Chapter 285 Who Else Came Out of the Grand Line?
"Altria Pendragon." Out of politeness, Altria gave her name.
"Altoria?" Ansetli Fuo couldn't remember which noble family this surname belonged to - in this world, the surname is usually put first and the given name last.
After a brief hesitation, Fuo smiled and said, "I wonder if I could invite Miss for a cup of coffee?"
Zhang Da also looked at his eyes, thinking about what the consequences would be if a conflict arose and he beat the noble. He glanced at Tom and thought, why not not do it himself and let Tom pretend to be a wild cat and scratch people.
The man who looked like a butler behind Fuo seemed to be hesitant to speak. The Ansetli family was a noble family of medium size. If they wanted to go further, they would need to form an alliance, an alliance with a larger noble family or a royal family.
The butler could at least remember all the surnames of all the nobles in Gaozhen, if not by heart, and Altria was obviously not among them.
The butler didn't want Fuo to have anything to do with a woman of unknown origin, even though the lady in front of him was impeccable in appearance and temperament.
But since Fuo has already made the invitation, it would be inappropriate for him to stop him now. He will find a chance to remind him later. He hopes that the young master will not be blinded by the other party's beauty.
"Coffee?" Altria had no particular preference for coffee, and she felt that this person didn't come here to make friends, so she declined politely, "Thanks for your kindness, but we still have things to do."
Fuo still didn't give way, with a bit of arrogance on his face: "It doesn't matter if you don't like coffee. Why don't you tell me what it is? Maybe I can help. Our Anseteli family can have a say even in front of the king."
The butler complained in his heart that all nobles had a say in front of the king, the question was whether the king would listen.
Altria looked at Zhang Daye, curious as to why he hadn't said a word until now. Normally he should have come out to help deal with it a long time ago.
If it's just a casual flirtation, it's fine to reject him, but if he's getting entangled, it wouldn't be too much to give him a little trouble, right? Zhang Da also whispered something in Altria's ear.
Altria nodded in confusion.
Zhang Da also cleared his throat and said, "It's not a big deal, it's just that the young lady has a poor appetite today and has not found a restaurant that suits her taste, so she hasn't had a good lunch yet, and naturally she is not in the mood to drink coffee."
Tom looked puzzled. Didn't he have lunch today? He touched his stomach and it wasn't swollen. Did he not have lunch? But he felt something was wrong.
Shark Chili looked at Fuo with pity. Is Boss Tatsuya trying to cheat me? I hope he has a rich family.
Brook recalled the experience on the warship that day. In comparison, Miss Altria did not have a good lunch today, and she had not had a good lunch for many days. He smiled and twirled his cane without saying anything.
Fuo said enthusiastically, "So that's how it is. I happen to know a good restaurant nearby. How about I treat you?"
Zhang Da also tried to hold back his laughter and said embarrassmentally: "This is not good. The cost of each meal of the young lady is not a small amount."
"I've already told you that I'm the eldest son of the Ansetli family. It's just a lunch." Fuo glared at Zhang Daye unhappily for daring to question his family's wealth.
Zhang Da didn't care about Fuo's look. Let him glare at her as much as he wanted, just don't cry when he pays the bill.
Altria nodded slightly: "Thank you for the invitation."
So, led by Fuo, everyone came to a restaurant that looked quite luxurious.
On the way, Fuo kept asking about Altria's family background and so on.
Zhang Da also helped and perfunctorily said that he was just doing a small business and could not be compared with the Ansetli family at all, which satisfied Fuo's vanity a little.
When ordering food, Fuo was not stingy. He picked the most expensive dishes and ordered a whole table full of them. It was not because he guessed how much Altria ate, but it was simply a waste. If he couldn't finish the food, he would just throw it away. Although he spent a lot of money, considering Altria's beauty, it was all worth it.
The butler quietly reminded Fuo of his identity, but was interrupted impatiently, saying that he was not going there to get married.
"You're welcome, feel free to taste it. You can come to my house tonight. My chef is even better than the one here..."
While Fuo kept on boasting about how great his family was, Altria had already started eating without any hesitation. Wasting food was a huge crime!
These dishes are different from the one in Central Street. They are beautiful, delicate and delicious, but the portions are quite small. Altria can finish a plate of food in three bites, while Tom can finish it in one bite. Sometimes they don't even need to spit out the plate when eating.
The waiter who came to serve the food was terrified: "You, your cat swallowed the plate!"
Zhang Da also said calmly: "It's okay, we will compensate for the plates."
"That's not the point! Are you sure the cat is okay?" This was a cat brought by a noble. If something happened to it, it would be very troublesome. The waiter was worried that he might lose his job, or even have more serious consequences.
Zhang Da also comforted him, "It's okay, you don't have to be responsible. Compared to that, you guys are too slow in serving the dishes, hurry them up."
"What a magical cat." Although surprised, Fuo still had the mood to praise Tom.
But soon he couldn't laugh anymore.
Twenty minutes later, Fio stared in amazement as the waiter brought the same dish back to the table.
Tom was full and was leaning back in his chair to digest his food. Zhang Daye and the others were acting as attendants seriously and didn't even sit down. Anyway, they had just finished lunch and were not hungry at all.
Now only Altria is fighting alone.
Another twenty minutes later, Fuo looked at Zhang Da with a pale face and asked the waiter to bring a portion of all the dishes that were not on the menu.
Another half hour later...
Fuo felt that simply watching a beautiful woman eat for two hours was also a kind of enjoyment - if the beautiful woman ate a little less, or if he didn't pay the bill in the end.
In the end, Altria stopped not because she was full, but because the waiter said apologetically that the reserve ingredients were exhausted and the chef couldn't hold on any longer either.
If the restaurant owner had told Fuo this under normal circumstances, he would probably have been furious, but today, Fuo felt as if he had been pardoned and signed a check tremblingly. He would not carry too much cash when he went out.
As for the old butler's suggestion to leave without admitting the debt, Fuo decisively rejected it. The eldest son of the Anseteli family couldn't afford a meal? The family's face would be lost by him.
"Well... um... it's getting late..." Feo, who was talkative at first, now spoke haltingly.
The butler wiped his sweat behind him. This was his biggest mistake in the ten years he had worked for the Anseteli family. He would definitely be blamed when he returned, right? If he had known earlier, he would not have accompanied the young master out today.
Zhang Da also looked at the wall clock and smiled politely, "It's really getting late. I wonder if Mr. Fuo has any recommendations for dinner. You said before that your chef is excellent?"
"This...this..." Sweat broke out on Fuo's forehead. He didn't dare to mention inviting Altria to his house for dinner again.
If he didn't have enough to eat after he went there, his family would lose face. If he had enough to eat, he was afraid that his family members would not be able to bear it.
Fortunately, the housekeeper gave him a way out: "Master, you forgot that you have to attend a dance tonight. It's almost time to go back and prepare."
"Oh, yes, that's right. I still have to prepare for the ball. Sorry for the rudeness!" Fuo said goodbye in a hurry and left.
Zhang Da finally couldn't hold back his expression and laughed out loud.
Shark Chili said, "Boss Tatsuya, is this too much?"
Zhang Da disagreed and said, "Think about it, if someone invites Tian Delina to have coffee, and Tian Delina politely refuses, but the person keeps pestering her, is it too much to make trouble for him?"
Shark Chili's eyes immediately turned vicious: "I think it can be even more extreme."
Brooke asked, "Since the price was so unaffordable in the end, why didn't he just refuse the treat?"
Zhang Da also said: "The noble's reputation is still very important. Many people in the store may know him. He is afraid of losing face."
Brook touched his face and said, "It's hard for me to understand the concept of face, because I don't have any face left to lose, yo roo roo roo~"
Zhang Da also asked: "How was it? Did you enjoy the meal?"
Tom touched his belly and made an OK sign.
Altria nodded, "Yeah, it tastes great. But won't this be troublesome?"
"We didn't force him to treat us, nor did we rob him of his money. When he realizes something is wrong, he will probably hire some thugs to retaliate. It's not a big problem." Zhang Da didn't take this man seriously.
In this crappy place called Goa Kingdom, the king has to hire pirates whenever he wants to do something dirty. Nobles like these are probably only capable of hiring small thugs.
After leaving the restaurant, everyone went straight to the bookstore and bought the necessary nautical charts and books about the ocean currents and climate of the East China Sea. Some of the information was indeed not found in the previous small bookstore, so this trip was not in vain.
Fuo, who also left the restaurant, felt more and more that something was wrong. Could someone really eat so much without even a slight rise or fall in his stomach?
Fuo ordered: "Check the origins of those people. Could it be that someone sent them to deliberately mess with me?"
"yes!"
…
Everyone reunited in the evening, but instead of returning to the ship, they found a hotel to stay in.
Zhang Daye and his friends brought back several large bags of books, while Rui Mengmeng and her friends brought back a large pile of clothes and decorations.
"Is it possible to buy too much?" Wendy said, a little worried.
"These are all necessary expenses. It's okay." Zhang Da also comforted her. Wendy wasn't growing taller anyway, so there was no need to worry about wasting clothes even if she bought too many.
Ye Yan picked up two large bags and said, "We have prepared the colorful lights, candies, gift boxes and other things. Now we just need a tree ."
Xia Lulu asked curiously, "I wanted to ask before, why do you want to buy these things? Is there any festival coming soon? Why do you need a tree?"
Ye Yan explained: "She always said that she wanted to spend Christmas with Tom. Don't you have Christmas there?"
"It's a festival I've never heard of." Wendy and Xia Lulu looked confused.
Brook and Perona were also confused. Although the book in Bartholomew Bear's hand had the Bible on its cover, Big Mom's adoptive mother was a nun, and Baroque Works had a senior agent code-named Miss. Merry Christmas, few people in this world cared about such holidays.
Altria knows some common sense because of the Holy Grail War, and Shark Chili and Ye Yan naturally know about Christmas.
Rui Mengmeng's world culture is similar to modern society, there is even a league of haters, and there is also Christmas.
When Tom heard that it was Christmas, he happily ran to look at the calendar. Although the hotel calendar did not mark it, the date was indeed approaching.
"The origin of Christmas is somewhat related to religion, but it doesn't matter. We don't believe in it anyway. We just want to find an excuse to have some fun." Zhang Da also said, "Anyway, on the day before Christmas, let's decorate the Amber a little more beautifully and prepare more delicious food. By the way, hang your socks on the head of the bed that night, and Santa Claus will climb into the room through the chimney to give you gifts."
"Great!" Perona and Wendy put their hands together, their eyes sparkling.
"A gift from Santa Claus? I'm so looking forward to it. Yohohoho~" Brooke was also very interested.
Zhang Da also sighed, thinking that an old man like him shouldn't follow the little girl in acting cute.
Xia Lulu poured cold water on him and said, "But our room doesn't have a chimney."
"...Then don't lock the door when you go to bed that night." Zhang Da was also stunned for a moment, thinking that it was fortunate that Xia Lulu mentioned it.
After discussing for a while, they decided to take a good walk around the town tomorrow and then go outside the city to cut down trees.
Afterwards, Ye Yan was the first to suggest going back to the room to sleep. The night watchman actually wanted to sleep normally, but unfortunately he became inexplicably energetic in the middle of the night, so he simply went to bed early when he had nothing to do.
Everyone went back to their rooms. Zhang Da still stayed in the same room with Tom. Before going to bed, he took out some equipment from the inventory and exercised for a while. Then he said good night to Tom and fell into a deep sleep.
In a daze, he seemed to hear someone running outside the window, but Zhang Da thought he was dreaming and didn't pay much attention to it.
The next morning, everyone left the hotel carrying large and small bags.
Rui Mengmeng asked: "Did anyone notice the noise last night? It felt a bit noisy."
Altria said, "It looks like the soldiers are catching a fugitive, but something feels wrong."
Ye Yan yawned and said, "I'll ask Sui Feng Er to find out. Let's talk about it when we get back to the boat."
"Then send the things back first." Zhang Da roughly guessed what it was about. After seeing what happened last night, it was not an illusion.
The others didn't understand why, perhaps because they hadn't slept so comfortably in a long time, or because they were not vigilant enough.
"Dear guests passing by, please have a look! The goods from the Grand Line are rarely seen in ten years. If you miss it today, you will have to wait another ten years!" A small vendor shouted enthusiastically, and a circle of curious people had already gathered in front of the stall.
Zhang Da was also startled: "No way, was my house robbed?"
Ye Yan immediately used mental communication to contact the flag demon who stayed behind on the Amber, and the news he got was that everything was fine. They had taken turns to keep watch last night and ensured that not even a mosquito flew onto the ship.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Are there other people coming to the East China Sea from the Grand Line?
