Night Banquet

Night was the pirates' time, so the Beasts cafeteria usually stayed open past midnight.

Bang!

"Hey! Cook! Bring me some meat, and fill up my gourd with booze!"

Captain Kaido shoved open the cafeteria doors without ceremony, then went straight to the nearest empty seat.

"Please give me one of your specialty dishes and a glass of juice, Chef," Ra said as she entered after him and sat to his left.

"K-Kaido, boss, you're here!"

The pirates who had been drinking, bragging, and passing the night away immediately stood up to greet their captain when they saw him arrive.

"Don't mind me. Keep going!" Kaido took back the wine gourd Cook handed him and resumed drinking on his own.

With Kaido saying so, the others relaxed, and the noise gradually swelled again.

Pirates were people who did whatever they pleased by nature.

At that moment, though, a captain from the combat division was egged on by the others into approaching Kaido.

"Say, Boss Kaido, when are we going after John and his lot? Ships from Hachinosu Island have been hanging around us these past few months!"

It was the question every pirate present wanted to ask.

"Yeah! Anyone who didn't know better would think this was his turf!"

"Those guys are like flies. Chase them off, and they come right back. Lately, they've scared off all the merchant ships from coming anywhere near here."

Most of the Beasts Pirates were dissatisfied with the recent harassment from the John Pirates.

"Gulp gulp gulp~ Just wait. John won't be hopping around for much longer!"

Hearing that, the surrounding pirates crowded around Kaido and Ra's table.

"Oh? Boss Kaido, do you have some news?"

"Heh! Do you know why John's been making so many moves lately?"

Without waiting for them to shake their heads, Kaido continued.

"After that bastard Rocks died, John immediately went back and took Hachinosu Island, along with most of the treasure on it!

Back then, everyone was busy carving up territory and building their forces, so no one wanted to waste time going all out against him.

But my old comrades—those ambitious bastards—would never forget such a juicy piece of meat. John must have realized that some of them were getting restless and ready to make a move, which was why he'd been sending people to keep watch around the area lately."

"Huh? Why didn't anyone want to fight John to the bitter end back then? That was Rocks' headquarters and his treasure!" one pirate asked in confusion.

"Simple. John wasn't weak to begin with. Forcing a fight would only leave both sides badly wounded and let others reap the benefits for nothing. Besides, Rocks' territory was so vast back then that there was no need to fixate on Hachinosu Island."

"As for the treasure... there was nowhere safer than leaving it with John. That greedy bastard would never allow even the slightest bit of it to go missing."

As "companions" who had spent a long time aboard the same ship, everyone knew John's greed all too well.

If that treasure had been entrusted to anyone else, it might have been squandered in no time. But with him... not only would none of it disappear, it might even accumulate quite a bit of "interest"~

"Then... then should we go grab some too when the time comes?"

After hearing Kaido's analysis, the pirates around them were eager to try. That was Rocks' Treasure!

Some of them could practically see the wonderful sight of themselves being completely buried beneath mountains of gold coins on Hachinosu Island.

"Of course! I picked my target long ago!"

After saying that, Kaido glanced at Ra and found that she seemed utterly uninterested. She was merely looking past the surrounding pirates toward the serving counter.

Kaido was just about to say something else when Ra softly remarked, "Dinner's here."

A few seconds later, Cook appeared at the serving window, carrying two portions of grilled Sea King steak, one large and one small. He steadily set them before the two of them, and the pirates made room.

The moment the steaks hit the table, Kaido grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth. After chewing twice, he washed it down with a gulp of alcohol, while Ra looked at Cook with some confusion.

In response to her questioning look, Cook explained, "Miss Ra, this grilled steak is my best dish."

"It's filling and comes in large portions, so lots of people order it. I've made it often enough to get good at it. I'll go get you a knife and fork. Please give it a try."

Cook had originally intended to call Ra "my lady," but after seeing her bearing, he felt that "Miss" suited her better.

He had once been a chef aboard an aristocratic cruise ship. After pirates attacked them at sea, he was sold to the New World. Only after much hardship and wandering did he eventually join the Beasts Pirates as the cafeteria's head chef.

Having once served nobles, he cared rather deeply about such forms of address.

"Do you have chopsticks?" Ra was not used to using a dinner knife.

"Uh, sorry. No one here uses chopsticks, so we haven't prepared any."

"To be honest, they rarely even use knives and forks," Cook added apologetically.

"Then just bring me a knife and fork." Ra did not make things difficult for Cook any further.

Before long, a metal knife and fork were brought over. Ra awkwardly handled the utensils before her, cut off a small piece of steak, and placed it in her mouth.

"Wororororo~ What, not used to those things, Ra brat? Looking at you, you really aren't some noble family's young lady!"

Ra did not answer immediately. She slowly swallowed the food in her mouth before saying, "I already told you that I'm just an ordinary person, Captain Kaido. And I don't think a set of tableware can distinguish nobles from commoners."

"Because the noble young ladies we've seen all sit properly like you do, then use knives and forks to eat one small bite at a time, Ra... uh, my lady."

After thinking it over for a long time, one pirate decided to address Ra as "my lady."

After all, judging by Kaido's attitude toward her earlier, he clearly valued her greatly.

"Yeah, yeah, those young ladies eat like they're doing embroidery, taking forever~ Ah! I wasn't talking about you, Lady Ra," another pirate chimed in.

"A sage once said: 'Food should be prepared with care, and meat should be cut finely.' Eating slowly is good for the body.

"And when all is said and done, so-called nobles only maintain their lavish lifestyles by plundering the wealth of commoners, then use their boring bloodlines to flaunt their supposed uniqueness and 'nobility.'

"In essence, they are no different from pirates. No one is nobler than anyone else."

"Worororororo~ Well said! Those high-and-mighty pieces of trash are no different from us. They're all just thieves!"

"Did that sage say this too?" Kaido seemed quite taken with Ra's words.

"That was said by another sage."

"That sage was right! Those nobles are no different from trash like me!"

As if some emotion had been ignited, some of the pirates began venting their dissatisfaction and resentment without restraint.

"To hell with the World Nobles! They're nothing but a bunch of stupid pigs!" A slave who had luckily escaped from God Valley back then suddenly cried out through tears.

"Yeah! Those damned Celestial Dragons are nothing but mongrels raised in pens!" The other pirates were swept up as well, shouting one after another.

"And that damned Tenryubito's Gold! Without that crap, I'd still be back home in North Blue with my wife and kids!"

"Sooner or later, I'll sell all those nobles off as slaves too."

It had to be said that quite a few pirates had only gone to sea because they had been exploited so badly by royal families and nobles that they could no longer survive.

Whether out of jealousy or hatred, they all harbored deep dissatisfaction and malice toward those in power under the World Government's current system.

More and more people joined in venting their emotions, and their voices grew louder and louder. Yet Kaido showed no intention of stopping them. If anything, he seemed pleased to see it.

At last, some nearby townspeople were awakened by the noise.

"What the hell is that? Who's shouting?"

"What are these guys going crazy for in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?!"

"Waaah~ waaah..."

"Damn it! I finally got the kid to sleep."

Ra felt somewhat helpless. Honestly, she had not expected this group of pirates to hold such deep resentment toward so-called nobles.

Though she had no interest in this world's backward system or the conflicts between its various classes, the noise around her left her with no mood to continue eating.

So she could only carry her plate into the kitchen, closing the door behind her to shut out the noise.

And so, amid the noisy clamor of the crowd, the night quietly came to an end.