73 Chapter 73
Chapter 73: A Consumable Skill
Tom had once dreamt of becoming wealthy, lying in a pile of money, surrounded by endless delicious food and top-notch wine. He also wanted a pretty little female cat to knead his shoulders and massage his legs...
But now that Tom had money, he didn't know what to do with it.
Buy food? The house was already stocked with whatever he wanted to eat. With four cookbooks and Artoria's culinary notes, he had plenty to experiment with.
Buy alcohol? They ran a tavern. Given how much the owner doted on him, he could definitely drink whatever he wanted.
As for the pretty little female cat? Tom decided to pass on that. If he wanted a massage or anything else, he could just ask his little disciple, Rui Mengmeng. And as long as he made a request, even Artoria wouldn't refuse to stroke his fur.
As for a partner... After enduring several emotional blows, Tom didn't want to get involved with those ordinary cats anymore. He believed that he would eventually meet someone gentle, lovely, and genuinely good-hearted.
So in the end, Tom spread over a thousand banknotes in his little nest, experiencing the sensation of sleeping in a pile of money.
By evening, when Adrian saw Tom buried in the pile of money, he couldn't help but chuckle. "A pile of paper probably isn't very warm, huh?"
Adrian fetched a small blanket and placed it beside Tom's nest. This way, he covered the area next to the pile of banknotes, ensuring that Tom wouldn't be uncomfortable but could easily reach the blanket if he got cold.
The next morning, when Adrian opened his eyes, he saw several neat stacks of banknotes placed by his bedside, and Tom sleeping soundly in his nest, wrapped in a small blanket.
There was also a note on top of the pile of money, with words Tom had written: "I'm not interested in money."
Adrian shook his head, smiling warmly as he collected the money. Oh, Tom, I'll keep this money safe for you. When you grow up, you can use it to get a wife.
Actually, Tom woke up in the middle of the night. The feeling of sleeping in the pile of banknotes wasn't great at all. The corners and edges of the bills poked into his body uncomfortably, they didn't provide much warmth, and there was an unpleasant smell.
So he had to tidy up the scattered bills and return to his nest to catch some more sleep.
A blanket was really the best. It carried the scent of sunlight and his owner. Tom comfortably nestled in his nest, deciding to sleep in and laze around for the day.
Adrian got up quietly, turned off the alarm clock in advance, and without drawing the curtains, he walked out of the bedroom.
"Good morning, Boss." Rui Mengmeng, freshly washed up, emerged from the bathroom.
"Morning." Adrian yawned and stretched. "Let's make breakfast today. Let Tom sleep a bit longer."
"Sure, Boss. What would you like to eat?"
"I feel like having fried dough sticks and tofu pudding, but I have no idea how to make the latter." Adrian sighed. Fried dough sticks were manageable, but making tofu pudding was a real mystery. He didn't even know where to begin if he wanted Tom's help to reproduce it.
Rui Mengmeng suggested, "I can make the fried dough sticks. But as for the tofu pudding, I don't know how to make it either... How about having soy milk instead?"
"Sure, that's fine. Soak the soybeans, and I'll come help after I'm done freshening up."
"Alright, should I ask Artoria if she wants any?"
"No need, she's not picky."
...
Making soy milk was a multi-step process: soak the soybeans, grind them, operate the soy milk machine, add water, and press the switch.
The problem was, they didn't have a soy milk machine...
While Adrian was pondering how to grind the soybeans, Artoria stepped forward. "Since you're troubled by culinary matters, let me handle it."
Adrian stepped aside, a bit skeptical. Except for chopping vegetables, he had no expectations for Artoria's culinary talents. She couldn't possibly use her sword skills to chop the soybeans finely, right? Atomic Splitting Slash?
To his surprise, Artoria picked up a metal basin, had Rui Mengmeng proportionally put in soybeans and water, covered the top with a glass pot lid, and then said, "Wind King Barrier!"
The metal basin turned transparent, and Artoria whispered, "Not like this. I should let the wind enter and thoroughly grind the soybeans inside."
The metal basin appeared again, but through the glass pot lid, they could see the water and soybeans churning vigorously, creating a whirlpool.
The individual soybeans were shredded by tiny wind blades and water currents, gradually turning the water white.
"Not enough. It should be even faster, and the rotation should be even more chaotic..." Artoria's magical power surged as she murmured, "Wind King Soy Milk Maker!"
Adrian was already flabbergasted. This felt oddly reminiscent of the Rasengan practice!
In less than two minutes, the water stopped churning. Artoria lifted the lid. "It's done. Can we drink it now?"
"Ah? No, not yet. It needs to be boiled a bit. It'll be ready soon." Rui Mengmeng took the basin of soy milk, ready to pour it into a pot to boil.
Satisfied, Artoria left the kitchen. Today, she could finally eat something she had cooked herself! Even though it was just a small step in the process, it was still fulfilling.
When Tom woke up, breakfast was already laid out on the table— a big plate of fried dough sticks, a bowl of soy milk, and a few small cold dishes.
A small bowl of white sugar was placed on the table for people to sweeten their soy milk to taste.
Tom happily tried the new food, and Adrian savored a taste he hadn't experienced in a while.
Rui Mengmeng didn't feel anything special; after all, she had only been here for a few days, and her usual eating habits were different from Adrian's. She didn't have any particular feelings about fried dough sticks or anything like that.
Artoria, on the other hand, wasn't picky at all, and she was especially content because she had contributed to the meal herself.
The milk delivered this morning went unused. Adrian stored it in the fridge. Perhaps it was psychological, but it felt strange to drink milk with fried dough sticks, so he decided to leave it for another time.
...
In the morning training session, Adrian and Rui Mengmeng sparred a bit. Adrian managed to win against his own teammate for once.
The main reason was that Rui Mengmeng couldn't fully let go. Her speed and strength exceeded Adrian by quite a bit, but when it came to physically attacking the boss, she probably had thought about it before, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
Artoria had already been teaching Adrian how to sense ki, but it was quite challenging. After all, it was a power similar to Observation Haki, and it was natural for it to be difficult to learn.
In the afternoon, they went shopping for a large refrigerator. It was even bigger than the one at Tom's house.
It was probably designed specifically for
sailors on long voyages, able to store a lot of food for days.
Other than that, it even had personalized customizations. For instance, Sanji's refrigerator had a password, specifically to keep Luffy away.
Adrian didn't need that. If Tom liked rummaging through the fridge, he could go right ahead. After Adrian's lectures, Tom had stopped wasting food recklessly and would organize everything after making a mess.
During lunch and dinner, the guests talked about recent events. The lawless zones seemed to be unusually chaotic these days, and there was news of a fairly large-scale battle breaking out earlier in the morning.
Another piece of news was that a tavern owner had taken his staff and wiped out a pirate crew of several dozen members.
So:
"Adrian's so strong!"
"Took down a multimillion pirate like it was nothing!"
"Adrian, you're treating us, right?"
Adrian chuckled at their uproar. "Even if you praise me, it won't make me happy, you idiots!"
Huh, those lines sound familiar...
But it didn't matter. A few compliments and they already expected me to treat them? Nice try!
Tofu pudding, sweet or savory, mooncakes with what fillings, dumplings, zongzi with what fillings, tangyuan or yuanxiao...
Please don't pull out your swords in the comments.
By the way, fun fact: Sanji's refrigerator's unlock code is 7326, which is Nami and Robin's birthdays. To all the buddies who want to time-travel to the Straw Hat Pirates, remember this well.
