come on, everyone's waiting inside—hurry up!"
Before Eiger could protest, the old man shoved him forward through the doors of the meeting hall.
The moment he stepped in, he felt it—
a hundred pairs of eyes locked on him.
Every villager had gone completely silent, staring with wide, curious eyes.
"…What?" he muttered under his breath.
"Don't just stand there! Applaud!" Marin said proudly, throwing his arms wide.
His grin nearly split his face.
"This here is the pride of Sibia Village! Our finest child—and the investor of the Sibia Islands' first-ever winery!
Let's give him a warm welcome!"
The room erupted into applause.
Clap, clap, clap!
It was loud, heartfelt, and embarrassingly long.
Clearly, the villagers were excited—maybe a little too excited.
Marin beamed, clearly enjoying himself far too much.
"Now," he said, raising his voice dramatically, "let's invite our investor and chairman—Eiger—to say a few words!"
"Chairman?!" Eiger mouthed silently, turning toward the crowd.
Another wave of applause.
No escape.
With a sigh, he walked up to the front, every step heavier than the last.
He glanced over the audience—and spotted Nico among them, sitting with her hands folded neatly in her lap, smiling brightly.
She looked very pleased with herself.
Eiger narrowed his eyes.
No warning, no hint, no chance to prepare a single line—she could've at least told him!
And Chairman? Since when?!
But Nico only winked at him mischievously, her expression saying, You'll manage.
Eiger stifled a groan, cleared his throat twice, and waited for the crowd to settle.
Everyone fell silent, expectant.
"Uh…" he began slowly. "I'd like to… first wish for the successful establishment of the Sibia Islands Winery."
He paused.
Then turned to Marin with a perfectly straight face.
"And now, I'll hand it over to our project leader, Chief Marin, to say a few words."
The room blinked in confusion.
Marin blinked.
Even Nico blinked—then burst into laughter, trying to hide it behind her hand.
"…That's it?" Marin muttered under his breath as he walked up. "You call that a speech? Weren't you supposed to be good at this?"
Eiger looked at him expressionlessly, then gestured at the podium.
You think you can do better? Go ahead.
Marin sniffed and straightened his back.
"Fine, I will!"
And to Eiger's disbelief, the old man strutted up with all the confidence of a king addressing his court—
then launched into a full speech as if he'd been rehearsing it for weeks.
"…He really did come prepared," Eiger muttered under his breath, watching in disbelief.
From the back of the room, Nico's laughter rang out again—soft, bright, and warm.
And for the first time that morning, Eiger found himself smiling too.
He may not have planned for any of this—
but seeing her laugh like that made all the chaos worth it.
Honestly, that old fellow can really talk.
Marin went from recounting the Sibia Islands' humble past to painting an optimistic future—then launched into a moving account of the "hardships" and noble intentions behind establishing the Sibia Islands Winery… Wait—hold on. The winery hasn't even been built yet. Where were these "hardships" coming from?
No one cared to question the baffled investor. With Marin's oratory, the village chiefs and villagers all wore faces full of sorrow and hopeful expectation for the future.
"Finally, our islands will have their own winery! From now on we'll never have to bow to those despicable middlemen and their low prices!" Marin bellowed, his fist raised in righteous fury. "Let those rotten merchants go to hell!"
The sentiment caught fire. Voices rose in unison—louder and louder.
"Let those rotten merchants go to hell!"
"Let those rotten merchants go to hell!!"
"Let those rotten merchants go to hell!!!"
The chant grew so raucous that Eiger could only stare in astonishment. This old man was a force of nature—how had he never noticed it before? Marin then explained the real purpose of the meeting: founding the Sibia Islands Winery, forming a cooperative across the islands, establishing a village council…
Eiger: …speechless.
Everything sounded disturbingly familiar. Weren't these the same ideas he had casually tossed off the other day when Nico asked what to do? He turned to glance at Nico and shot his wife an accusatory look—Marin had used her plan as a speech script, and hadn't given Eiger a heads-up.
Nico only smiled helplessly. A few days ago she'd talked at length about the plan and assumed Eiger had it all organized—apparently he hadn't prepared a thing.
Finally Marin reached the closing. "Let us thank Eiger and Nico for their help," he declared solemnly. "If not for them, forget the winery—just a few days ago we were at the mercy of price-cutting merchants. If anyone here lacks the decency to remember what they've done for our islands, I won't be polite about it."
The villagers echoed him with dead seriousness.
"Marin's right."
"If anyone betrays the Sibia Islands or Eiger, they'll answer to us."
"A traitor to the Sibia Islands."
Their shouts sent the meeting out with a mixture of stern warning and communal warmth. Eiger could only stand there, baffled and helpless.
"So? How was it?" Marin asked afterward, brimming with pride. "Not bad, eh?"
Eiger didn't expose the old man's little deception. He only shook his head with a helpless smile: "Do whatever you think best."
"Don't hide things from us, boy," Marin scolded in mock reproach. "If I hadn't asked Nico, I wouldn't even have known you'd prepared a plan."
"Prepared a plan?" Eiger repeated silently. He looked at Marin, then at Nico, then turned away with a wry smile—he'd officially become the retired navy officer who'd come home to rebuild the countryside.
At that moment, his Den Den Mushi—the little shell-phone he'd brought from the 315th branch—buzzed. Eiger fumbled for it and answered. Before he could speak, Colonel Enchi's voice came through, urgent and excited:
"Get over here quick, Eiger. I've found a way for you to learn the full Navy Six Techniques you wanted."