One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 17 The Establishment of an Employment Relationship

The chef carefully sliced ​​the absolutely fresh fruit and arranged it on a beautiful platter. The tenderest part of the sea monster's belly was sliced ​​into 1-millimeter-thin slices under the chef's knife, piled up layer upon layer, revealing the white bottom of the plate. Still seemingly a little uneasy, he used the remaining sugar to make a small dessert.

After finishing everything, the chubby head chef finally breathed a sigh of relief and carried the plates to the guest room.

Inside was the little girl from before, now meticulously wiping her long knife. Although the head chef couldn't quite figure out how the girl with the veil over her eyes could see, it wasn't his concern.

"Thank you for your hard work. It looks very appetizing," the mysterious girl said with a smile.

"Not at all, of course. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now. If you need a late-night snack, come find me again."

"Thank you very much." The next second, the girl had already picked up a knife and started wolfing down her food.

Although not elegant, it didn't look crude either. The head chef, who had sailed the seas with a bunch of rough sailors, had seen far more crude ways of eating, so he wasn't too surprised. He slowly closed the door.

But I still feel uneasy.

"Hartel, are we really going to bring this girl along?" Chef Lauchoudhry asked somewhat uneasily.

"Idiot." Hartel slapped him on the head.

"If she's still willing to talk to us properly, then we still have a chance to survive. But if we rashly refuse, I can't be sure if she'll cut down the Sea Kings and then we'll be next."

"That makes sense." Chaudhry seemed to accept his statement.

“However, we might have to talk to her. Although she’s on board, we need to determine if she’s a problem, otherwise the rest of us won’t feel at ease.” Hartel still had his own considerations.

“Perhaps now is the best time.” Looking at the cabin, Hartel made up his mind.

Although it wasn't as good as the food on Whole Cake Island, it was still quite good, and the somewhat hungry Galette ate it with great relish.

That's right, the girl holding the knife and dressed in all black is Garrett.

Currently, after several twists and turns, she has left the New World and arrived in the Western Sea of ​​the Four Seas.

However, even a hero can be brought down by a lack of money, and she too found herself in the embarrassing situation of being penniless.

In order to avoid incurring additional debt, Garrett took nothing with her except her clothes.

Afterwards, she removed all the ornaments from her clothes, exchanged them for some money, bought some basic equipment, and began her journey.

but……

Is someone knocking on the door?

This time it must be their leader.

It takes some patience for them to arrive now.

……

Your eyes...?

"I'm not blind, I just want to train my senses in the dark. After all, a well-lit battle environment isn't always available." She didn't say that it was also to train her Observation Haki.

Your hair...?

"Oh, you mean the color issue?"

The rain had just washed away her hair dye, causing it to start to fade. Although it wasn't obvious, the black color was becoming uneven, and even some purplish-red strands were showing.

"Please don't mind, it's just because I hate red." Of course, I wanted to change my image, and dyeing my hair was the cheapest option for cross-dressing.

“Ah, well…” Hartel was at a loss for words. The other party seemed unusually gentle, without a trace of murderous intent, and even spoke to him with respectful language. Clearly, if she wanted to, this whole ship of people would probably be dead under her blade.

"Where are your parents?"

"My father is missing, my mother has gone insane, and I'm all alone now!!!" Garrett wasn't lying. She had never seen her father, and her mother would have intermittent episodes of "food cravings."

"And your home?"

"It's been taken over by pirates." This isn't a lie; it's truly been taken over by pirates.

So you hate red? It's because you've seen too much blood. Hartel thought he'd found a reasonable explanation.

In this world, there are probably as many displaced people as fish in the sea.

“So, I need a job to support myself,” Garrett continued.

“You’re quite capable; there’s no need for you to choose my ship.” Hartel remained somewhat resentful.

“Fate, I wanted to leave, and then I saw your ship, and I think that was fate,” Garrett said earnestly.

Fate? Hartel pondered the question silently.

Fate, yes, it was fate. From the moment she began her divination, she and this girl were connected.

"However, how did you know I needed your help? You resolved the previous incident, so can you sense the movements of sea kings?"

“No, that wasn’t an accident, it was a man-made disaster.” Garrett finished her juice and smacked her lips.

"Man-made?"

"The sea monsters we eat now are a species that are extremely sensitive to the smell of blood. When someone leaves a bloody corpse next to your ship, the potential accident becomes a cruel reality."

"Corpses?" Hartel suddenly thought of those layers of corpses; so that's how it was.

“Because resources often float ashore, the shore has become a target for some thugs. They’re clever; they know how to use corpses. As soon as a sea monster attacks a ship, your cargo is theirs. However, I was too late. By the time I arrived, you had already boarded the ship. At that point, I thought it better to demonstrate my strength and convince you than to offer worthless advice. In the end, my gamble paid off. Thankfully, you’re all safe,” Garrett said with a smile.

"Thank you so much. People often warn me not to underestimate anyone, but I never expected to almost fall into their trap. If it weren't for your help, we would probably be dead by now." Hartel completely let down his guard.

So, was what Garrett just said true?

Half true, half false.

In fact, she wasn't the mastermind, but she acted as a witness. She knew that the group of thugs had carried the body over and that she had seen Hartel and the others board the ship before she appeared.

However, she didn't stop them. Since they all had ulterior motives, she figured she might as well use their influence to do her own thing.

After all, opportunities are something you have to fight for, and the same goes for job opportunities.

She's so young; if she misses this opportunity, where else can she find a job she likes?

"By the way, I don't know your name yet. My name is Yado Hartel. What's yours?"

"My name is Syl Roman, or you can call me Black Cat, which is a new nickname I've given myself. I'd be happy if you'd like to call me that."

A black cat?

Having your own name but preferring to be called by a nickname suggests a deeply sad past.

“Well then, welcome, Miss Black Cat. I’m counting on you for this voyage.” Hartel extended his hand.

"It's my honor." A pair of hands were also extended.

The handshake signifies the establishment of a formal employment relationship.