Chapter 43 The Player's Superb Cooking Skills
Violet looked up at the castle in front of her, which seemed to be made entirely of candy and shone brightly in the sunlight.
The sweet aroma of candy filled the air, causing Vera to sneeze.
The subordinate of Perospero, who was in charge of running errands, was also a pirate of the Big Mom Pirates. He was dressed in candy-colored clothes and looked into Violet's dark eyes with a light laugh: "First time in Whole Cake Island?"
"Ordinary people will indeed be physically weak for a period of time after their lifespan is taken away."
But in front of him was just a frail little girl, barely taller than his waist, who, unable to see the situation clearly, opened the wrong shop at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
He looked at the small box that Vera was holding, which contained some colorful candies.
I heard that not a single one has been sold during this period. It's a pity, and maybe we won't be able to sell candy anymore.
"Go in quickly, Lord Perospero is waiting for you inside."
“Perolin~” Although Perospero had heard that the magical candy shop owner was a little girl, he did not expect that she was such a young girl.
He must have been desperate and grasping at straws. What delicious candy could a child like that possibly make?
As for the price of 10,000, that's just something kids say without understanding Pele's value.
However, as the eldest son in the family, Perospero, who personally raised many of his younger siblings, has always been quite patient with children.
He used his Devil Fruit powers to conjure a lollipop in his hand and handed it to Violet.
"These are candies I made, try some!"
You have received a colorful lollipop.
[Eat this item to increase satiety by 1, health by 1, and sanity by 1]
Violet: "..."
Oh, an ornamental item.
Violet put the colorful lollipops into her pocket.
Go work as a warehouse manager.
"Hmm?" Perospero stroked the candy cane. "Aren't you going to eat one?"
Perospero's candy is both a balm for a crying child and a deadly poison.
Whether it's the former or the latter depends on whether you can gain the pirate's favor.
Perospero bent down to look at the girl in front of him. What would she do?
Violet: "I heard you're going to buy my toffee?"
"Toffee?" Perospero said. "Nice name, but I wonder what it tastes like?"
Vera: "Ten thousand Berries per stone, thank you for your patronage?"
Perospero: "...You want Pelé back?"
It's not that Perospero wanted to freeload—that would be too low-class for a pirate—but rather that he was being asked to pay for even a single piece of candy? And the pricing was clearly an attempt to rip off a sucker.
Perospero couldn't help but wonder if the rumors about him were a little too down-to-earth.
Violet: "If I don't have Pele, then gold, jewels, or even labor will do. You have to work for me for ten days."
"Hehehehe." That's too arrogant, so arrogant that Perospero is actually a little curious about what the toffee tastes like.
“Go get ten thousand Berries, little guy, if it doesn’t taste good.” Perospero licked his candy cane. “Do you see the candy sculpture in the garden outside?”
"If it doesn't taste good, then this is your next job, Perolin~"
Vera smiled confidently: "Absolutely worth every penny."
After exchanging money for goods, Perospero looked at the small candy in his palm and was somewhat speechless.
I've been under so much pressure lately, and I even argued with a child... Oh well, considering she's still a child, I'll let her off the hook by paying a few more years of my lifespan, per...
Perospero put the toffee in his mouth.
Perospero suddenly looked down at Violet, who was standing obediently with her hands hanging at her sides.
Perospero's tongue trembled slightly: "...What's your name?"
“Vell,” Vill smiled. “My name is Vill.”
"He is a farmer who farms out of interest."
"Vell, come to my office."
What's that saying again? When you're strong enough, everyone in the world is a good person.
Violet sat in the chair that Perospero had custom-made for her out of candy, drinking tea that only Perospero could drink, with two sugar cubes made by Perospero added to it.
Perospero: "Ville, you are a truly excellent chef."
Violet: "..."
"I'm a farmer," said Violet, who was devastated by losing her job.
“Oh, indeed, the choice of raw materials is also very important, Perolin,” Perospero remarked. “The place of origin, the season, and even the weather can all affect the quality of the finished product.”
"Vell, if I want to buy the toffee recipe from you, how much are you willing to pay?"
Candy enthusiast Perospero has tasted all kinds of candies in the world, but none of them have amazed him as much as Violet's toffee.
Delicious food is good for physical and mental health. After eating toffee, Perospero felt much less tired and his mood improved.
...I don't know why my tongue feels a little numb, perolin.
"I can give you the recipe, but this is a dish that only I can make."
The cooking pot can only cook all sorts of magical dishes when Violet is using it; when Luo and the others use it, it's just an ordinary iron pot.
"Um?"
Perospero raised an eyebrow. Was the food that only Violet could make a Devil Fruit ability? No, he had already eaten the Lick-Lick Fruit. Even if Violet was a Devil Fruit user, it couldn't be a fruit that could make candy.
Vera's next words confirmed Perospero's guess.
Violet: "Besides toffee, I can provide other desserts, but in return, I would like Mr. Perospero to help me find something."
Perospero: "What is it?"
Violet: "Ghost."
——
"Lord Perospero?"
"Has she already left, Perolin?"
"They've already left."
"What an amazing young girl," Perospero remarked, looking at the desserts in the small box on the table. "At such a young age, she dares to come to the territory of one of the Four Emperors to make a deal."
Perospero instructed his subordinates, "Take these cookies to Cracker."
"Cookies from Perospero?"
The dark-skinned, burly man, dressed in biscuit armor, glanced at the person who had run all the way from Candy Island carrying a box.
"Give it to me."
He sheathed his sharp sword behind his back and casually grabbed the box in his hand: "Tell Perospero that I received it."
"Also, I recently found a new cookie ingredient, so I can bring it to my mom's afternoon tea tomorrow."
The burly biscuit warrior gave the order in a deep voice, and after the man left the room, the biscuit warrior stood still as if the power had been cut off.
Suddenly, the chocolate-colored cookie on the cookie warrior's abdomen loosened and fell off the tightly sealed cookie body.
A pair of hands wearing camel-colored leather gloves emerged from within, bracing the biscuit warrior's damaged area, their arm muscles bulging forcefully.
Clang—
With a bang, the biscuit warrior was split open, and a pair of long, slender legs that reached up to the knees emerged from it, with square, low-heeled shoes on the ground.
A purple-haired man with biscuit decorations hanging from his waist, and who was shirtless except for a strawberry-colored cloak, stepped out.
His purple hair was combed into three strands, parted evenly at the back of his head like a windmill, with the two lower strands flickering with fire at the ends like fairy wands.
This is Cracker's true appearance. His rugged appearance is just a biscuit soldier he created with his Devil Fruit power. He is over three meters tall and his skin is pale from not seeing the sun for many years. Cracker took the biscuit box from the broken biscuit soldier and walked to the chair by the window to sit down.
"Why did Perospero suddenly think of bringing me cookies?" Cracker poked at the candy box in front of him, which was obviously made by Perospero's Devil Fruit power, and asked in confusion, resting his cheek on his hand.
Charlottes have all inherited Big Mom's passion for sweets, but unlike Big Mom, who loves all kinds of desserts, the little Charlottes each have their own preferences.
For example, Perospero especially loves candy, and Cracker especially loves cookies.
When adult Charlottes exchange gifts, they choose to give jewelry and gold that can be easily converted into cash, while underage Charlottes exchange things like flowers and postcards to express their feelings.
It's not that you can't give food, but this kind of gift-giving usually only happens when Charlotte, a wealthy adult, gives it to her younger siblings who only have pocket money.
Cracker rubbed his temples, looking at the candy box in front of him with a touch of melancholy as he recalled the days when Perospero took care of them.
Then give it a try; after all, it's Perospero's thoughtful gift.
Cracker opened the box and took out the dark brown cookies studded with dried fruit.
It smells like pumpkin and berries, which is quite nice.
Cracker stuffed the pumpkin cookie into his mouth.
Cracker: !!!
He suddenly stood up, not even noticing the chair strap behind him tipping over. He grabbed the longsword hanging to the side, carefully protecting the candy box as he rushed out.
He's going to Candy Island to find Perospero, he wants to know which cookie master made this cookie!
Even if he has to tie him up, he'll tie the cookie maker to Cookie Island and make cookies for him every day!
Perospero looked up at Cracker in front of him, who was in a hurry. It was quite a novel sight. Ever since Cracker came of age and settled on Biscuit Island, he, as the older brother, had rarely seen Cracker in such a rush.
Well, or rather, he rarely saw Cracker not inside the cookie soldiers he made, but walking around outside in his real form.
"Don't worry, Perolin~" Perospero poured Cracker a cup of tea. "You're all sweaty, have some water first."
Cracker was in no mood for tea. He could have his brother's tea anytime, but the Cookie Master wouldn't get another chance like this: "Perrot!"
Perospero was initially very eager to know Vera's cooking secrets, but seeing that his younger brother was even more anxious than he was, Perospero was no longer in such a hurry.
He leisurely took a sip of tea: "Don't worry, the person is still here."
It's good that they're still here. As long as they're still on the territory of the Kingdom of Worlds, they can't run away.
Cracker then belatedly realized that his throat was a little dry, and sat down opposite Perospero.
Cracker: "Where did this cookie master come from, the Baratie from the floating restaurant?"
Cracker hesitated again, "I wonder when Master came to the Land of the Rising Sun, what he came here to do, and how I should ask for a price to make Master willing to live on Biscuit Island permanently?"
Although he could forcibly tie someone up in a dungeon and threaten to kill them if they couldn't make cookies to his satisfaction, Cracker would still prefer to use less pirate-like methods to recruit a cookie master who could make such delicious cookies.
Perospero placed the toffee and the remaining pumpkin cookies on the table at the same time.
Cracker: ?
Cracker looked at Perospero with a puzzled expression, and after being gestured to, picked up a toffee and put it in his mouth.
Cracker: "..."
Cracker: "...Could it be that the legendary chef of the Pirate King has arrived in Whole Cake Island?"
The cookies are so delicious, and the candy is even better?
“However,” Cracker licked his palate, “it seems like I cut my mouth on a piece of candy.”
Cracker has a secret: he is extremely afraid of pain, which is why he always hides in the biscuit soldiers when he goes out.
The effect of Toffee reducing health by 3 points is negligible for pirates like Cracker and Perospero, who have incredibly high health bars. Perospero himself didn't even feel the health loss.
However, Cracker's sensitive nature to pain still made him notice this abnormality.
However, Cracker didn't think much of it, assuming he had accidentally cut his mouth while eating candy. After secretly comparing them, he concluded that even though they came from the same skilled chef, biscuits were indeed better than candy.
“None of them.” Hearing his younger brother’s increasingly outrageous guesses, Perospero didn’t keep him in suspense any longer. “It’s a little girl.”
"Little girl?"
"Well, probably around ten years old, he opened a candy shop on my Candy Island, priced at ten thousand Berries per candy."
"Ten thousand Berries?!" Cracker muttered with a strange expression, "...Is this robbery?"
Although as a pirate, he doesn't seem to have much of a right to say that.
However... after savoring the toffee flavor again, Cracker felt that it wasn't entirely unacceptable?
After eating one, not only did I feel fuller, but my mood also improved a lot.
"Um, so, how much are the cookies priced?"
Perospero was taken aback, not expecting that his younger brother would be interested in this.
"Uh, she didn't sell any, she only sold toffee."
Cracker snorted coldly: "...No wonder you can't sell a single one."
Perospero was speechless. It was good that his younger brother was more quick-witted, but was that the point right now?
Although Cracker's strength is now almost on par with Perospero's, the suppression from his brother's bloodline still made Cracker immediately perk up after sensing Perospero's ominous gaze.
Uh, what did Perogo just say? Oh right, he opened a candy store.
Cracker: "Are you deliberately trying to get our attention?"
All of the Kingdom's spare manpower and resources are serving the Empress's insatiable appetite, a fact that can be easily discovered by simply setting foot on the Kingdom's soil.
If that little girl was just passing through Wanguo, or simply wanted to live a quiet life here, then she should have kept a low profile and at least not revealed her superb dessert-making skills during this time.
But she chose to open a candy store and set such an eye-catching price.
Perospero nodded approvingly: "Yes, she wants to make a deal with us."
"A deal?" Cracker narrowed his eyes, revealing a sinister smile. "With us?"
Charlotte's inherited madness and cruelty were on full display at this moment.
A well-fed, bloodthirsty shark might be willing to let go of a small fish when it's in a good mood, but that doesn't mean it will give up its prey when a small fish comes into its mouth.
Lock them up, put them in shackles, but as long as their brains and hands can still function, they'll still get a steady stream of delicious cookies.
“Calm down, Cracker.” Normally, Perospero would have agreed with Cracker’s idea.
The majesty of the Sea Emperors is inviolable; those who try to approach them through intrigue and trickery always pay the price.
But right now, the most important thing for Wan Guo is to find desserts that will satisfy Mom.
“She said that only she could make these desserts, and even if we knew the recipes, we couldn’t make them,” Perospero said. “She also knows many more dessert-making methods that are just as delicious, novel, and impressive.”
"She can give it to us, in exchange we need to help her find something."
Cracker: "What is that?"
"ghost."
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Author's Note: This story has a personal setting: the more sanity a food item increases, the tastier it becomes. So, you know what that means—Vell's desserts are absolutely delicious! [eating melon emoji]
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