By the time Ra reached the entrance to the cafeteria, the sun had just set. The dinner bell had rung half an hour earlier.
Through the windows, the room was brightly lit. The pirates' laughter and arguments were still clearly audible through the wooden doors and stone walls.
"Hey! Look, those two brats are still eating!
They haven't stopped since dinner started half an hour ago!"
A pirate holding a wineglass pointed at Oshi and Obe, who were feasting nearby, and spoke to the people around him.
"They've eaten more than they weigh! How do they do that?!"
"Could they have some kind of special ability? Burufatt brought those two brats here.
Speaking of which, where's Burufatt?"
"Over by the serving counter." The pirate who had been asked pointed toward the food counter.
At that moment, Burufatt was holding a bottle of strong liquor, his face flushed as he shouted, "Come on, Red-haired girl, beat your sister!
Hahahaha! Don't chicken out, that's it!
Glug glug glug~
Drink up! Ah, that hits the spot!"
Seeing Burufatt take the lead, the other pirates began egging them on as well.
"Come on, Red-haired girl! Don't stop! I bet ten thousand Berries on you!"
"I put twenty thousand Berries on you, Blue-haired girl! Don't embarrass yourself!"
"Hmph. How vulgar. I didn't come here to be your boring after-dinner entertainment."
Obe stopped eating, drank a glass of juice, then elegantly wiped her mouth with a napkin. She was full.
Oshi beside her, however, showed no intention of stopping. She was still stuffing a chunk of meat on a bone as big as her head into her mouth...
"Haha, I won!"
"Hey, whoever lost, pay up~"
"Oh! Well done, Red-haired girl! Hahahahaha!"
Burufatt, who had also won his bet, laughed loudly before chugging the remaining half-bottle of liquor in one go.
Some rejoiced while others mourned. The winners were beaming, while the losers looked utterly miserable.
"Damn it! I was so close! My Berries!"
"Wuwuwu~ I lost all the money I had for Miss Lilith. Tonight, I can only squeeze into the communal bunkroom."
"Don't be sad, brother. You may not be able to spend the night with Miss Lilith, but you still have me~"
"Huh? What, what do you mean?"
The pirate awkwardly shifted his butt farther away.
"I mean—I can completely take your place and look after Miss Lilith tonight~
After all, I just won quite a few Berries. Hahaha~"
"Get lost!"
"Hey, Old Cook, I remember there's still some of that stuff left. Bring it out," Burufatt called toward the kitchen after tossing aside his empty bottle.
"Got it."
An old pirate dressed in a spotless chef's uniform and a tall chef's hat answered. He then turned and carefully took a bottle of rather expensive-looking liquor from the kitchen's ice cellar.
Burufatt had seized it from a luxury merchant ship not long ago.
Afraid that he would drink it all at once if he kept it near himself, he had stored it in the cafeteria kitchen. Whenever he craved some, he would ask for a small cup.
After taking the bottle from Old Cook and shaking it to confirm there was not much left, Burufatt simply snapped off the bottleneck, poured Oshi a small cup, and then drank straight from the bottle without worrying about cutting his mouth.
"Haha~ That's good!
Oshi, kid, have a taste. This is fine liquor supplied exclusively to Fish-Man Island Royalty.
They say it's brewed using a mermaid secret technique. I only managed to get my hands on it with great difficulty a while back."
"Mmm, mmmmmm, mmmmmm... (Really? Let me try it. I've never had any alcohol besides beer.)"
With her mouth stuffed full of food, Oshi mumbled as she picked up the glass, preparing to find out what fine liquor from this other world tasted like.
But just as her lips were about to touch the rim, a fair, slender hand grabbed her wrist.
Feeling the resistance, Oshi tugged, but could not pull free.
Unwilling to accept that, she pulled harder again, but still could not move it...
"Mmmmm! (Who, who's interfering with my drinking!)"
Oshi turned around and glared unhappily at the owner of the hand.
What entered her sight was a lock of brilliant golden hair and a familiar face wearing an unfamiliar smile.
"Pfft! Cough cough... cough! S-S-Sister Ra? W-Why are you here?!"
The instant she recognized the newcomer, Oshi sprang straight up from her chair.
She looked like a middle schooler who had lied to her parents about going to tutoring, sneaked off to an internet café, and been caught red-handed.
Upon seeing the oddly familiar smile on Ra's face, Obe immediately stood up and explained, "Report, Big Sister! Oshi acted alone in this matter of drinking. I have not touched a drop. Please judge fairly, Big Sister!"
This traitor!
Oshi turned back and stared at Obe in disbelief as she kicked her while she was down.
"U-Um, Sister Ra, please let me explain.
I-I didn't actually know this was alcohol. I thought it was juice~ Haha~" Oshi attempted one last desperate struggle.
Ra ignored Oshi and instead said to Burufatt, "Mr. Burufatt, my sisters are both still underage. Please do not try to make them drink again, all right?"
"Haha, it's fine! When I was her age, I could drink eighteen in one—"
"All right?" Ra unusually interrupted him halfway through.
"Uh, y-yes, all right. I promise," Burufatt said. His instincts told him that this was not the time to say another word.
This feeling... it's like facing the legendary Sea God in a rage.
The other pirates also fell silent, not even daring to breathe too loudly. The once-noisy cafeteria had become so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.
"Oshi, come outside with me."
Not allowing the suffocating silence to last too long, Ra released Oshi's arm. After leaving those words behind, she headed outside first.
Oshi stood where she was and looked around for help, but every pirate she saw turned their head away, as if they had suddenly developed a keen interest in the cafeteria's interior design.
"Obe, my dear little sister, you..."
"Hehe~
I've always wanted to see that expression on your face—the helpless expression of someone called outside by the homeroom teacher!
My dear second sister~" Obe gave Oshi an exaggerated grin that completely shattered her usual persona.
"I've remembered it all this time~
What. Happened. That. Day!"
"You..."
"Oshi." Ra, who had already reached the door, turned back and urged her again.
Oshi shuddered from head to toe, losing both her words and strength. As though chains had been fastened around her by the reapers, she shuffled toward the door one step at a time.
The door slowly closed, but no one dared make a sound. Only after quite a while did some of the bolder pirates begin whispering among themselves.
"Th-that's the new officer? She's terrifying!" one pirate said in a lowered voice.
"I almost thought I wouldn't live to see tomorrow's sun!"
"She's clearly so small, but she feels like one of those giant Sea Kings! Like she could swallow us whole at any moment."
"Big Brother Burufatt, just who is this new officer?"
"I don't know. I heard from King that she was recruited after fighting Boss Kaido. Boss Kaido gave her an officer's position right away."
"Gasp~ She fought Boss Kaido?!
That's insane! She looks like she's only around ten years old..."
"Yeah, yeah. With those thin arms and legs, she looks more delicate than the daughters of noble families. If nobody told me otherwise, I'd think some country's princess had come here."
"All right, all right. Just behave yourselves around her from now on. She's definitely not someone you want to provoke." Burufatt pushed through the crowd and left the cafeteria.
Before you continue