East Blue, Syrup Village.
The small village restaurant was packed with diners, yet no one spoke loudly. They kept stealing glances toward the corner table, whispering among themselves.
"My god, how many plates of meat is this now?" A waiter in an apron passed by carrying empty plates, muttering quietly to the owner who peeked out from the kitchen. "Just grilled meat alone, he's had twelve plates, plus five bowls of seafood soup. His appetite is simply enormous!"
The man in the corner was Ryan, who paid no attention to the whispers.
He casually wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with his fingertips, stuffed the last piece of perfectly charred beast meat into his mouth, then picked up the mug of ale before him and drained it in one go.
After leaving Cocoyasi Village, he had followed trails of cooking smoke all the way here.
"Buuurp—" The long, drawn-out belch finally stirred the air. He put down his knife and fork, leaving the tabletop suddenly empty and glaringly bare.
The owner rubbed his hands together, cautiously approaching the table with a neatly folded bill, sweat beading on his forehead. "S-sir, your bill... comes to thirty-two thousand Belly."
The moment he spoke, the surrounding whispers instantly froze.
The diners gasped sharply—in an ordinary East Blue town, a simple meal cost only about a hundred Belly. This amount was practically equivalent to swallowing a month's worth of revenue.
Ryan pulled out a heavy money pouch from his pocket, poured out several shiny gold coins, and casually pushed them toward the owner. "Keep the change."
The crisp clinking of gold coins made the owner's eyes widen. He bowed repeatedly. "Th-thank you, sir! Please come again!"
Ryan didn't respond, standing up and pushing open the restaurant's wooden door.
The afternoon sun was rather glaring. He squinted, looking toward the white castle outside the town, its spire peeking through the green trees.
He recognized that place—Kaya's home.
He had little interest in that long-nosed boy Usopp who was always telling lies, but... His gaze fixed on the direction of the castle, and he suddenly curled his lips slightly.
Since he was already here, he might as well go take a look.
He strode forward with his long legs, following the winding path toward the castle.
Wildflowers by the roadside swayed in the wind. Occasionally, villagers passing by would instinctively avoid him upon seeing his tall figure, likely frightened by the untamed ferocity he hadn't fully concealed.
The castle's garden was meticulously maintained, with neatly trimmed bushes forming green hedges. Between the cracks in the stone path beneath his feet were embedded tiny flower petals.
When Ryan looked up, he happened to see a girl in a white dress sitting by an open window on the second floor. She had soft golden hair and a somewhat pale complexion, completely absorbed in the book she was holding. Sunlight fell on her long, delicate eyelashes, casting faint shadows, making her look like a quiet white dove.
Meanwhile, hanging upside down from the branches of an old oak tree outside the window was the long-nosed Usopp, his red nose twitching with every word he spoke. "...I'm telling you, this time I defeated a giant octopus from the deep sea! That guy's tentacles were as big as ship sails, and I chopped them into eighteen pieces with one slash!"
It was Usopp and Kaya.
With just a light tap of his toes, several faint red Flame Clouds materialized beneath his feet, lifting his figure slowly upward as if supported by invisible hands. He came to a silent stop at the second-floor windowsill.
The edges of the Flame Clouds shimmered with tiny sparks, yet emitted no heat at all, only making his tall silhouette appear somewhat ethereal.
"Ah!" Kaya was looking down at the book on the floor when a sudden shadow at the window caught the corner of her eye. She jerked her head up in alarm, the pages in her hand rustling loudly in the wind.
When she saw the face hovering outside the window and the strange Flame Cloud beneath its feet, her pupils contracted sharply. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound emerged—how could this person suddenly appear in mid-air?
Usopp, who had just climbed onto a tree branch, was so startled that he lost his grip and fell with a thud onto the lawn. Clutching his backside, he sprang up and shouted, "M-monster!"
Scrambling to the base of the window, he pointed a trembling finger at Ryan's feet. "Wh-what is that under your feet? Get away! Or I'll set the dogs on you!"
Ryan stood calmly on the Flame Cloud, his gaze passing over Usopp to rest on Kaya by the window.
The girl's face had grown even paler. Her golden hair swayed slightly around her shoulders, and besides shock, there was a faint, barely noticeable curiosity in her eyes.
"A traveler, just passing through," he said, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile as if the Flame Cloud beneath him were nothing more than an ordinary step.
Kaya blinked, her eyes drifting back to the Flame Cloud. Softly, she asked, "Did... did you come from very far away?"
She had read countless books since childhood but had never seen anything like this. The mysterious aura around this man felt more like a tale from distant lands than any of Usopp's lies.
"Don't believe him!" Usopp jumped up, blocking the window, his red nose nearly pressed against the glass. "He's definitely up to no good! I warn you, I'm the great hero Usopp who's defeated countless pirates! If you don't leave now, I'll—"
Ryan ignored his shouting, keeping his eyes on Kaya as he suddenly smiled again. "The world outside holds things even more wondrous than this Flame Cloud."
Kaya's eyes instantly brightened, as if sparked by the Flame Cloud's embers, bringing a faint flush to her pale cheeks.
Watching the flickering flames beneath Ryan's feet, her gaze shimmering, she whispered, "For example... could I see the real sea?"
Ryan lightly tapped his toe, and a wisp of the Flame Cloud separated, drifting toward Kaya like a tame flame. It radiated a gentle warmth without burning, its edges sparkling with embers that rose and fell like fireflies.
"The sea? More than that," he said, his voice vibrating softly with the Flame Cloud's motion. "I've seen trains racing across the ocean, and whales larger than this castle, whose breath can create rainbows spanning the sky."
Kaya held her breath, cautiously extending a fingertip toward the Flame Cloud, only to pull it back just before touching it. "Are there really such places?"
Her voice was as light as a feather, afraid to disturb the breathing flame before her.
"Of course!" Before Ryan could answer, Usopp suddenly straightened his neck and shouted, "I've even seen seahorses that spit gold coins! Last time on the Grand Line, I fought one for three days and three nights until it begged for mercy and offered me all its treasure!"
He gestured wildly, his long nose bouncing with his exaggerated movements, all earlier caution forgotten.
Bragging about distant adventures was his specialty.
Ryan raised an eyebrow but didn't expose his lie. Instead, he played along, "Oh? Did that seahorse have a Lion's tail?"
"Yes, yes! Exactly, a Lion's tail! You've seen it too?" Usopp stared in surprise, then slapped his thigh.
"Probably the same one." Ryan curled his lips, a hint of teasing hidden in his eyes.
Kaya watched their back-and-forth and couldn't help but laugh. Her laughter was like wind chimes under the eaves, light and gentle.
She turned to Usopp with soft amusement in her eyes: "Usopp, is that flying ship you mentioned last time as marvelous as what this traveler described?"
"Of course!" Usopp immediately straightened his back: "My ship can sail through the clouds, with a golden cannon at the bow that can blast through pirate fortresses with a single boom!"
"A ship in the clouds..." Kaya gazed at the distant sky, her eyes drifting far away, "I'd really love to see it with my own eyes."
Ryan watched Usopp's wild claims with amusement, thinking how funny it was that this kid could spin such elaborate tales while knowing nothing about the actual wonders of the sea.
But come to think of it... there really was such a thing as a flying ship.
Truly worthy of being someone who can make lies come true. Quite interesting.
"What are you all doing there?" Just then, a stern voice suddenly came from the corridor, carrying undeniable authority.