Ryoma maneuvered the sailboat to a steady halt in the mooring area specially prepared by Baratie for small vessels.
He jumped onto the deck and stretched his stiff body.
The air was filled with the rich aroma of seafood and spices, and the long-lost sense of lively bustle refreshed his spirit.
At this moment, there weren't many customers in the restaurant. Sparse conversation mixed with the light clinking of cutlery.
Ryoma found a quiet seat by the window and sat down, waving for a waiter to come over.
A young boy with brilliant blonde hair and eyebrows curled in a peculiar way walked over. He looked no more than eleven or twelve years old, yet he wore a proper waiter's uniform and held an order book, looking like a little adult.
"Guest, what would you like to order?" Sanji's voice still carried a hint of childishness, but his attitude was very professional.
Ryoma's gaze paused for a moment on those iconic curly eyebrows before shifting away as if nothing had happened.
"Seafood risotto, and a bowl of clear soup."
After ordering, Ryoma thought for a moment and added, "Bring me a few more of your signature dishes as well. I'll leave the recommendations to you."
Sanji took down the order efficiently, nodded, and turned to walk toward the kitchen.
While waiting for his meal, Ryoma propped up his chin, idly listening to the chatter of the surrounding diners.
"Did you hear? Krieg is finished. The entire fleet, over three thousand people, were all frozen into blocks of ice."
A merchant with a fleshy face lowered his voice, yet could not hide his excitement.
"It's more than just ice blocks. I heard from my cousin who works on a ship that those pirates were all pierced through by ice spikes growing out from inside their bodies. That scene... tsk tsk, even Hell isn't that scary."
Another patron added, his face a mix of fear and schadenfreude.
"Supposedly it was done by that rookie called the Frost Fairy, the one with an eighty million bounty."
"Eighty million? Are you kidding me? A monster capable of wiping out the Krieg Fleet alone is only worth eighty million? Did those idiots at the Marines miscalculate the bill?"
Ryoma just shook his head slightly, the corner of his lips curling into an imperceptible arc.
Not long after, Sanji walked over carrying a large tray. "Guest, your seafood risotto and clear soup."
He set the plates down steadily.
The golden risotto was garnished with fresh shrimp and scallops, and the rich, milky aroma of cheese assailed the nostrils.
The clear soup was bright and transparent, with only a few pieces of tenderly stewed beef and vegetables, yet it emitted a dense meaty fragrance.
"This is Papanic grilled fish, and pan-seared lamb chops. Please enjoy."
Ryoma picked up a spoon, scooped a mouthful of risotto, and put it into his mouth.
The rice grains were distinct, and the sweetness of the seafood merged perfectly with the richness of the spices, blooming on the tip of his tongue.
He closed his eyes to savor it carefully. This was life, this was the journey he craved. After several days of dry rations, his desire for fine food had reached its peak.
"Delicious." Ryoma praised sincerely.
This craftsmanship lived up to the name of a restaurant on the sea. No wonder Zeff could establish himself in East Blue with this, and no wonder Sanji would become an irreplaceable chef for the Straw Hat crew in the future.
Just as he was immersed in the immense satisfaction brought by the food, a sudden flurry of flapping wings came from outside the window.
"It's a News Coo! Quick, let's see what big news there is today!"
A diner closest to the door shouted and casually tossed out a few Berries.
A News Coo accurately dropped a newspaper and several slips of paper onto his table.
Ryoma glanced at it casually, the movement of the spoon in his hand stalling slightly. On the bounty poster was clearly his own photo, with a striking title and number below it.
The diner picked up the newspaper, his gaze first drawn to those latest bounty posters. He picked up the top one, and with just one look, his entire body froze.
"One... one hundred... and eighty million?!"
Everyone's movements stopped, and they all looked in unison toward the diner who had screamed.
The hand holding the bounty poster was shaking like a leaf.
"A new bounty poster! 'Frost Fairy' Ryoma! Bounty... one hundred and eighty million Berries!"
The entire restaurant erupted.
"What?! One hundred and eighty million?!"
"This... how is this possible!"
"The person in this photo... isn't he..."
The diners cast their gazes toward Ryoma, their faces written with shock and fear.
They whispered among themselves, their voices growing smaller and smaller, carrying an unbelievable tremor.
"He... he's that Frost Fairy?"
"My God. We're actually sitting at the same table as this kind of monster."
The commotion spread rapidly like a tide. Some diners frantically grabbed their things, only to freeze in place, not daring to make the slightest move. They stared fixedly at Ryoma, fearing any action might draw the monster's attention.
Ryoma just glanced at the bounty poster, then at the terrified diners surrounding him.
"Sengoku is quite willing to spend money." He whispered to himself, his voice not loud but clearly reaching the ears of the surrounding diners.
He ignored everyone's reaction and slowly picked up a lamb chop with his fork, continuing to enjoy his meal. It was as if that sky-high bounty and the surrounding panic had nothing to do with him.
This attitude of ignoring everything caused some ill-intentioned individuals, whose eyes had shown greed, to instantly shiver. The delusions in their heads were washed clean by a bucket of ice water.
What a joke!
This was a monster who had single-handedly frozen a fleet of three thousand people.
Just then, the restaurant door was kicked open roughly.
Bang!
Seven or eight pirates, reeking of alcohol and clearly not good news, swaggered in.
The leader was a burly one-eyed man, holding a blood-stained cutlass, arrogantly surveying the room.
"Where's the boss! Bring us your best wine and meat! Today, we, the Black Scorpion Pirates, are going to celebrate here for taking down a ship of Marines!"
Their appearance broke the eerie silence in the restaurant and drew everyone's attention.
The one-eyed pirate immediately saw the conspicuous bounty poster on the table. He grabbed it, and after seeing the numbers and photo clearly, he was first stunned, then burst into a wild laugh.
"Ohohoho! One hundred and eighty million. A brat is actually worth this much money."
His single eye flashed with greedy light, and he scanned the restaurant, quickly locking onto Ryoma.
"Hey! Kid! You're that Frost Fairy?"
The one-eyed man pointed the tip of his blade at Ryoma, his face full of provocation.
"You don't look like much. If you're smart, come with us, and save me the trouble of getting my hands dirty."
Ryoma finally put down his knife and fork. He slowly wiped his mouth with a napkin and then looked up, calmly gazing at the group of fools who didn't know they were committing suicide.
"You're disturbing my meal."
"And... you're very noisy."
The one-eyed man wanted to say something more, but found he could no longer make a sound.
A bone-chilling cold began to spread from his hand holding the blade. He looked down and saw a thin layer of white frost covering his cutlass at a speed visible to the naked eye, climbing up his arm.
Crack.
The blade in his hand froze without warning and then shattered into a floor full of metallic ice crystal shards.
The one-eyed man discovered with even more horror that his body had become incredibly stiff, even moving a finger was now a luxury.
His several companions behind him suffered the same fate, each frozen in place while maintaining their arrogant postures, their faces filled with terror.
Ryoma stood up and glanced at those frozen fellows. Their eyes were wide with immense fear, they wanted to flee but couldn't move an inch.
Zeff had been standing at the kitchen door, watching all this with a cold eye.
He blew out a smoke ring. Amidst the swirling smoke, his expression was exceptionally serious. He turned to look at Sanji and the other chefs beside him.
"Remember this."
Zeff's voice was low and powerful.
"That guy is a true monster. Don't provoke him, and don't disturb him. Do you understand?"
Sanji and the other chefs nodded heavily. They had witnessed Ryoma's move with their own eyes—that power to freeze everything in an instant filled them with sincere dread.
Ryoma walked to the counter and pulled a stack of Berries from his pocket. The amount far exceeded what was needed for his meal, enough even to compensate for the damaged tables and chairs.
He placed the Berries on the counter and glanced toward the kitchen.
Zeff was standing there, his wooden leg particularly prominent, his expression serious to the extreme.
"The cooking was excellent, boss."
Zeff's face was tense, and he just nodded slightly.
"Thanks." Zeff's voice was low.
"You... caused quite a commotion."
Ryoma shrugged, his tone casual. "Trouble always finds its own way to the door, it has nothing to do with me."
He was about to turn and leave when suddenly a familiar and powerful aura came from the waters on the outskirts of Baratie.
Ryoma paused in his movements. He turned his head and looked out through the window.
A familiar dog-headed warship was rapidly sailing toward Baratie.
Ryoma's gaze shifted back to Zeff, and he took a few more Berries from his pocket and placed them on the counter.
"Two more servings of dessert." Ryoma spoke calmly and then sat back in his original seat.
Almost at the same time, a tall figure jumped onto the deck of Baratie with a gust of wind.
Just as everyone in the restaurant was confused, a hearty laugh loud enough to be deafening descended from the sky.
"Kyahahaha! I heard there's good food and an interesting brat here!"
With a thunderous boom, the entire Baratie shook violently as a tall, burly figure smashed down from the sky.