Chapter 101: Liquor
The winds of the New World are always unpredictable.
Sometimes like a spoiled princess, even if you prepare the pointer and sea chart, she will still casually toss you into barren land;
Other times like a gentle childhood friend, even if you lie flat all the way without touching the helm, she will still hold your hand and lead you to where you want to go.
And Skipgate’s group did nothing like that, just lying on the ship sunbathing for several days, and when they got up, they were already back at Fenrir Island.
“You’re back.”
Welcoming the group at the dock was not Aoxi and Obei, the two little ones from her imagination, but Burufaruto wearing a floral shirt and big shorts.
“No one missing, right? Boss Kaido is waiting for you in the meeting hall.”
Lawen had already contacted Kaido via Den Den Mushi on the return voyage, so Kaido knew in advance they would return today.
“Everyone’s here, no casualties.”
Lawen stepped aside to let Burufaruto see Skipgate’s group following behind her.
Of course, with her current height, it didn’t matter if she let him or not.
“Where are Aoxi and Obei?”
“Haha, those two brats~ They were both dragged off by Ember to handle all sorts of miscellaneous accounting records within the organization.”
Burufaruto said while counting the numbers.
“The Pirate Crew has added quite a few new members recently, and the territory has expanded a lot. Ember alone really can’t handle it.”
“And I’m really not good at that stuff, so I can only do some errand work.”
Lawen nodded, then asked again:
“Obei aside, why did Ember take Aoxi too?”
“That child’s personality is naturally restless, not good at work that requires sitting still quietly.”
With Aoxi’s fiery personality, Lawen could hardly imagine her sitting quietly on a stool for more than half an hour.
“I thought so too, but Boss Kaido said that brat Aoxi has a very sharp mind; she’s just lazy not doing it.”
“He also said that the reason Aoxi’s Observation Haki hasn’t improved is because her mind isn’t calm enough.
Tie her to the chair and make her sit obediently and quietly work for a few days, and she might have a breakthrough.”
“So while you were away these past few days, it was Ember and Obei taking turns watching her.”
“Mm.” Lawen nodded.
“That’s a good thing; tempering her personality is fine.”
“But I imagine she won’t cooperate that much.”
No one knows a sister better than her sister, not to mention they were one person not long ago.
Burufaruto burst out laughing at that.
“Indeed. That little Aoxi wouldn’t do it at first, saying her head hurt or her butt hurt, as if there were nails on that chair.”
“It was only later when Obei used the provocation method that she finally settled down quietly.
Lately, she’s been competing with Ember and Obei over who processes more documents~”
“Mm, Aoxi is very smart; if she puts her mind to it, she really won’t fall short of anyone.”
The group chatted idly along the way and soon arrived at the meeting hall.
“Go on in; Boss Kaido is waiting for you inside.”
This was said to Lawen and the Skipgate group behind her; concerning the fate of an entire Pirate Crew, the captain Kaido still had to handle it personally.
Lawen stepped forward to knock on the door but stopped, turning to ask Burufaruto:
“Burufaruto, has Captain Kaido been drinking?”
“That!”
Speaking of drinking, Burufaruto suddenly got excited and started complaining to Lawen.
“Lawen, you don’t know! Ever since you left, my tongue, Ember’s, and Boss Kaido’s suddenly went wrong!”
“Oh? What problem?” Lawen asked knowingly.
“It’s the alcohol! No matter what alcohol, as soon as it hits our mouths, it tastes off!”
“For example, me! Every alcohol tastes like bitter gourd juice!”
“Ember’s is different from mine; he said his alcohol tastes like the urine of some frog from the Red Line.”
“As for Boss Kaido, I don’t know; anyway, after that, he hasn’t touched a drop.”
“Oh. I see…”
Lawen nodded, keeping all this in mind.
“How long did this situation last?”
“Several days! It only slowly recovered the day before yesterday.”
Burufaruto said this with lingering fear; he was really afraid back then that his sense of taste would never recover.
Just thinking about never tasting alcohol again, this four-meter-plus Fish-Man tough guy almost secretly shed little pearls alone in bed at night.
『The effect only lasts seven days? Three days less than expected; was my added intention not enough?』
That’s right; the culprit behind Burufaruto and the others’ taste issues was precisely the drink Lawen provided at the meeting before departure.
On the day she bid farewell to Old Cook and Lawen and declared her apprenticeship complete, Lawen, absorbing the other’s pure emotion, found her path in cooking, or rather comprehended her ‘cooking heart’.
【Elf song sings, eternal power commands all things! Its life, its soul, even its remains!】
This is not just talk; after infusing her intention or 【command】 into the cooking, Lawen can make the taster enter a state she desires from soul to body.
However, due to a card player’s instinctive aversion to ‘brainwashing’ effects, Lawen didn’t choose to directly alter their liking for alcohol but took a detour with a relatively ‘mild’ method.
For example, if she didn’t want Kaido and the others drinking without restraint, after drinking the beverage she mixed, their alcohol would taste like their most hated thing.
Burufaruto beside her was still complaining, completely unaware the culprit was right next to him.
“Lawen, you know how pent up me and Boss Kaido have been these days…”
In fact, except for Ember who took a sip to confirm his taste recovered and then ignored it, Burufaruto and Kaido had been drinking like mad these past two days to get revenge.
The two had the momentum of drinking alcohol like water and eating it like food.
It was only Lawen’s phone call yesterday that sobered them up.
Now facing Lawen’s question, Burufaruto instinctively felt a bit guilty~
“So how much did Captain Kaido drink?”
“Uh… this, that… I, I actually don’t know.”
“I’ve been busy with the outer island defense line setup lately, haven’t, haven’t seen much of Boss Kaido. Haha~”
“You, you go in. My ship seems to have forgotten to refuel; I’ll go check first, haha~”
Without waiting for Lawen to say more, the Fish-Man burly man hurriedly strode away.
Probably due to the heat, Burufaruto had some sweat beading on his forehead after just a few steps; perhaps he’s usually lax on exercise~
『Do the Beasts Pirates’ ships all burn fuel directly? So advanced!』
Watching Burufaruto’s somewhat hurried back, Skipgate and the others couldn’t help but marvel in their hearts that Beasts Pirates technology truly leads the New World!
Lawen just gave a faint glance before withdrawing her gaze, then raised her hand and lightly knocked on the meeting hall gate.
“Captain Kaido, it’s me.”
“It’s~ you back, huh. Heh~ come, come in~”
Sigh~ Just from the voice, he’s had plenty to drink.
Lawen pushed open the door and sure enough saw Kaido sprawled on the chair, still holding his lacquered red wine gourd in hand.
“Captain Kaido, I think we should wait until you’ve sobered up before doing this action report.”
The golden figure spoke coldly, and without waiting for Kaido’s response, moved to exit the hall.
While Skipgate and the others behind were made a bit at a loss by the scene… Wait, are all Beasts Pirates executives this assertive?
“Heh~ no, no problem~ hehe~ don’t be so serious~”
“Eh?! Don’t, don’t go!”
Kaido originally didn’t care, but seeing Lawen really turn to leave, he immediately got anxious, his tone changing.
Lawen stopped helplessly at that.
Her captain seemed not only to like drinking but also had poor drunk behavior.
Sometimes when drunk, it’s like a different person; can you imagine a seven-meter tall burly man acting cute to you?
Lawen didn’t need to imagine because she’d seen it a few times, and lately this situation was getting worse.
That scene, how to put it~ gave the illusion of her sensibility deficiency syndrome being instantly cured.
If this continued, Lawen really feared Kaido might get drunk on the battlefield and “act cute after drinking” to the enemy one day…
Him losing face alone was fine; just don’t drag down the entire Beasts Pirates’ reputation.
『Looks like formulating a comprehensive drinking regulation plan can’t be delayed anymore.』
After silently drafting in her mind the general outline of 《’Handling Opinions and Rectification Measures for Comrade Kaido, Leader of the Beasts Pirates, Regarding His Bad Drinking Habits’『1491』First Draft》, Lawen turned back without a word.
She just looked at Kaido, as if standing there waiting for him to fully sober up before speaking.
It had to be said that though her figure looked small, Lawen’s silent gaze was still very imposing.
That suffocating feeling as if everything in the world, including the weeds and stones under your feet, suddenly turned against you—no one in the Pirate Crew, from captain to grunt, could remain unmoved under that gaze for more than ten seconds.
He obediently set down the wine gourd, vigorously wiped his face with his hand, and using a technique similar to “Life Return,” Kaido quickly sobered from his drunken state.
“Mm~ Alright, speak.”
“Mm.”
Seeing he was truly sober, Lawen didn’t waste more time.
“This action went very smoothly; no encounters with other factions along the way.
John and his subordinate executive Babu have been confirmed dead, bodies all destroyed. Their relics: a pair of sabers, gold gems and accessories several, all brought back.”
Skipgate beside her timely stepped forward to hand over John’s relics, but Kaido just glanced casually and lost interest.
“Original Foll Pirate Crew members total 45, four injured in this action, no deaths, along with one large ship now all brought back.”
Lawen’s report was as concise and efficient as ever, no nonsense.
“Oh?! You actually took out that guy John; quick, tell how you did it.”
Kaido asked with great interest.
Compared to Babu or how many people brought back, he was clearly more interested in how Lawen took down John.
Seeing Lawen unscathed, what method did she use to take down that tiger John?
“Sneak attack.”
Lawen answered calmly, just like her response to Skipgate back then.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Tch~”
Kaido was clearly dissatisfied with the answer.
“If you want the specific details, I’ll compile a written report later. But please handle the matter at hand first, Captain.”
Lawen gestured with her eyes at Skipgate beside her.
He immediately understood and knelt on both knees.
“I, Skipgate, representing the original Foll Pirate Crew, thank Lord Kaido for helping us avenge our captain. Here we all wish to join the Beasts Pirates and never betray from now on!”
“Never betray!”*n
The ordinary crew members behind also knelt down with a splash, bowing their heads.
“Uro-ro-ro-ro! Good, then this cup of sworn brotherhood alcohol is yours.”
Kaido stood up at that, walked to Skipgate, and took out a large and small pair of big red lacquered sake cups from his side.
From the very standard size specs of the sake cups, he was clearly prepared in advance.
Skipgate wisely stood, picked up the wine gourd from the ground to fill both sake cups, then faced Kaido sitting solemnly, hands reverently holding up the small sake cup.
“This is the rule among pirates; once they drink this bowl, they’re officially under me.”
Though Lawen didn’t speak, Kaido still turned to explain to her before accepting the sworn cup.
“I can see it’s a ceremony; no need to explain further.”
Though she said that, Lawen was still satisfied with Kaido’s attitude.
After all, it meant he’d taken her advice and showed intent to change proactively.
As the two sequentially drank the alcohol in the cups, the Beasts Pirates finally had its first subordinate Pirate Crew, and Kaido now qualified to be called an “Admiral.”
