Staying on to Work

Rubick said, "Sorry to ask, but do you have any paper and a pen?"

Sanji took out the pad and pencil he used to take customers' orders and handed them to Rubick.

Rubick set the pad on the railing and began to draw with the pencil, explaining as he went.

"This is a dragon, the spiritual symbol of my country. You can think of it as a totem. It's on our flag, anyway. Sorry, my drawing's a little abstract."

Sanji remarked, "Has anyone ever told you you're bad at drawing?"

"Well, you're the first. This dragon has a horse's head, deer antlers, a lion's mane, a snake's body, fish scales, and eagle talons. That's the general idea."

Sanji kept going. "Okay, I get it. It's a bit of everything."

Rubick glared at him. "I'll give you a chance to rephrase that."

Zeff studied the drawing with a frown for a long while before saying, "Sorry, I've never seen a totem like this. I have heard of a Devil Fruit that supposedly turns its user into a dragon like that, though."

Of course Rubick knew about it. It was the Fish-Fish Fruit that idiot Kaido had eaten.

"I know the one. The Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Azure Dragon Form. Our country's founding king used that Devil Fruit to carve out a place for our people on the dangerous Grand Line."

Rubick's lies rolled off his tongue without hesitation or a trace of embarrassment. And using the founding king's Devil Fruit form as both a flag and a totem made perfect sense.

Rubick thought for a moment, then scratched his head. "Come to think of it, our founding king was named Shaohao. Before he died, he used the Azure Dragon's immense power to summon a mist that enveloped the entire country. We've been cut off from the outside world ever since."

Once Rubick got started, he spun mysteries like the old pandaren.

Zeff and Sanji, of course, had no way of knowing that and took it for the truth. The sea was vast, and no one had ever claimed to have visited every corner of it.

Rubick wrote "When friends come from afar, strike them down no matter how far away they are" on the paper, then said, "Look at this. This is our country's writing. Pretty distinctive, isn't it?"

In the world of the Pirate King, everyone used English. Unless they had met someone from Wano Country, they would never have seen what Chinese characters looked like.

Rubick's aim, naturally, was to make his invented country seem more believable. After all, a developed writing system was a sign of a mature civilization.

Zeff sighed. "To think there's a civilization like that out there. It's a shame I've never seen it."

Sanji nodded. "Yeah. I've seen a bit of the world, but this is the first I've heard of a country like that. By the way, what's your country called? And what's your name?"

Rubick said proudly, "Our country is called Dragon Country. And my name is Rubick Hu."

Sanji had another comment. "Rubick, huh? Has anyone ever told you your given name doesn't go with your surname?"

Rubick was speechless. Why did Sanji keep fixating on things like that? Still, he had to explain. "Well, you're the first. I took the name Rubick so I could fit in with the outside world."

Sanji went on. "Then how would you write my name in your language?"

Only then did Rubick realize Sanji still wasn't entirely convinced.

Rubick wrote the characters for Sanji's name on the paper. "For foreigners, we just write names phonetically. Your name has two syllables, Sanji, and in Dragon Script, they're written with these two characters."

Sanji pointed at his name. "So this character is 'San,' and this one is 'ji'? Your writing's pretty convenient. One character for each sound."

Obviously. Chinese characters had five thousand years of history behind them. How could they not be better than your English?

Sanji and Zeff exchanged a glance. They now accepted that Rubick was from Dragon Country.

Zeff asked Rubick, "So what do you plan to do next?"

Rubick pointed at the restaurant. "Could I work here? You can pay me less, but I'd like room and board. Honestly, I've only got 30,000 Beli left. That's nowhere near enough to keep traveling."

Afraid Zeff might refuse, Rubick added, "I can fight. I was working security at a tavern in Loguetown a few days ago. Before I came here, I even took down a pirate with an eight-million-Beli bounty."

Rubick had given Ace of Spades's bounty a hefty boost.

Sanji looked puzzled. "If you're that capable, why did you leave the tavern?"

Rubick said irritably, "Because the owner cheated me out of my bounty money. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, but I couldn't beat him, so I grabbed my things and ran."

Zeff finally said, "All right. Ten thousand Beli a month, with meals included. As for your duties, follow Sanji's lead. He's the sous-chef."

Rubick grinned and slung an arm around Sanji's shoulders. "You got it, Sanji. Give me a uniform and I can start right away."

Sanji shrugged off Rubick's arm and said unhappily, "You can work here, but you have to teach me how to make Mixed Noodles with Bian Rou, Braised Chicken, and Pork Trotter Rice."

"Are you out of your mind? I only know how to eat them. How would I know how to make them?"

"Damn it, try to remember, or I'm docking your pay! You might not have eaten pork, but surely you've seen a pig!"

Rubick fired right back. "Damn it, is that any way to ask someone for help?"

"I'm the sous-chef, and you're a busboy! Got a problem? Fight me!"

Rubick held out his bandaged left hand. "Ow, aren't you impressive, picking on an injured man."

Sanji snorted. "Damn it, once that hand heals, I'm kicking you into the sea. Quit standing there and come with me. It's time to work."

To make a living, Rubick quickly settled into his job as a waiter. It was simple enough: when a customer arrived, he took their order.

As for service with a smile? What a joke. Every cook on this ship used to be a Pirate. There wasn't a respectable one among them. How good could their service possibly be?

The lunch rush soon passed. The cooks began preparing ingredients for dinner and cleaning the kitchen, while Rubick took a broom, mop, and other tools and started cleaning the dining room.

At four in the afternoon, the cooks began bringing out food. This was one of the quieter times of day. If they didn't eat now, they would have to wait until late at night.

Rubick wasn't particularly quick when it came to work, but he was eager when it came to eating.

"Come on, hurry up! I'm starving!"

Sanji slapped the table. "The head chef hasn't even sat down. How dare you start?"

Rubick didn't back down. "Save it and hurry up."

The two were still bickering when Zeff came downstairs and shouted, "Time to eat!"

"Ohhhh!"

The cooks cheered and dug in like mad. Just watching them eat made you hungry.