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Chapter 147: The Dine-and-Dasher
"Hey, Straw Hat kid. Aren't you forgetting something?"
At the entrance of the restaurant, the owner stared with an unfriendly gaze at the straw hat-wearing boy who had stood up and was walking out on his own accord.
The other diners in the restaurant turned their heads one by one.
Some regulars already wore expressions of anticipation. On this lawless island, eating a "king's meal"—dining and dashing—was not a wise choice. After all, anyone who could open a shop in a place like this was certainly no simple character.
Luffy, having just reached the door, turned around in confusion.
He blinked, staring at the owner for a few seconds, before a look of realization suddenly dawned on his face.
"Oh—! I almost forgot!"
He spun around, and under everyone's astonished gazes, flashed a brilliant, blinding grin at the owner, giving him a thumbs up.
"Thanks for the food! It was delicious!"
"N-No need to thank me..." The owner replied subconsciously, but just as the words left his mouth, he saw the brat turn to leave again. A vein popped on his forehead.
"Wait! You brat—you didn't pay!"
"Pay?"
Luffy tilted his head. He reached out and patted his body. His red vest had no pockets, and his blue shorts only had two shallow pockets, which were empty.
He spread his hands with a matter-of-fact expression. "Sorry, I don't have that kind of stuff on me."
The air went silent for a second.
Then—
SLAM!
The owner slapped his hand on the counter, his face turning completely dark. "So... you intend to eat without paying?"
Almost at the same moment the owner spoke, the kitchen curtains were flung open, and several burly men walked out.
They locked onto Luffy and marched straight toward him, forming an encirclement.
"Kid, you've got some nerve, daring to eat a king's meal here!"
"Boss, should we teach this kid a lesson?"
The three men quickly surrounded Luffy, clearly having no intention of letting him go easily.
The owner took a deep breath, speaking with suppressed anger, "Detain him! Wait for his companions to bring money to redeem him!"
Most new faces on this island were pirates, and pirates basically always had companions.
This situation finally made Luffy realize what was happening. He knew, of course, that one had to pay for food, but his brain hadn't processed that fact a moment ago.
Just as he was about to explain, he suddenly sensed two familiar auras. His expression relaxed again, and he turned to look out the door.
Click-clack, click-clack.
A blue-haired maiden, beautiful enough to make it hard to look away, and a tall, raven-haired woman walked in from the street.
Two women, two completely different types of beauty, yet both made everyone present light up.
Then, under the stunned gazes of the owner and the brawny men who hadn't yet reacted, the blue-haired maiden stepped forward and took out a thick stack of banknotes.
"Apologies. Our Captain forgot to bring money when he disembarked."
The owner finally snapped out of his shock.
He hurriedly accepted the bills, squeezing out a somewhat stiff but striving-to-be-enthusiastic smile on his face.
"O-Oh, it was a misunderstanding! This young lady is truly generous! Um... would you like to sit for a while? I can have the kitchen make some specialty dishes? On the house!"
"That won't be necessary." Ganyu shook her head and turned to Luffy.
She reached out, grabbing Luffy by the back of his collar. "We need to go. We have other business to attend to."
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