After the Knight's not-so-obedient mount had been subdued through everyone's combined efforts, the area outside the restaurant returned to its usual calm.
The security guards once again stood in two straight lines by the entrance, creating the prestigious atmosphere of an upscale establishment.
Just then, another guest arrived outside the restaurant—a young girl.
Compared to the Knight from before, clad in heavy armor and carrying a greatsword, this female guest was obviously dressed much more poorly:
A simple striped short-sleeved shirt, a skirt reaching past her hips that had been washed somewhat pale, and a pair of flat, thick-heeled shoes worn only by common girls doing manual labor.
Though she was a girl in the prime of youth, she was unwilling to spend even a little extra money on dressing herself up.
This guest was clearly no rich person.
A restaurant of this caliber had never welcomed customers whose appearance practically had the word "poor" written on them;
And aside from setting the mood and holding dogs and reins for Knights, the security guards standing straight at the door had the primary duty of politely turning away these clueless poor people.
"Politely" as in "physically."
But this time, they made no move.
Because although the girl before them looked poor, she possessed another kind of capital:
Gem-like orange eyes nestled amid lovely features; bright, lightly curled orange hair resting snugly above her delicate, fair collarbones; jade-white skin tinged with the healthy blush granted by a long life at sea. Under the warm noon sunlight, she looked exceptionally warm and dazzling.
Though young, her figure was already remarkably impressive. Her upright chest stretched that plain short-sleeved shirt into an eye-catching sight, while her long legs, barely concealed by the short skirt, were so fair they stirred the heart.
Despite wearing no accessories or splendid clothes, she displayed feminine charm to the fullest.
Such beauty was itself priceless capital.
Naturally, the security guards would not stop someone like her, while even the beautiful hostess instinctively felt somewhat inferior.
As the Orange-Haired Girl passed through the entrance, she gave the security guards on either side a playful smile, immediately leaving several young men feeling flustered.
Clearly, this girl knew how to use her charm.
In fact, this was one of the means by which she survived on these seas.
She used her beauty to play the part of a weak girl, lowering her targets' guard when the opportunity arose, winning their sympathy, or even charming them senseless, before finally using a few tricks to obtain their money and treasures.
This girl was Cat Burglar Nami, the Beautiful Thief with a modest reputation in the East Blue Sea, who sailed the seas with the goal of earning one hundred million Beli.
Meteorology, geography, oceanography, physics, navigation, mathematics, art, driving.
There was nothing she did not excel at, nothing she did not understand.
At the same time, her life as a thief had given her exceptional fighting skills, thieving skills, gambling skills, and acting skills.
She was both a top student with solid academic foundations and a hardened member of society bearing the Arlong Tattoo, while also possessing such natural beauty.
She could be called perfect.
But for the broad working masses at the bottom of society, "earning one hundred million" was no small goal. Even a perfect person would not have it easy.
Nami had worked hard for years, yet she was still nearly twenty million short of her one hundred million Beli goal.
Driven by that desperate wish, Nami had no choice but to give up all comfort and work day after day for that enormous sum of money.
And now.
Having just made a substantial haul from a fairly notorious pirate crew, Nami immediately threw herself back into her booming money-making enterprise without stopping to rest.
That was right. She had not come to the restaurant to eat, but to work.
Besides snatching food from the jaws of vicious pirates, Nami also ran another business with low risk and high returns:
She used a few small tricks to win rich people's trust, then waited for an opportunity to steal their gold, silver, and treasures.
Her targets were naturally wealthy people whose virtue did not match their status and whose intelligence could not keep up with their bank balances, especially rich men blinded by lust.
And such rich people—or rather, suckers—usually gathered in upscale restaurants.
So whenever Nami rested on a sufficiently prosperous large island, she would drop by the island's high-end restaurants and bars to search for prey.
She had never failed so far.
Even with the worst luck, there would at least be some self-proclaimed gentleman of noble birth willing to pay for a lavish meal for a beautiful lady like Nami.
Thus, the moment she entered the restaurant's front doors, Miss Nami entered work mode:
The playful smile on her face instantly transformed into faint sorrow, her bright eyes took on a dim glimmer, and the spirited girl of the sea became a helpless, fragile little girl in an instant.
This was one of Nami's basic survival skills: acting.
Rich men loved little girls who looked innocent and helpless like this.
Dressed like this, Nami did not even need to take the trouble of approaching anyone. Some nobles and wealthy merchants wanting to help a pitiful girl would naturally swarm around her like flies.
The same was true today.
But Nami did not choose a target among the foolish rich men who had approached her. Her EX-rank treasure-seeking eyes, a Noble Phantasm for money, had already locked onto a more noteworthy target:
A... show-off sitting in the VIP section, stuffing his face with a table full of food.
At first glance, Miss Nami had assigned a malicious label to that burly young man with a handsome face.
A guy who wore a full set of Noble Knight Armor and displayed a precious Golden Silver Greatsword while dining in a restaurant could absolutely be called a show-off.
And this Knight's table manners were terrible. "Devouring food like a whirlwind" and "wolfing it down" were perfectly apt descriptions.
Rather than an aristocrat, he ate more like a nouveau riche.
The only things on him that could attract Miss Nami were the gorgeous armor, the broad greatsword, and the dazzling Sapphire on the armor and weapon.
Appraising treasures was also one of Cat Burglar Nami's signature skills.
When stealing, she had to judge which treasures were valuable and which were fakes in order to obtain the greatest return with the least space and in the shortest time.
Her eyes, which had seen countless treasures, could tell at a glance that the enormous gemstone was no shoddy imitation, but a natural treasure formed through the accumulation of countless years.
As for the armor and greatsword, they were clearly supported by unique craftsmanship and materials, and were undoubtedly the work of masters.
Rich. Too rich!
Nami swiftly estimated the value of this "show-off nouveau riche" in her heart, reaching a startling conclusion within mere seconds:
If she sold this idiot, then after buying Cocoyasi Village, she would probably still have enough money left to buy several of Arlong's heads.
Two Beli symbols immediately popped into Nami's eyes beyond her control, sparkling with glittering golden light:
Stupid, rich, nouveau riche—this was guaranteed profit!
Thus, Nami adjusted herself, disguised herself as a fragile girl, and slowly approached the nouveau riche Knight.
Normally, Nami only needed to get close before those nouveau riche men who "cherished beauty" would take the initiative to invite her to sit down.
But—
A minute passed.
The "nouveau riche," Garen, showed no reaction. He merely kept his head down and ate, never once raising it.
He was simply too hungry.
Ever since he had followed the flow and entered this restaurant in another world, he had been eating nonstop.
This body's strength far exceeded Garen's understanding of the human body, and it possessed an inhumanly enormous demand for food.
Garen felt as though he had already eaten an entire cow.
Although most of the meat he had eaten did not seem to be beef, but meat he had never tried before—meat that could be said to have come from unknown creatures.
But he had already seen a three-meter-tall Teddy and a four-meter-tall "giant," so there was no need to be surprised by the strange ingredients on the table.
This world was obviously not a normal one, but starving Garen had no mind to explore where he was.
All he had to do was keep eating.
Even though a great beauty was beside him, posing with a hand over her heart like Xi Shi and acting utterly pitiful.
"This glutton."
Nami clenched her fists in anger.
But for the money, Nami still chose to endure.
"Knight?"
Nami clasped her hands over her heart and approached Garen with a pitiful expression.
"Hm?"
Garen suddenly looked up, fresh sauce still clinging to the corner of his mouth. "Are you here to serve more food?"
"Ha ha."
Behind Nami's smile was a heart that wanted to chop someone to death.
She did not even know how to respond.
Fortunately, that nouveau riche Knight took the initiative to play along.
After realizing that she was not a server, Garen examined the "helpless girl" before him who inspired such pity.
An unscientific figure, short orange hair, vaguely familiar features...
Why does she feel like someone I've seen before?
As he thought, Garen's gaze upon Nami grew increasingly absorbed.
"Tch."
Nami spat disdainfully in her heart:
As expected, he's a useless fool. He's still been charmed senseless by this young lady!
So Nami forced out a textbook-perfect fake smile and asked softly:
"Knight, what is it?"
Garen finally realized how rude he had been. He hurriedly withdrew that easily misunderstood gaze and said somewhat awkwardly:
"Sorry!"
"I just think you look a lot like someone I remember."
Heh.
What a cliché pickup line!
In her heart, Nami added another label to this nouveau riche: severely intellectually deficient.
"Is that so?"
Yet the smile on Nami's face grew even sweeter. "Then I'm truly honored!"
Thus, Cat Burglar Nami smoothly lowered herself into a seat beside the nouveau riche Garen.
Before you continue