Chapter 14

Since you’re staying here today, you want to find a goldsmith near the market to exchange the gold necklace in your backpack.

That kind of place should be close to the marketplace.

“I want to go to the market, brother.”

“The market? Alright, be careful on the way.”

Marco nodded, seeming to ask simply for the sake of the game, and after answering, he showed no further reaction.

You jumped down from the bed and walked over to the silent Edward Newgate, poking the speech bubble that appeared above him.

Option 1: Hmph!

Option 2: Good morning, Dad.

Option 3: Old Deng, flash some coins—I want to go play in town.

Option 4: Leave.

…Hmph?

Oh right, you apparently had a bit of a quarrel with Dad at the doctor’s house yesterday because he actually yelled at you. Kids have their privileges; a little rebellion now and then shouldn’t be wrong.

“Hmph!” You pouted deliberately, turning your head away.

“...!”

As expected, Edward Newgate seemed caught off guard, a helpless smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

You ignored him, heading straight for the wooden door a short distance away and left your room.

Before leaving, you glanced back—only to find that the two people in the room had mysteriously vanished. You couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of disbelief.

Marco’s room was right next door, so you pushed the door open and confirmed that the blond boy was changing clothes with his back to the door.

You nearly choked.

Marco was lifting the hem of his shirt to his chest with his arms crossed, revealing the lean lines of his waist and abdomen. His muscles weren’t exaggerated but radiated strength.

Despite his somewhat messy hairstyle, his physique was quite impressive.

You swallowed hard.

“Ah, it’s my little sister. What’s up?”

Marco turned to look at you, a speech bubble with “...” appearing above him.

Option 1: Touch his abs.

Option 2: Touch his chest muscles.

Option 3: Invite him to the market.

Option 4: Leave.

“...”

Oh no.

What do you do if you want to choose the first two options?

Isn’t that obvious? Although he looks like a kid, your mental age is that of a genuine adult!

Marco isn’t really your brother, so relying on your child status to touch him wouldn’t be refused or cause awkwardness, but somehow using that feels a bit perverse and dull.

Forget it. Before you transmigrated, you were a school goddess adored by countless men—you’ve seen all kinds of people anyway. There will be plenty of opportunities later.

“Want to go to the market together?”

You chose the third option.

“Haha? You want me to come with you? Sure thing.”

Marco had finished changing his shirt and didn’t refuse your invitation. “Actually, I was planning to go to the bookstore around here to buy some medical books Dr. Rodney recommended to study a bit. Wait a moment, I’ll finish changing and then we can go.”

“Mm…”

Is he changing his pants now?

You nervously stole a few glances, and when you turned your head, you just happened to see a toothbrush and a very familiar tube of toothpaste with a pineapple cartoon on it sitting on the table.

Uh, isn’t this…

The toothpaste and toothbrush you sold to the grocery store owner! Why are they here!?

You widened your eyes in horror, and before you could say anything, an invisible force suddenly pushed you out the door.

[System notification: Marco is about to take off his pants, please wait outside.]

“...”

Privacy, huh.

Although right now you want to call it privacy, no—you don’t acknowledge this damn name.

In short, feeling a bit awkward, you paced back and forth at the door that closed automatically, until one second later, Marco opened the door and came out.

The blond boy had changed into a Hawaiian shirt; his pants looked unchanged, exactly the same color as before. Seizing the moment the door opened, you sneaked another look at the table inside, staring again at the familiar set of dental items.

Perhaps they aren’t the same ones you sold...

This behavior might have triggered a detection mechanism because Marco looked at you curiously. “What’s wrong, little sister? That’s my toothbrush.”

“N-Nothing.”

“By the way,” Marco rubbed his chin, clearly in a good mood, “I just happened to lose a tube of toothpaste—the flavor I like most. I didn’t expect to find the same kind at a stall for only 10 Beli. Lucky me.”

Sorry!!!!!

10 Beli was the price because the owner despised his taste and dumped it in the clearance bin!

You felt deeply remorseful. Filled with guilt, you barged into Marco’s room and rifled through it. In front of him, you opened the bedside drawer and took out a square-packaged item.

[System: Acquired a “no-brand” condom ×1.]

Marco’s room also had a wooden wardrobe. You opened it and saw the clothes hanging inside—

Exactly the flashy purple shirt and nondescript pants he had just taken off.

Compared to that, the Hawaiian shirt looked better. Still feeling apologetic, you hesitated for a moment since Marco stood by the door unreactive, then tiptoed to tuck the clothes into your backpack.

He had clothes to wear now, and that dark blue Hawaiian had more style—you were just helping your “brother” keep his taste.

[System: Acquired Marco’s purple shirt ×1, Marco’s cropped pants ×1, ordinary wooden hanger ×3.]

After packing your backpack, you finally left his room and headed next door.

“Little sister, are we still going to the market?”

Perhaps the itinerary had deviated, as Marco broke the silence to speak. His expression hadn’t changed; he just leaned dryly against the wall, reminding you that you had chosen to go to the market not long ago.

“Mm... Brother is right.”

But you hadn’t visited Dad’s room yet. You missed it yesterday and wanted to finish everything in one go today.

“Can you give me a little more time? I’ll be ready soon.”

“Brother, please.”

You ran over, tiptoed, hugged Marco’s waist, and nestled your head against him, trying to buy yourself some time.

[System: Marco’s favorability +1.]

Seeing he didn’t say anything more, you quickly stepped into the next room, opened the bedside drawer, and grabbed the soap inside.

Yes, in cheap Dad’s room there was just an ordinary old-fashioned bar of soap.

Seems like these things are randomized.

Edward Newgate was standing by the window, gazing out at the seaside. You approached him; he remained silent, lost in thought, not saying a word.

Since there was no wardrobe in his room, you soon came back out and left the inn with Marco.

As the saying goes, once you’ve received kindness, you feel obliged to return it. Remembering today’s “daily task” wasn’t finished, you hurriedly took out the pineapple from your backpack and started today’s gift-giving routine, not even bothering with mushrooms… which you considered a gift but was really just compensation.

“Wow, pineapple! I like this, thank you.”

[System: Marco’s favorability +8.]

The blond boy said exactly the same thing as when he first received pineapple, almost like copy-pasted, but you were no longer surprised.

Probably because pineapple gives a high favorability boost; after just three gifts, you couldn’t give more, totaling 24 favor points.

Marco’s favorability currently stood at 97.

Feeling a little guilty, you headed north (or so you thought—it should be north since you knew the inn was south), already planning to ditch Marco early. If necessary, you would at least escort him to the bookstore he wanted to visit. On arriving at the market, you even deliberately avoided the grocery store.

However, while you could skip the grocery store, the fruit stand was at the very entrance of the market—an unavoidable path.

“It’s you—!!”

Passing by an apple-laden stall, the toothless owner suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, pointing at you.

His yell made a few nearby NPCs blink…but they continued doing their own things. After all, characters here weren’t very agile. One middle-aged woman repeatedly picked up and put down the same eggplant, looping the action, standing there holding her basket for quite some time.

But the fruit stall owner was different—he triggered a story event.

Before you could react, he grabbed a wooden stick and shouted toward a nearby direction, “Guards!”

“Quick! Catch this brat! It’s her—she stole all the fruit from my stall last time and even bragged that her dad is a pirate!!”

His shout immediately attracted three guards in uniform.

These men had red-name tags above their heads, indicating hostility; face to face, they would attack. They placed hands on their swords at their hips, eyes stern, charging at you.

“It’s you. Come with us.”

—Guard, Lv.8.

[System: Entering battle mode.]

...What the hell??

This is outrageous! This guy actually called the police to catch you. You felt fury surge up to your head. The fruit stall owner even smugly flared his nostrils at you. Unbelievable!

Only a few Lv.8 weaklings; you weren’t nervous at all. A single domineering aura could knock them all down.

Just in case, you bent down to draw a weapon from your backpack, but a familiar figure suddenly stepped in front of you.

[System: Marco (Lv.49) has joined the battle. Accept invitation? (Defaults to accept after 10 seconds)]

“Wait a minute!”

The blond boy triggered a scene, lazily lifting his eyelids and blocking the three attacks easily. “If my little sister did something wrong, I apologize to you on her behalf.”

“It’s not good to start fighting right away, is it? She’s still a kid. Can’t you talk it out?”

“How much were those fruits? I’ll pay you.”

...

Brother!

You really are rich. With that money, why not just give it directly to your best little sister?

You never expected Marco to suddenly step forward and even threaten to compensate you. The three guards were pushed back two meters by the force of his attack.

Marco then turned to you, showing no scolding expression, nor did he berate you. Instead, he seriously asked:

“Little sister, did you really steal his fruit?”

“Although Dad and I are pirates, we must still respect order. Dad doesn’t like using the pirate name to rob ordinary people.”

Option 1: Sorry, I know I was wrong.

Option 2: There’s a reason for everything...

Option 3: Pirates are supposed to burn, loot, and plunder. I don’t agree with your views!

Option 4: What a joke! If he dares to breathe in front of me, it’s his fault. I am a Celestial Dragon!

First, explain.

You won’t apologize; players are never wrong. You selected the second option and immediately put on a fake crying act.

By the way, whenever options appear, the whole world darkens until you complete the chosen action...

The three guards, like copy-pasted stock characters, were pushed back and repeatedly wobbled in place, standing idle. They didn’t attack while Marco and you spoke, their swaying movements more orderly than a cheerleading squad.

It looked ridiculous, but it didn’t affect your high-level acting skills.

“There’s a reason, brother!”

You put on a wronged expression, lightly poking the flesh of your palm with your fingertip. Tears welled up in your big eyes.

“He tricked me out of my money. He promised apples were 100 Beli each, but they were all rotten. When I tried to pick good apples, he yelled at me and refused to refund the 1,000 Beli I paid upfront.”

“Wuwu, I was so angry I just grabbed his stall.”

Seeing Marco still listening, you went all in, tearfully hugging him. “Sorry, I was wrong. Because I remembered you liked pineapple, when I saw he had some on his stall, I took them too, wanting to bring some back for you.”

“I won’t use Dad or Brother’s names to cover for myself and embarrass you again, wuwu...”

“Please forgive me, wuwu… *cough! cough!*”

Halfway through, you accidentally choked. Reflexively, you released your grip on his arm and coughed hard, nearly passing out.

Damn it, why do you always mess up at critical moments?

[System notification: Player choked in chest area, HP -1.]

…

They even deduct that.

You looked up speechless, only to see Marco’s face suddenly change in an instant.