Father and Daughter

Ye Mu had no interest in this father-daughter pair. He was only here to eat.

"Don't be so surprised. The owner of the weapon shop recommended this place, said your food was pretty good..."

The owner instantly understood who it was, his face darkening as he blurted out what was on his mind.

"That bastard Buy One Knife actually sent someone this terrifying to my restaurant..."

Having said that, he covered his mouth in terror and stared tremblingly at Ye Mu.

Fortunately, he did not see the kind of terrifying, bloodthirsty gaze common among other pirates in Ye Mu's eyes.

"Enough nonsense. I'm here to eat. Bring out all your signature dishes. Don't worry, I won't skip out without paying... Or are you unwilling to do business with a pirate like me..."

"Of course not... Please wait a moment. I'll go prepare it right away..."

As he spoke, the owner grabbed his unfilial daughter by the arm with his back turned. Amid her startled expression, he dragged her into the kitchen, and they soon vanished from sight.

Though they could no longer be seen, their whispered conversation was still perfectly clear to Ye Mu.

"Dad, what do we do now..."

"Don't be afraid. This is Loguetown. All the powerful Marines are here, so he won't dare cause trouble. We just need to wait until he's full and leaves..."

"No problem, leave it to me..."

"You idiot, what do you mean, leave it to you? I'll handle this one..."

"You'll handle it... Dad... How long has it been since you last touched a kitchen... Besides... I'm the head chef here..."

"You damned girl, are you doubting your father's abilities?"

"Tch... You said it yourself. Besides, I'm the head chef, so the kitchen is under my command. Get out..."

"Baka... I'm the owner..."

"This restaurant will be mine someday..."

"That's someday. Right now, I'm in charge..."

Then Ye Mu heard the two of them actually start arguing inside, their voices growing louder and louder.

In the end, their outburst clearly proved that the cramped kitchen could no longer contain them. As the owner's fury reached its peak, he unleashed an explosive strike and hurled his unfilial daughter, Freya, out like a cannonball.

"You damned girl, get out of my kitchen..."

Whether by coincidence or not, after crashing through the wall, the girl once again landed right in Ye Mu's arms.

The owner also realized what he had done in his impulsiveness. He rushed out of the kitchen, then stared at the awkward scene before him without knowing what to say.

Ye Mu, however, looked curiously at the girl in his arms and the sexy purple-patterned thigh-high stockings stretched over her round, shapely legs, then asked a question.

"Hey... You father and daughter aren't deliberately messing with me, are you..."

In an instant, the temperature in the entire restaurant dropped several degrees.

"A misunderstanding... It's definitely a misunderstanding..."

The owner was scared witless and hurriedly apologized. Freya's face went pale as she nervously fled from Ye Mu's arms.

Even though Ye Mu did not seem all that frightening, a bounty of 540 million Berries was more than enough for Freya to imagine all kinds of terrible things.

"Although Freya is my daughter and inherited the cooking skills of both my wife and me, she is still lacking. A distinguished person like you should naturally be served by me personally..."

After saying that, the owner shot Freya a vicious glare.

"You damned girl, stop causing trouble..."

The somewhat panicked girl immediately became indignant again upon hearing her father's words.

"Hey, Dad, what nonsense are you talking about? My cooking surpassed yours and Mom's long ago... Besides, I'm the chef here. As the owner, you should just stay out front and take care of the customers..."

"Baka... What nonsense are you spouting, you damned girl? You haven't grasped the spirit behind the life cooking your mother and I created at all..."

"What spirit? More of those outdated lies... The cheap food you and Mom make can only fool idiots who can't even tell what delicious food is..."

The two began arguing again right in front of Ye Mu.

Watching the scene, Ye Mu could only sigh.

"What a strange world..."

The people of this world seemed to be born with unusually thick nerves.

However, as Ye Mu listened to the father and daughter argue, he recalled the changes in Freya's body earlier. That had probably been a Devil Fruit ability. Curious, he suddenly asked.

"Hey, if I heard right earlier, don't you dislike being a chef and cooking?"

The girl seemed to have long prepared an answer to that question and replied smoothly.

"I really do dislike being a chef and cooking. I even hate it to death. But I absolutely will not accept anyone saying my cooking is bad... I earned these skills through more than ten years of hard work. Denying my cooking is denying the suffering I endured over those ten years..."

"Uh..."

What was that supposed to mean... She really was strange, but...

"I'm saying, you two are father and daughter. Since you can't agree, why not each make your own dishes? It doesn't seem right to keep a customer waiting like this, does it?"

"!!!"

Before the owner could react, Freya suddenly seemed to think of something. Her eyes lit up, and, somehow finding the courage, she pointed at Ye Mu.

"If that's the case, then, Dad, let's have a competition..."

"A competition!!!"

"Yes. We'll compete to see whose cooking receives more recognition. I've always wanted to do this. He'll be the judge... If I win, you have to admit that I've surpassed you and Mom... And from now on, no matter what I do, you can't interfere, nor can you force me to inherit this restaurant..."

"You idiot, what are you saying... How can you make Captain Ye Mu..."

The owner was shocked, but Ye Mu became interested instead and could not stop himself from laughing.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Both of them were instantly startled, but Ye Mu's next words sent their hearts, which had nearly leapt into their throats, back into their chests.

"I didn't expect to come out for a meal and run into something this interesting. Your name is Freya, right? Fine, I accept... But if I'm the only judge, that seems a little unfair..."

"Eh... Wait... Captain Ye Mu... This is just a child's foolish prank... Please don't take it seriously..."

The owner had never expected a great pirate like Ye Mu to actually agree to Freya's nonsense. As for fairness, that was hardly important at the moment.

"It's not a foolish prank... I'm serious..."

The two of them looked as though they were about to start arguing again.

But just then, a strange laugh sounded beside them.

"Ara ara... It seems quite lively here..."

The two were startled and looked toward the source of the voice.

At some point, a burly man had appeared at the entrance. Wearing a black coat, a headscarf, small glasses, and a head of black curly hair, he slowly pushed open the badly damaged door and walked in.

As the man entered, the temperature throughout the restaurant visibly began to drop, and a layer of white mist condensed in the air.

The owner froze instantly.

"M-Marine Vice Admiral Kuzan..."

Then he abruptly looked at the calm Ye Mu beside him and thought bitterly.

We're done for... Are they going to fight...?