One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 111 My First Love Was a Girl

Marineford.

The streets are bustling and vibrant, the shops are filled with delicious aromas, and the order is impeccable. It would be hard to find a country with a more vibrant atmosphere and a higher level of safety than Marineford. After returning, Roman felt all the tension in his body relax; it's very safe here.

Kuzan will report all details of Roman's whereabouts and the specific reasons to Sengoku, including the "Baki bomb" that Roman brought, which will also be immediately sent to the Science Department.

If things go smoothly, Roman can clear his name of his mistakes and even gain credit.

This will not only help her exchange for the Life Return skill, but also affect her future military rank. Although her rank will not be very high at first, the appreciation she gains from this can determine her career path for the next four or five years, so she needs to be careful.

If Roman, who had long been chosen by Kuzan, was in such a state, the other trainees must have been even more apprehensive.

Even the elite students under Zephyr cannot all stay at the main campus, so while Roman was away, the other students were also working hard to improve themselves.

The officers were also working hard to select candidates, after all, their graduation was not far off.

"I heard you've done something great again."

Even the most beautiful everyday moments have their little mishaps, and today was no exception.

Roman looked at Borsalino's ambiguous smile and sighed deeply.

Having just stepped out of Kuzan's office, he ran right into Borsalino, who seemed to be lying in wait.

It would be very impolite to just turn around.

"Hello, Lieutenant General, I have some matters to attend to. May I leave now?"

Borsalino clearly didn't want to let this opportunity slip by: "Don't you want to talk to me? You were able to discover the anomalies in the Four Seas, successfully defeat Moria, and then solve the Kingdom's problems and obtain the weapons for the Science Department to study. You're a really impressive little warrior. I just don't know why it's such a coincidence that you encountered so many problems during one training trip."

Although Roman's itinerary and deeds were not made public, it was not difficult for the naval high command to find out if they wanted to.

I said, is it possible that the world itself is full of problems?

Roman thought to himself, "This is what I'm complaining about."

In countries under the control of world governments, let alone national prosperity and peace, even living a peaceful life is a difficult task.

However, this is something that definitely cannot be said directly.

"It was just a coincidence, and Mr. Kuzan also helped." At this point, Roman once again displayed her humility, transferring some of the credit to Kuzan as a sign of her sincerity. Moreover, Kuzan had indeed been a great help in the final stages of the project.

"You have quite the temperament." Borsalino took a few more steps closer, still smiling, but the oppressive aura emanating from him was palpable.

However, Roman's focus was elsewhere, perhaps because Borsalino was skilled at kicking, and his legs were the longest of the three, even longer than his own height.

But her thoughts quickly returned to normal.

Since the visitor was hostile, she couldn't be blamed for striking first.

"Lieutenant General Borsalino, I heard some rumors about you when I came back."

Sure enough, Borsalino's expression was subtle when this was mentioned, as if to say, "Isn't this all your doing?" In fact, his presence here staking out Roman might not be entirely unrelated to the fact that Roman was the instigator of all this.

"Please don't misunderstand, I have no opinion on this. Liking someone, regardless of age, gender, or status, is a perfectly normal thing. Even if you are a man, it's perfectly normal for you to like another man. Love doesn't need a reason."

Borsalino: "..."

He, usually so eloquent, was momentarily at a loss for words, as Roman suddenly elevated the trivial gossip to a whole new level.

Seemingly to enhance the credibility of his words, Roman continued, "My first love was a lovely girl, which I think is quite normal."

Borsalino: "..."

Good grief, are you serious?

Looking at Roman's serious expression, he couldn't tell for a moment whether it was a lie or the truth.

"She had pink hair, a round face, and was petite and cute. Her hair was tied into pigtails with two red ribbons, and when it was down, it reached her shoulders. She also had a pair of wine-red eyes and was very gentle and kind. I really liked her back then."

"And then?" Borsalino felt he shouldn't ask, but he was genuinely curious about what happened next.

"I can no longer see her. It's hard for an overly gentle person to protect others while protecting themselves."

"It was an expected ending. But I think your feelings were more of respect than liking." Borsalino, who had seen death many times, calmly expressed his opinion, while also teaching Roman the correct view of feelings. In his opinion, Roman was still unable to distinguish between liking and liking.

"Why are you making that face? I didn't say she was dead. She's still alive. It's just that the sea is so vast that it's hard for me to see her again. She could only accompany me for a short while anyway, so I just wanted to tell you that if you like someone, you should seize the opportunity, even if the other person is a man." Roman teased Borsalino a little again.

Borsalino: "..."

Goodness, so you were looking back with that reminiscing expression, and you kept going around in circles, so you just wouldn't leave this spot?

"We can't leave this world alive, so let's be bold."

"It seems you've witnessed a lot of death?"

"almost."

"It really doesn't suit your age."

"I'll take that as a compliment, and then I'll take my leave."

Roman silently gave a thumbs-up in his mind, knowing he had successfully changed the subject once again.

Huh? Who was her first love? Isn't it obvious? It was Madoka Kaname, of course. That child who was willing to sacrifice herself to save the world is just too lovable.

It's true that we won't be able to see them again. Now that we've come to this world, it'll probably be difficult for us to revisit the anime from before.

I don't know if I can publish those comics. The advantage of isekai is that there are no copyright issues.

……

And they didn't get anything out of him.

Borsalino, realizing this, wanted to slap himself. He had followed Roman's lead again and missed another good opportunity.

Tsk tsk, I really don't know if she did it on purpose or seriously.

That said, does she really like girls?

Are young people these days so open-minded?

And then there were those final words reminding him to boldly pursue a love that was not accepted by society, which made Borsalino feel extremely uncomfortable.

Now he roughly understands how the Warring States general felt about the three of them, grinding his teeth in hatred.

I know they each have their own problems, but I can only remain inactive.

Because of Roman's extraordinary strength, all related information has been sealed and can only be accessed by Kuzan, Sengoku, and Zephyr.

Borsalino could barely access the content even with his privileges.

Unless Roman goes crazy and is willing to work for him.

However, that's probably unlikely...