Author's Note:
Another flashback chapter this time.
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And so the Tea Party began.
At first, knowing it was a party hosted by one of the Four Emperors, I was absolutely terrified. But if I'm being honest about how it actually felt to attend... it was incredibly fun.
Or rather, it was incredibly delicious.
Every single sweet they'd prepared was an extraordinarily high-level confection.
The kind of thing you'd normally find at a high-end restaurant, served at several thousand or even tens of thousands of Berry per plate, with tiny portions and absurdly elaborate presentation.
And here they were, laid out buffet-style... no, more than that, used as decorations throughout the venue. All-you-can-eat.
A pirate who demands tribute in the form of sweets and destroys entire nations if they can't pay... I felt like I was being shown the sheer passion that "Big Mom" pours into confections.
Of course, the party itself was more than enjoyable too.
I'd been convinced I'd spend the whole time wound tight with nerves, but... turns out people adapt surprisingly well. Partway through, Morgans and I were both genuinely enjoying mingling with the other guests.
It seemed like people had overheard my earlier conversation with Stussy and Lu Feld, because once the party got going, other attendees came up to talk to me one after another.
And almost all of them either had some connection to my work as a writer, or were simply fans.
Just to name a few: Umit, the Shipping King known as "Deep Sea Current," and Giberson, a long-established figure in the warehousing business.
The former regularly handles jobs shipping the books I've written around the world, while the latter handles their storage... and so on. We were only connected at the level of being a customer, or rather a customer's associate, yet they knew all about me. That made me kind of happy.
Then there was Drug Peclo, of the major funeral industry. Being in the funeral business, he naturally had no connection to publishing, but... he said he was a fan and was thrilled to meet me.
He told me, "When the time comes, please don't hesitate to call on us." ...Is that really how you want to pitch your services?
And it wasn't just the guests, either. I was genuinely surprised to find fans even among the Big Mom Pirates.
They came up and talked to me at the venue. I was shocked when I heard their names.
Custard, the 6th daughter. Moscat, the 16th son. Galette, the 18th daughter. And Pudding-chan, the 36th daughter, who was still quite small.
They'd each read different books of mine, told me things like which characters they loved, or which scenes made their hearts race. I was quite satisfied to have this kind of reader interaction.
Though I'll admit... talking to Big Mom herself made me incredibly nervous.
A Bounty of 4,388,000,000 Berry, the highest of any female pirate. Even though this wasn't a combat situation in any sense, her presence, her sheer pressure... was, frankly, overwhelming.
During the Tea Party, I spoke with her twice.
The first time was shortly after the party started, when guests presented the gifts they'd brought.
Along with Morgans, I offered the "treasure chest" we'd prepared. She said just one brief thing to me then: "Make sure you have a good time today!" That was about the extent of it.
The second time was a little later, when I went to pay my respects.
I figured it would be rude to just eat and chat with other guests without greeting the host, so I went over to say hello. With Morgans by my side again.
Unlike the gift-giving, we talked for a decent stretch this time. At least in that moment, she came across as a boisterous, good-natured Auntie.
Setting aside her inherent presence, there was nothing intimidating about her at all. She even praised me, saying things like, "My kids love your books, y'know." And apparently Big Mom herself reads them from time to time. Incredible. A mega-celebrity was among my readers...
Her favorites were, surprisingly, family drama stories.
Among those, she particularly seemed to like tales about a Sister who takes in orphaned children and raises them, a chronicle of a woman with a strong, resilient heart. She's got plenty of kids herself, so maybe she just likes stories with children in them?
That said, she didn't seem to care for darker works. She said she preferred stories that were simply fun, where everyone is happy together.
She also mentioned she liked things that weren't too complicated or preachy.
...A Sister, huh.
I wonder if there's some connection to the person in that photograph, the one placed at the seat directly across from Big Mom during the Tea Party.
Apparently her name was "Mother Carmel," but... Morgans said even he didn't know what kind of person she was.
He only knew that Big Mom revered her deeply, like a benefactor. But Big Mom apparently didn't take kindly to anyone asking about or even mentioning that person, and Morgans had warned me beforehand: "Don't touch on or ask questions about the person in the photograph."
Nothing happened today, but apparently a guest in the past had simply asked what kind of person this "Mother" was, only to be knocked unconscious by Conqueror's Haki. ...I was curious, but, well. Let sleeping gods lie.
With that, my greeting to the host concluded without incident.
Throughout our conversation, she smiled warmly, and yet... I couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere in her gaze, she was appraising me.
And it wasn't just Big Mom. I sensed the same kind of look from several people around her.
But hey, they're pirates. That much is to be expected.
...I couldn't exactly claim my own gaze was one hundred percent friendly either. I'd stayed just a little tense, just a little on guard the whole time. Nobody called me out on it, though.
After that, I simply enjoyed the Tea Party.
The conversation was fun, I made new acquaintances, and the lively atmosphere wasn't so overwhelming once I'd gotten used to it.
Just as Morgans had said, they weren't particularly strict about manners. The priority was to have fun first and foremost.
And above all, every single sweet was so, so delicious...
And there were just as many surprising and fascinating things to discover...
The very first thing that caught me off guard was the drink corner, which I visited with Morgans right after the party started.
"Welcome, honored guests. Oh, your companion here is a first-timer, isn't she? Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Yes, very much. It's an honor to meet you."
"Hey there, Smoothie."
"May I offer you a drink? We have some rare selections today."
Waiting there was one of the Grand Executives, a member of the Sweet Four Commanders: Charlotte Smoothie.
Apparently half-Longleg Tribe, she had these incredibly long, thick legs decorated with tattoos. Since she wore something like a leotard, you could see everything from her thighs all the way up to where they met her hips. Provocative, to say the least.
Among the Big Mom Pirates, she was one of the very strongest... and even through Observation Haki, that strength was palpable.
Still, for now she was simply presiding over this drink corner as a hostess, so there didn't seem to be any need to be on edge.
But those "drinks" of hers...
"Today we have 'White Wild Dog of the Sea,' 'Mossy Rock of Mule Island,' and 'Blue Coral of Pepper Bay.' So, which will it be? Just say the word and I'll squeeze one right away."
Not a single normal drink ingredient among them.
But Morgans, entirely unfazed, ordered "The wild dog, please." And with that, Smoothie wrung the thing like she was wringing out a washcloth, literally squeezing liquid out of a dog hanging there. She poured it into a glass and handed it to Morgans.
He drank it with evident relish. ...Another thoroughly surreal sight to add to the collection.
Living-creature extract was a bit much for me, so instead of the "wild dog," I ordered the "rock."
Same as before, she squeezed it effortlessly despite its hardness and handed me the result. I steeled myself, took a sip, and... wow. Delicious. Like a really well-made cocktail.
Apparently her Wring-Wring Fruit Powers let her squeeze all sorts of things to extract liquid. Startling to witness, but I could see how an ability like that was well-suited for an occasion like this.
After chatting a bit more with her, I went to enjoy the various sweets scattered throughout the venue.
There were far too many kinds to eat everything, and even listing what I tried would be difficult, but let me introduce a few from memory.
The venue was decorated with all sorts of ornaments, and every single one was made of confections and fully edible.
There were numerous "decorations" hanging like fruits or nuts from trees.
When I tried picking an orange-looking one, I was astonished to find it was a jelly crafted to look like a piece of fruit. It jiggled in my hand, looking almost unbearably juicy and appetizing.
When I bit into it, the outermost layer had a pleasant resistance, but once it entered my mouth and I bit down, it crumbled and dissolved in layers, slowly spreading across my tongue. At the same time, a refreshing aroma rose up and passed through my nose.
Combined with its gorgeous craftsmanship, it was both delicious and genuinely fun to eat. These clearly artisan-level sweets were "decorated" everywhere, all-you-can-eat.
And the one I'd just eaten was the orange, but there were also apple, grape, banana, cherry... all sorts of varieties. Each was meticulously crafted. The grapes were uniform in size with a beautiful sheen, and the banana could be peeled before eating. Though the peel was edible too, so biting straight in was perfectly fine.
Just thinking that everything maintained this level of quality, in both taste and detail, was enough to send a shiver down my spine.
Among the other decorations, there were cloud-shaped ornaments, the kind you'd see on a Christmas tree. When I plucked one off, it turned out to be cotton candy.
And when I popped it in my mouth, well, it was incredible too. 'How can something made of sugar taste this good?!' I managed not to say it out loud, but I was genuinely stunned.
It melted instantly, just like regular cotton candy. But as it dissolved, instead of being merely sweet, layer after layer of flavor bloomed. Starting with the clean, refined sweetness of high-quality sugar, then a nutty toastiness, a fruity brightness...
I could tell instantly that it had been crafted with meticulous calculation.
The texture was perfectly fluffy, with none of that fibrous stiffness you sometimes get. It stayed soft and airy right up until it touched your lips, and it didn't even stick to your fingers. How does that even work?
Like the jelly before it, if this was just the "decoration"...
And of course, the sweets properly arranged on the tables were phenomenal too.
A freshly made doughnut with an elegant, subtle sweetness, a crisp-baked texture, and a toasty aroma all intertwined. Plain, yet deeply satisfying.
No amount of sugar dusted on an ordinary doughnut could ever achieve this. I was sure of it. The sweetness didn't interfere with the dough's natural flavor at all; rather, they elevated each other. Every bite spread that flavor through my mouth, and the dough had just the right amount of moisture, never leaving that parched, dry feeling. Not unpleasant in the slightest.
Cream puffs with a fragrant, firm shell, packed full inside.
One bite and the cream came flooding into my mouth, clinging to my teeth, to the inside of my cheeks, to my tongue. A gentle sweetness seeped from that rich, velvety texture, pairing beautifully with the toasty pastry crumbling across my palate. Every flavor that unfolded after it entered my mouth had clearly been calculated.
What's more, they came in all different sizes and with all different cream fillings. Impossible not to keep looking around. The tiny ones you could pop in your mouth in one bite were great, and so were the big ones you could sink your teeth into with gusto. Fresh cream, custard cream, chocolate cream, and plenty of other flavors besides.
At a table that had been chilled so the surrounding area felt pleasantly cool, there were all sorts of ice cream and gelato in various flavors.
I got a Vanilla-flavored soft serve, and naturally, it was delicious. I could feel it melting on my tongue, the sweetness and gentle aroma spreading gradually along with the chill. There was even a sense of the flavor subtly shifting as the temperature changed. Licking it and letting it melt in my mouth was pure joy.
Toward the end I ate it together with the cone, and the toasty crunch paired wonderfully with the sweetness. As I bit down with a crisp, satisfying crackle, the small fragments caught the sweet cream, absorbing it, softening gently... ah, the changing textures and flavors were sublime.
The Gateau Chocolat, coated in generous chocolate and with plenty of chocolate baked into the cake itself, unleashed an almost violent torrent of chocolate with every bite, shifting forms as it stormed through my mouth.
Chocolate that shattered with a satisfying crunch. Chocolate that crumbled apart at the slightest pressure. Chocolate that melted at mouth temperature and spread everywhere. All these different chocolates, and yet they never competed with each other. Instead they enhanced one another, creating a harmony of sweetness and bitterness that bloomed across my palate.
A rich, lingering sensation completely unlike the jelly from before, yet without the slightest hint of unpleasantness or cloying excess. A heavenly flavor that filled my mouth with pure happiness.
When I'd eaten so many sweets in succession that I needed a break, there were biscuits with just a touch of sweetness and a hint of salt that brought it to life.
The crisp texture was delightful, and as the biscuit crumbled and spread through my mouth, that toasty flavor and the slight, sharp saltiness on my tongue reset my palate completely.
In an instant, my taste buds were restored to a state where I could enjoy sweet confections again, even more than before. And the biscuits themselves were delicious in their own right, reset function aside. Depending on your preferences, they'd go perfectly with tea or juice.
When I went to have some juice as a palate cleanser, a talking Juice Spot moved on its own, pouring juice from each of its compartments into a glass and mixing them, creating a splendid blended juice all by itself.
It was entertaining just to watch, and of course the resulting juice was delicious too. Truly, entertainment was woven into every moment of this party.
I asked for a refill while I was at it. When I described roughly what I was in the mood for, they adjusted not just the juice blend but even the carbonation, flavor intensity, and sweetness level. Remarkable.
And then, the one item I'd personally been looking forward to most... my absolute favorite, cheesecake!
The instant I bit down, that sensation of my teeth sinking into the cake and breaking through, and from that very moment, the rich cheese flavor and elegant sweetness blossoming softly through my mouth. And it only grew stronger with each bite, spreading throughout my entire mouth, filling me with bliss.
The thick, rich texture clung to my tongue almost tenaciously, and even the act of working my tongue and mouth to push it down my throat only drew out more flavor, amplifying the happiness.
Even after it slid down my throat and settled into my stomach, the lingering aftertaste and the faint cheese flavor mingling with my breath delivered one last wave of contentment. This was extraordinary. From the moment it touched my lips to long after I'd swallowed, it was happiness through and through.
...I'm sure personal preference and bias played a role, but even so... bliss.
'Oh man... this is dangerous. Is this heaven...?'
Before I knew it, I was enjoying the Tea Party as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I mean, there was really no helping it. A place with this much delicious food everywhere? It would be impossible not to enjoy it. In fact, not enjoying it would be rude. Yeah.
So there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. Not one thing.
Since I was in such a state of bliss, I honestly would've been happy if the Tea Party had just ended right there. But this was an event hosted by one of the Four Emperors, after all.
Properly, I suppose you could say... a not-so-peaceful "main event" had been prepared as well.
Apparently, quite recently, the Big Mom Pirates had destroyed a nation for violating some kind of agreement. The Unveiling of the numerous "national treasures" and other valuables they'd seized there was the centerpiece.
But just as they were about to display these items, remnants of that nation's military launched a raid on the venue to reclaim them.
I watched thinking this might be a genuinely dangerous situation, given that some guests couldn't fight, but neither Big Mom nor her children showed the slightest alarm. They intercepted the attackers swiftly, suppressed them in no time, and captured every single one alive.
And that made perfect sense... because, as it turned out, even this raid was part of the event.
Not in the sense that it was staged or acted. The Big Mom Pirates had deliberately spread rumors that these treasures would be unveiled at the Tea Party, luring in these soldiers, burning with desire to reclaim their homeland's treasures. They'd even intentionally relaxed security to create an opening.
All so they could make a spectacle of the soldiers' defeat, and their subsequent execution, before the assembled guests.
And so, before the bound, immobilized soldiers, the Unveiling began without mercy.
Some items Big Mom took a liking to, saying things like, "I like this design, I'll keep it for my room," and had servants carry them away.
Others she infused with Souls on the spot, transforming them into whimsical mystery creatures... Homies.
And others still she declared weren't to her taste and didn't want, tossing them aside to shatter on the ground.
When a vase that was a national treasure, said to have been a favorite of the kingdom's late Prince, was smashed to pieces before their eyes, the knights wept what might as well have been tears of blood, consumed by rage and anguish.
After every last treasure had been unveiled, as a finishing touch, the captured knights were gathered in one place. Some begged for their lives. Some roared in fury. Some spat curses. Some had no strength left even to speak. And then a hail of bullets fired by the soldiers rained down upon them, and the execution was over in an instant.
...Not to complain, but... it was such a wonderful party. Did they really have to end it on such a bloody note? I couldn't help thinking that.
And then... there was one more thing.
After that, after the Tea Party and everything else had ended, an extra scene was waiting. Something I, at that moment, had no way of knowing about yet.
That evening.
Most of the guests had either boarded the shared ships to return home, just as they'd come, or had decided to leave the next morning and taken rooms at inns in Sweet City. Meanwhile, I had been summoned to Whole Cake Castle.
For some reason, it wasn't just the Tea Party. I'd been invited to dine together that evening.
I had absolutely no idea why, but I couldn't exactly refuse, so I went where I was called. In addition to Big Mom herself, I was treated to dinner in the company of her children.
They served proper dinner fare, not just sweets. But honestly, I couldn't taste any of it.
Because the lineup was... in addition to Big Mom herself:
Eldest son, Perospero (height: 333 cm, Bounty: 700,000,000)
Second son, Katakuri (height: 509 cm, Bounty: over 1,000,000,000)
Third son, Daifuku (height: 489 cm, Bounty: 300,000,000)
Fourth son, Oven (height: 492 cm, Bounty: 300,000,000)
Tenth son, Cracker (height: 307 cm, Bounty: 860,000,000)
Nineteenth son, Mont-d'Or (height: 260 cm, Bounty: 120,000,000)
Plus several others.
What was this, some kind of intimidation interview?
There was no way I could enjoy a meal like this. Everyone was meters tall and built like mountains, and a lot of them had scary faces...
Smoothie and Custard were at least easy on the eyes, but even so, the tension was beyond anything I could manage. ...They were big too (physically).
"Ha~ hahaha, mamamama... Looks like you enjoyed the Tea Party, 'Pirate Literary Master' Missy."
"Yes, very much... It was like a dream."
"Is that so, is that so! Well, that makes me happy too, as the one who sent the invitation. Ah, and thanks for the treasure chest present. The contents were wonderful... I'll be having some right after this."
"What was in it, Mama?"
"Maple syrup. A limited-edition product only made on a remote northern island. Apparently it's scarce, and they don't even make it every year. I'm looking forward to pouring it on some pancakes."
"Well, ain't that nice, Mama. Kukukuku... Looks like you brought us quite the thoughtful present, Missy. Allow me to thank you as well, perorin."
And with that, even Perospero, the eldest son, praised me.
Morgans had helped me pick it out, so I was glad it was well received.
He'd told me it was safer to send something Big Mom herself would genuinely enjoy, rather than some fancy art piece or money. Something sweet, or something to go with sweets, was the way to go, so that's what we'd settled on.
After that, we ate while making small talk for a while.
Thanks to Smoothie, Custard, Perospero, and Mont-d'Or actively engaging me in conversation, I managed to avoid spending the entire dinner as a trembling wreck. ...Were they being considerate?
Well... situationally speaking, I was basically a civilian who'd been brought to a "family" office, surrounded by scary-looking Brothers with no way to escape. That was my current reality.
...Actually, it might not just be the optics. That might literally be the situation.
If so, what came next would be... some kind of proposition, or demand?
"You seemed to be getting along well with my daughters, even back at the Tea Party... 'Pirate Literary Master.' And since you're clearly that kind of person, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."
"Talk... to me?"
"Oh, it's good news. You could even call it a proposal. You see..."
"How about you marry one of my sons and become part of the Family?"
...Wh... What?!
To be continued...