Inside the Palace of Alubarna, a dinner banquet that could hardly be called luxurious was underway.
A long dining table was filled with many exquisitely shaped dishes, overflowing with delicious aromas, while a row of solemn-faced soldiers stood on either side.
By all rights, this should have been a very serious occasion, but due to a certain rubber idiot who seemed like a starved ghost reincarnate, it had become extremely noisy and chaotic.
As mentioned before, eating at the same table as Luffy is a rather thrilling experience. You will always have the illusion that the entire table of delicacies will be wiped out in the next second, forcing you to speed up your eating, all while constantly guarding against those little claws stealing food from every direction.
Alabasta's specialty cuisine indeed had its unique qualities. Whenever new food was brought to the table, it was carved up and devoured almost instantly. That fierce intensity made the soldiers standing on both sides feel that this wasn't a dining table, but a smoke-filled battlefield.
"It's just too vulgar..." one soldier muttered in a low voice.
"Yes, too impudent. They are dining with His Majesty the King and Her Highness the Princess, after all."
"But Princess Vivi seems very happy."
Watching helplessly as the steak on his own plate was nimbly swiped away by a comically long hand, Cobra blinked, then chuckled at a certain Straw Hat boy who was stuffing his face:
"Seeing you eat with such relish shows that your injuries have completely healed. That is truly wonderful."
"%#%% ¥E#," Luffy mumbled incoherently, his mouth stuffed full of food, spraying meat particles everywhere—some even splashing onto the navigator's plate.
"Idiot!!"
Demon King Nami struck the airhead captain heavily on the head, roaring with sharp teeth bared: "Swallow the food in your mouth first!"
(Truly stupid...)
Sherlock, whose style was completely different from the noisy environment around him, sighed. He continued to slowly and methodically handle the rabbit meat on his plate. This roast rabbit, baked with Alabasta's secret recipe, was quite to the Occultist's liking.
On the other side of the table, a certain long-nose, who had been annoyed by the idiot captain, was secretly carrying out an evil plan.
"Pfft, Usopp, you're so bad," Chopper covered his mouth with his little hooves, forcibly suppressing the smile on his face.
"Hehehe, Luffy, taste the power of my Captain Usopp's [Hell Pepper]!!" The long-nosed brother muttered to himself while pouring a certain bright red sauce into a rice ball, a sinister smile hanging on his face.
Sanji and Zoro watched coldly from the sidelines, adopting a posture of waiting for a good show.
Completely unaware of this, Luffy rubbed the spot where Nami had hit him, looked left and right, and began scanning for things that looked delicious.
(Oh? Those two look really tasty!)
Action followed thought instantly. His two arms stretched out exaggeratedly, snatching both the roast rabbit from Sherlock's plate and the "secret" rice ball from Usopp's plate.
With one big gulp, the rabbit that Sherlock had already half-eaten instantly entered Luffy's temple of five viscera. The airhead captain didn't even spit out the bones before opening his mouth again to bite into the rice ball in his hand.
(Hehehe... he fell for it!) X4
Usopp, Chopper, Sanji, and Zoro all wore mischievous grins, seemingly foreseeing the scene of Luffy breathing fire and scrambling for water.
"Hey, Luffy." A deep voice spoke.
This voice seemed to possess a magical power, causing the airhead captain's movements to freeze instantly.
"I remember telling you this back on Drum Island." Sherlock pushed up his glasses, the transparent lenses reflecting two stunning gleams of light: "I don't care if you snatch other people's food, but you cannot snatch things from my plate."
Sherlock said this with extreme righteous indignation, carrying a strong implication of "If I don't give it to you, you can't take it."
"You promised back then. What, are you going back on your word now? Didn't you say you must abide by agreements between partners?" For a certain glasses-wearing man who had unknowingly evolved into a closet foodie, having his food snatched by Luffy was absolutely intolerable.
The rest of the Straw Hats listened with black lines covering their faces, frantically retorting in their minds:
(What do you mean you don't care if he snatches other people's food?! Aren't you just purely selling out your teammates??? And is it really okay for you to say such things so high-mindedly???)
"Uh, there does seem to be such a thing." Luffy blinked in confusion, then gave Sherlock a sheepish smile: "Ah, my bad, Sherlo."
"Then take this rice ball as my apology." After saying that, Luffy placed the "secret rice ball" he had snatched from Usopp's plate onto Sherlock's plate.
(PS: Since he was completely immersed in the deliciousness of the roast rabbit earlier, Sherlock was unaware of Usopp's actions.)
Looking at the rice ball in his plate, which actually looked quite presentable, the corners of Sherlock's mouth twitched a few times, and he sighed helplessly.
Although he wasn't personally interested in rice balls, leaving food on one's plate at a noble banquet was an extremely rude act. Even if no one present might care, Sherlock, who had a near-paranoid obsession with etiquette, intended to eat it.
And so, under the horrified gazes of the few people around him, the Occultist reached out for the "secret rice ball."
"Hey, Sherlock, you..." Usopp stood up in a panic to stop him, but it was too late.
Open mouth. Bite.
As if time had paused, Sherlock's movement of putting the rice ball into his mouth froze instantly. The hellish spiciness exploded in the Occultist's mouth, ruthlessly assaulting his taste buds. It felt as if an active volcano was erupting without restraint—it seemed even his cold was cured in an instant.
What goes around comes around; such is the way of the world!
Presumably, a certain Miss Valentine far away in Little Garden would laugh herself awake in her dreams if she knew about this.
But to outsiders, Sherlock's expression looked no different from usual—the same calmness, the same composure. It was just that the muscles on his face were trembling slightly, as if he were desperately enduring something.
Silence...
The originally extremely lively dining table instantly fell into a strange silence. Except for a certain rubber idiot who was still stuffing himself, everyone inexplicably stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the Occultist who appeared almost normal. Their expressions varied, making the scene quite comical.
Chew gently, swallow, then drain the glass of juice in one go. Sherlock's movements were extremely natural. If not for the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, you really couldn't tell he had just eaten a Hell Pepper Star.
"What is it? Usopp, did you want to say something?" Sherlock asked indifferently, his voice hoarse. His gaze toward the long-nosed brother contained neither joy nor sorrow, looking as if he had seen through the vanity of the world and had no desire for life.
"No, no, no, no, nothing at all, nothing at all. I know nothing, absolutely nothing..." Usopp immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.
"Um, Sherlock." Princess Vivi blinked her bright, large eyes and asked with concern, "Are you alright? Your complexion and voice seem a bit off."
"I'm fine." Sherlock shook his head and smiled slightly at the blue-haired girl. "It's just that my cold hasn't healed yet."
Unaware of the truth, Nami glanced at Sherlock's forehead: "But you're sweating a lot, and you seem to be emitting steam."
"It's hot. It's just too hot."
"Uh..." X2
Faced with the Occultist's extremely lame excuse, neither Nami nor Vivi knew what to say.
(Sherlock, so pitiful...) The blue-nosed reindeer expressed deep condolences in his heart for the glasses-man who had taken a bullet for Luffy.
(Does this guy think falling for such a low-level prank is too embarrassing, so he intends to deny it to the death?) Sanji flicked his cigarette ash, shaking his head helplessly:
(Should I say you care too much about saving face, or that maintaining elegance at all times has become your instinct?)
Zoro kept his head down and remained silent. He filled his cup with alcohol, raised it solemnly toward Sherlock in a toast, and then drank it in one gulp, as if to say: "I respect you as a man."
Perhaps in the green-haired swordsman's heart, an Occultist who could eat a Hell Pepper Star raw without changing his expression was definitely an iron-blooded real man with a will of steel.
Just then, Terracotta, who bore a striking husband-and-wife resemblance to Igaram, walked in carrying a platter of fragrant food. She looked at the suddenly quiet dining hall with great puzzlement.
"Strange? Why aren't you eating, except for the Straw Hat boy? Don't worry, there is plenty of food, eat to your heart's content!"
As Terracotta spoke, she placed the delicious dishes on the table and inadvertently glanced at Sherlock.
"Hey? Little glasses bro, you... why are you crying?"
"Crying? Ah, that's because this rice ball was simply too delicious."
Sherlock, whose eyes had become red-rimmed at some point, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. He held up the rice ball in his hand and forced a smile:
"It's so delicious that it reminds me... reminds me of my late mother..."
By the end of his sentence, Sherlock took off his glasses and covered his forehead with his hand. Tears burst forth; he really couldn't handle the spiciness anymore.
"Oh, what a poor child!" Unaware of the truth, Terracotta saw Sherlock's heartbroken appearance and immediately overflowed with maternal instincts. She wrapped her arms around Sherlock and began to comfort him softly.
(Perhaps, although Sherlock usually acts high, noble, cold, and calm...)
(But actually, in certain moments, when this guy gets willful, he's just like a fool—a foolishly cute fool...)
Watching Sherlock being embraced by Terracotta, Nami and the others all revealed knowing smiles.
Because they suddenly felt that the Occultist, who was originally omnipotent and perfect in their minds, was also a living, breathing human.
Just like the rest of them, a [Idiot] who cries, laughs, acts tsundere, and does silly things.
Crunch, crunch. Swallowing a roast rabbit whole, bones and meat alike, the airhead captain wiped his mouth and looked left and right.
(Strange? Why is everyone spacing out? Why did Sherlock suddenly cry? Eh, new food is on the table? It looks so tasty!)
Luffy, whose brain was filled only with food, had a sharp glint burst from his eyes. Then, this guy with a screw loose in his head stopped thinking about it and buried his head to continue eating.
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze