Chapter 227: Intermediate Chef Ralph, Exuding Domineering Aura!
"Boss, this cherry pie is absolutely delicious!"
Teach's voice was loud and unrestrained, audible throughout the entire tavern.
He sat at the bar, one hand stuffing cherry pie into his mouth while the other already reached for the next piece.
Lufia's eyes lit up.
"Cherry pie? I want some too!"
With that, she hopped over to the bar and sat down next to Blackbeard Teach.
Not only Lufia, but Ralph was also curious.
What kind of flavor could make Blackbeard praise food so highly?
Ralph sat down next to Lufia.
They each ordered a portion.
Then—
Lufia took a bite.
Ralph also took a bite.
Both frowned simultaneously, but with different meanings.
"Boss!"
Lufia put down the pie in her hand,
"Isn't this cherry pie absolutely terrible?"
Hearing this, Teach abruptly turned his head, glaring at Lufia with wide eyes.
"What? Terrible?! There must be something wrong with your taste buds!"
"There's something wrong with your taste buds!"
Lufia didn't back down, "How can you call something this terrible delicious?"
The two glared at each other, both reaching for the drinks beside them and taking a big gulp.
Then—
"This drink is so good!"
Lufia's eyes sparkled.
"What the hell is this?!"
Teach nearly spat it out.
The two looked at each other.
"Your taste buds are definitely messed up!"
"Yours are messed up!"
"Terrible!"
"Delicious!"
"Delicious!"
"Disgusting!"
The other patrons in the tavern were startled by the sudden argument and turned to look.
Just then, Lufia looked at Ralph, "Ralph, you tell us!"
Meeting Lufia's expectant gaze, Ralph's expression became somewhat complicated.
Even more awkward was that Blackbeard Teach's rough, large face also turned toward him, his big eyes glaring at Ralph as if waiting for his judgment.
Lufia looking at me is one thing, but why are you, Blackbeard, staring at me?
Is my opinion on food that important?
Ralph was also in a dilemma.
The reason he couldn't give an immediate judgment was that, from his professional perspective as a chef, this cherry pie wasn't delicious, but it certainly wasn't terrible either.
The drink was also mediocre—neither good nor bad.
What was he supposed to say?
Logically, he should wholeheartedly agree with Lufia's opinion, stand by her side, and gain her favor.
Emotionally, he shouldn't lie to Lufia.
Delicious is delicious, terrible is terrible—lying would change the nature of things.
In that case, it was decided.
"The food here is average."
Ralph spoke up, "Not terrible, but not delicious either."
Teach and Lufia both looked at him.
Then they said in unison:
"What? Is there something wrong with your taste buds?"
A vein throbbed on Ralph's forehead.
A surge of frustration rushed to his head.
"You two, why are you so in sync?"
"I just think the food here is average, is that a problem?"
"But the cherry pie is clearly terrible!"
Lufia insisted.
"Bastard, the cherry pie is delicious!"
Teach wouldn't back down.
"Average."
Ralph gritted his teeth, "I said it's average, so it's average."
"Then your taste buds must be messed up!"
Teach concluded.
"Your taste buds are messed up!"
Lufia retorted.
"The ones with messed-up taste buds are you two!"
Ralph finally couldn't hold back, "I'm an intermediate-level chef, you know!"
Just as the three of them were stubbornly arguing, heatedly debating—
Bang!
The tavern door was kicked open.
A tall figure walked in, his expression arrogant and his tone overbearing.
"I heard some newcomers came to Mock Town and caused a huge explosion on the street right away. Was it you?"
The moment everyone in the tavern saw who it was, they instantly fell silent.
Someone gasped softly: "Bellamy!"
"It's Hyena Bellamy!"
"The strongest Pirate crew in Mock Town!"
Except for the three who were still arguing, everyone else quieted down at once.
They thought to themselves,
"This is bad! This is bad!"
"Those three must be the ignorant newcomers Bellamy was talking about!"
"They actually don't show Bellamy any respect—they're dead for sure!"
Bellamy stood at the entrance, his gaze sweeping across the tavern before finally settling on the three people by the bar.
A young man with black hair.
A girl wearing a straw hat.
A burly, muscular man.
He strode forward.
"Damn it! How dare you ignore me!"
He raised his fist and charged toward the three of them.
Disturbed by the serious and heated discussion being interrupted, the three of them turned their heads simultaneously.
Six eyes fixed on him at once.
Bellamy's charging body suddenly froze.
An invisible pressure washed over him. His mind went blank, and his body uncontrollably stumbled back a few steps before—
Thud.
Foaming at the mouth, he collapsed to the floor.
The entire tavern fell silent.
Lufia looked at Bellamy lying on the ground, then at Teach.
"What happened to this guy?"
Teach also glanced at Bellamy, then back at Lufia.
"Maybe he's drunk?"
The tavern patrons were stunned for a second before nodding one after another, accepting Blackbeard's explanation.
"Yeah, yeah, he must be drunk."
"Boss Bellamy drank too much today."
"Otherwise, there's no way he'd faint just from being glared at, right? Hahaha..."
Teach and Lufia, who had just been answering each other's questions a moment ago, were now bickering again in the blink of an eye.
"I want 50 cherry pies to go!"
Teach slapped the bar loudly, calling over the Boss,
"Boss, pack 50 for me! I'm taking them with me!"
As soon as Lufia heard this, she immediately refused to be outdone.
"Then I want 51 meat dishes!"
"52 cherry pies!"
"53 meat dishes!"
"60!"
"61!"
The two of them started competing again.
Ralph snapped out of his thoughts and decided to ignore them.
He looked at Bellamy lying on the ground, his eyes turning thoughtful.
...
It was exactly the same as being knocked out by Conqueror's Haki.
Who released Conqueror's Haki just now?
Lufia?
Or Teach?
Have they already awakened Conqueror's Haki this early?
A sense of urgency suddenly surged within him.
If things continue like this, he might not be able to keep up with Lufia's progress in strength.
He instinctively checked his system panel.
[Host: Ralph]
[Skills]:
[Six Powers (all intermediate except Kami-e)]
[Armament Haki (Intermediate)]
[Observation Haki (Intermediate)]
[Conqueror's Haki...]
Conqueror's Haki?
Wait!
He focused his gaze.
[Conqueror's Haki (Temporary · Fading)]
Those words were slowly fading.
Bit by bit.
Growing fainter.
And then—
They disappeared.
Ralph was stunned.
So, I also have Conqueror's Haki even when not in the Red-Eyed State?
So, I'm also a man with the bearing of a king?
It's just that the state isn't very stable.
He recalled what had just happened.
Under what circumstances was Conqueror's Haki triggered just now?
During the argument!
Did I do something during the argument?
Or was there something different about my emotions compared to usual?