148        Chapter 148: Mermaid Cafe 

The Mermaid Cafe, in the decades to come, would become the iconic building of Fishman Island.

Influenced by a certain 'Divine Prophet', many tourists who came to Fishman Island would visit the Mermaid Cafe to have their fortunes told.

Of course, at this time, the Mermaid Cafe was far from being as famous as it would become later on. It was just a relatively luxurious cafe on Fishman Island, with nothing particularly special about it.

Coral Hill, Southeast Fishman Island

This is a bustling part well-known throughout Fishman Island, and the Mermaid Cafe was located here.

Guided by Miss Serena, Adrian quickly arrived at this luxurious cafe, which looked quite magnificent from the outside.

Just as he was about to push the door open, Adrian suddenly remembered something.

He extended his index finger and lightly tapped on the case of the lead-gray pocket watch in his pocket, softly saying, "Rumi, you can let Love come out now."

With a ripple in the air, the bright-eyed little fox girl appeared by Adrian's side.

"Adrian-sama!"

"Miss Serena, this is…"

Adrian hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to define Love's identity. Should he call her a crew mate? But she would probably leave after reaching Zou. In that way it would be just a guest, right?

He quickly recovered and said vaguely, "This is Love, a mink girl I met at the Sabaody Archipelago by chance."

Miss Serena was a smart mermaid and naturally understood what Adrian meant by "by chance."

What else could a girl far away from home be doing on the Sabaody Archipelago?

"What a cute little fox girl," Miss Serena smiled gently at Love, then looked at Adrian with undisguised admiration in her eyes. "Mr. Adrian, you seem to be very kind~"

As for how Love was hiding on Adrian's body and appeared all of a sudden, such insignificant details were naturally not within Miss Serena's scope of consideration.

"Love, this is Miss Serena, a beautiful mermaid from the Merfolk race!"

Adrian also introduced Miss Serena to Love.

"Hello, Miss Serena."

Love raised her head and greeted politely.

However, when she really saw the full appearance of Miss Serena, who was tall, well-developed, and dressed revealingly, she seemed to be struck.

The little fox took a step back and hid behind Adrian. She lowered her head and did not look at the young and beautiful mermaid across from her. Her fluffy white fox tail drooped listlessly behind her.

However, Love's reaction once again drew a chuckle from Miss Serena.

"How cute."

Leading Adrian and Love into the Mermaid Cafe and then seating them at a window-side booth with a good view, Miss Serena excused herself and left temporarily.

"Love, what happened?"

Love's voice was almost inaudible: "She…"

"Hmm?"

"The difference is just too big!"

The little fox covered her face and lowered her head in self-abandonment.

Adrian's gaze slowly lowered, almost instantly understanding what Love wanted to say.

A fox tribe mink girl, solely judging from her appearance, had almost nothing to pick on.

But…

Below the neck, up to the ankles, was an incredibly bleak flatness. 

{Sigh}

Let's be honest, in this aspect, the little fox and the mermaid big sister really had no grounds for comparison.

It was like the difference between a walnut and a watermelon…

"It's okay, drink more papaya juice." Adrian averted his gaze, casually saying, "One cup a day, it'll be fair and plump."

Love immediately lifted her head, her eyes shining as she looked at Adrian.

"Really, Adrian-sama?"

"It's actually fake," Adrian mercilessly shattered Love's illusion, unfeelingly saying, "Isn't this level good enough?"

The little fox asked shyly, "Adrian-sama, do you really like this size?"

"No, although small breasts are rare resources, I still prefer something more impactful!"

The little fox immediately turned her head with an annoyed huff, completely ignoring Adrian.

Just then, Serena returned with some specialty foods from the mermaid cafe.

The reason why the cafe was named after mermaids was naturally because this luxurious cafe was almost exclusively for the mermaid race, and the food and beverages served were mainly light dishes tailored to mermaid tastes.

Wakame caramel pudding, seaweed egg pastry, Stargazing eel pie, sea cow's milk coffee...

Adrian only tasted a bit before setting down his utensils, but Love quite liked these specialty foods from Fishman Island.

"What's wrong, Mr. Adrian?" Serena, the mermaid lady, clasped her hands together, holding the tray against her lower waist, a movement that emphasized her cleavage even more. "Don't you like the food?"

Love felt that the once delicious specialty food of Fishman Island suddenly became tasteless.

Adrian honestly admitted, "It's just that it doesn't quite suit my personal taste."

Love secretly noted this piece of information.

Even if she couldn't become a voluptuous and charming woman, she must become the most beloved little chef!

Adrian immediately revealed the main purpose of coming to the Mermaid Cafe.

"By the way, Miss Serena, I've heard that there's a fortune teller in the Mermaid Cafe whose predictions are quite accurate. I wonder if the rumors are true?"

"You mean little Shyarly? That child indeed does a little fortune telling."

Adrian earnestly asked, "I wonder if I could ask this little Shyarly to help with a divination?"

Adrian was somewhat interested in the legendary fortune teller "Madame Shyarly" who left a deep impression in the original work.

Serena chuckled, "I didn't expect even the legendary White Ghost to believe in these mystical predictions… Well, since it's Adrian's request, I'll go call Shyarly over. Fortunately, she's been staying at the Mermaid Cafe during this time, not going back… over there."

Not long after, Serena the mermaid returned with a pale-skinned mermaid girl of about seven or eight years old, who was none other than the prophetic maiden—Shyarly.

"Shyarly, this is the Uncle Adrian I just mentioned to you," Serena introduced.

Adrian's lips twitched slightly, too lazy to correct this insignificant detail in the title.

"Uncle Adrian, do you need something from me?" Shyarly, who was not yet the future "Madame Shyarly," asked politely.

"Divination," Adrian smiled faintly, "I need Miss Shyarly to do a divination for me."

Shyarly looked at Adrian, somewhat embarrassed. "But almost everything I divine from the crystal ball is bad."

To reinforce the persuasiveness of her words, Shyarly deliberately emphasized, "Really very, very bad."

Adrian had already anticipated this point.

The mermaid in front of him had accurately predicted the advent of the Great Pirate Era at the age of four, even foreseeing the outcome of Whitebeard Edward Newgate's fall before the Summit War.

If the intelligence weren't so vague, Adrian would have suspected that Shyarly had eaten a fruit that granted foresight, or perhaps a fruit of prophecy, because her predictive abilities were just too precise.

Putting aside irrelevant thoughts, Adrian waved his hand. "It's okay."

Little Shyarly still seemed somewhat hesitant. She glanced at Serena, then bit her lip and nodded.

Seeing Little Shyarly agreeing to the prophecy, Serena led the three to a secluded lounge in the Mermaid Cafe and quickly brought along the crystal ball for divination.

Adrian and Little Shyarly sat on opposite sides of the coffee table.

Little Shyarly placed the crystal ball on a velvety red cushion, positioning the other side towards Adrian.

Time passed slowly, and the crystal ball began to emit a faint glow. Fleeting glimpses of images flashed rapidly within the translucent sphere.

The room fell silent as Little Fox Love and Serena simultaneously held their breath, quietly awaiting the prophecy's outcome.

After a moment, the glow of the crystal ball stabilized, and some information slowly appeared within it.

However, Little Shyarly widened her eyes upon realizing what was recorded in the crystal ball.

Within the crystal ball's image, the figure of the man kept flashing and disappearing, until only a blank white remained, with nothing else.

"This…"

Little Shyarly was puzzled. In past divinations, there had either been roaring flames or agonized screams; never had such a situation like this appeared.

At the very least, there would be a frozen frame. What was the meaning of this pure white light?

Could it be a problem with the crystal ball?

Little Shyarly furrowed her brow.

Adrian asked, "What's going on?"

Little Shyarly pushed the crystal ball slightly and replied, "Your future doesn't appear in the crystal ball; there's only white."

Adrian was equally puzzled. "Just white?"

What was this?

Was the mysterious panel blocking this?

Or was it the effect of his maxed-out Ghostly Body?

At that moment, Love volunteered, raising her arm eagerly. "Adrian-sama, how about I give it a try?"

Adrian glanced at the little fox, saying nonchalantly, "If the little mermaid lady doesn't mind."

"Sure." The prophetic girl nodded immediately.

Little Shyarly was also curious to understand why her divination abilities didn't work on Adrian. Was it something peculiar about him, or had her own powers gone astray?

Adrian stood up, giving way to Love.

After a moment, Little Shyarly looked up, her face pale.

She glanced at Rumi and hesitated, "I saw… a whale-shaped forest in ruins, mink tribe members writhing in pain, and a big tusk elephant wreaking havoc everywhere…"

Adrian pondered.

If he guessed correctly, the scene Little Shyarly foresaw was likely related to the future drought disaster when Jack invaded Zou and violently hunted down the Mink Tribe.

After all, the "big tusk elephant" in Little Shyarly's prophecy was unmistakably associated with the Eleph-Eleph Fruit Ancient Zoan Model Mammoth.

This mermaid's prophetic abilities were truly remarkable.

Upon hearing Little Shyarly's unfortunate prediction, Love's initially hopeful expression froze. She looked panicked and helpless, turning to Adrian.

"It's alright, little one," Serena consoled her. "Most of Little Shyarly's prophecies are of distant futures, and they might not even come true. No need to be so nervous."

"Exactly, don't panic, Love." Adrian regained his composure, his steady voice soothing Love's emotions. "Little Miss Shyarly, can you tell us roughly when this prophecy might occur?"

Little Shyarly shook her head. "I don't know, but there's one last image in the vision—a blurry figure holding a blue light sword."

"That's you, Adrian-sama!" Love screamed, her nervousness replaced by excitement.

As an unwavering member of Adrian's team, the little fox was well aware of their captain's abilities. She had witnessed Adrian's battle with Borsalino during their time in the Sabaody Island archipelago, where he wielded a power similar to the sword.

The blurry figure wielding a blue light sword in Little Shyarly's prophecy was undoubtedly Adrian-sama!

Adrian-sama must have gone to Zou for my sake!

Love looked at Adrian with deep affection in her eyes, unable to hide her gratitude.

This left Adrian somewhat puzzled.

What's gotten into Love?

I just said a few words—why is she suddenly…

Could it be…

Is she in heat?

{While Adrian was thing about wasteful and nonsensical things other were much more concerned with the new divination.}

As an experienced misfortune diviner, Little Shyarly knew that her prophecy concerning Love would likely become a reality in the future.

This indicated that her earlier prophecy about Adrian had failed…

Suggesting that this man was abnormal.

Just as Little Shyarly was about to say something, a cacophony of noise erupted from the mermaid cafe, even reaching them.

The divination for Love had concluded, Adrian's yielded no results, and Serena had no intention of divining.

The group stepped out of the room and into the cafe.

And there, standing amidst the crowd, was a menacing Merfolk.

"Wow! A fish! Such a huge fish! A tiger-striped shark!"