Inside the VIP lounge.
After Judge had scolded the blue-haired Niji and warned the green-haired Yonji with a look.
Sephiroth and his companions took their seats one after another.
The room was laid out more like a casual conversation area than a conference room.
Everyone therefore sat rather loosely, at comfortable social distances, in two elongated U-shaped booths.
Both booths had small tables beside their seats and a communal round table in the center.
Sephiroth and Baby 5, Babbage and Alpha, and Shining and Kalifa sat together in three pairs, neither too close nor too far apart.
The four Vinsmoke men occupied the other U-shaped booth. There was no partition between the two groups, so the overall distance was still comfortable for conversation.
Although Jinbe sat in the Vinsmoke Family's booth, he kept some distance from the four of them, sitting closer to Sephiroth's side.
Still, the atmosphere was a little stiff.
"Why do you have to be so crude about everything..."
Sephiroth addressed Shining in a tone of "exasperation."
Once they were seated, an Artificial Angel had been about to pour him tea, only for Baby 5 to beat her to it.
Baby 5 showed no intention of pouring tea for Jinbe or the Vinsmoke Family, however. She only filled Sephiroth's and Shining's cups.
"Well, I believe there may have been some misunderstanding..."
Looking rather pained, Judge offered an explanation on Shining's behalf.
Over a year earlier, Shining had been commissioned by Sephiroth and Babbage to steal Germa Technology, and he had taken people along with it.
So beyond feeling awkward, Judge was also rather frightened.
Judging solely by his appearance, this blond middle-aged man had something of the heroic, burly bearing of an ancient Greek hero. In reality, he was a coward.
Under the table, his feet had