The final two diners were the little girl who had asked Wayne for an autograph and her mother. The girl shoveled food into her mouth, patting her round belly with blissful satisfaction.
Her mother, however, stood beside the table, only watching. She made no move to eat.
Sanji noticed and walked over, puzzled. "My lovely lady, are the dishes not to your taste?"
The woman fidgeted, opened her mouth, but could not speak.
The girl answered for her. "Big brother, my mother has anorexia. She has not eaten for many days."
She lifted the autograph with a bright smile. "But I got Wayne's signature. We can sell it for two hundred thousand Beli and pay for her treatment."
Sanji's heart clenched. "A beautiful lady suffering like this, unforgivable. It is my failure as a cook."
He coaxed the woman to sip a little broth. Two spoonfuls went down, but she could take no more.
Wayne approached. "Madam, how long has this been going on?"
The girl answered again. "Thirty-two days. Ever since we heard pirates murdered my father, Mama cannot eat."
Sanji slammed a fist on the table. "Those vermin. I will never forgive pirates."
Wayne rolled his eyes. The future cook of the Pirate King had just said that in front of a warlord and Zeff, who himself had been a pirate.
Wayne decided to act. He took a serving of bamboo-leaf rice from the table and returned to the kitchen. Minutes later he emerged with a small pot of steaming Vitality Rice porridge.
"Please try this," he said, setting a bowl before the woman.
She wanted to refuse, but the aroma was irresistible. One cautious sip led to another. Her eyes lit up. Bowl after bowl disappeared until the pot was empty.
Wayne smiled. "Would you like to taste something else?"
She nodded vigorously and began eating the other dishes with healthy appetite, all trace of anorexia gone.
Wayne's title of Culinary Healer allowed his food to carry restorative effects, and the Vitality Rice amplified them. In medical terms anorexia is an illness that destroys appetite and saps strength; the rice porridge targeted it perfectly.
The outcome of the cooking match was now clear. Baratie's chefs fell silent. A chef may satisfy hunger, but curing a severe eating disorder with one dish lay beyond ordinary skill.
Sanji did not wait for the final tally. He knew he had lost, and lost completely. He walked to a window, lit a cigarette, and stared out at the sea.
System
Task completed: Culinary Exchange
Life Points +2000
Current Life Points 4350
Wayne's lips curved. He turned to Robin. "Give that mother and daughter some money and see whether we can find them work."
Robin nodded and left.
Rayleigh once said of Wayne, "The boy is no saint, but he hunts the wicked without mercy and shows the heart of a Bodhisattva to the weak."
Wayne never claimed greatness, yet in a world of violence he tried to help where he could.
Standing beside Sanji, Wayne spoke. "What is wrong? A little setback and you fold? You are a grown man. My main job is singing, not cooking. You will have chances to beat me."
Sanji's brow curled even tighter. "Would you stop acting like an old mentor? I was only thinking."
Silence hung between them until Sanji murmured, "Tell me, do doctors win more hearts than cooks? A gynecologist, for example..."
Wayne felt a headache coming. He imagined Sanji quitting the galley and poor Chopper left without patients.
He cleared his throat. "Cooking can save lives too. You saw the proof just now."
Sanji pondered, then spoke with sudden resolve. "Teach me to cook."