Chapter 48 The player encountered a bug (2....)
The family afternoon tea started promptly at 3:30 pm on Sunday.
Big Mom and her dozens of children all appeared in the newly renovated, beautiful garden.
Beneath the azure sky and snow-white clouds lies a beautiful garden filled with exotic flowers and plants. Charlotte Linlin, dressed in a polka-dot dress, walks at the front, holding a pink parasol with lace trim in one hand, and cradling two infants sleeping peacefully in her arms.
"MAMAMA!" Lingling walked into the garden with a joyful laugh, her sharp, blood-red high heels piercing through the delicate flowers. "I've been looking forward to family afternoon tea all week!"
Closest to Lingling were the little Charlottes under the age of ten, who were her favorites and most able to evoke her maternal love. Behind these children sat Perospero, according to their strength and status, as well as the Sweet Commanders Katakuri, Cracker, and Smoothie.
"Please take your seats, afternoon tea is about to begin!"
Lingling walked to the head seat and greeted the guests, and the other children took their seats in order.
After they were seated, every flower, every blade of grass, and every tree in the garden opened its eyes, opened its mouth, and swayed joyfully.
Those were Homies created using the power of the Big Mom Fruit. Ordinary flowers and trees, after being given a soul, also possessed basic thoughts like humans.
Pleasant and melodious nursery rhymes flowed from their mouths, watering every corner of the garden.
[Clink, clink, clink—Mom's tea party is about to begin!]
Chew and swallow, the dessert on the plate is never empty!
[Offer your heart as a dessert, offer your lifespan as a gift, may laughter and joy never cease!]
[Fishman candy, little man cakes, all races gathered together~]
[Mom's tea party is the most wonderful, a paradise for all ages—]
This is our home forever!
"MAMAMA!" Lingling clapped happily, "What a beautiful song!"
"I'm so happy! Everyone has prepared so many surprises for me. I'm sure today's family afternoon tea won't disappoint either, right?"
Lingling handed the two children, who were not yet able to eat desserts, over to Long Bread.
“Of course, Mom,” the long bread roll said without changing its expression. “Today, in addition to your favorite dessert, there’s also a ‘new item of the day’ made by the new chef.”
"Great! I'm already tired of your desserts." Lingling ordered without any politeness, "Let's serve the new chef's desserts first."
Brûlée sat behind the long table, nervously watching her mother at the head of the table. Although everyone sitting there was a mother's child, for those children who were over ten years old and could no longer awaken their mother's maternal love, the resources and attention they could receive were closely related to their strength, or rather, their value to their mother.
Brûlée is the kind of unlucky girl whose impulsive and timid personality prevented her from inheriting the right to rule an island from her mother, despite being the eighth daughter. In addition, her childhood experience of being disfigured by Katakuri's revenge also made her reluctant to appear in public.
But Brulee's loyalty to her mother and her affection for her brothers and sisters, especially her brother Katakuri, are beyond question.
Mom demanded that the new chef's dessert be served first. If the new chef failed to cater to Mom's preferences, Mom, who was starving, would be extremely angry.
And her hungry and angry mother... Brulee shuddered, recalling the horrific scene she had witnessed before.
The mother, who should have been a pillar of strength protecting them, transformed into a ruthless natural disaster, grabbing her children who tried to stop her and pulling decades of their lifespan out of them!
And that unfortunate brother aged more than ten years in an instant!
Brulee felt her calves cramping from worry, and that worry reached its peak when she saw the food the Homies were pushing towards her!
What, what is that?!
Ice cream and drinks are one thing, but what's with that weirdly shaped cake placed right in the middle?!
The cake, composed of cyan, green, red, and blue mushrooms from top to bottom, is so brightly colored that it makes one wonder if it is really edible.
Could it be that Mom's enemy is lurking in the chef team, trying to poison her?
Looking at the mushroom cake, Brulee's imagination ran wild, and she even started fantasizing about her mother being poisoned and bedridden, and the miserable life that would follow if the Navy or pirates invaded Whole Cake Island.
Brulee: Waaaaaah...
Startled by the imagined future of constant displacement and hiding, Brulee cautiously looked up at her most trusted brother, Katakuri.
However, when he saw the strangely shaped and colored cake, he frowned but didn't say anything.
Meanwhile, Perospero, Cracker, and Amanda, who were standing next to him, did not show any signs of distress.
Could it be that she's overthinking it, and that it's not actually a mushroom, just a mushroom shape?
What Brûlée didn't know was that Perospero and the others were so calm because they were all victims of the Violet Jelly Salad. After tasting that bizarre food, the mushroom cake was nothing special.
The visual impact is still not as strong as that of a jelly salad.
As the first unfortunate victim of "corruption," Cracker even offered his own commentary with great interest.
“MAMAMA…”
Lingling raised an eyebrow at the food placed in front of her: "What a novel presentation."
Following Wilt's instructions, Homitz introduced, "This is the 'new item of the day' for this family afternoon tea."
"The appetizer is a vegetable cocktail, the main course dessert is a mushroom cake, and the dessert is ice cream."
“MAMA…” Lingling picked up the iced cocktail, which was as vibrant as blood, “What an innovative new chef.”
She downed the cocktail in one gulp.
All the children, the Homies, and the longbread awaited the Queen's final verdict with bated breath.
"Delicious~" Lingling opened her eyes again, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the empty cup in her hand. "So tasty, I'll have another one!"
……Very good.
The plants in the garden swayed merrily once again.
A silver spoon taps against a crystal glass, a knife slices across a bone china plate.
[The tea party begins—led by delicious drinks!]
Come on, come on, come to this culinary paradise!
Eat up, eat up, savor this dessert galaxy~
Swallow it all, swallow it all, this insane flavor storm is here!
Honey is blood, cookies are bones, candy is skin... We want to become the way Mom loves most!
Lingling: "Bring the mushroom cake over here!"
The mushroom cake is quite large, but it can only be called a "small cake" in front of the eight-meter-tall BIG MOM.
Having a good impression of the vegetable cocktail, Lingling swallowed the cake without hesitation when she saw its somewhat bizarre shape.
Lingling: "Hmm?"
Trusting in Violet's cooking skills, Cracker picked up a vegetable cocktail and drank it after his mother started eating.
The cool texture combined with the flavor of the vegetable juice and a hint of alcohol, while a bit too mild for a pirate as a beverage, is definitely qualified as an opening drink for afternoon tea.
Cracker was pondering how to use various forceful or indirect methods to keep Vale in Whole Cake Island as Charlotte's chef forever when he heard his mother let out a cold, bloody sigh after eating the mushroom cake.
Katakuri, who never takes off his scarf outside and was simply admiring the colors of his wine glass, looked at his mother upon hearing this.
Charlotte Linlin's orange eyes were filled with greed and interest.
"MAMAMA! What interesting food!" Lingling's flamboyant pink hair fluttered in the wind as she turned her head. "What's the new chef's name?"
Long bread: "Ville".
“Vell…” Full red lips kissed the two short syllables of her name, her pearly white teeth chewing and crushing them, the mixture of indescribable emotions being swallowed down her throat with her tongue. “Vell, what a beautiful name.”
Queen Totland displayed her generous and hospitable side: "She deserves a reward for making such a delicious afternoon tea."
"Bring on the last dessert," Lingling exclaimed with a loud laugh. "Let's see what surprises this new chef has in store!"
Hunger never ends!
[Please submit at least three ingredients as the "New Dish of the Day" dessert for Sunday's family tea party (3/3 submitted)]
[Task assessment in progress...]
[Cake keyword satisfied, Food craving keyword satisfied, Three desserts increase sanity by a total of 33 + 10 + 50 = 93 > 90]
[Task Completed]
[Quest Reward: Mysterious Treasure Map *1]
In the back kitchen, Violet is holding a hammer, ready to smash the cooking pot and recycle the ingredients: ...
She knew it! She knew there must be hidden conditions for this mission!
Luckily, she was careful and submitted desserts that would increase sanity points the most! Just 3 points more! She almost failed the mission!
Violet put the materials from the smashed cooking pot into her backpack, and while opening the yellowed parchment scroll, she sat in the kitchen waiting for Perospero to come and deliver the promised ghost to her.
This is… Violet squinted at the island marked with a red cross on the treasure map, then opened the map again.
Yes, she remembered correctly. The location on the treasure map was Whole Cake Island, specifically the island where she was located, the center of Whole Cake Island, the island where Empress Charlotte Linlin lived.
The sound of boots hitting the ground grew louder as Katakuri pushed open the kitchen door and looked down at the young man sitting in the cream-colored wooden chair.
At such a young age, even in the Land of Ten Thousand Kingdoms, one would need the careful protection of older brothers and sisters. Yet, the girl before me had already ventured alone into the territory of the Sea Emperor, risking her life to facilitate a deal.
Katakuri is the masterpiece of Whole Cake Island, a perfect being who has never tasted failure since birth.
But he still couldn't understand what Violet wanted to do.
"Katakuri-nii-san!"
Cracker's voice rang out from afar, and he sensed Katakuri's Observation Haki filling the room.
Cracker glanced at Violet, who was still sitting leisurely in her chair, a vein twitching on his forehead. He took a deep breath and looked at his revered brother.
"Katakuri, what did Mom say to you back then?"
As the family afternoon tea came to an end, Lingling, in a good mood because of the delicious desserts, called her favorite son over and gave him a piece of advice.
No one dared to disobey their mother's orders. Cracker, who had noticed Katakuri heading towards the kitchen, followed closely after the Homies left.
Katakuri glanced at Cracker strangely. In his memory, his younger brother rarely showed such obvious emotional fluctuations except when facing cookies.
Katakuri: "Mom wants to give the new chef a reward."
"Once you get it, make her leave Wan Guo immediately."
Cracker looked surprised: "What?!"
He thought that his mother, after eating the desserts made by Vera, would keep Vera in the Kingdom forever.
Greed is the nature of pirates. While Whole Cake Island embraces all races, it does not allow anyone who joins them to leave.
We welcome all who come and do not keep those who leave.
Just like a family, there is no way to escape except by washing away one's bloodline with death.
But his mother actually demanded that Vera leave the Kingdom of Treasures immediately after receiving the reward? This was completely unexpected for Cracker and completely disrupted his plans.
Cracker had already prepared for Violet to be left in Whole Cake Island. He even used his Devil Fruit powers to build a cookie kitchen for Violet in Cookie Town!
Her siblings were not easy to get along with, and her brother Perospero often had to go out on business, so it was the best choice for Val to stay on Biscuit Island and be looked after and protected by him.
But it's all gone, all gone. The delicious pumpkin cookies, and many more delicious and interesting desserts, are about to leave him.
Katakuri keenly noticed the change in his younger brother's emotions.
Cracker lowered his head, and the spark at the end of his purple hair disappeared for a moment before returning to normal.
"Alright." Cracker raised his head again, as if he had already processed and accepted the bad news. "Since it's Mom's order, then so be it."
"I'm heading back to Biscuit Island now." Cracker waved to Violet. "Goodbye."
"goodbye……"
So, what exactly is the purpose of crackers?
Violet looked at Katakuri with a questioning expression. Katakuri, who obviously couldn't understand his younger brother's thought process either, buried his nose in his scarf.
Even if it's embarrassing, he's still my younger brother.
Katakuri: "It's time to go."
Katakuri reached out his hand to Violet. Violet was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized that Katakuri still remembered that she had short legs and walked slowly.
Damn it, once the players find and hunt walruses to get their tusks and craft walking sticks, let's see who walks slower!
Violet sat down angrily on the seat that Katakuri had made of glutinous rice.
But then again...
Violet looked down at her two legs dangling in the air.
Is Katakuri also a kind of mount?
A player with a vivid imagination immediately pulled out a gold nugget and flint and made a new cowbell.
It's probably a unique outfit from the World Map, and compared to the simple cowbell made in the Drum Kingdom, the one that Violet is holding in her hands now is full of the aesthetic appeal of being paid for.
The bell has a metallic amaranth-red body and a strawberry-pink donut-shaped head. Even the needle-like candy and pudding-like patterns used to decorate the bell are just like the real thing. If you get close to smell it, you can even smell the freshly cooked wheat flour and melted chocolate.
It smells so good.
"It smells so good..."
"Huh, did she say it out loud?" Violet tilted her head in confusion, and her eyes met a pair of red eyes.
Violet was startled by Katakuri's gaze and subconsciously shook the cowbell in her hand.
[You have already bound Katakuri]
Violet: ? ? ?
Violet: !!!
Katakuri frowned and said in a deep voice, "What did you do?"
Katakuri sensed something was wrong, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Ah... well...
A cowbell can only be bound to one mount, and the bound mount will automatically follow the cowbell that bound it.
Logically speaking, Katakuri is just a humanoid NPC and doesn't fit the definition of a "mount," so why can he be bound to a cowbell?
After thinking for a while, Violet realized that the problem was probably that Katakuri had already taken her along twice, which was obviously considered a "riding" action by the game.
Only mounts can be ridden by players, and anything ridden by players can be defined as a mount.
Ah... this must be a bug, right? It must be. Violet, who had a bit of a mischievous and playful side, suppressed her urge to have a bad idea.
She could choose to unbind the cowbell and pretend nothing had happened; or she could continue to bind it to Katakuri and accept this mount that would bring her terrible consequences and hidden dangers.
But, Violet tilted her head and looked at Katakuri.
This is definitely the most special and unique mount she can get in this game.
He will be the player's best badge.
Even the terrible price to pay to obtain it will become part of the player's bragging rights.
Having made up her mind to raise her new mount, Violet asked, "What does Katakuri like to eat?"
Katakuri: ?
He gave Vera a strange look; she had suddenly become incredibly relaxed, as if she had figured something out sometime earlier.
"……Donut."
Oh no, this is terrible, she doesn't know how to do this.
"Being a picky eater is not a good habit," Violet sighed.
Enveloped in the sweet aroma of glutinous rice, Violet began to ponder what preparations she needed to raise a Katakuri.
Unlike poor Chopper, Katakuri looks like a pampered young master.
While Violet may use kidnapping instead of purchasing, she can't let Katakuri's quality of life decline too drastically under her control.
Since Katakuri cannot be satisfied with food, efforts should be increased in the other three aspects: clothing, food, housing, and transportation.
Violet clenched her fist. Spoil her! Spoil her to death!
It's just about working harder to farm and support your family. Considering the six-figure prices for mounts and costumes in other games, getting Katakuri for free is already a great deal!
"Katakuri, what kind of clothes do you like?"
"Katakuri, what kind of house do you like?"
"Katakuri, do you like flowers? Would you like flowers outside your house?"
"Katakuri, do you prefer the sea, the meadows, or the forest?"
Katakuri: ...
Katakuri was so annoyed by Violet that he wanted to manually mute her.
"Whatever," he said dismissively. "I don't care about this kind of thing."
"...What kind of expression is that?"
Violet lowered her hand from her mouth, which she had been covering with in gratitude, and said, "You're so easy to please."
"Don't worry, I will treat you well."
Katakuri: ?
Katakuri felt a strange chill.
Katakuri put Violet down, and Violet looked up at the lush forest stretching as far as the eye could see.
The forest, awakened by the noise, opened its eyes and looked at the uninvited guest in front of it.
[It's a new child I've never seen before!]
Come on in, come play with us!
Want to embark on a maze adventure? Of course, there's no exit!
Every tree, every blade of grass, and every stone has a smiling face.
Dreamy, peaceful, and beautiful fairy tales are an indispensable part of every child's childhood on this sea. However, this fantasy world, flowing with honey, will collide with reality as they grow up, turning into bitter memories full of cracks.
But Charlotte Linlin's formidable talent, which she displayed from a young age, protected her sweet fairy tale, while her terrifying power allowed her to bring it to life.
Racial discrimination is inevitable, so let them all have the blood of the true emperors of this fairytale kingdom flowing through their veins; desserts will eventually run out, so let's put a knife to the chef's throat and force him to create new ones day and night; trees can't speak, so let's imprison human souls within them...
Lingling walks through the world with a naive fantasy, and then uses her violent and crazy power to realize it one by one.
Violet approached one of them and placed her hand on its trunk under its blushing gaze.
[Haha, haha, it tickles! Don't touch my tree trunk, you rude little brat! Wait, wait, what are you holding in your hand?]
Violet took out the golden axe, raised it high above her head, and swung it down forcefully.
Bang, bang, bang...
Her hard work paid off, and Violet kept the two pieces of wood with terrified faces.
[You have obtained 2 living logs]
[Living log]
[A piece of wood that displays different expressions depending on its state when it was chopped down; throwing it into a fire will produce a piercing scream; it possesses powerful and dangerous magical energy and is a favorite of mad magicians~]
Wow, a whole living forest!
Looking at the dark forest, Violet exclaimed, "I never imagined there was a place like this in the Land of Ten Thousand Kingdoms!"
"That's so cool!"
With her arms outstretched and her back to the dark, eerily smiling trees behind her, Violet looked excitedly at Katakuri: "What do you call this place?"
Katakuri said in a deep voice, "The Temptation Forest."
-----------------------
Author's Note: It's Katakuri! [Exaggeration]
Congratulations to Violet on acquiring a War Bull! However, it's still a long way from being tamed after being bound to it. [Let me see]
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