Above Pirate King - Chapter 111
Arthur was the one who came.
Early in the morning, he was waiting for Aldebaran and the other two in Blood Harbor Town. After they returned, he would give them their reward and the devil fruits they had obtained along the way, and then let them rest.
It wasn’t until evening, after he finished his day’s work, that he felt hungry and wanted to eat hot pot, so he came here.
Unexpectedly, he happened to run into Gion, and with a thought, he approached her.
“Please sit, Your Majesty Arthur!” Gion said with a smile.
Arthur had just sat down when the dishes arrived.
“Blub… blub…!”
First came a large hot pot with boiling red soup base. As soon as it was brought over, a strong spicy aroma filled the air.
Then came fish balls, fish cakes, beef balls, beef tripe, marbled beef, spicy beef, coriander, lettuce, sea king meat, sea king blood… dozens of dishes were brought to the table.
After that, two large plates arrived, filled with various condiments, and finally, a bottle of clear sake was served!
But… why were all the dishes raw?
Gion looked at the dishes with a puzzled expression.
However, if she were to ask Arthur how to eat them, would it make her seem ignorant?
So, she remained composed on the surface, did not start eating with chopsticks, and just smiled at Arthur, waiting for him to eat first before she would follow suit.
“Come, Miss Gion, try the clear sake here. The owner of this restaurant is from the Wano Country and is skilled in brewing. The clear sake here is exceptional!” Arthur smiled and picked up the clear sake, pouring a cup for Gion.
“Thank you!” Gion thanked politely, then picked up the small cup and took a sip.
It was crisp, refreshing, slightly sweet, and had a faint cherry blossom aroma.
This made Gion’s eyes light up.
“This is the specialty clear sake of this restaurant, Sakura clear sake. During the brewing process, cherry blossoms are specially added to the slightly sweet clear sake, infusing it with a delicate cherry blossom fragrance. It has a wonderful taste!” Arthur explained.
“Yes, it’s good!” Gion couldn’t help but take another sip.
Afterward, Arthur used the various condiments on the large plate to prepare his favorite super spicy dipping sauce. With the addition of the Spicy Bottom hot pot, it was an explosion of spiciness. If an ordinary person ate it, they wouldn’t just have a spicy mouth the next day, even their intestines would burn!
Seeing this, Gion quickly made a plate in the same way.
“Oh, Miss Gion, do you also like eating like this?” Arthur’s eyes lit up as if he had found a kindred spirit.
“Yes!” Gion nodded gently, but in reality, she didn’t know anything and was just imitating Arthur’s preparation.
“That’s great, you must eat more then. I’ll treat you to this table today!” Arthur said happily.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Gion smiled.
“No need to call me Your Majesty, just call me Arthur!” Arthur said seriously.
Gion was startled at first, then smiled and said, “Okay, Arthur!”
“Come, try this spicy beef, it’s delicious!”
Saying that, Arthur picked up a piece of spicy beef, swirled it in the hot pot for a few seconds, and then put it in Gion’s dipping sauce.
Gion didn’t hesitate and directly picked it up, taking a bite.
Explosive!
Spicy!
At that moment, she felt like she had eaten a ball of fire.
She remained composed on the surface, but tiny beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Her cheeks instantly turned red, and even her lips seemed to be coated with lipstick, becoming fiery red!
If Arthur hadn’t prepared a piece for her and eaten one himself afterward, she would have even thought that Arthur was trying to poison her.
“So spicy, so satisfying!” After eating, Arthur exclaimed with satisfaction, then looked at Gion and quickly invited, “Come, Miss Gion, don’t be polite, eat more!”
Saying that, Arthur once again picked up some spicy beef for Gion!
“Thank you!” Gion politely said on the surface,
But inside, a thousand grass mud horses were galloping past!
However, she had no choice but to steel herself and eat it!
After another round of spiciness.
She was already sweating profusely!
She couldn’t help but drink several cups of clear sake in a row before feeling a little better.
“No need, Arthur, I can handle it myself!” Seeing Arthur wanting to pick up more food for her, Gion quickly refused.
“Okay then, eat more, don’t be polite with me!” Arthur said with a smile.
Afterward, Gion picked up some lettuce, imitated Arthur’s actions and swirled it, dipped it in the sauce, and then ate it.
This time, the spiciness was reduced a bit compared to before.
But it was still spicy.
So she quietly skipped the step of dipping in the sauce.
The spiciness decreased again.
But it was still spicy.
However, this time, the spiciness was relatively… satisfying!?
At that moment, Gion finally felt the charm of hot pot.
As they continued eating, they unknowingly finished a bottle of clear sake.
Arthur glanced at the waiter at the door and called out, “Waiter, bring a bottle of Erguotou*!”
The waiter waiting outside the private room nodded quickly and said, “Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Erguotou!?” Gion was a bit puzzled. She had never heard of this liquor before!
Soon, a bottle of Erguotou arrived.
Arthur casually opened it.
Immediately, a strong and spicy aroma emanated from it. However, it was immediately masked by the rich spiciness of the hot pot, and only Arthur, who opened it, caught a hint of it.
“Come, Miss Gion, give it a try. This is our kingdom’s specialty, Erguotou. It was just released!” Arthur enthusiastically poured a glass of Erguotou for Gion.
“Uh!”
With her mouth still burning from the spiciness, Gion thoughtlessly assumed it was similar to the previous clear sake and took a gulp.
“Uh, hm!”
A spicy liquor exploded in her mouth, adding to the original spiciness. Gion couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan, but she had to pretend as if nothing had happened.
“How is it? This liquor is not bad, right?” Arthur asked.
“It’s good, but I don’t like such strong liquor!” Gion tactfully said. She didn’t dare to say she liked it now. If Arthur were to bring her a few more bottles, she wouldn’t be able to bear it.
“What a pity!” Arthur lamented for a moment, then shouted to the outside of the private room, “Waiter, bring a bottle of milk!”
Soon, the milk arrived.
“Here, Miss Gion, milk can protect your stomach when eating spicy food, and it helps to alleviate the spiciness. Give it a try!” Arthur poured a large glass of milk for Gion.
This time, without hesitation, Gion drank it down.
Indeed, the spiciness decreased significantly!
“Here, Miss Gion, try this Sea King blood!”
“This is beef tripe!”
“This beef ball is also good!”
“Taste this marbled beef!”
“This Sea King meat has an amazing texture!”
…
Arthur kept serving Gion dishes. With the relief of the milk, the spiciness in Gion’s mouth was significantly reduced, and she gradually started enjoying the meal.
The two of them also began to chat slowly.
“Oh, I didn’t expect Vice Admiral Garp to be such a person!”
“Oh my, I never expected you to encounter such an embarrassing situation after becoming a king!”
“Sengoku actually had a secret crush on Tsuru!!!”
“Haha!”
“Hehe…”
…
As they ate and chatted, they tacitly avoided discussing official business and instead talked about embarrassing and gossip-worthy stories.
During the meal, the two of them appeared to be enjoying themselves as equals.
After finishing the meal.
“It’s late now, I should go back. Thank you for your hospitality, Arthur!” Gion said reservedly.
“No need to be polite, let’s have another meal together next time we have the chance!” Arthur waved his hand and smiled.
“Alright, here’s my phone number. Let’s have a meal together next time!” Gion took out a card with her phone number written on it.
“Sure!” Without hesitation, Arthur accepted the card and nodded.
“Well then, I’ll leave now! Goodbye!” Gion waved her hand and slowly turned to leave.
“Goodbye!” Arthur also waved and said.
Just as Gion was about to leave, she suddenly turned back and asked, “By the way, I heard you’re getting married next month. You must invite me!”
“Ah!?” Arthur’s face revealed a confused expression, with deep incomprehension in his eyes. He was slightly stunned.
“Um… Where did Miss Gion hear this rumor? There’s no such thing!” Arthur shook his head in astonishment, then looked Gion up and down, suddenly realized, scratched his head, and somewhat bashfully said, “Oh… If it’s Miss Gion, maybe next month is not out of the question!”
“Hehe, I was just teasing you!” Gion smiled coquettishly, then gracefully turned and left.
Leaving behind a perplexed Arthur in place.
After a while, the confusion on Arthur’s face slowly turned into a slight smile at the corners of his mouth!
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