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After successfully sending Luffy away with a plate of egg fried rice, Zyhark decisively closed the restaurant's door and hung up the "Closed for Business" sign again.
"Really, Zyhark, you should have just let that guy Luffy stay."
Aqua, still not over the excitement, leaned on the dining table, pouting and complaining.
"Now's not the time to be leisurely and playful, Aqua," Zyhark spoke with gravity.
While speaking, he walked to the remaining dining table and pulled out the gray package Ace left behind from under the table.
Untying the knot and spreading the cloth, the gleaming gold and silver treasures were revealed: gem-studded jades, gold rings, colorful pendants...
"Zyhark! This is what you meant by making money? You, you actually conned those two kids out of their money!"
Aqua blinked her clear eyes, recalling Zyhark's conversation with Ace and Sabo, and suddenly got smart, guessing the situation.
Zyhark, counting and organizing the treasure without looking up, replied, "A deal between men can't be considered deception."
He considered himself to have a new moral bottom line, preferring this over dealing with villainous types like Bandit King Zeke. If he could eliminate the bandits and secure the 800,000 bounty, returning the money wouldn't be a problem. (Wasn't 8mill?)
If they ended up fleeing after a failed attempt...
It would serve as a valuable lesson to Ace and Sabo, who hadn't yet set out to sea, teaching them about the treacherous hearts in the pirate world.
Yep, Ace and Sabo wouldn't lose out either way.
"What do you mean a deal between men? That's terrible, Zyhark." Aqua's eyebrows danced with disdain in her voice.
You think I don't know who got me into this mess?!
Seeing himself despised by the goddess, Zyhark's mouth twitched.
Suppressing the urge to thrash Aqua, he repackaged Ace and Sabo's treasures and stood up, asking seriously, "Aqua, how do you compare your value to these treasures?"
"Merely mortal treasures cannot be compared to a goddess like myself."
Aqua haughtily snorted, unaware she had fallen into Zyhark's trap.
"So, it makes sense to pawn you to them, making use of everything."
"Eh?"
Aqua paused, her eyes swirling, "You did say it was a deal between men. It would be difficult for a goddess to intervene lightly!"
"Heh, useless goddess." Zyhark scoffed.
"Ah ha, ah ha ha, let's not dwell on the weird stuff."
Recalling the delicious fried rice, Aqua chose to endure, shifting the topic to the package on the table, "What are you doing with this money? Building a luxurious palace for me?"
"...Do you think I'd make a deal for such a trivial reason?" Zyhark responded incredulously.
"Not trivial! Zyhark, let me tell you..."
Aqua was about to ramble about the benefits of building a goddess's palace but was ruthlessly cut off by Zyhark.
"I borrowed a lot from the villagers to summon you, so I need to pay them back first, then build a ship for sailing."
"You're making money just to pay debts? How boring."
Aqua took the conversation in stride, brimming with excitement, "Let's have a party tonight then, drink up!"
Her cute face was full of anticipation, gone was the serious tone of her previous reproach.
Zyhark moved forward, no longer wanting to engage with the foolish goddess.
Seeing Zyhark ignore her, Aqua hurriedly followed, chattering non-stop.
Walking away from the restaurant under the fresh sea breeze, they embarked on repaying the villagers' debts.
To Zyhark's mild surprise, the treasures accumulated by Ace and Sabo amounted to a whopping 1.5 million Belly when converted to equivalent paper money— an astonishing sum for two kids living in a harsh environment like the Terminal.
Considering the monthly revenue of the restaurant was only about a hundred thousand or so!
"Indeed, they're worthy of becoming the Whitebeard Pirates' 2nd division commander and the Revolutionary Army's chief of staff..."
Zyhark couldn't help but muse internally.
Windmill Village was small, with just a few dozen households. Walking from the harbor along the village's main road pretty much covered the whole place.
Normally, repaying the debts wouldn't take long, allowing them to start on the ship's construction and fitting.
However, with Aqua around, would things really go as planned?
Learning of Zyhark's "distant relative" with severe mental and intellectual issues, the kind-hearted villagers were exceptionally generous, offering fruits, pork, and other local products.
Some, unable to stand seeing such a lovely young girl in a frenzied state, even boldly waived Zyhark's debts!
After making their rounds in Windmill Village, not only did Zyhark not pay much debt, but he also ended up with a bounty of vegetables and fruits.
Just...
Quite absurd!
"Ahahaha, who would've thought such a small village would harbor so many followers of the Aquasis faith!"
Aqua, striding with a bounce, cradling the free wine obtained from tavern owner Makino, looked at Zyhark with a triumphant gaze.
"See, Zyhark? Did you see how devout those people were? That's the charm of the Goddess of Water, Aqua!"
"Are you sure their gaze was devout?" Zyhark couldn't help but feel a tad sorry for her.
That was clearly the look of caring for the mentally challenged!
"It's pure jealousy on your part, but
I won't blame you."
Aqua, rubbing her delicate face against the wine bottle, boasted, "After all, the gap between a mere restaurant owner and a noble goddess is just too vast!"
"If the last debtor, still generous due to the goddess's identity, I'll admit your charm is genuine."
Zyhark looked towards the endless mountains at the end of the street, his tone unusually calm.
Aqua, already floating on cloud nine, confidently promised, "No problem, leave it to me!"
"They're the bandits I mentioned earlier, the ones who beat you up this morning." Zyhark slowly added.
"Bandits, eh? Then let's get going. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can return to drink."
Aqua stepped forward without a second thought but suddenly halted, realizing something, "Wait, what did you just say?"
Zyhark spread his hands, "You heard me right, those fierce bandits around here."
"Ah?!"
Recalling the bandits' fearsome appearance from the morning, Aqua genuinely reconsidered, "Maybe you should go alone, Zyhark?"
Perhaps the tales and firsthand experience of the New World's horrors had instilled a fear of "thieves" in her.
"Without the mighty Goddess Aqua by my side, I alone am not enough." Zyhark shook his head softly.
"Is that so? Well, Zyhark, you really are a headache."
Seeing Zyhark, who usually disdained and criticized her, now so reliant on her, Aqua's vanity surged. She puffed her chest out, ready to take on the responsibility.
"Truly worthy of Goddess Aqua!" Zyhark smiled faintly.
The unspoken part of his thought was: She's really easy to fool~
(End of Chapter)