The going merry was filled with laughter and the enticing aroma of food.
There were golden-brown, glistening roasted meat legs, various fruit and vegetable salads, and a large barrel of frothy ale.
Everyone had pulled out stools and was sitting on the deck, enjoying the delicious food and the sea breeze.
Tomioka sat slightly off to the side, gently holding a skewer of grilled fish.
The skin was slightly charred, displaying an inviting golden color. He lowered his head and gently bit off a piece of fish.
The fresh scent of lemon mixed with spices wafted into his nostrils, followed by the fish meat bursting with rich juices between his teeth.
It was savory, fresh, and layered.
"It's delicious, isn't it?" Robin's voice came from beside him; she was now sitting in the seat next to him.
Tomioka slightly turned his head and saw that she was also enjoying a skewer of grilled fish, a wide smile on her face, clearly equally impressed by the delicious food.
Tomioka nodded in response. Even the imperial cuisine he had tasted in the palace not long ago seemed to pale in comparison to this seemingly simple grilled fish.
Sanji's cooking indeed possessed the magical ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
"Little… well, I won't call you that."
Robin's voice carried a hint of a smile, "Tomioka, right? I've noticed you don't seem to talk much."
Her gaze remained fixed on him, making Tomioka feel a little uncomfortable. He silently turned his body away, facing his back to her.
"I don't like it."
But a low chuckle came from behind him.
After a while, a devilish whisper came from behind: "That's not very good."
"Don't forget, we're both new crewmates, right?"
Tomioka hesitated, then nodded again. Although he had been on this ship ever since Loguetown, in terms of officially joining, it was indeed now.
Robin's voice dropped even lower, and she began to coax him.
"So~ according to custom, at a welcome party for new members, we, as newcomers, should proactively go and toast each senior, expressing our gratitude and friendliness."
"You know? Back when I was at Baroque Works, there were also these… hmm… hidden rules."
Hidden rules?
Tomioka was a little confused. He slowly turned his head, a hint of bewilderment in his eyes, and looked at Robin.
He saw Robin covering her mouth, an expression of great surprise on her face. She drew out her words, her eyes slightly widened:
"You don't mean… you really don't know this is an important boarding etiquette, do you?"
"Oh dear~"
She gently shook her head, making Tomioka prick up his ears to listen to every word that followed.
"This isn't good at all. If you don't do this at the new member welcome ceremony, you might… be disliked by everyone~"
Disliked…?
Watching Robin's increasingly worried expression, Tomioka's body unconsciously stiffened slightly.
Will he… be disliked?
A strange sense of tension enveloped him. Unbeknownst to him, Tomioka had already picked up an empty wine glass, and his hand was trembling slightly.
If he doesn't… he'll… he'll be disliked.
Tomioka took a deep breath, as if making some kind of decision, his voice a little strained:
"Okay…! I'll follow you."
Just like that, the two stood up. Tomioka then realized that Robin, when standing straight, was actually half a head taller than him.
Such a tall woman was indeed rare in his experience.
Led by Robin, Tomioka followed her, feeling uneasy, first heading towards Chopper, who was currently entangled with Zoro.
"Chopper! Stop drinking, given your alcohol tolerance."
Zoro frowned, firmly holding down the small reindeer's hoof, which was trying to reach for another drink.
But Chopper, who had clearly already downed half a glass, was in an excited state. He tried hard to push away Zoro's hand with his hoof, his speech a little slurred:
"You… you're the one who can't drink! I… I'm a man!"
He swayed as he turned around and saw Robin and Tomioka approaching. "Eh, Robin… you said you're an archaeologist, right?"
"Oh~ yes."
Robin bent down, her smile gentle, "And you?"
"I… I'm a doc… doctor!" Chopper puffed out his small chest, trying to appear reliable.
And Robin, in front of him, clapped softly in cooperation, her tone full of praise: "Wow, how amazing~ We actually have such an amazing doctor on our ship~"
"Oh no~ even if~ you~ praise~ me~ I won't be happy~~~ at all~"
Chopper immediately began his characteristic wiggling and swaying, but the smugness and happiness on his face were impossible to hide. As he wiggled, he still picked up his small wine glass.
Zoro, watching this scene, helplessly held his forehead: "It's over… another one has fallen. This ship is truly beyond saving."
Robin then used the ale barrel on the table, first filling Tomioka's empty glass, then pouring a little for herself, and then gestured to Chopper:
"Then, shall we toast the amazing Doctor Chopper~? Oh, and him too."
Saying this, she pointed with her slender finger at Tomioka, who stood stiffly like a log beside her.
Tomioka looked at the wine glass now filled in his hand, his throat unconsciously bobbing. This made him recall that night drinking on the ship earlier, where just a few drinks had made his body heat up, his head spin, and his words and actions feel somewhat out of control.
But… now… two voices were fiercely battling in his mind. One shrieked: "He'll be disliked!" The other calmly said: "He'll lose control."
Disliked, lose control, disliked, lose control, disliked, lose control, disliked, lose control… He took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound steady, and slightly raised his glass towards Chopper:
"Cheers… Chopper."
"Oh! Cheers! Tomioka!" Chopper happily raised his small wine glass.
Clink!
The four glasses gently clinked together.
Immediately after, under Robin's amused gaze and Chopper's expectant eyes, Tomioka tilted his head back and began to gulp down everything in the glass.
Zoro, seeing Tomioka's almost suicidal demeanor, couldn't help but speak:
"Hey, can you really drink that much? Just a little bit would…"
However, before he could finish, Robin interrupted him with a light laugh: "Go on~ Tomioka~ If you drink it all, your friends definitely won't dislike you~"
She even clapped softly.
Tomioka, hearing this, moved even more swiftly.
This made Zoro turn to Robin with a black-lined face and blurt out: "You… are you a devil too!?"
"You Mosshead! Don't think I didn't hear you!!! What did you call Miss Robin!!!?"
From then on, there was one more devil on this ship besides Nami.
Meanwhile, Tomioka, having finished the entire glass, seemed unable to hear the commotion around him. A large amount of alcohol quickly flooded his stomach, which only contained a skewer of grilled fish. A burning sensation rose from his abdomen, spreading rapidly.
He could feel his cheeks flushing, and his earlobes heating up… At the very beginning of the party, he had already… collapsed~