The door to the Admiral's office was carefully pushed open just a crack.
Potts poked his head in, his expression carrying the tragic resolve of a man marching to his doom.
He was holding a stack of new docunts in his arm, ergency transmissions from Marine Headquarters. Every single one required the Admiral's "personal review."
Of course, Potts knew that the final destination of these docunts was, in all likelihood it was simply to becom a part of the ever-growing "mountain of paperwork" inside the office.
Following behind him was Sanji, carrying a silver tray.
On the tray rested a perfectly sliced Strawberry Mousse Mille-feuille, accompanied by a cup of rich, fragrant black tea.
This was Admiral Renzo's unshakable afternoon tea routine, and Sanji's sacred duty as head chef.
But the mont the two of them took in the scene inside the office, they froze as if hit by a petrification spell.
What did they just see?
Their "God of Sloth," the man who viewed all activity as a natural enemy, Admiral Renzo, was not lying asleep on the sofa!
He still looked lazy, yes, but he was sitting up.
Holding a piece of… wait.
That wasn't Sanji's dessert!
Even more unbelievable-
At the other end of the office, in front of the towering "historical problem" known as the G-5 docunt mountain, soone was actually working.
A tall, sharp-looking female officer with long blue hair.
Her expression focused, her hands moving like fluttering butterflies.
At a speed Potts himself couldn't even comprehend, she sorted, read, stamped, and archived the ancient docunts with flawless precision.
The entire process flowed like water, the perfect embodint of efficiency and order.
"Efficiency" and "order", these two concepts were rarer in G-5 than legendary ancient weapons.
"Am… am I hallucinating from processing too many docunts…?"
Potts rubbed his eyes vigorously, mumbling to himself.
Sanji, on the other hand, entered a completely different shock mode.
His cigarette fell to the floor with a plink, his eyes turned into hearts, and his whole body twisted into an exaggerated S-shape.
"Ooooh-! What a beautiful lady! The way she works, it's as if the Goddess of Poetry herself is composing verses under the moonlight! Who is she? Why would such an angel appear in this den full of stinky n?!"
A mont later, his brain finally connected the dots.
Blue hair.
Rear Admiral uniform.
Soone, Renzo, the ultimate antisocial hermit, allowed to exist in his personal space…
A legendary na surfaced in his mind.
"Don't tell … she's-"
Right then, both people in the room noticed the disturbance at the door.
"So noisy." Renzo shot them a lazy glance.
"If you're coming in, then co in. Whispering at the door is annoying."
Ain paused her work and looked up, her sharp gaze sweeping toward them.
When her eyes landed on Potts, she gave a brief nod; clearly, she had studied G-5's personnel before coming and recognized its "second-in-command."
With permission, the two finally stepped inside.
Potts looked between Ain and Renzo, and his long-suffering, overworked heart suddenly felt wrapped in a warm glow called hope.
He recognized Ain's rank and realized exactly who she was, a Rear Admiral fad at Headquarters for her precision and efficiency.
'Fleet Admiral… did you hear my desperate prayers?!'
'You didn't just send a re adjutant.'
'You sent an angel.'
Eyes misty, Potts rushed forward, presenting the stack of fresh docunts like a sacred offering, placing them reverently at the corner of the now-cleared desk.
"Rear Admiral Ain! I am Lieutenant Commander Potts of G-5! These are the files just sent from Headquarters. Please review them!"
His voice trembled with relief.
"If you need any assistance regarding the base, please, please order at any ti!"
Ain rely replied calmly, "Thank you for your work, Lieutenant Commander Potts. I will handle it."
On the other side, Sanji demonstrated his full gentlemanly spirit.
He slid gracefully to Ain's side, dropping to one knee, holding the tray high:
"Beautiful miss, please allow to offer you this creation infused with my deepest passion, Strawberry Mousse Mille-feuille! I am Sanji, the head cook. Serving you would be the greatest honor of my life!"
Renzo watched the two buffoons, sighed, and introduced them to Ain:
"That teary ss is Potts. Nominally a vice-adjutant, actually a glorified chores manager."
"That jumping idiot is Sanji, my chef. Don't mind them. A group of walking trouble."
"Pleasure to et you," Ain replied politely.
As for Sanji's eager offering, she declined it with simple calm.
"Thank you, but I've already eaten."
Her refusal didn't disappoint Sanji; it shocked him.
He slowly rose, looking from Renzo to Ain, all the little fragnts he'd heard over the years from Kizaru, Garp, even Sengoku, suddenly forming a clear picture.
Soone, Renzo, voluntarily introduced.
Soone who rejected his dessert without being instantly disqualified from life.
Soone who could remain perfectly unhard, even productive, inside Renzo's Absolute Sloth Domain (because anything he doesn't consider "troubleso" is not affected).
But most importantly-
This man, who treated all social interaction as "noise," who found even them troubleso…
Actually… had a friend.
And not just a friend, a beautiful, capable woman.
Sanji felt his worldview cracking.
He always thought Renzo's strength ca from his solitude and detachnt.
Now it seed… that wasn't the whole truth.
Their relationship was definitely not ordinary.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu
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