The third time was this [Erudite] advancement quest. (continued)

"Beckman, don't wor—hic!"

His face flushed, Shanks straightened the straw hat on his head, then draped an arm over his first mate's shoulders. Holding a bottle in his other hand, he let out a drunken hiccup.

"That Long Ears isn't much trouble."

The foul reek of alcohol, mixed with an indescribable odor of assorted foods, assaulted Benn Beckman's nostrils, making the middle-aged man grimace in discomfort.

As the ship's [first mate], second only to its captain.

Benn Beckman often felt overwhelmed.

What could he do? He had been saddled with such a troublesome "wonderful" captain.

Even now, Beckman couldn't understand why he had believed Shanks two years ago and, as though bewitched, boarded his pirate ship!

The man was more than a decade younger than him, yet always acted so immature.

As captain of a pirate ship, he commanded no respect whatsoever among his crew. All he did was drink, throw parties, fight, drink, get mocked by his crew, throw parties...

Beckman rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

Even with his extraordinary intelligence, he still couldn't recall why he had decided to follow Shanks back then. (Oda once stated in volume eight's SBS that Beckman had the highest IQ of all the characters introduced at that point.)

When Beckman remained silent for a long time, Shanks ran straight toward the liveliest part of the deck, calling out excitedly.

"Roux! Wait! Save that delicious-smelling meat for me!"

"No way! The meat's mine..."

The man Shanks called to was a fat fellow wearing small, round sunglasses. He had a sailor's bandanna on his head and a short-sleeved shirt on his upper body, both striped green and white. He was Lucky Roux, an officer of the Red Hair Pirates.

At that moment, Lucky Roux was clutching a piece of bone-in meat and tearing