"This Shuckle's juice has been fermented for too long. Don't you two find the taste a bit strong?"
There is some difference between Shuckle and turtles. Its main body is that of a soft-bodied organism, with very flexible limbs and neck.
Its exterior is a hard shell used to protect its body, which is mostly red, with a small number of them being light purple. The shell has several extra holes, and besides those for its limbs, the remaining ones are also very useful.
For example, berries can be stuffed inside. Shuckle's shell has a large amount of reserved space, which they use to store berries.
As time passes, the berries ferment and gradually mix with Shuckle's bodily fluids, unknowingly turning into sticky and delicious juice.
Moreover, the type of juice varies depending on the fermentation time and the type of berry. Once the time limit is exceeded, the liquid inside them transforms from juice into fruit wine; low in alcohol content but with a strong delayed effect.
If fermentation continues beyond the wine stage, it eventually becomes a liquid that can dissolve rocks. This is also one of their means of survival in the wild.
Wild Shuckle, in order to avoid being attacked, usually hide motionless under rocks most of the time until they've consumed all the stored berries inside their bodies.
And this internal liquid is an ability they evolved to make nesting on rocks easier.
"Really? We put in a Cheri Berry, so that was actually alcohol?"
Wolff didn't take Queen's words to heart and instead picked up the jug of berry juice and kept drinking. Then he even pretended to breathe fire, clearly showing signs of being drunk.
"You brats really are reckless. You two are about to turn 10, right? Don't act like little kids and make these kinds of mistakes! And you two over there! If they couldn't tell the difference, didn't you think something was off?!"
Seeing Meowna and Wolff clearly too drunk to hear him, Queen turned his attention to Bepo and Carrot.
"I'm sorry."
"I didn't ask you to apologize! Can't you have a little spine as a bear Mink? Isn't there muscle under that bear hide of yours? Don't just apologize so casually!"
"Yes, I'm sorry… Ah, should I not have said sorry?"
"You're hopeless, bear."
Bepo's personality hadn't changed much. His first reaction to anything was still to apologize, so Queen's gaze then fell on the rabbit.
"Actually, this has nothing to do with me. But when your Duchess comes back from work, make sure to tell her this has nothing to do with me."
If it hadn't been for Hawkins' comment about Mercury retrograde, Queen wouldn't have overthought things. But after the divination, the more he thought about it, the more something felt off. It seemed like he had shown up at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The two kids, getting drunk for the first time, probably wouldn't even remember clearly what happened. But if they remembered running into him, he might end up taking the fall again.
"I recently cultivated a batch of fruit carrots. I'll let you try some when they're ready. I don't ask for much, just don't start spouting nonsense."
To prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings, Queen even resorted to bribing with food.
"No problem, Uncle Queen! I'll report everything truthfully to the Duchess, including what you said."
At the mention of carrots, Carrot's ears stood straight up. Queen had different reputations among different people—scapegoat, punching bag, jerk, all bark and no bite—but in the eyes of most Minks, they mainly thought his fruits were really tasty.
Carrot hadn't planned on saying anything reckless anyway. Queen's offer was basically free for her, which couldn't be helped. Queen's persecution paranoia never recovered completely and often made him overly cautious.
"You don't need to report everything that thoroughly! Hey hey! Don't use Shuckle as your teething stick! Careful or you'll break your teeth!"
People will never know what absurd things they're capable of doing when drunk. Some end up holding wedding ceremonies with a lamp post, while others go up a mountain to fight a tiger just to prove themselves.
Meowna seemed to have thought of something strange and actually started biting Shuckle's shell.
Shuckle didn't get angry; instead, it helplessly patted Meowna's head.
It didn't feel anything from the biting at all. Just like Queen said, Shuckle's shell was hard enough to break her teeth.
This kind of Pokémon has very unique base stats; they allocate all their limited points into both defenses. [TN: Regular Defense and Special Defense]
Its speed is extremely low, its HP bar is very short, and its attacks are negligible, but it's quite hard.
"Mr. Apoo, this boss seems pretty gentle."
"Yeah, he's actually over there playing with kids. Life with him might not be that bad after all."
Seeing Queen fooling around with Meowna and Wolff gave them a mistaken impression—that he was easy to get along with.
That's because they had never interacted with Queen before; their first time seeing him was when he was dancing.
Plus, Queen had thrown them the literacy handbook so that they can avoid trouble, which made them think he was a boss who cared about his subordinates.
"Don't be stupid. That guy is the Plague, a super monster with a 3.2 billion bounty. He only brought us out because he thinks we're useful. If you want to survive in the world of pirates, then you have to show your value."
"When we get back, practice all the sheet music I gave you. The best outcome is to make him rely on us. Unless you want to end up like the Drake Pirates, digging in the mines again, drop those fantasies."
Compared to his naive subordinates, Apoo was more clear-headed. Those two little Minks were treated like that by Queen clearly because of their parents. Apoo didn't think he himself had that kind of privilege.
While Apoo was lecturing his subordinates, Queen had already "bribed" Bepo and Carrot with honey and carrots, then left with Shuckle and Ludicolo.
After showing Apoo and the others Ludicolo's dance, he put them onto a ship and handed them over to Hawkins, while he went off to research a new drug.
Shuckle's abilities aren't just limited to brewing alcohol and juice; the space inside their shells also serves as a unique pharmaceutical manufacturing site. Combined with Diancie's decomposition ability, Queen had just developed a new formula and planned to manufacture his upgraded Plague Bullets.
The mysterious attack during the Summit War had made him feel an even greater sense of crisis. The weapons he created were like toys in front of that kind of power. Even if he couldn't match that strength, he couldn't afford to stay stagnant any longer.
But just as he walked into the lab, he got hit in the face by a Hydro Pump.
"Queen! You b*stard, you haven't been here for a whole week! Are you even going to look at these reports anymore?!"
Omastar slapped the stack of documents beside it as it scolded Queen. There wasn't anything major in the reports, otherwise, it would have informed someone else already.
But letting the paperwork pile up was still a pain. It was just a Den Den Mushi, yet it had to organize documents every day, which was way beyond its job description.
"Queen? Queen, did you get hit so hard you've become stupid? That can't be. Didn't you already build up resistance to Hydro Pump long ago?"
"Muhahaha! I get it now! So that's what Mercury retrograde meant! Now I can finally be at ease! Good job, wait a bit, I'll give you extra berries with your meal."
Watching Queen burst out laughing instead of getting angry, Omastar slapped itself with its tentacle in confusion.
"It's over… This guy might really have gone completely insane."
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