Chapter 311: Tea
Cherry and Tesoro parted ways shortly after the demonstration. She was sent off to one of his real V.I.P. rooms that he saved for actually important guests. According to him, they were even nicer than the ones reserved for the celestial dragons, though he'd asked her to keep that quiet.
Cherry found all 7 of the hidden spy den den mushi around the room and gathered them onto the coffee table for a tiny snail tea party which, to her delight, the den den mushi were very interested in. Who knew snails like leaf juice?
As she observed the mini den den mushi sipping at the tiny tea cups she fashioned for them, there was a knock at the door.
Cherry skipped over to the door and swung it wide open, seemingly unworried about what dangers may lie on the other side.
"Oh-! It's a pervert!" Cherry greeted Tanaka with a pleasant smile.
Tanaka's brow twitched in agitation with a forced professional smile plastered onto his face whilst his eyes tried to burn a hole through her skull. Stripping him naked in front of a lady was humiliating, but he was frankly far more annoyed that she found all the bugs in the room she was given. It was an insult to his skills as the head of security on the Gran Tesoro; especially since she let them continue broadcasting what they perceived.
"Here's your 'butler', Miss Harpin." Tanaka said through gritted teeth.
Raise Max stood beside the head of security looking positively downtrodden despite having been dressed up in a high quality staff tuxedo, his face cleanly shaved, and his hair neatly combed, oiled, and parted.
"Ohhh~! He cleans up pretty well, huh? Even his head looks more normal sized when he is standing next to you, hehe~!" Cherry giggled. "Come, Sebastian! A tea party without a lowly servant to pour the tea for you is hardly a tea party at all!"
Tanaka marched away without a word. It was rude to leave without excusing himself properly, but he was afraid that if he opened his mouth then only vitriol would flow out. Thankfully, Cherry didn't kick up a fuss, which is what he expected from an uncouth pirate.
"..." Raise Max stood at the door and watched Tanaka leave before turning his gaze back to Cherry.
"Well? Get your ass in here, Sebastian! Tea won't serve itself!" Cherry demanded.
"Oh... I guess I'm Sebastian now..." Raise Max realized and trudged into the room.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
*SLAM* *click click click click click*
Cherry shut the door with some force and started to twist the latches of several deadbolts all around the door. Before turning around and giving Raise Max a smile.
"So, did you have fun being dead?" Cherry asked.
"Chief of Staff!" Raise Max saluted involuntarily. Though Koala and Sabo couldn't see him, they heard the click of his heels quite clearly.
"Relax, Max. It always feels strange to have you salute me like that. We're all in this together, remember?" Sabo sighed exasperatedly. This was apparently an ongoing quirk of the man's.
"It's important to set an example, sir!" Raise Max insisted, shifting into an 'at ease' stance. Cherry was giggling at his sudden change of demeanor.
"To who, Max? The den den mushi?" You could almost hear the teasing smile on Sabo's face. "Nevermind that. We were planning to extract you, but it seems the situation has changed? What's your status?"
"I have allied myself with, er, Cherry here. I didn't know you were already acquainted with her, though." Raise Max scratched his cheek, frowning at his missing stubble. "She offered the means for my escape in exchange for helping her with a small matter."
"You can trust her, Max.; she's a good friend to the cause. You haven't been to headquarters in
a few years, so you missed meeting her." Sabo explained.
"Wait, how did you know I'm with the Revolutionary Army?" Raise Max raised an interesting
question.
"We didn't tell her about you as far as I know..." Sabo spoke.
Cherry smirked. "I rifled through Dragon's desk and found a group photo with you in it."
The sound of four hands slapping against their owners' faces was heard through the den den
mushi.
"Damn it, Cherry. We've been looking for a spy for a year and a half because of that..." Sabo
groaned.
"Whoops-?" Cherry's smirk widened. "I thought I was pretty sneaky. Guess not, huh?
Hehehehehe~!"