"In that case, please come in, let's discuss this matter in person!"
Seeing that Lulith and the other woman seemed genuinely determined to agree to his conditions and help him accomplish something, Monbuma finally relented, opening the door to invite them in for a detailed discussion.
"... Okay, let's go inside and talk!"
Lulith nodded in agreement, then took Catherine's hand and they walked into Monbuma's house together.
"Please have a seat... It's been a long time since we had any guests, and the house is a bit messy. Please excuse the mess..."
Monbuma placed the trophy and a large bag of food on the cabinet behind the door, took off her shoes, and invited Lulith and the others to sit on the open floor in front of the living room. She then excused herself and went to make tea to entertain the two of them.
"Here, please have some tea. It's not anything fancy, but it's still palatable. Please don't mind..."
Monbuma placed the teacup on the table in the middle of the mat and handed the cups of tea to Lulith and the others, saying a polite greeting.
"Yes, it's alright, we can handle it ourselves. By the way, Mr. Monbuma, please clarify the important matters so we can make specific plans!"
Lulith took the teacup he offered, took a sip, and gently placed it in front of her. Then she softly reminded him to stop talking. Catherine didn't respond much to their conversation. She was naturally quiet and aloof, and as long as it didn't harm their pirate crew, she just let Lulith represent them in the discussion.
"Oh... I'm sorry, I almost forgot. Let me tell you my whole story. I'm a native of Macaron, and my family was relatively well-off growing up. Because I've loved cooking since I was little, I practiced my culinary skills diligently and won quite a few awards."
But everything shattered two years ago. While participating in another competition, Four Emperors Big Mom's pirate Hippo Limon, led his fleet and invaded the area, shattering the peace. They forced the cooks to join their side, threatening to kill those who refused, and plundered the island's wealth. My family, of course, was not spared either; my parents were brutally murdered for resisting them. In the end, only I, the cook who was away competing, survived!
As she spoke, two lines of tears streamed down Monbuma's face. Her expression was one of deep sorrow, as if she were mourning her parents and blaming herself for her own incompetence.
"So you're planning to make us join you only if we defeat Limon?"
Lulith sensed his sorrow, but instead of offering words of comfort, she softly confirmed his feelings.
"That's right, that was indeed my condition. Originally, if you hadn't come to invite me, I would have continued to compete and won the championship in the finals. Then I would have gained Limon's favor and joined them, so I could have secretly poisoned their food to avenge my parents and the persecuted townspeople. I never expected..."
Monbuma slowly composed herself, regaining her previous expression as she replied.
"... You didn't expect we'd turn around and invite you to join our pirate crew, did you?!"
While what you said certainly resonates with me, what makes you think you can convince us to help you? You know, there are countless chefs on this ocean, not to mention those whose skills surpass yours, there are even many who are on par with you. With the influence of our Luo Chen Pirates, a simple wave of our hand and a huge wave of chefs will come running to join us. What advantages do you have?"
After Monbuma explained his conditions, Lulith did not rush to respond. She gently picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then asked him a question.
"Hahaha, not bad, what you said does make some sense, but there's one point you made that I, Monbuma, can vouch for with my own hands."
On this vast sea, the number of people with culinary skills surpassing mine can be counted on one hand. They also possess the integrity of true chefs, and no matter how many conditions you offer, they probably won't agree to join you.
There are very few other chefs who can rival me, so how can you guarantee that your reputation will be recognized by them?
Moreover, I might be the easiest person for you to invite right now. If you agree to my request and rid me and Macaron of the scourge of pirate Limon, I will entrust my life and fortune to you. Regardless of whether the Navy, the government, or pirates hate or despise me, I will stand firmly on your side. So, why don't you reconsider?!
Hearing that Lulith seemed dissatisfied with the condition he had proposed, or that they probably wouldn't agree to offend a great pirate of the New World for the sake of a nobody before seeing his true worth, she questioned him.
"This..."
After listening to Monbuma's explanation, even Lulith was a little undecided and looked at Catherine to ask for her opinion.
"..."
Catherine naturally heard Monbuma's account as well. Seeing Lulith looking at her questioningly, she pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"Well, alright then. If you really have the abilities you claim, then our Luo Chen Pirates is happy to help our crewmates out of their troubles."
But now the problem is how to lure Limon out of his mansion. We can't just go straight to his house and kill him, can we? I believe that since you've been preparing for so long, you should have a concrete plan, or at least know his usual routes. Tell me your plan, Mr. Monbuma ..."
Seeing Monbuma Catherine had agreed, Lulith naturally accepted his request as well, and then went to ask Limon about his plan.
"Hahaha, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I didn't have a plan to defeat him, because reality is always unpredictable, and even the best plan can't guarantee a complete victory over Limon."
However, I do know where he'll definitely be appearing recently: at the Grand Finale of the Chef Championship in Macaron Great Square. That bastard Limon will definitely be there...
Monbuma made it clear that she had no plan or scheme to deal with Limon, nor did she know where he would appear on time. Just as Lulith and the others were feeling somewhat disappointed, Monbuma said something that cheered them up: Limon would definitely appear at Macaron Square during the final of the Chef Championship.
"Oh, why are you so sure? From what I've heard, Limon doesn't always appear in the championship, so why are you so confident he'll be there at that time?!"
Seeing Monbuma's confident tone Lulith couldn't help but question him.
"Hahaha, no way! That bastard will definitely be there on time, not only to be the head judge, but also because of the power behind him. After all, his primary responsibility here is to provide the Totto Land with highly skilled chefs to serve Big Mom. He has no choice but to be there for that reason alone!!"
Monbuma explained his reasoning, and it was indeed accurate in supporting his words. The two were not clueless newbies; they knew that Big Mom, the ruler of the New World, would do anything for food, and that Limon's main purpose in guarding the region was to continuously provide excellent chefs for Totto Land. This convinced them.
"Yes, it's definitely as you said. It seems we're absolutely certain that Limon is there. Now we need to develop a more comprehensive plan. We can't just rush in and kill him recklessly. That would not only make our activities on the island very difficult, but it would also offend Four Emperors Big Mom. We can't afford to Charge with this behemoth right now..."
After hearing this, Lulith agreed wholeheartedly and then prepared to discuss with him a comprehensive plan to deal with Limon.
"Good... this is the exact map of Macaron Island. We can use it to arrange our positions and execute the plan perfectly to take down Limon's dog's head!!"
Monbuma nodded in agreement with her idea. Although he wanted to take Limon's head, he didn't want the pirate crew he would join later to offend Big Mom, Four Emperors.
clatter...
clatter...
clatter...
Afterwards, as the three were discussing the next steps in detail around the blueprints, they suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps outside. They quickly opened the door to check and found that pairs of soldiers with weapons had surrounded them.