OPTC Chapter 285 A Whole Bunch of Weaklings!
Artoria didn't dwell on the issue for long. She understood that Zhang Da Ye only wanted to make their journey smoother. Whether this kingdom's soldiers were corrupt or honest wasn't something she needed to worry about.
Right now, the one most worried in the group was Zhang Da Ye:
"Tom, if you take something from someone, make sure you pay for it!"
"Hey, you lecherous skeleton, stop flirting with women near us! People are starting to look at our group funny!"
"Perona, why did you scare him—wait, what? Eight thousand Berries for one stick of cotton candy? Hit him!"
They didn't actually fight, but Brook teamed up with Perona's ghost to put on a convincing haunted act. The frightened vendor immediately quoted the real price.
Of course, he wouldn't dare to name the cost price—he might die from a ghost's curse, but he'd rather die than not make a profit.
The trembling merchant pocketed the money, earning the admiring looks of his neighbors.
Artoria took a small lick of her cotton candy. The sweetness on her tongue lightened her mood considerably.
Ignoring Shark Chili's nagging about "rinsing after eating sweets," Artoria enjoyed her treat while scanning the shops around them. As the cotton candy shrank in her hand, her bright green eyes began to sparkle with interest.
Soon she tugged at Zhang Da Ye's sleeve. "Da Ye, that restaurant looks nice."
Zhang Da Ye looked up at the signboard and sighed inwardly, already feeling his wallet grow lighter. Still, what was the point of earning money if not to spend it? He waved to his companions. "Alright everyone, it's mealtime!"
The group poured into the restaurant. Zhang Da Ye used his signature "process of elimination" method to order food, which made the restaurant owner beam with joy.
His generous payment at the end made the owner's eyes shine—last time someone ate this much, it had been three kids pretending to be adults, and they hadn't even paid. The poor man had been heartbroken for half a month. Thankfully, today's customers weren't freeloaders.
As it turned out, a chef's skill wasn't limited by the sea they lived near. Based on Zhang Da Ye's experience dining all over Sabaody, this chef's cooking was top-notch—though so were the prices.
Before leaving, Zhang Da Ye asked, "Boss, is there a bookstore nearby? Somewhere we can buy a sea chart?"
"There is. Turn left after leaving here, less than a kilometer away. But that bookstore's small—if you want detailed sea charts, go to the one in High Town."
After all, High Town was the nobles' area; books and maps were in higher demand there.
"Can tourists like us go into High Town?" Zhang Da Ye asked.
"It's fine," the owner said. "Just don't get too close to the royal palace."
"Thanks."
"Come again next time!" the restaurant owner called out as they left.
After lunch, the group split up instead of heading straight to High Town. Rui Meng Meng took Perona, Wendy, and Carla to buy clothes—there hadn't been many choices back in Shimotsuki Village.
Ye Yan tagged along at Zhang Da Ye's suggestion. He understood women's fashion better than most girls—mainly, Zhang Da Ye didn't want Rui Meng Meng and the others wandering around alone since they were too kind and trusting.
Zhang Da Ye and Shark Chili went to the bookstore to buy maps, bringing Tom along. Zhang Da Ye also twisted Tom's head back into place after it had been rotated toward Carla again.
Artoria, determined to uncover the secret of her treasure map, joined them.
Brook wanted to go with the other group but was forcibly pulled back by Zhang Da Ye, who didn't trust him near the fitting rooms.
As they strolled down the street, sampling snacks, Artoria suddenly stopped. "Da Ye, there are people following us. They've been tailing us since the port—and even waited outside while we were eating. It's not a coincidence."
"Following us? Trying to rob us?" Zhang Da Ye turned to look. Sure enough, several shady-looking men trailed behind them. One was thin, the other four plain-looking.
Brook grasped his cane sword. "Yohohoho~ What are they trying to rob, I wonder? Panties?"
"You're the only freak who'd rob panties," Zhang Da Ye said flatly.
The thin man met Zhang Da Ye's gaze, quickly looked away, and whistled as if nothing was happening.
A few seconds later, he glanced back again—only to find Zhang Da Ye still staring. Embarrassed, he stepped forward. "Hello! I'm Lyle. I run a small business here in the capital. A pleasure to meet you all."
The other four stood behind him like lackeys.
"Why are you following us?" Zhang Da Ye asked bluntly.
Lyle rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Ah, well, I happened to overhear at the port that you're from the Grand Line. I thought maybe we could talk business. You all looked busy enjoying yourselves, so I didn't want to interrupt."
Oh, how considerate of you. Zhang Da Ye resisted rolling his eyes. "Business?"
"Yes! You see, the Grand Line is like a legend to us in the East Blue. If I could get my hands on some of its rare products…" Lyle's eyes all but turned into Berry symbols. "Do you have anything from the Grand Line aboard your ship? Anything at all—I promise I'll pay a good price!"
So that was his angle. Zhang Da Ye realized this guy was another greedy merchant. "Sorry, we don't have anything for sale."
To be honest, their ship did have plenty of alcohol from Sabaody, but since most of the crew were underage or didn't drink, the stock had just sat there untouched. They'd even thought of opening a sea tavern someday—but for now, they didn't need money badly enough to sell any.
Lyle waved his hands. "No, no, you misunderstand! It doesn't have to be something precious. Even your ordinary daily items would sell! Forgive my boldness, but even your worn clothes would count as treasures from the Grand Line!"
Zhang Da Ye sucked in a breath. This man was… a marketing genius, in a twisted way.
"Brook," Zhang Da Ye said seriously.
Brook's hand tightened around his sword. "Do you require my assistance?"
"Sell him your underwear."
"What—?!" Brook looked horrified. "No, Da Ye-san! That's disgusting!"
Zhang Da Ye blinked. "Huh? You think it's disgusting? Aren't you always talking about panties?"
Brook defended himself, "I only want to see women's panties, not sell my own! Especially not to another man!"
Lyle and his men quickly waved their hands. "No, no, even if you wanted to, we wouldn't buy them!"
Zhang Da Ye shrugged. "You heard them. Even our most perverted member won't sell you anything. We're done here—goodbye."
As they turned to leave, two of Lyle's men rushed ahead to block their way.
"Leaving so soon?" Lyle said with a smile. "That won't do."
Zhang Da Ye gestured toward the growing crowd of onlookers. "You sure you want to start a fight here?"
"As long as we've got enough Berries—or don't get caught by the Enforcers—it's fine," Lyle said confidently.
He'd been observing them since the port. The strongest fighter seemed to be the woman with the big black sword—but she was off with the kids. The ones here were just a bunch of weaklings: a skinny boy, a few girls, a cat, a skeleton, and what looked like a human pretending to be a robot.
No way any of them could fight.
He smirked. "There's not a single one of them who can fight. If we can't make a deal, we'll just rough them up."
"Oh, so as long as we're not seen by the Enforcers, it's fine?" Zhang Da Ye said, nodding thoughtfully. "Thanks for the tip."
Lyle frowned. "What's that supposed to—get them!"
Four men lunged forward.
Three seconds later.
"We're sorry! Please forgive us!" *5
All five of them knelt in a line, bruised and battered, foreheads pressed to the ground.
They honestly didn't even know how they'd lost. One moment they were swinging their fists, the next they were face-down on the street—maybe even beaten up by a cat? It must've been an illusion.
Lyle couldn't believe it. These guys were monsters! If you're that strong, why act so polite and law-abiding? Why even bribe that patrol captain back at the port?!
"What just happened?" the spectators whispered. "I just opened my bag of peanuts and it's already over?"
"Scram," Zhang Da Ye said, not bothering with more words. He led his companions away as the crowd parted.
"Boss Lyle, what now?" one of the lackeys groaned.
"What do you think? The hospital!" Lyle winced, touching his swollen face.
…
The little incident didn't dampen their mood. After wandering and snacking a bit more, they found the bookstore the restaurant owner had mentioned.
It wasn't very big—bookshelves were neatly arranged, with barely enough room for two people to pass between them. A few children sat in a corner reading picture books.
The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man with glasses, seemed gentle and didn't chase the kids away. He sat quietly at the counter reading a newspaper.
When Zhang Da Ye's group entered, he only glanced up briefly before returning to his paper.
A few seconds later, he blinked and rubbed his eyes. Wait—was that a walking skeleton? In his store? Should he call the Enforcers or an exorcist?
The group ignored his look and went straight to the geography section.
"Atlas of East Blue Islands? Useful. Take it."
"Legends of the Sea? Could hold clues. Take it."
"Climate Patterns of East Blue? That'll help too. Add it."
Book after book, until they'd gathered over twenty.
The owner mechanically took their payment and packed the books into a bag. Hesitating, he finally asked, "Excuse me…"
His gaze flicked between Brook and Shark Chili.
"I'm a robot. He's a skeleton. We're from the Grand Line," Shark Chili said easily. It was simpler to blame everything on the Grand Line.
"Ah, the Grand Line…" The owner nodded, as if everything suddenly made sense—probably imagining all sorts of nonsense.
Meanwhile, the children in the store perked up. "A robot! He's really a robot!"
Shark Chili grinned and struck a few heroic poses. When they asked him to transform, he said that he only shouted "Super Transformation!" when facing bad guys—to protect people as a super hero.
The kids were instantly in awe. Secretly, though, he was just saving his transformation time to practice Fishman Karate later.
The children dropped their books and ran outside to play superhero, already arguing over who got to be the hero.
Maybe the nobles were awful, but the commoners and kids weren't so bad, Zhang Da Ye thought. He was reminded of Zephyr—how he'd dreamed of being a hero since childhood. He wondered how the old man was doing now.
"Da Ye, should we go to the other bookstore too?" Shark Chili asked.
Zhang Da Ye nodded. "Yeah. It's still early. Let's check out that noble district while we're at it, then regroup later."
High Town was literally high up—they had to climb several flights of stairs to reach it. After walking all day, Tom was done, and clung to Zhang Da Ye's shoulder like a lazy ornament.
There were no guards at the entrance, just patrols along the streets. Seeing Artoria's regal air, they didn't bother her.
As for Zhang Da Ye, carrying a bag of books with a cat on his shoulder didn't exactly make him look dignified. People probably assumed he was Artoria's attendant.
Most of High Town's buildings were domed castles, completely different from the simple structures below—grand and imposing, because luxury was apparently synonymous with nobility.
They looked around curiously. It was quieter than the bustling center streets below, and every store seemed refined and high-end—definitely not places for commoners.
Tom, draped over Zhang Da Ye's shoulder, lazily glanced around. The nobles' fancy clothes reminded him of his old days as a royal guard. Nothing new—and why were they all so ugly?
One of those "ugly" nobles, a young man adjusting his collar, stopped before Artoria. "Good day, beautiful lady. I am Ansetry Foel, eldest son of House Ansetry. May I know your name?"
From Zhang Da Ye's shoulder, Tom lifted his head and eyed the man. Not only was he ugly, he was clueless about it too.
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