Eden Hell

"That's right. Alto is a remarkably sincere boy—innocent, even. But perhaps that innocence is why he senses other people's feelings so keenly. Most people wouldn't warm to someone so quickly..." Asher said to Li Ziming with a smile.

"Are you giving me a good-guy card?" Li Ziming asked, laughing.

"A good-guy card? A card just for good people? Then I suppose I am." Asher smiled. "But have you decided what you'll do next? You may be stranded here, but we don't support idlers." Asher was being practical, and Li Ziming did need work to support himself.

"Could I open a bar here?" Li Ziming knew his Devil Fruit ability let him turn anything he touched into a bomb. The force of the explosion depended on how much energy he put into it, whether physical or mental. He was immune to the explosions and could control when they went off. It was a formidable ability, but he had no desire to become a pirate. He would rather find steady work, as he had in his previous life, or open a bar of his own and enjoy himself.

"A bar?" Asher paused. "We're a little out of the way, but ships do stop here fairly often to resupply. The trouble is, if pirates come, your bar will become their regular gathering place..." He sounded worried.

"That's fine. We'll just give the pirates whatever they ask for," Li Ziming said with a smile. He did not yet understand what pirates were really like. Perhaps, in his mind, they were no different from the street thugs of his old world. One day, reality might teach him what cruelty meant.

"If only it were as simple as you think..." Asher sighed, then quickly recovered. "But do you have a source of liquor?"

"Huh?" Li Ziming froze. Of course—this was not his old world, where a market economy made every kind of supply readily available. Here, he did not even know where to buy stock.

"That look tells me you don't know the first thing about it, kid. I can take care of the liquor. Our island may not be famous for anything else, but our booze is well known! As for the money, you can pay me once you start earning. For now, we'll call the bar a joint venture." Asher had done Li Ziming an enormous favor.

"Thank you so much." Gratitude filled Li Ziming's face. Asher had not only saved him but was now helping him open a bar. He thanked the man from the bottom of his heart.

"Come on, kid. There are plenty of young men in the village who are good with their hands. They can help renovate the place. Let's go. I'll help you find somewhere to set up your bar." Asher stood.

Li Ziming hurried over to support him. "Sorry to put you to so much trouble."

"Enough of that. You're one of us now. We're all family here, so spare me the formalities." Asher patted Li Ziming on the shoulder, growing more pleased with him by the moment.

Before long, Asher found Li Ziming a vacant house. It was small and rather dilapidated, almost a ruin. Li Ziming estimated that it had only around a hundred square meters of usable floor space. After setting aside a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, he could knock through the other rooms to leave seventy or eighty square meters for the bar. That still felt a little cramped, so he planned to make the bedroom smaller and give the bar more room.

He did not intend to serve much food, either—just simple dishes like fried noodles and fried rice. The drinks would be the main attraction.

As Li Ziming handled the familiar bar tools, he felt as though he had returned to the old days.

"Kid, what are all these things?" Asher asked, looking curiously at the bar tools Li Ziming had asked to have made.

"They're for mixing drinks." Li Ziming glanced at the liquor collected from around the village. "Honestly, I never expected the village to have so much of it..." He poured himself a glass of whiskey. The deep amber liquid gave off an enticing aroma. He took a couple of small sips, held the liquor in his mouth, then spat it out; its sweet flavor lingered. The village had plenty of alcohol, though most of it was beer. When brewing beer, the villagers also made small amounts of other drinks. Whatever the variety, their age and flavor were exceptional. In his old world, whiskey like the bottle he was tasting would have been almost impossible to buy at any price.

"What a beautiful flavor..." Li Ziming murmured.

"Is it really that good?" Asher looked at him in disbelief. "Even if it tastes good, there's so little of each kind. Having lots of varieties won't make them last. And do you really need all those tools just to pour a drink?"

"I'd better show you." After a moment's thought, Li Ziming took out whiskey and vermouth, then some bitter liqueur. He poured them into a glass filled with ice, stirred them together, and strained the mixture into a cocktail glass.

With one finger against the base of the glass, Li Ziming gently slid it toward Asher.

"What's this?" Asher looked at him curiously. He had never seen anyone mix different liquors together like that to drink. "Can you even drink this stuff?" The mixture looked lovely, but others had tried mixing drinks before. Most of their creations had not looked nearly as good, and they usually tasted poor and hit far too hard. People had eventually stopped experimenting. Asher had serious doubts about Li Ziming's drink.

"Why not try it?" Li Ziming said with a smile, wiping down a washed shaker and glass with a cloth.

Bracing himself for the worst, Asher poured the drink into his mouth. To his surprise, it was not unpleasant at all. Instead, a fierce rush of sensation shot straight to his head.

"That hits the spot!" Asher slammed the glass onto the bar after finishing his drink.

His eyes gleaming, Asher looked at Li Ziming. "Kid, that packs a punch. What's it called?"

"A Manhattan. Its bold, bracing taste has earned it the name 'the man's cocktail.'" Li Ziming smiled and put the polished tools back in place. "That'll be five hundred Beli, please."

"Five hundred Beli?! That's robbery!" Asher stared at him.

"Wasn't it worth it? And that's hardly the only drink I can make," Li Ziming said proudly.

"It was!" Remembering the flavor, Asher nodded firmly. "But I'm your business partner, and you're charging me?"

"Just kidding." Li Ziming shrugged.

"You'd better be." Asher gave a huff. "So, kid, are you planning to call your place the Cocktail Bar? 'Cocktail'—what a strange name."

"Cocktail?" Li Ziming shook his head with a wry smile. "No. That's what I call drinks made this way, not what I'm calling my bar."

"Does 'cocktail' mean something?" Asher asked, puzzled. He could not see what the drink had to do with a rooster's tail.

"Think of it as a reminder of my hometown." Li Ziming shrugged. "Oh, and could you ask the villagers to try a few more brewing methods next time they make liquor?"

"No problem. Once everyone tastes the drinks you mix, they'll probably start trying new recipes without being asked." The village chief chuckled. If these drinks became famous, it would be good for the village too. "By the way, kid, have you decided what to call your bar?"

"Eden Hell," Li Ziming said with a smile.

"Eden Hell?" Asher looked baffled. "Does it mean something special?"

"No." Li Ziming shook his head, though he thought to himself, Eden Hell. Paradise and hell...

Manhattan

Ingredients: 4 milliliters Canadian whiskey, 1 milliliter vermouth, a dash of Angostura Bitters.

Method: Pour all the ingredients into a glass filled with ice. Stir well, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.