Chapter 181 Invitation
After leaving Ryugu Palace and escorting Tesoro to his usual hotel, the sky had already turned pitch black. So what should he do next?
There was naturally only one thing to do.
Brett turned and headed to the Mermaid Cafe.
His good buddy had already provided the assist—how could he not seize the opportunity?
Coral Hill had become even more prosperous than before. Although the sunlight from Eve had disappeared with the sunset on the surface, the lights brought by wisdom and civilization still shone brightly.
Even at night, the streets here still had heavy foot traffic, and various shops remained lively and bustling.
Walking here, Brett could clearly feel the changes this island had undergone over the years.
It was truly becoming better.
When he arrived outside the Mermaid Cafe, the place was still buzzing with voices.
Though it was quite late, business here was still excellent.
Fish-Man Island definitely had plenty of people who knew how to do business. By now, various shops that recruited beautiful mermaid ladies as waitresses like the Mermaid Cafe were everywhere, but Shyarly's shop remained the most popular among them.
On one hand, the first-mover advantage had already established its reputation. On the other hand, it was hard to say it had nothing to do with Brett.
Brett pushed open the door.
"Welcome—Oh my, it's Brett!"
A waitress with a brilliant smile tinged with slight fatigue came over. Just as she was greeting him, she noticed Brett's appearance and immediately said with pleasant surprise, "You've returned?"
"Boss Shyarly," she called back, "the person you think about day and night has returned!"
"The 'day and night' part is unnecessary."
Shyarly poked her head out from the kitchen. She spotted the towering Brett immediately. "You really made quite the extraordinary commotion on this trip, Brett."
"That's right!"
At this moment, a fish-man eating in the restaurant also excitedly shouted, "Big Brother Brett, even we heard about it! Deep Sea Emperor—what an incredible title!"
"How amazing! Now no one in this world would dare look down on us anymore!" another mermaid also exclaimed with great excitement.
"It's not that exaggerated."
Brett smiled warmly.
If these ordinary compatriots were already like this, it was hard to imagine what the radicals in Fish-Man District would be like.
Especially Big Brother Arlong.
That guy would probably think the promised time had finally come—it was time to go to sea and establish an unprecedented fish-man empire, something like that.
"Eating?"
Shyarly floated over.
Female mermaids didn't develop legs until after age thirty, so they had to rely on bubbles to move on land.
"No, I already ate with Tesoro."
Brett shook his head. He pulled out the stack of movie tickets Tesoro had given him earlier. "I'm here to deliver benefits."
"Benefits?"
The mermaid ladies immediately gathered around. "What is it?"
"The movie Tesoro filmed on Fish-Man Island is having its premiere ceremony at Gyoncorde Plaza in a couple days."
Brett waved the movie tickets in his hand. "These are tickets."
"Eh?"
The mermaid ladies were overjoyed. "The one where you also acted, Brett? It's being released so soon?"
"Mm."
Brett handed the movie tickets to Shyarly. "You can distribute these, Shyarly. Consider them employee benefits."
"All of them for me?" Shyarly raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry, I kept some aside."
Brett said. "To give to friends and subordinates."
Tesoro had given quite a lot of movie tickets—after all, he was preparing to hold a super-large-scale premiere ceremony for a hundred thousand people, so he casually gave Brett a thick stack.
Only then did Shyarly accept the movie tickets.
"By the way, I said those were employee benefits just now."
Brett pulled out another movie ticket. He looked at Shyarly. "This one is for you."
The girl was already twenty this year.
The small, cute girl from his memories had now grown into a stunning young woman whose beauty was apparent at first glance.
The big sister Shyarly who used to play with him had now simply become Shyarly.
Even her height had caught up now.
"Oh~"
The mermaid ladies drew out their tone. "Specially prepared? Brother Brett, that's not fair—showing favoritism like that."
"Can't help it."
Brett shrugged. "Shyarly is special."
Shyarly's beautiful sea-blue eyes, like the ocean itself, trembled slightly. She casually plucked the movie ticket from Brett's hand. "Then I'll accept it."
"What about the time? When is it?" she asked.
"Tesoro hasn't set the specific time yet, but we should know tomorrow—he's going to start promoting it."
Brett smiled. "What's this? Are you looking forward to it?"
Shyarly nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course. What about you—aren't you looking forward to it?"
Brett paused, feeling something stirring in his heart. He smiled and answered, "Of course I'm looking forward to it—even more than you."
Shyarly rolled her eyes. "Are you still a child?"
Then she couldn't help but smile softly.
"Hahaha."
Brett also laughed heartily. "Shyarly, how about we have dinner together before going to see the movie?"
"Oh? That's an invitation for a date!"
Miss Miriam poked her head out from the kitchen. "Shyarly, hurry up and agree!"
Shyarly nodded gently. "Alright."
She never held back from showing her feelings.
What was most heart-stirring?
Probably realizing the mutual understanding between each other.
"Big Brother Brett, when do tickets go on sale?"
The pleasant atmosphere was quickly broken by the unromantic fish-men, who called out excitedly, "We're really looking forward to that movie too!"
"Don't worry about that."
Brett turned back. "There will be large-scale promotional activities later. Premiere movie tickets will be given away then—you won't need to buy them."
Might as well help Tesoro with some promotion.
"Given away? Then we have no choice but to go see it!"
The atmosphere in the cafe became very lively.
"Director Brett, can we participate in the premiere ceremony too?" The speaker was a human.
"Of course."
Brett said naturally. "Even if you don't get premiere ceremony tickets, don't worry—it'll be officially released right after. Tesoro said movie tickets on Fish-Man Island will be half price."
"That's reassuring then! Hahaha, really looking forward to it!"
Who wouldn't be looking forward to it?
Brett turned his head and met Shyarly's gaze.
The two smiled at each other.
After staying at the Mermaid Cafe for a while and chatting with Shyarly about her recent peaceful daily life, Brett took his leave.
If he wasn't mistaken, there would be a small bit of trouble after returning to Fish-Man District, so he didn't linger long.
Facts proved his guess was spot on.
He had just returned home to Fish-Man District and sat down for a sip of water when a certain someone had already come looking for him.
"Brett!"
Arlong was incredibly excited. "From Fish-Man Island, the emperor who rules the deep sea! Has the moment we've been waiting for finally arrived?"
****
50+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces