At this very moment, a burly man with slicked‑back hair, seated not far from Ash's table, laughed heartily and said, "Haha, yes. I heard it clearly. This young man requested it himself. Don't worry, Saff."
"I'm the Security Captain of Gourmet City's South District," he added with a warm smile as Ash turned his head to look at him.
Captain Markel then greeted him, introducing himself politely.
"Kirk and Saff are doing this because they have to. If you want to join Gourmet City's Chef Association or take part in the Chef Competition, you can't have multiple customer complaints."
Hearing this, Ash grew instantly curious. After receiving the beautifully plated dishes the young man had just prepared and casually ordering a few more signature specialties, he walked over and sat down beside Captain Markel, smiling as he asked,
"What happens if you run into troublemakers? Or pirates, for example?"
"There will always be troublemakers," Captain Markel said with a shrug as he took a deep drink of fruit wine. "But that's life. We can't stop the world from having them."
He leaned back a little and continued in a deep voice, "Pirates aren't ordinary customers. They usually don't complain. Eight times out of ten, if they're unhappy, they'll just trash the place."
"That's where we come in!"
Captain Markel thumped his chest proudly, "We welcome anyone who comes to enjoy the food, but if someone tries to bully our chefs, they must answer to our iron fists."
"Oh~ Uncle, you're quite cool!" Ash chimed in with a grin.
"Boss, another barrel of fruit wine for this uncle, the same kind he's been drinking," Ash said cheerfully, tapping his glass. "It's on me!"
"Ahaha, young man, you're truly generous. Thank you," Captain Markel laughed.
"Since the young man is buying, let's skip fruit wine and switch to Sibeiruis. The price is the same," Markel suggested with a laugh.
Ash had no objection. It was only a small number of Berries, and he was buying drinks just to chat more with Markel, not because he cared what he drank.
"No way, Uncle Markel," said the girl named Saff, shaking her head.
"You're on duty today and have to patrol the streets later. Drinking hard liquor will delay your work, and Aunt Martha would be unhappy if she finds out," Saff added, hands still deftly slicing fresh ingredients.
Captain Markel laughed again, "Haha, don't worry, little Saff. Your Aunt Martha left early this morning to buy goods in Spring Queen City. She won't be back for a week."
While Saff passed Captain Markel a barrel of fruit wine, she smiled and added, "It doesn't matter. I'll tell Aunt Martha."
"Pfft, hahaha," Captain Markel's face twitched at her comment, while Ash laughed uproariously beside him.
Seeing Markel glance Ash's way, Ash smiled and turned his head, saying, "This is truly delicious! Eating good food makes me happy!"
Although Ash knew he was deliberately steering the conversation away from tense topics, Captain Markel naturally picked up the thread again.
"That is absolutely true! The food made by the Kirk siblings, Kirk and Saff, is definitely top‑tier delicious. They completely inherited…"
"Uncle Markel!" interrupted Kirk with an annoyed expression.
Markel knew he had said too much. Not minding the interruption, he simply opened the barrel with a wry smile and continued drinking in silence.
The mood grew slightly heavy, and Ash, not wanting to pry into others' personal matters, chose to focus on the food instead. Fortunately, the siblings' cooking skills were truly extraordinary, and Ash ate with unrestrained delight.
Seeing Kirk and Saff working nonstop and Ash continuously making enthusiastic requests, Captain Markel suddenly seemed inspired. His eyes lit up with excitement as he exclaimed,
"Young man, you must be the legendary Show‑Off Eater Young Bro who has been eating your way from the east to the south of Gourmet City recently, right?!"
"Huh, Show‑Off Eater Young Bro?" Ash swallowed the food in his mouth, widened his eyes, and asked, "Who gave me that nickname?"
"It really is you!" Captain Markel laughed heartily. "Young man, are you planning to eat at every single restaurant in Gourmet City?"
Ash smiled. "I'd like to, but unfortunately, I don't have much time. I can only stay until after the Chef Competition on the fifteenth."
Hearing that Ash planned to sample food at the Chef Competition, Captain Markel became visibly excited. "Young man, if you go to the Chef Competition, you absolutely must support Kirk and his sister!"
"With your legendary reputation in the southeast district of Gourmet City, you will definitely get a tasting and voting spot!"
"Oh, will the boss also be participating in the Chef Competition?" Ash asked.
Markel grinned proudly.
"Damn that title 'Show‑Off Eater Young Bro'! Although that nickname stings a little," Ash admitted, "I never expected the owner of this unique stall I stumbled upon to also be participating in tomorrow's Chef Assembly."
"Then I will definitely support you tomorrow!" Ash declared.
Uncle Markel leaned in and lowered his voice, glancing at the still‑busy Kirk siblings. "Kirk and Saff's father once held the Chef Competition championship continuously for more than half a year. In Gourmet City, if you can hold the title for a full year, you earn the title of God of Chefs."
Since Ash possessed Observation Haki, he noticed that although Captain Markel lowered his voice, the Kirk siblings' ears visibly twitched. They clearly heard every word, though they did not speak up to stop him this time.
"These siblings are not ordinary chefs," Ash thought to himself.
Since Markel was tacitly permitted to speak, Ash didn't hold back either. He was curious why the siblings reacted to their father's name with such resistance.
Could their father be another Brave Warrior of the Sea, someone like Yasopp?
The two clinked cups in a toast. Seeing Ash take interest, Captain Markel eagerly shared more stories to drum up support for the Kirk siblings.
"Old Shan traveled the seas in his youth, but unlike those scoundrel pirates who only cared about treasure, he was a man obsessed with culinary arts."
"Unlike everyone else rushing toward the Grand Line, he was born in Gourmet City. After going to sea, he visited chefs in every sea, and only returned to Gourmet City when he was nearly fifty."
"When he returned, Kirk was just over a year old and Saff was barely one month old. But tragedy struck — his wife, weak from childbirth, contracted the Five‑Day Disease and passed away before they could reach the Drum Kingdom for treatment."
"I heard Saff's name was given by Old Shan's wife on her deathbed. She chose it as a homophone of Shan's name to show how deep their affection was."
"I never met Shan's wife, but I imagine she must have been beautiful and kind. After all, Old Shan is a bit… unusual looking. These children clearly inherited their mother's beauty."
"But thankfully, they also inherited Shan's top‑notch culinary skills!" Captain Markel smiled at Ash mysteriously.
"Although you've eaten at every restaurant in the southeast district, you definitely haven't tasted the absolute best yet!"
Ash looked puzzled but intrigued. Markel laughed and continued, "What you've eaten so far is just casual fare from this stall. You don't think true gourmet food can be prepared so easily, do you?"
Ash's spirits instantly lifted. The food he was currently enjoying was already no worse than the finest meals he had had in the past days — and this was only the siblings' casual work?
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