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The dim-witted goddess's mood remained low until noon.
It wasn't until Zyhark served up a luxurious seafood noodle dish that she perked up, lured back to life by the fragrance of the food.
After the meal, Aqua even boasted about having two bottles of newly arrived sparkling wine, claiming her wounded heart needed healing.
Essentially, she was just looking for an excuse to drink.
After all, they were comrades through thick and thin, so Zyhark didn't bother to argue. If she wanted to drink, then let her drink.
Besides, those two bottles of wine weren't particularly valuable. Ah, that was indeed the crux of the matter.
Once she had her fill, Aqua seemed much happier. She grabbed a fishing rod and energetically made her way to the second deck to fish. Realizing she couldn't possibly defeat King in video games, she thought to regain her lost face through other means.
Fishing seemed like a suitable activity since she had, after a bit of study, successfully caught a half-pound sea fish—though the fish was blind in both eyes.
Nevertheless, Aqua felt her fishing talent was quite remarkable and that with a bit more practice, she could surely make King eat his words.
As for why she didn't choose her best skill, hosting parties, it was purely due to the damn pride of the Goddess of Water: Showing off her real skills would be so uninteresting!
After Aqua left, and with the restaurant not too busy, King also set down his gaming console. He picked up a pair of 10kg dumbbells bought in the town and began to exercise his muscle strength.
Although he personally disliked such monotonous physical training, after the encounter with the Cat Pirates Crew, he felt as a member of the ship, even a negligible one, he wanted to become a bit stronger.
At least, he shouldn't always be like a mascot, always dragging Mr. Zyhark and Miss Aqua down!
Zyhark thought that such light dumbbells, in a world where brute strength was commonplace, were almost no different from sponges. But considering this might be King's limit, he didn't say much.
Who knows, perhaps with continuous training, King might unexpectedly break through his physical limits one day, becoming a one-punch man like the bald caped hero?
With Aqua and King in training mode, the lively restaurant suddenly became quiet.
Zyhark poured himself a glass of chilled orange juice and sat back down at the front desk to tally up their current assets.
The gold and jewels plundered from the Cat Pirates Crew had been exchanged for 23 million Berries in the town's gold shop.
Adding the bounty money from Kuro and others, the earnings from the restaurant's recent surge in business, and subtracting the 10 million Berries donated to Fuchsia Village, they had a total of 42 million Berries.
This amount was well beyond the 30 million needed for the next wish-making. As for the cannons and muskets that needed a specific channel for sale, stored in the Endless Dream's storeroom, they were estimated to be worth several million Berries as well.
However, Zyhark had no intention of selling them. Given they were about to head to the Grand Line, a place far more perilous than the East Blue, he decided to arm the Endless Dream with these weapons at Loguetown.
He also planned to use the remaining money to upgrade the single-mast sailboat given by the carpenter of Windmill Village, ensuring it could withstand the unpredictable and complex conditions of the Grand Line.
Of course, all these preparations assumed the Devil Fruit bitten by Aqua was a dud worth no more than a hundred million Berries. If it turned out to be more valuable, they would need to consider selling it for money or letting someone on their team consume it.
'Wonder if this thing still has any powers left...'
Every time he thought about how a perfectly good Devil Fruit had been wasted by Aqua, Zyhark couldn't help but sigh heavily.
Just then, a loud "bang" echoed. It felt as though the Endless Dream had been hit by something massive, causing the ship to shake violently and knocking over tables and chairs in the restaurant.
Startled, Zyhark stood up, but before he could ask what happened, Aqua came running down in a panic.
"Zyhark, it's terrible! There's a gigantic sea monster outside!"
Without waiting for further details, Zyhark used his legs to their fullest, rushing to the second deck as quickly as possible. King and Aqua followed closely behind.
Outside, a huge shadow blocked the sunlight, casting a giant silhouette over the Endless Dream. A massive black sea creature emerged from the water, its ferocious red eyes above a mouth full of sharp fangs.
Its slender body was covered in hard scales, and with a mere flick of its tail, it could stir up waves on the sea surface.
At first glance, this sea creature seemed somewhat similar to the Sea King near Windmill Village, but its size was several times larger. Simply put, it was a plus version of the Sea King!
"Is this... the Deep Sea King of the East Blue?" Zyhark furrowed his brows deeply.
Having sailed the seas for a long time, he was somewhat familiar with the various sea creatures of the East Blue and quickly recognized the identity of the giant sea beast before them.
"It's odd, though. These large creatures that live in the deep sea usually don't come to the surface to attack ships. Why would it appear here out of nowhere?"
Hearing Zyhark's puzzled murmur, Aqua turned her head to the side and nervously whistled.
She meant to imply that whatever was happening had nothing to do with her, but her blatantly guilty demeanor made her seem like she was admitting to causing the trouble.
It was as if "Yes, I'm the one who caused this mess" was written all over her face—no, it actually was written all over her face!
"So it was you who caused this commotion, wasn't it?!" Zyhark gritted his teeth and scolded Aqua, "What on earth did you do, Aqua?!"
Aqua tried to defend herself, but faced with Zyhark's fierce gaze, she weakened and started fiddling with her fingers.
"I... I was fishing for a long time without any catch, so I thought about adding a blessing that imbues the bait with a strong life essence. I didn't expect it to attract this big guy..."
This disaster of a goddess!! "You can't help but cause trouble, can you?!" Zyhark exclaimed in frustration, "Do you have any idea how troublesome it is to deal with something like this at sea?!!"
After learning the whole story, Zyhark's mouth twitched uncontrollably as he grabbed Aqua's cheeks and gave her a thorough scolding, his frustration palpable.
Listening to Zyhark's rebuke, Aqua blinked her wise eyes, suddenly coming up with a plan to make amends.
"Stop pinching, I'll take responsibility!" She freed herself from Zyhark's grasp and stepped forward to face the menacing Deep Sea King.
With the blue magical array lighting up and water swirling, the sea level around the Endless Dream began to drop.
No, it was the surging water enveloping the Endless Dream, sinking it towards the seabed!
Zyhark swiftly halted Aqua's spell with a knock to her head: "What are you trying to do now?!"
For a moment, he had actually held some hope for the dim-witted goddess.
Aqua, holding her sore head, plaintively said, "Taking responsibility! Didn't you say it would be troublesome to deal with it on the sea surface?"
"...So your solution is to sink the ship into the sea?" Zyhark was utterly dismayed by Aqua's lack of intelligence.
Aqua nodded vigorously.
"The opponent is a sea beast; we'd die even quicker if we sank," King remarked emotionlessly, his gaze fixed on the Deep Sea King.
The sounds of the engine echoed around them, betraying his inner unrest.
"Ah? Right!" Aqua slapped her thigh in realization.
(End of Chapter)