A sailor without a ship is little better than unemployed.

After two weeks of hospitalization, Shinnosuke was safely discharged.

Though he had been discharged, without a ship he couldn't work, and Seira and Milena had already left aboard Ira's escort vessel to carry out their duties.

Shinnosuke and Marks had nothing to do, idly staring into the corner of an empty dock's office.

"Kelberos... it's gone down..."

"Yes, it is."

"What should we do from here?"

"You're right, there are several options, but if you're continuing as a free merchant, you'll need a new ship."

"Ships are expensive, though..."

"There's compensation from the guild, so you could probably afford a used escort vessel. With your savings, if you stretch a bit, even a brand-new ship might be possible."

"But we won't be able to get a ship like Kelberos again..."

"That's true."

"Kelberos... was a good ship..."

Shin nosuke felt as though a gaping hole had opened up inside him, utterly drained of energy.

"There's also the option of quitting as a free trader. With your savings, you could easily provide Serah and Milliena with generous retirement funds, and still have enough left over to live comfortably for the rest of your life."

Free traders who've accumulated years of experience are generally quite wealthy.

However, as long as you continue working, the costs for maintaining and managing the ship, along with other expenses, are substantial and will keep draining your funds.

"Should I spend my life lounging around? Hmm, but what exactly would I do all day?"

"I don't engage in leisure activities, so I can't say. Master, don't you have anything you'd like to do?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be idly sitting here....Spending my whole life lounging around sounds kind of dull, really."

It felt like we were just exchanging meaningless conversation, time passing without purpose.

"By the way, Master, today's fruit tea isn't very refreshing, is it?"

Before Shinnosuke was a synthetic fruit tea, its seal already broken, yet the contents had barely decreased.

"Yeah, it's just not tasty at all... I can't even finish it..."

"Not tasty? Master, did you actually find this tea enjoyable?"

"No, I never thought it was tasty to begin with..."

"You're still saying things that don't add up, as usual."

"Stop worrying about the details..."

"Speaking of details, Master, why are you wearing an eye patch?"

"My right and left eyes have such a big difference in vision that it gives me a headache. I need to get new glasses. Until then, I'll just make do with the patch."

"But doesn't your artificial eye make your left eye's vision normal?"

"Yeah, I can see well with my left eye."

"Then why are you wearing an eye patch over your left eye?"

"I don't even know myself... And I don't understand why we're having this pointless conversation."

"I don't know either, but maybe the master is to blame?"

"Yeah, you're right... Not having anything to do is tough. With this state of affairs, I couldn't last a week as a free merchant... or even as a sailor."

"Then we should find some work."

"That's right. Labor is a noble thing..."

At that moment, the dock's intercom buzzed.

"Master, there's a guest."

"There's no way a passenger would come to a sailor without a ship..."

Markus, taking over from Shinosuke, who was still lounging around, checked the intercom monitor.

"It's Miss Lina from the Free Merchant Fleet Association."

It seemed Lina had come to visit.

"Lina? What could she want? Maybe work-related?"

"No, that doesn't seem to be the case. Miss Lina's wearing casual clothes."

Since Lina—someone who’s always looked after me—had come to visit, I couldn’t just ignore her.

When Shinnosuke opened the door, there she stood, unmistakably Lina.

Instead of her usual union uniform, she wore a fresh-looking light yellow dress.

"Shinnosuke-san, let's go on a date."

Shinnosuke was taken aback by the sudden invitation.

"A date? Did we make such a promise?"

No, I didn't make any promises, but just now when I contacted Mr. Marks, I got a reply saying, 'The Master is idle—feel free to come anytime.'

Lina with a broad smile on her face.

It wasn't exactly an atmosphere where I could easily refuse.

Master, please don't linger here. Go take a break and refresh yourself. Linna, please look after the Master.

Yes, leave it to me. Come on, let's go, Shinnosuke!

Linna takes Shinno's hand, already having answered that she'll go, and starts walking.

A small two-seater car is parked in front of the dock.

It looks like Linna's private vehicle.

"Hey, I get it, Linna. I'm going, so don't pull me so hard. Marks, remember this when you get back!"

"No, I'll erase it from memory. By the time the Master returns, you'll have forgotten all about it—so enjoy yourself without hesitation."

Shinnosuke was shoved into Rina's car and taken away.

The first place Rina brought Shinnosuke to was a fashion accessories shop.

"I have a present for Shinnosuke! Come on, let's go in."

She pushed Shinnosuke into the store.

It seemed Rina had made a reservation in advance—the staff had already prepared everything and were waiting.

Lined up on the counter were various eyeglass frames.

In this era when wearing glasses for vision correction is uncommon, there are no optical shops—glasses are instead sold as decorative items in stores like fashion accessory boutiques.

Of course, lenses can also be customized for vision correction.

"Based on the design of the glasses Shinnosuke was wearing, I think these styles might be more to my liking?"

The glasses Linna had picked out all had sharp designs, yet their frames were solidly built—undoubtedly all styles that matched Shinnosuke's taste perfectly.

"Amazing. I can really tell your preferences and particular tastes now."

"Yes, I thought Mr. Shinnosuke probably isn't fond of lightweight frames?"

"That's right. Perhaps because I've worn glasses for so long, trendy lightweight frames just don't feel quite right."

"I know, right. Now, go ahead and pick out your favorite ones."

Given how much effort Rina had gone through to prepare everything for Shinnosuke, it would be rude to hesitate.

Shinnosuke picked out a frame from among many—its design resembled the previous one, with a brushed silver finish.

"This one's perfect. It fits just right."

Seeing the frame Shinnosuke had chosen, Rina's eyes lit up.

"Oh! I'm so happy. Actually, I designed this one myself and had it custom-made. I'm really glad you picked it out!"

"Hey, Rina. If that's what you meant, you should've said so from the start."

That said, the item Shinnosuke chose is still the best. I was actually planning to give the spare glasses as a gift if he hadn’t picked them.

Shinnosuke mentally praised himself for his brilliant play.

He was already praising his own choice wholeheartedly.

In the end, ShinnoSuke ended up receiving both pairs of glasses—the ones designed by Rina, and the slightly reddish silver ones that Rina had chosen.

Immediately having corrective lenses applied only to the right lens, ShinnoSuke successfully regained full vision in both eyes.

Rina stared closely at ShinnoSuke’s face as he put on his new glasses, then nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, you really do look like Shinnosuke when you wear glasses. It's absolutely wonderful."

"Thank you."

Rina once again took Shinnosuke's hand.

"Come on, since Shinnosuke's vision has fully returned, let's head to the next place."

"Huh? Next place?"

"It's a surprise until we get there. There's something I'd like to ask you, Shinnosuke."

"Ask me?"

"Come on, let's go."

Rina started the car.