Barbecue by the Sea!

"Look, right there."

Mercer scanned the parts of the surrounding reefs that were underwater and quickly spotted oysters clinging to one of them.

He pointed and said, "Those are oysters. Pry the shells open and you can eat them. The meat's especially fresh, tender, and smooth."

Karasu flew straight over, skimming across the surface of the sea. With his sharp claws, he plucked an oyster right off the reef.

He flew up into the sky and dropped it onto another reef below.

Crack!

The oyster shell broke apart on impact.

Mercer watched Karasu swoop down, pin the oyster with his claws, and pry open the shell with his sharp beak. He got to taste the fresh, tender seafood.

The palm-sized oyster was gone in two bites.

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

"Caw~ Tender, fresh! More, please." Karasu's eyes lit up, and he went to grab more oysters.

"Mercer, you eat."

Before long, Karasu brought over an oyster whose shell had been smashed open and offered it to Mercer.

"Sure." Mercer smiled. He didn't refuse Karasu's kind offer, holding the fishing rod between his legs as he reached out to take the oyster.

The meat was soft and springy, with a faint sweetness amid the fresh flavor, though it also had a fairly strong sea smell.

After finishing it, Mercer said, "Actually, they taste even better grilled. Go gather some dry firewood. I'll head back and get some seasonings. Then we can have grilled oysters here."

Karasu nodded and flew off. Mercer wedged the fishing rod into a crack in the reef to hold it in place, then returned to the warship.

Before long, he had gathered cooking oil, sesame oil, oyster sauce, minced garlic, minced ginger, chopped scallions, seasoned soy sauce for steamed fish, and minced onion from the kitchen.

He also brought along a special wire mesh for grilling.

On the way, several villagers pointed at him and whispered.

When he reached the reef,

a pile of dry firewood was already waiting, gathered by Karasu and dumped into a hollow between some rocks.

Mercer stacked stones into a fire pit and lit the wood. Flames soon roared upward. He went to search the reef for oysters and edible shellfish.

Before long, he had gathered a huge pile. Using his short sword, Cold Dew, he pried open the oysters and rinsed them in clean seawater.

Half an hour later.

They were in luck today: a fish had taken the bait. It was an unfamiliar kind of sea fish, and a decent-sized one at that, weighing a good seven or eight pounds. Mercer happily gutted and cleaned it.

With everything ready and the wood turned to coals, there was hardly any smoke. Mercer brushed oil over the wire mesh above the fire pit and placed the oysters, each with one half of its shell still attached, on top.

He sprinkled the oyster meat with scallions, garlic, and the other seasonings, then drizzled on oyster sauce and sesame oil. Before long, the oysters began sizzling and bubbling over the charcoal.

They were done.

Without worrying about the heat, he quickly took an oyster off the grill and set it in front of Karasu.

"Go ahead and eat. If it's too hot, just wait a bit."

Mercer took another grilled oyster off the mesh and placed it between himself and Karasu, then continued grilling.

He brushed a layer of sauce over the fish, which was nearly done on one side, then turned it over to grill the other side.

"I knew it. You're here, little Mercer."

Just then,

a familiar voice called out, and Mercer turned to look.

A pretty girl of about fourteen or fifteen had appeared ten or so meters away.

She wore a white checked shirt beneath a red sleeveless vest, and pale blue trousers with a simple pattern over her shapely, sturdy legs.

On her feet were short, dark brown deerskin boots.

The skin exposed to the air was fair and smooth.

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

A lock of hair hung down on either side of her forehead. Her pretty, delicate face was now looking at him with a sulky expression.

Mercer blinked, puzzled by the sudden appearance of a grown-up Makino. "How did you know I was here?"

"What do you think?" Makino puffed out her cheeks and walked over. She didn't mind getting dirty as she plopped down on the reef opposite Mercer.

"Someone saw you carrying a wire mesh for grilling. Garp's grandson went down to the seaside to catch fish.

The whole port knows about it. My house isn't far from the docks, so of course I heard.

Anyway, you came back and didn't even come see me. You just went off on a picnic by yourself. Do you even still think of me as your big sister?

How come you didn't come when Mr. Garp visited the last few times? Have you been busy with something?"

Makino stared at Mercer and complained for quite a while.

What she didn't mention was that after hearing Garp's warship had arrived, she'd made a special trip over to ask about him.

When she found out Mercer had gone to the village chief's house, she'd gone there too. Then she heard he'd gone fishing, but when she came looking, she couldn't find him anywhere.

Not long after she got home, she heard villagers say that half an hour earlier, Garp's grandson seemed to have gone off to have a barbecue. So she hurried over.

And now she'd finally found him.

Why was it so hard just to see him?

Thinking this, Makino shot Mercer a fierce glare, looking thoroughly unhappy, as if waiting for him to comfort her.

Mercer smiled helplessly and handed Makino an oyster. "Plans changed. I've been busy with some things these past two years, so it took a while."

Makino looked at it, then reached out to take it. Curiously, she asked, "Can you tell me what you were doing?"

As she spoke, she accepted a small surgical knife Mercer handed her. At his gesture, she used it to pick at the oyster and took a bite.

The moment she tasted it, her eyes lit up. She looked at all the toppings inside and smiled with narrowed eyes.

"Not bad, Mercer. I didn't know you knew how to barbecue."

"Of course. I'm pretty confident when it comes to something as simple as barbecue. It's nothing much—I just learned a trade: blacksmithing," Mercer said simply.

"You became a blacksmith?" Makino blinked, a little puzzled. "You're so young. Are you an apprentice?"

Mercer gave her a strange look and couldn't help complaining.

"If I'm so young, who would even take me on as an apprentice?"

Makino froze. She thought about it and realized he had a point. Then she frowned at Mercer.

"Are you lying to me again?"

"When did I lie to you?"

"You're saying you didn't? You once told me you were all alone, and then your grandpa, Mr. Garp, showed up."

"We hadn't known each other well then! Besides, I apologized."

"Did you?" Makino asked, confused. "If you'd apologized, I'd remember. I'm sure you didn't."

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

"You! Did! Not!"

Makino said each word distinctly, then broke into a smile. "You didn't say a single word about it. All you said was, 'This deer is a return gift for you,' and then you left."

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

Makino complained with a helpless look. "You can do that? I've been waiting a really long time for that apology."

Mercer turned the grilled fish over and glanced at Makino. "Eat! Hurry up and eat. I'm still grilling."

"Oh? Oh."

Makino ate heartily without the slightest bit of restraint. Mercer smiled at her.

They chatted and laughed as they ate oysters. Once the fish was done, Mercer took a surgical knife and divided it into three portions.

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

Their luck seemed especially good after that. First a lobster, then a flat-bodied sea fish, took the bait.

They had a wider variety of seafood to eat now.

"Mercer, is that a sea worm?" Karasu suddenly asked, pointing one wing at the muddy sand between two reefs ten meters away. "So weird."

Mercer looked over. The pinkish thing looked like a long intestine, wriggling in the damp sand. "That's a peanut worm. It's also called a sea intestine, and it tastes great—just like a sausage."

Before he'd even finished speaking, Karasu flapped his wings and flew over. He grabbed it firmly with one claw and flew back.

When he reached Mercer, he opened his claw, sending the sea intestine flying toward him. Watching it come, Mercer raised the surgical knife upright.

The sea intestine was impaled on the blade. Mercer shot Karasu a glare, then got up and walked a couple of steps to the water's edge. He sliced open the sea intestine along its digestive tract and rinsed the sand out of its insides in the seawater.

Once it was clean, he brushed it with oil and put it on the wire mesh to grill.

Just then, Makino looked at Mercer in surprise. "Mercer, did that crow just talk? I've been meaning to ask—is he your pet?"

A faint smile curved Mercer's lips as he looked at Makino. "I thought you'd never ask. I saw you sneak glances at my crow the whole time."

Makino blinked, then grinned. "Of course people look at beautiful things. This crow is so handsome, it's only natural to notice him."

Just then, Karasu cawed with laughter. He first glanced at Mercer, then spoke in his raspy voice. "Crow is not your bird. Crow's body and heart belong to his girl. Mercer is just the boss."

As he spoke, he turned to Makino, looking her up and down with his bird eyes. His beak made a "tsk, tsk" sound before he rasped,

"Woman, Crow is handsome, Crow knows. But Crow has a family. Crow has a wife and kids. You and Crow have no chance."

Seeing Makino's dumbfounded look, Karasu mocked her. "Woman, pretty enough, but what a dummy. Caw, caw~ Mercer doesn't like dummies either. Caw, caw."

Mercer's face darkened at that last remark. He reached out and pinched Karasu's beak, saying helplessly, "You haven't even been drinking. What nonsense are you spouting? She was just complimenting you. Was there any need for a personal attack?"

Karasu shook his head. When he realized he couldn't break free, he stopped struggling. He just glared at Makino as if he had something to say. Seeing that, Mercer said,

"I'll let go, but you're not allowed to make any more personal attacks."

Karasu nodded.

Mercer let go, and Karasu immediately spoke. "Crow had noticed you earlier. From up in the sky, Crow saw you go to all the places Mercer had been. At first, Crow thought it was a coincidence and didn't pay attention.

After hearing what you just said,

Crow realized you've been looking for Mercer all along, right?"

Listening to Karasu's analysis, Mercer smiled at Makino. "Did you go looking for me earlier?"

Makino blushed, embarrassed that a crow had seen right through her, and even more surprised that he could talk.

And now he'd said it right to her face.

She felt a little flustered, but only a little. Then she smiled warmly at Mercer and admitted it frankly.

"That's right. I did go looking for you earlier. You're so much fun, Mercer, and I don't have anyone my age in the village.

The ones older than me aren't fun to play with, and the younger ones are so childish. Compared to them, you're the most fun. You're younger than me, but not childish at all.

So I thought that when Mr. Garp came back, you might come with him.

But Mr. Garp has come back several times over the past two years, and you haven't come even once.

I even asked Mr. Garp, but he said he didn't know what you were doing either.

So I decided that every time Mr. Garp came, I'd ask. I wanted to see if you'd keep your word. When you said, 'Next time I come,' how many times did you mean by 'next time'?"

As she spoke, Makino gave Mercer a resentful look, then continued to complain.

"But I didn't expect that you'd come this time and I still wouldn't be able to find you for ages. How can you run around so much? When you go fishing, can't you just stay in one place?"

Mercer blinked. Watching Makino complain like a stream of spilled beans, he gave her a sympathetic look.

"You really have it rough. You don't even have anyone your age to talk to around here. Poor thing. At least I have Doctor Doriel, a panda, and a whole family of crows."

Hearing Mercer's words, Makino's eyes went blank. Then her own gaze filled with pity as she sighed at him.

"So you're even worse off than I am. At least I have a whole village of people to talk to, while you only have an old lady, a bear, and some birds."

Mercer's expression turned helpless. "An old lady?"

Makino nodded. "Mr. Garp said it once: 'That Mercer fellow lives in the mountains with a crotchety old woman.'"

Hearing this, Mercer felt a headache coming on, but he had to explain so nobody got the wrong idea.

A moment later.

Makino gave an awkward laugh.

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

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

There was also a cook who had eaten a Devil Fruit, and Panda the miner.

And a whole family of crows that could talk.

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

As expected, Mr. Garp was so unreliable. He'd even slandered someone out of nowhere.

Makino puffed out her cheeks and took a fierce bite of grilled fish. "Sorry."

Mercer was a little surprised and asked, confused, "What are you apologizing for?"

"I said your doctor, that old lady, was a crotchety old woman."

"What's the big deal? People where I live call her a witch or a mean old hag."

"Then the people where you live are awful."

"It's fine. Doctor Doriel charges a bit too much for treatment, after all. Besides, anyone who dares to insult her gets beaten up."

"Beaten up?"

"Yeah. Beaten up so badly she kicks a wall down with one foot."

"Mercer, you're joking again, right? How could anyone kick a wall down? Hahaha."

After a couple of strained laughs, Makino saw how calm Mercer looked and had no choice but to compose herself.

She rubbed her head in frustration, sighed, and looked at Mercer. "Say, Mercer, have you ever wondered why the gap between people can be so huge?"

"I can't even break a piece of wood as thick as my fist, but some people can punch a stone wall down.

I saw it with my own eyes once. It was terrifying. For a while, I even thought the wall had already been about to collapse."

"Why is the gap between people so huge? It's almost as if we're two different species."

"I'm lucky just to have made it through all this in good health."

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