Seaside Barbecue!

Chapter 36: 036. Beach Barbecue!

"Look, that's it."

Mercer scanned the waterlogged parts of the surrounding reefs and quickly found oysters clinging to a rock.

Pointing, Mercer said, "That's them. Pry open the shells and you can eat them. The meat is especially fresh, tender, and smooth."

Karasu immediately took flight, soaring just above the sea's surface. His sharp claws snatched an oyster right off the reef.

He flew into the sky and dropped the oyster onto a rock below.

Crack! A crisp sound.

The oyster shell shattered.

Mercer watched as Karasu flew down, held the oyster with his claws, and used his sharp beak to pry open the shell. He tasted the fresh, tender seafood.

An oyster the size of a palm was devoured in two bites.

Mercer smiled and asked, "How does it taste?"

"Caw~, tender, fresh! Want more," Karasu's eyes lit up as he went to grab another oyster.

"Mei, you eat."

A short while later, Karasu flew over with a smashed oyster in his beak and offered it to Mercer.

"Okay." Mercer smiled and didn't refuse Karasu's kind gesture. He held his fishing rod between his legs and took the oyster.

He put it in his mouth. It was soft, springy, and smooth, with a hint of sweetness in its freshness, but also a strong briny smell.

After finishing, Mercer said, "It's actually even better when grilled. Go gather some dry firewood, and I'll get some seasonings from back there. We'll have grilled oysters here in a bit."

Karasu nodded and flew off. Mercer stuck his fishing rod into a crevice in the reef to secure it, then returned to the warship.

Before long, he was back in the kitchen, preparing cooking oil, sesame oil, oyster sauce, minced garlic, minced ginger, chopped scallions, steamed fish soy sauce, and minced onion.

He also brought a special grilling net.

Along the way, some villagers pointed and whispered at him.

When he arrived at the reef, Karasu had already prepared a pile of dry firewood and placed it in a stone pit.

He built a fire pit with stones and lit the wood. A large fire roared to life. Mercer went to the reef piles to find oysters and edible shellfish.

He soon found a large pile, then used his short sword, Cold Dew, to pry open the oysters and rinse them in clean seawater.

Half an hour later.

Today was lucky; a fish actually bit the hook. It was an unknown sea fish, and quite large, weighing a good seven or eight pounds. Mercer happily gutted and cleaned it.

All preparations were complete, and the firewood had turned to charcoal with little smoke. Mercer brushed a layer of oil onto the iron net over the fire pit and placed the oysters, still in their left shells, onto the net.

He sprinkled the oyster meat inside the shells with chopped scallions and garlic, then drizzled on oyster sauce and sesame oil. Soon, the oysters, cooked by the charcoal fire, began to sizzle and drip oil.

They were done.

Not minding the heat, he quickly took one out and placed it in front of Karasu.

"Eat up. If it's too hot, wait a moment."

Mercer took a grilled oyster and placed it between himself and Karasu, then continued grilling.

He brushed a layer of sauce onto one side of the grilled fish that was almost done, flipped it, and continued grilling.

"I knew I'd find you here. Little Mercer."

Just then, a familiar voice called out. Mercer turned his head.

About ten meters away, a girl, now around fourteen or fifteen years old and quite pretty, had appeared.

She wore a white plaid shirt under a red sleeveless jacket. Her firm, slightly full legs were clad in light blue trousers with a simple pattern.

On her feet were a pair of dark brown deerskin boots.

Her skin, exposed to the air, was fair and smooth.

Her dark green hair was tied into a high ponytail behind her head.

A strand of hair fell from each side of her forehead, framing a delicate and pretty face that was currently looking at him with a pout.

Mercer blinked, looking at the slightly larger Makino who had suddenly appeared, and asked in confusion, "How did you know I was here?"

"What do you think?" Makino pouted and walked over. Not minding the dirt, she plopped down on a reef opposite Mercer.

"You were seen with a barbecue net, and everyone knows the grandson of Mr. Garp went to the beach to fish. The whole port knows. My house isn't far from the dock, so I heard.

Besides, you came here for a picnic without even coming to see me. Do you even consider me your sister?

Why didn't you come the last few times Mr. Garp visited? Were you busy with something?"

Makino stared at Mercer, venting her complaints for a good while.

Actually, what she didn't say was that after she learned Garp's warship had arrived, she specifically went to ask about it.

After learning Mercer had gone to the village chief's house, she also ran over there, then found out he had come to fish, but when she looked for him, she didn't see him at all.

Then, not long after returning home, she heard villagers say Garp's grandson seemed to have gone for a barbecue about half an hour ago, so she hurried over.

Only now did she finally see him.

Why is it so hard to see you?

Thinking this, Makino shot Mercer a fierce glare, her face unhappy, giving him a "hurry up and comfort me" expression.

Mercer smiled helplessly and handed Makino a piece of oyster: "Plans can't keep up with changes. I've been busy with my own affairs these past two years, which has caused some delays."

Makino looked at it, reached out and took the oyster, and asked curiously: "Can you tell me what it was?"

As she spoke, she took a small Surgical Knife that Mercer handed her and, at his signal, used the Surgical Knife to pick up a piece of oyster and eat it.

As soon as she ate it, her eyes lit up. Looking at the rich ingredients inside, she squinted and smiled:

"Not bad, Mercer, I didn't expect you could barbecue."

"Of course. Barbecuing is a small matter I can handle. It's not a big deal, I just learned a craft, Forging," Mercer said simply.

"Are you a blacksmith?" Makino blinked, feeling a bit strange. "You're so young, are you an apprentice?"

Mercer gave her a strange look and couldn't help but retort:

"I'm this small, who would want me as an apprentice?"

Makino froze. After thinking about it, she realized he was right. She then frowned and looked at Mercer:

"Are you lying to me again?"

"When did I lie to you?"

"You said you were alone before, and then your grandfather, Mr. Garp, appeared."

"We weren't familiar then! Besides, I already apologized."

"Did you?" Makino asked doubtfully. "If you had apologized, I would definitely remember. I'm sure you didn't."

"Didn't I give you a deer before I left?" Mercer asked. "It was a return gift, and also an apology. Didn't I say that?"

"You! Did! Not!"

Makino said word by word, then laughed again. "You didn't say anything at all. You just said, 'This deer is for you as a return gift,' and then you left."

"Oh, then I forgot. I'll make up for it now," Mercer said with a grin.

Makino stuck out her tongue speechlessly, complaining: "It can be like that? Then I've waited a really long time for this apology."

Flipping the grilled fish, Mercer glanced at Makino and said, "Eat! Eat quickly, I'm still grilling."

"Oh? Oh."

Makino ate heartily, not being polite at all. Mercer smiled at this.

The two chatted and laughed, eating oysters. When the fish was grilled, Mercer used a Surgical Knife to divide it into three portions.

One for you, one for me, and one for it.

As for their luck, it was unknown if it was particularly good, but a lobster and a flat sea fish took the bait one after another.

The variety of seafood they ate also increased.

"Mercer, is that... a sea worm?" Karasu suddenly asked, pointing a wing at the mud and sand in the gap between two reefs about ten meters away. "How strange."

Mercer looked. It was pink and tender, like a long intestine, wriggling in the damp mud and sand. "That's called a square-spotted sea worm, also known as a sea intestine. It tastes very good, just like sausage."

Before he finished speaking, Karasu flapped its wings and flew over, firmly grasping it with one claw.

When it reached Mercer, it loosened its grip, and the sea worm flew towards Mercer. Seeing this, Mercer directly held up his Surgical Knife.

The sea worm was directly pierced. Mercer rolled his eyes at it, stood up, walked a couple of steps to the sea, dug open the sea worm along its digestive tract, and washed out the sand inside with seawater.

After washing it clean, he coated it with oil and placed it on the grill.

At this moment, Makino looked at Mercer, somewhat surprised: "Mercer, did that crow just speak? I've wanted to ask for a while, did you raise it?"

Mercer's lips curved into an arc. He looked at Makino and said, "I thought you'd never ask. I saw you looking at my crow non-stop just now."

Makino blinked, then smiled playfully: "Beautiful things naturally attract people's attention. It's normal for this crow to attract attention because it's so beautiful."

At this moment, Karasu cawed with laughter. It first looked at Mercer, and its hoarse voice rang out: "Crow is not, your bird. Crow's, body and mind belong, to Crow. Mercer, is just, boss."

Saying this, it looked at Makino again, its bird eyes scanning her up and down. It made a "tsk tsk" sound from its beak, then hoarsely said:

"Woman, Crow is beautiful, Crow knows. But Crow, has a family. Crow, has, wife and children. You and Crow, no chance."

Seeing Makino's stunned expression, Karasu mocked: "Woman, looks, quite good. Too bad, she's an idiot. Caw caw caw~ Mercer, doesn't like, idiots either. Caw caw caw."

Hearing the last sentence, Mercer's face darkened. He reached out and pinched Karasu's beak, saying speechlessly: "You haven't had anything to drink, what nonsense are you talking? She was just complimenting you, why the personal attack?"

Karasu shook its head. Seeing that it couldn't break free, it stopped struggling, but glared at Makino, as if it had something to say. Seeing this, Mercer said:

"I can let go of you, but you're not allowed to make personal attacks anymore."

Karasu nodded.

Mercer let go, and Karasu immediately spoke, "Crow found you before, from the sky, Mercer, places you've been, you've been to them all. Originally, I thought it was a coincidence and didn't pay it any mind.

Listening to your words just now.

But now, Crow has discovered that you've been looking for Mercer, right?"

Listening to Karasu's analysis, Mercer smiled and looked at Makino, "Were you looking for me just now?"

Makino blushed, feeling a bit ashamed. She hadn't expected to be exposed by a crow, let alone a talking one.

And to have it said right in front of her.

Makino felt a flicker of panic, but only a flicker. She then smiled sweetly at Mercer and generously admitted:

"That's right, I was looking for you before. After all, Mercer, you're so interesting, and I don't have any peers in the village.

Either they're older than me, and it's boring to play with them, or they're younger and too childish. Compared to them, you're much more interesting. Although you're younger than me, you're not childish at all.

So, I was thinking if Mr. Garp came back, you would come with him.

But I didn't expect that Mr. Garp has returned several times in the past two years, and you haven't come even once.

I even asked Mr. Garp, and he said he didn't know what you were up to.

So, I decided that every time Mr. Garp comes, I'll ask. I want to see if your words count. How many 'next times' will it take for you to come?"

As she spoke, Makino glared resentfully at Mercer and continued to complain:

"But I didn't expect you to come this time, and I couldn't find you for the longest time. How can you run around so much? Can't you just fish in one spot?"

Mercer blinked, looking at Makino, who was spewing complaints like popping beans, and looked at her with pity:

"You've had a hard time, haven't you? You don't even have any peers to talk to here. How pitiful. I at least have Doctor Doriel, a Panda, and a family of crows."

Hearing Mercer's words, Makino's eyes went blank, and then her eyes were also filled with pity as she sighed at Mercer:

"So you're even more pitiful than I am. I at least have a whole village of people to talk to, while you only have an old grandma, a bear, and some birds."

Mercer's expression turned speechless, "Old grandma?"

Makino nodded, "Mr. Garp said it once, 'That Mercer guy lives in the mountains with a reclusive old woman.'"

Hearing this, Mercer's teeth ached slightly, but he had to explain to avoid serious misunderstandings.

A moment later.

Makino gave a dry laugh.

A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. She hadn't expected Mercer's "old woman" to be like that.

Although her body was old, her physical condition and mental age were like those of a young person.

And a chef who ate a Devil Fruit, a miner Panda.

A family of talking crows.

Everything was completely different from what Mr. Garp had said. Mercer's life was incredibly interesting.

As expected, Mr. Garp was too unreliable, even slandering others casually.

Makino couldn't help but puff out her cheeks and take a big bite of the grilled fish, "Sorry."

Mercer was a little surprised and asked confusedly, "Sorry for what?"

"Because I called your doctor an old lady."

"It's nothing. Some people there call her a witch, call her a damned old hag."

"Then the people there are too mean."

"It's okay. Doctor Doriel charges a lot for her treatments. Besides, anyone who dared to curse her got beaten back by her."

"Beaten?"

"Yeah, beaten. The kind of beating that kicks down a wall."

"Mercer, you're joking again, right? How can a person kick down a wall? Haha. Haha."

After two dry laughs, seeing Mercer's calm expression, Makino had to calm down.

She rubbed her head in distress and sighed, looking at Mercer, "Hey~ Mercer, have you ever thought about why there's such a big difference between people?"

"I can't even break a wooden stake as thick as my fist, but some people can smash a stone wall with one punch.

I saw it once with my own eyes. It was so scary. I even thought that wall was dilapidated at the time."

"Why is the gap between people so big? It's like they're two different species."

"I'm really lucky to be alive and healthy."

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