Chapter 154 Is the player a block of wood?
That night, while Violet was sleeping soundly in bed, she suddenly heard the sound of the sea breeze blowing the window open. With a thud, strands of her black hair, which had been scattered on the pillow, were blown by the wind and immediately covered her face.
Violet: "..."
She stared at the ceiling, feeling completely sealed off by the blankets, with no desire to get up. The damp sea breeze was still a bit chilly, and after a while, Violet noticed her health points dropping by -1, -1, and painfully closed her eyes before suddenly opening them again.
She silently got up to close the window again, but as she stood by the window, a glance at the view outside made her drowsy mind realize something was wrong.
Violet looked around through the window, but there was no sign of the Homie that Cracker had mentioned.
The deck was empty except for a few patrolling pirates in the distance. Violet peeked out the window, then silently closed it.
It seems that even fruits can be subject to slacking off.
But have you been slacking off a bit too much? How come I haven't seen a single Homie?
As Vera closed the window, she thought about reminding Cracker tomorrow. Of course, Vera would remember to avoid Perospero, since even at Cracker's age, it would be embarrassing for his older brother to hear that the Homies he was in charge of didn't listen to him.
Oh, she's so thoughtful.
Vera lay back down on the bed with a sigh, unable to sleep all night.
The next day, Violet went out feeling refreshed. She had only taken a few steps when she felt a gaze sweeping over her from behind.
Violet: ?
She turned her head curiously and saw Cracker standing in the shadows of the cabin, arms crossed, staring at her.
Violet: ? ? ?
Perospero walked past the two and said, "Hey, did you two have a fight last night?"
Violet: "No, I slept quite well last night."
"Heh." Cracker chuckled coldly. She slept well, of course she slept well. He had gone to great lengths to move those Homies away and even tried to wake her up, but this girl just closed the window and fell asleep again.
Sleep, sleep. He couldn't be bothered with Violet anymore. He'd just wait until she attended the tea party and got beaten into a cookie by her mother after her failed engagement!
Cracker, carrying a pretzel, walked right past Violet, but as he passed her, Violet secretly grabbed a handful of his cloak.
Cracker lowered his head in confusion, and Vera gave him a wink, indicating that she had something to say to him alone.
Cracker, who had just said he would never care about Violet again, unconsciously slowed down. It wasn't until the two of them were a distance behind Perospero that Cracker lowered his voice and said impatiently, "What is it?"
"Cracker, you need to keep a closer eye on the Homies' attendance."
"Huh? What?"
"The wind blew my window open last night, and when I looked out, I found that there wasn't a single Homie there. Luckily it was me on duty, otherwise someone else would have escaped long ago... Hey, why did you bump into me? Hey, Cracker, slow down!"
Violet looked at Cracker, who had suddenly bumped into her and was walking forward quickly, completely bewildered.
Who is this person? She meant well by giving a friendly reminder, and it turned out to be wrong?
——
As the main residence of Queen Tottoland, the venue for this tea party, Cake Island temporarily constructed many guest rooms made of materials such as cookies, candies, and chocolates.
Because of the food's shelf life, these rooms only last for three months, requiring a complete renovation every three months to replace all edible ingredients. Therefore, the room Val was assigned was quite clean and fully equipped; Homies only needed to do a simple cleaning before she could move in.
It's unclear whether Perospero also noticed Homie's subordinates' excessive slacking off last night, but in any case, the person now responsible for "protecting" her outside has become someone sent by Perospero.
Although Vera could easily lull the Homies to sleep with a bedtime story and escape unnoticed, however…
Vera stretched as she sat in her chair and continued reading the information she had just asked Ginny to gather.
Three days, oh no, it's two days now. At the tea party two days from now, apart from the guests who will be attending as Shichibukai (the Seven Warlords of the Sea) and not part of the plan, the main participants can be divided into two categories: one is the marriage partners of Big Mom's children and the forces and families they represent, and the other is the six emperors who are said to control the underworld.
Du Feld, the emperor of the monetary realm who controls loan sharking; Dorag Piekro, the emperor of the assassin realm who controls funeral rites; Gibson, the emperor of the warehousing realm who controls cargo storage; Umit, the emperor of the transportation realm who controls the maritime industry; Morgans, the emperor of the intelligence realm who controls the news realm; and Stussy, the emperor of the entertainment realm who controls the pleasure district.
Among them, there was contact with the warehousing tycoon Gibson, the transportation tycoon Umit, and the intelligence tycoon Morgansville.
As the La Leah fruit and vegetable delivery line grew larger and larger, these three men tried their best to get a piece of the pie.
Unfortunately, in terms of warehousing, Violet had more convenient game crates and refrigerators. In the transportation industry, Violet chose to cooperate with the Whitebeard Pirates and the islands along the route. As for news and intelligence, Violet strictly followed Mr. Newgate's warning and never considered Morgans from the beginning. Instead, she indirectly gained fame by cooperating with the sea restaurant. After Sakura's star career was booming, she no longer needed so-called newspaper advertisements.
Violet had no intention of making money with them, and as a result, the three men's subordinate forces had a significant conflict with R'lyeh.
Morgans was quite clever to call Violet immediately to "clear up the misunderstanding." This was not because Morgans himself was more humble and pragmatic, but because although Violet did not agree to let Morgans advertise for R'lyeh Fruit and Vegetable Line, the topic of Violet as the "youngest Shichibukai" had already earned him more than a little bit of money.
Unlike the other two who couldn't see a single point of Pele, Morgans chose to cooperate with Violet on a different level, so the two maintained a relatively peaceful relationship for the time being.
Vera stroked her chin, suddenly realizing that the tea party two days later was a perfect opportunity. She could either stand on the side of the six underworld emperors and fight against the Kingdom, or stand on the side of the Kingdom and beat up those warehouse emperors, Gibson and Umit, whom she had long disliked and who were always causing her trouble.
To go even further, she could fight everyone without taking sides!
Anyway, according to Cracker's warning, if Big Mom proposes a marriage proposal but is rejected, she will definitely go into a craving for food because she hasn't had an engagement cake or wedding cake in a long time. That will give Violet plenty of opportunities to make her presence felt.
Violet put the intelligence she was holding back into her pocket and backpack to avoid being discovered. She relaxed and sipped the delicious coffee that the kitchen had brought her, preparing to spend the next two days quietly, just as Perospero had hoped, until the tea party arrived.
...After that, I never saw Little Biscuit and Cracker again. I hope he didn't get scolded by his brother for not managing his subordinates well. Amen.
Just as Violet was praying in her heart that Cracker wouldn't get a bad scolding from his brother, a commotion broke out outside the door.
"Lord Perospero orders that no one is allowed to enter or leave this room before afternoon tea begins!"
"Get out of the way!"
"Wait, Lord Katakuri, please don't force your way in!"
Katakuri?
Violet looked in the direction the voice came from with a puzzled expression. Didn't Cracker say that Katakuri would only return to Whole Cake Island on the last day of afternoon tea?
But soon, Katakuri, ignoring the pirates and Homies outside trying to stop him, barged in.
Violet knew very well the level of Perospero's subordinates outside. Even if they did their best to stop Katakuri, they might not be able to cause him any trouble. Moreover, given Katakuri's status in Whole Cake Island, even the Homies knew that they should just give him a token gesture.
Therefore, Katakuri's travel-worn appearance and undisguised fatigue were definitely not due to the guys outside.
Vera understood: "You sensed my arrival in the Kingdom of Ten Thousand and that's why you rushed back overnight?"
"Hmm." Katakuri confirmed Violet's guess in a low voice, "Why did you come to Whole Cake Island?"
Although he secretly hoped that Vera's answer would include his name, reason told him that it didn't matter how many times he and Vera met in private, but if his mother found out about this relationship, he would either have to fulfill his engagement with Vera at his mother's insistence, or...
A mother will not allow someone who could harm her most useful child to exist in a place beyond her control.
"I originally just wanted to give you a gift, so I handled the transaction myself." Violet said with a hint of regret. "Then Lingling, who found out, invited me to afternoon tea in two days... Damn it, I should have known better than to have Cracker deliver it, tsk!"
It's obviously more sincere to deliver it to Katakuri personally than to have someone else deliver it.
Katakuri was surprised to find that he actually had something to do, and his heart skipped a beat involuntarily, expressing his unadulterated joy.
"...What gift was it?"
"A dessert cookbook, supposedly a manuscript by a pastry master, which I saw at an auction. I think you would like it."
Katakuri nodded: "I'm looking forward to seeing it."
"By the way, Katakuri." Violet took out a few vegetable cocktails from her backpack and handed them to him. Katakuri didn't stand on ceremony and drank several in a row. "I heard from Cracker that Big Mom is interested in a marriage alliance with one of those underworld emperors?"
A dark glint flashed in Katakuri's eyes.
Annexing other forces through marriage is a tried-and-true tactic of his mother, but Katakuri dislikes this method that sacrifices his younger siblings.
If he were stronger, perhaps he could persuade his mother to abandon the arranged marriage and instead let him personally conquer the islands or powers that his mother was interested in, making them submit to all nations.
Katakuri touched the scarf he had put on his lap while drinking his vegetable cocktail—Vill had seen his true appearance years ago.
At that time, Violet's strength was no less than his. After several years of growth, Katakuri even suspected that Violet had the power to fight his mother.
Katakuri doesn't need to maintain the aura of an "invincible warrior" in front of Violet, he doesn't need to uphold those lies, and he doesn't need to be the most reliable older brother...
This made Katakuri feel as relaxed as he did at the mochi shop. In fact, because of Wil's guilt towards him, Katakuri could even make some reasonable small requests of her as a creditor.
Katakuri is able to show his true self without any pretense in front of Violet.
This meant that every time Katakuri wanted to bring up the topic of getting Violet to break free of her strange control over him, he would ultimately stop himself. After all, without that connection, he wouldn't even have a reason to see Violet again.
Katakuri honestly replied, "Mom did mean that, but I don't like it."
Huh? Is this how you act cute?
Vera sighed inwardly, and was quite considerate of Katakuri's shyness, which he didn't show on his face.
Following Katakuri's train of thought, she realized that the six emperors of the underworld were not ordinary people, and their marriages were not something that ordinary children could arrange.
Could he be one of the three generals? Although it's a bit risky for the Kingdom of Ten Thousand, only the most tempting bait can catch the big fish that Lingling wants.
Considering the stark gender imbalance among the six, Vera suggested that Katakuri pay more attention to Smoothie.
Katakuri nodded.
"Are you very tired?" Vera looked at Katakuri's loose, amaranth-red hair. "Would you like to rest here for a while?"
As the date of the tea party approached, many "guests" who did not belong to Big Mom's faction arrived at Whole Cake Island. Katakuri inevitably had to spare some attention to be wary of them when he was resting alone.
As for resting with his other brothers, putting aside Katakuri's persona in Whole Cake Island, which prevented him from doing so, the strength of his other brothers... cough cough, in the end, Katakuri couldn't help but worry about them.
But with Vera, he could completely leave these troublesome matters to her.
He was just using Vera to recover his energy; he really needed to be in top condition for the tea party.
"...I'd like to eat some donuts first."
Vera paused for a second, then smiled and said, "Of course, no problem."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Cracker, who waited all night in the cold wind to create an opportunity for Vera to escape: ...Let her get smashed into cookie crumbs by her mother! [Angry]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com