Inside the tavern, Zhang Da Ye poured Uncle Goodman a drink to calm his nerves and explained what had happened.
Rui Meng Meng busied herself clearing away the messy cups and plates left behind before they had gone out.
Artoria was in the courtyard, reflecting on her gains in swordsmanship that day.
Tom listened to Zhang Da Ye talk for a while, then grew bored and wandered off to rummage in the fridge. Every time his master told stories about the tavern, Tom's fights got left out, and that never sat well with him.
"So that's pretty much it. After the duel he left—he didn't give us any trouble," Zhang Da Ye concluded. Honestly, if anything, it was Tom who made things difficult when the man tried to leave.
Uncle Goodman, realizing that the young man he'd once helped had now recruited people strong enough to stand against a Warlord, downed his drink in one gulp. "Haaah… incredible. That was a Warlord of the Sea. Brings back memories of my youth…"
"You could cross blades with a Warlord back then too?" Zhang Da Ye grinned as he refilled his glass, eager to hear what kind of story he'd spin.
Uncle Goodman shot him a glare. "Who said that? In my youth, when something that exciting happened, I had the guts to go watch!"
"Pfft—" Zhang Da Ye burst out laughing. The uncle's proud tone made it even funnier.
"What are you laughing at? Unlike those cowardly customers of yours today—didn't even dare to watch the fight! I thought for sure the Warlord was here to cause you trouble."
"Thanks, Uncle," Zhang Da Ye said, catching the concern buried in his words. It was surprising to feel someone worrying about him even in this strange new world.
"Bah, no thanks needed. I didn't do anything. Just drop by my place when you have time. Molly's been worried about you too."
"Alright," Zhang Da Ye nodded.
"Good, I'm off. Gotta go teach those kids the art of telling a good story. Flying Slash, was it? Hah! That one will keep me bragging for a year!" Uncle Goodman left beaming.
"That uncle really does seem like a good man," Rui Meng Meng said softly.
"Yeah. We owe their family a lot," Zhang Da Ye agreed. "Come on, let's see how Artoria's practice is going."
As he stepped into the yard, Zhang Da Ye poked his head back inside. "Tom, if you mess up the fridge, make sure you clean it up!"
Tom hunched his shoulders, nodding quickly with his back against the closed fridge door. Behind it was a disaster—vegetables and fruit scattered everywhere, two broken eggs dripping from the shelf.
Zhang Da Ye didn't notice Tom's guilty look. After he left, Tom wiped the sweat from his brow and frantically started cleaning.
…
In the yard, Artoria stood with her eyes closed, gripping a sword with both hands. It was the plain knight's sword Zhang Da Ye had given Rui Meng Meng. In front of her sat a small dumbbell Zhang Da Ye normally used for training.
Neither Zhang Da Ye nor Rui Meng Meng spoke. They simply watched in silence.
At a certain moment, Artoria opened her eyes and swung. The blade struck the iron dumbbell—but instead of a clang, it cut through as if slicing a vegetable, cleanly splitting it in two.
Zhang Da Ye could tell she hadn't used magic, nor even much strength.
"So that's it," Artoria murmured to herself. "Even steel has countless flaws. Find the right way to strike, and it can be cut without relying on magic."
"Huh? Isn't it supposed to be about breathing with all things or something?" Zhang Da Ye asked curiously.
"Perhaps it's different for each person. To me it's flaws. To others, maybe it's breathing, or something else entirely. But at its core, it's just a certain level of insight into the sword."
After explaining, she began experimenting with ways to unleash the Flying Slash.
Zhang Da Ye, meanwhile, was completely lost. All this sounded too mystical. For now, he figured it was better to train his body, stamina, and magic. That was where he could make the fastest progress.
…
That evening, the tavern was packed. Every table had extra seats squeezed in, and several people without coats stood drinking.
"Didn't expect to see all of you together tonight," Zhang Da Ye greeted some familiar faces.
"Of course! We had to see if the little boss survived!"
"Yeah, yeah—so what happened, did you win?" All eyes turned expectantly to him.
"You people sure know how to talk," Zhang Da Ye said with a smug grin. "Hate to disappoint, but while I didn't win, no one got hurt either."
"Impressive! For the little boss not getting killed by a Warlord—cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Thanks a lot…" Zhang Da Ye rolled his eyes.
"For Artoria-chan, cheers!"
"For Tom's piano, cheers!"
Zhang Da Ye gave up trying to reason with them. They'd raise a glass for anything. The gossip session had turned into a full-blown party.
Still, why was Tom so obediently playing piano today? That was suspicious. Either someone had bribed him heavily, or he'd broken something again.
…
The next day, there was a new fridge in the house.
The reason? Last night Tom had cleaned the old fridge inside and out at record speed, neatly arranging all the food. That part was fine.
But when he shut the door afterward, his tail got caught. The pain launched him three meters into the air—fridge and all.
Determined not to be discovered, Tom bit down on his tongue to hold back a scream, flipped in midair, landed before the fridge hit the ground, and caught it.
Unfortunately, this fridge wasn't as sturdy as the one back in his old house. The contents inside went flying, wires tore loose, and when Tom plugged it back in, it short-circuited and died.
Tom's solution? Clean everything again until it sparkled and pretend nothing happened.
Of course, that didn't fool anyone. Rui Meng Meng discovered it the next morning when she went to get ingredients.
When the truth came out, Zhang Da Ye could only laugh helplessly. "If it's broken, just say so. I wouldn't hit you. The sooner I know, the sooner we can replace it—and we wouldn't have wasted so much food."
Tom stood with his hands behind his back and a sheepish grin on his face—his classic way of admitting fault.
But Tom was the perfect example of "I know I was wrong, but I'll still do it again." His mistakes always seemed to repeat sooner or later.
"Da Ye, something big's happened." Artoria handed him the newspaper.
"Saint Donquixote Mjosgard, a Celestial Dragon, has gone missing at sea. A large reward is offered for information."
There was a picture of the green-haired Celestial Dragon alongside his ship.
"I remember Donquixote is the name of a pirate crew, right?" Artoria asked.
"Yeah. Doflamingo's crew—the Donquixote Family. They used to be Celestial Dragons themselves. One day his father decided he didn't want to live like that anymore, so he gave up his status and left with the family, trying to live as normal humans.
"But ordinary people, burdened by the Heavenly Tribute and scarred by the Dragons' cruelty, didn't accept them. Instead, they vented all their hatred on the family once they lost their privilege.
"The result was tragic. Doflamingo eventually killed his own father, carried his head back to Mary Geoise, and begged to be reinstated as a Celestial Dragon. When they refused, he turned pirate and swore to destroy this so-called world of the Dragons."
Rui Meng Meng was horrified. "He killed his own father? That's so cruel…"
Zhang Da Ye nodded. "This Mjosgard is probably a descendant from the same royal line as them. His disappearance shouldn't affect us too much… though it might mean more investigations around Sabaody. If anyone asks, just say we don't know anything."
In truth, Zhang Da Ye guessed Mjosgard was likely on Fishman Island, rescued by Queen Otohime. Later, he would change completely, giving up slavery, even protecting Shirahoshi during the Reverie. A rare oddball among the Celestial Dragons.
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