The New Crew Member
“Ugh, these low-level pirates are way too poor!
Is this really all the Berries they had?”
After finishing the inventory of the seized goods, Carina shook the money bag in her hand and complained with a dissatisfied frown.
Moge smiled.
“It’s normal.
How much profit can you really expect from East Blue pirates?
That bald guy just now only had a bounty of over ten million Berries.
He probably only raided small villages, so it’d be strange if he weren’t poor.” As he spoke, he asked curiously, “By the way, how much is it in total?”
Carina curled her lip.
“Just over three million Berries in cash.
Plus all these miscellaneous treasures, the grand total probably won’t even exceed ten million.” She spoke with deep disappointment, “I really thought the Berries harvested from taking down a whole pirate crew would let me sleep on a pile of money.”
Moge nodded, fully trusting Carina’s judgment.
She had an almost innate sensitivity to treasure and could estimate its approximate value with just a few glances.
It was a born talent.
“It’s already not bad,” Moge comforted her with a smile.
“Ten million Berries is enough to sustain us for a while.
It’ll be different once we reach the Grand Line.
The pirates there are generally way wealthier, so dealing with just a few will definitely bring in a huge harvest.
Even if the pirates don’t have much treasure, we can always look for some kind-hearted nobles for ‘sponsorship’—we’ll still make a fortune.”
“Really?
That would be awesome!” Carina’s eyes lit up, her face full of anticipation.
Moge looked up at the gradually fading twilight, lit a cigarette, and patted her head.
“Alright, stop dreaming and start thinking about what to eat for dinner.”
Carina looked at him in surprise.
“What to eat?
Isn’t that always up to you?
You’re the one who cooks anyway.”
It couldn’t be helped; it wasn’t that she didn’t want to help, but she truly had no talent for cooking.
The things she made looked fine, but the taste was honestly hard to swallow.
Moge had only eaten her cooking once and never dared let her near the kitchen again.
From then on, the job of cooking fell entirely on him.
At least the things he made were edible.
Moge shook his head helplessly and turned toward the cabin’s kitchen.
“I must have been out of my mind to ask you.
Looks like I need to find a chef as soon as possible.
Otherwise, this isn’t going to work.
I’m the Captain, after all—how can I be stuck in the kitchen every day!”
“Hey, Moge, come out quick!”
While Moge was still busy preparing dinner in the kitchen, Carina’s voice drifted in from outside.
“What is it?
Can’t it wait until I finish cooking…” Moge walked out helplessly, standing at the kitchen door with a spatula still in his hand.
On the deck lay a soaking wet young man with black hair.
His breathing was weak, and Carina was squatting beside him, lightly slapping his face—smack, smack, smack—trying to wake him up.
“Hey, wake up!
Wake up!”
Moge watched with a face full of black lines.
“Stop slapping him.
Can’t you see his face is almost swollen from your hitting?
Just wait a bit, he’ll wake up on his own.”
“Ah, haha, is that so…” Carina looked at the young man’s slightly swollen cheeks and awkwardly withdrew her hand.
Only then did Moge look closely at the person on the ground, slightly startled.
“Did you fish this guy out of the sea?”
Carina nodded.
“Yeah, I just saw him drifting on the water holding a piece of wood, so I pulled him onto the ship.”
“It hurts…” At that moment, the black-haired young man lying on the ground slowly woke up.
He laboriously raised his hands to rub his swollen cheeks and spoke weakly.
Carina stood to the side, too embarrassed to look at him, and simply stared at the sky, pretending she hadn’t heard a thing.
Moge shook his head helplessly, stepped forward, and asked, “You’re awake?”
The black-haired young man was dazed for a good while before regaining his senses.
He weakly sat up and leaned against the bulwark.
“Did you save me?
Thank you so much.
Could you give me some water or food?
I haven’t eaten for a whole day.”
“Wait a moment.” Moge turned back to the kitchen and soon brought out a plate of freshly made fried rice and handed him a glass of water.
The young man immediately began to devour it ravenously, wolfing down the rice and taking large gulps of water.
“Ah…
that’s better.
I’ve finally come back to life.” He let out a long sigh of relief and bowed deeply to Moge.
“I am truly grateful for your life-saving grace and this meal.
Although the taste isn’t that great, to me, it’s already the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten.”
Carina immediately spoke up, dissatisfied, “We saved your life and gave you food, yet you’re being picky?
You deserve to go hungry!”
“Ah, no, no, that’s not what I meant…” The black-haired young man hurriedly tried to explain.
Moge waved his hand, interrupting him.
“Don’t mind her, she’s just like that.
I’m Moge.
First, tell me, why were you drifting at sea?”
“It’s like this, Mr.
Moge,” the black-haired young man nodded, caught his breath, and then slowly began to speak.
“My name is Toniel, and I was originally a chef.”
As he told his story, Moge and Carina gradually understood the sequence of events.
Toniel had been adopted by an old man since he was a child and taken to a remote small island.
That old man had been a pirate in his youth and was also a highly skilled chef.
He had spent some time traveling the Grand Line in his early years but later grew tired of the fighting and returned to his hometown to live in seclusion.
It was then that he picked up the young boy and gave him the name Toniel.
In the days that followed, Toniel stayed with the old man to learn culinary arts and train his body.
Until recently, when the old man passed away, he had gripped Toniel’s hand tightly and urged him: ‘The sea is a man’s true home.
You must go out to sea.
Only then can you become the greatest chef.
This place is too small; it doesn’t suit you.’
Between the old man’s urging and his own dreams, Toniel boarded a merchant ship and went to sea after burying him.
Relying on his excellent culinary skills, he became a chef on the merchant ship.
He thought he could move toward his dream step by step, but he hadn’t expected the merchant ship to encounter pirates shortly after setting sail.
“Although I have some combat ability, there were too many pirates,” Toniel’s voice was a bit low, his eyes full of relief.
“I didn’t want to be killed, so I grabbed a wooden plank and jumped into the sea.
I drifted for a whole day.
If I hadn’t met you, I’m afraid I would have either starved to death or drowned.”
As Moge listened to his story, his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he felt a secret surge of joy.
‘Am I some kind of child of destiny?
I just said I needed to find a chef, and one immediately shows up at my door!’
As soon as Toniel finished speaking, Moge spoke up impatiently, “Then you definitely plan to continue your journey at sea, right?
Why don’t you join us?
We can have adventures together, fight together, and move toward our respective dreams together.
This journey will definitely be of great help to your culinary skills and your dream.”
Toniel was slightly startled and looked at Moge with some surprise.
“Mr.
Moge, are you really willing to let me join?
Are you guys…
pirates?”
Moge nodded with a smile, his tone frank.
“In a way.
We just went to sea not long ago, so we don’t have bounties yet, but we will sooner or later.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re pirates or not,” Toniel didn’t care about that at all.
His foster father was an old pirate, so he was already mentally prepared for it.
“Since it’s an invitation from my savior, I accept!
Toniel, 22 years old, chef.
Please look after me from now on, Captain Moge!”
“Yay!
We finally have a proper chef!
Now we can eat delicious meals!” Carina cheered on the spot, thrilled that she could finally eat great food.
While the food Moge made was edible, it certainly wasn’t at the level of being delicious.
Moge pretended to glare at her with dissatisfaction.
“Didn’t you usually eat the food I made quite happily?
Now you’re starting to look down on it!” He quickly broke into a smile and waved his hand.
“Forget it, I’m happy today!
To welcome Toniel’s joining, let’s have a banquet!”
Toniel also smiled and volunteered, “Captain, then let me show off a bit and let you taste my skills!”