Chapter 215: Morning at the Mermaid Cafe
'How did this happen...?' Shyarly thought to herself.
She had been relaxing by her lonesome in her closed Mermaid Cafe with a few drinks and her pipe, when two of the humans from the Straw Hat crew barged inside like they owned the place.
Although she wanted to tell them off for their rude actions, she couldn't quite bear to do so given they helped save Fishman Island from Hody and the Neo Marines. Not to mention that the scary looking one had personally saved her own life.
At least they had the decency to bring their own drinks and snacks instead of expecting her to supply them.
"What's a beautiful lady like yourself drinking all alone for when there's an island wide party going on outside?" The scary one, Cherry, had asked her.
Shyarly could see the desire in Cherry's eyes, though she was polite enough not to let her eyes roam away from Shyarly's own. She was accustomed to being desired, even by the occasional woman, so it didn't fluster her at all when she answered. "I like my privacy."
Admittedly she had said it with a bit more passive aggression than she meant to. She blamed the alcohol for that.
"We can come back in the morning if that would be more comfortable for you?" The tall one, Robin, said politely.
"... You can stay... for now." Shyarly said. That was when things started spiraling out of control.
Robin and Cherry were both fascinating women.
Robin is an archaeologist, presumably the last in the world that could read the ancient poneglyphs. The stories she could tell about the history of the world and its peoples were endless and varied, and she could tell those stories in such a captivating way. Shyarly felt that could listen to Robin speak for hours despite not having any particular interest in history before.
Cherry on the other hand was something of a philosopher. Knowing that Shyarly was a fortune teller, she spoke about her own thoughts regarding fate. The intricacies of her view on the subject were far too complex to have been made up on the spot by someone just trying to impress her, and many had tried just that before so she knew those types quite well.
She had nearly scoffed at the idea of changing fate until she had elaborated that only someone with both great power and determination could go against it, as fate had a strong corrective force. Even then there would be consequences levied upon the "blasphemer" who dared to fight against it.
"Marry me!" Cherry cried after scarfing down the unusual but very tasty seafood burrito- thing. Robin punched her on the arm and gave her a glare that meant "You belong to me!"
Shyarly scurried away before she could be teased any more than she already had been, much to the confusion of Camie. Later she would ask Pappag if he understood what was up with them and become very flustered at the answer she would be given.
...
Tamago and Pekoms were walking down the street towards the new factory the Big Mom Pirates had recently invested in on Fishman Island. Naturally it produced sweets for Big Mom, specifically a kind of sea salt candy that could only be made on Fishman Island with its unique location in the deep sea and the techniques of the locals.
Big Mom had been pretty pissed when Whitebeard didn't die during the war at Marineford, meaning she could just claim Fishman Island for herself without going to all out war. Still, the factory produced enough candy that her appetite could be sated somewhat, so it didn't come
to that.
That didn't stop her from directing her ire to a certain someone who not only helped Whitebeard survive, but later snatched away a devil fruit from her most powerful son. Nevermind the fact that he himself had been trying to snatch it from the world government's
dogs.
"Bon, something seems to have happened! There is a different air about the people since last month, soir!" The man wearing an egg shell as pants, Tamago, said.
"A battle perhaps? I smell remnants of gunpowder in the air, Gao!" The lion mink, Pekoms,
said.
They were passing by the Mermaid Cafe when a woman with sharp red eyes stepped outside right in front of them.
"Clear the way, Gao! Don't you know who we are?!" Pekoms shouted in irritation.
"Bon, wait a moment, Pekoms! I recognise this rude woman, s'il vous plaît!" Tamago said, pulling out a stack of wanted posters.
"Hm???" Cherry turned to them as Tamago flipped through the wanted posters. She thought to herself 'Is it a young master in need of an etiquette lesson?'