Chapter 49: Dine and Dash
As the three of them were talking, the restaurant owner brought out the main course.
The reason this place was so popular was its business model, which reminded Ian of the food stalls he remembered. All the food was known for its large portions, and this main course was no exception—a massive piece of bone-in roasted meat. The meat, from some unknown animal, had a beautiful pinkish hue and was seasoned with various spices. The moment it was set down, the aroma was overwhelming.
The plate not only had the roasted meat but also a serving of rice, which seemed to have been drizzled with the meat's juices and wrapped in a green vegetable leaf, making it look incredibly appetizing at first glance.
Seeing the vegetable leaf reminded Ian that he hadn't fed his Den Den Mushi in the past couple of days, so he quickly took off his hat.
Inside the hat, the little Den Den Mushi had been hanging steadily upside down from the inner top, clinging with its body. Its large eyes were retracted into its shell. Ian poked it a couple of times and found it was stuck quite firmly—no wonder it hadn't caused any trouble despite Ian's frequent fights recently.
So Ian gently tapped its shell. Hearing the sound, its big eyes emerged from the shell, looking at Ian with a delighted expression.
Damn, the animals in this world all seemed to have become spirits—so intelligent.
Den Den Mushi were naturally lazy creatures. They rarely moved and seldom had the urge to forage for food themselves, so they loved being kept by humans, as it meant a stable food source. Their appetites were small, and sometimes a single meal could last them several days without needing to be fed again.
Unfortunately, Den Den Mushi were living creatures, not industrial products, so their numbers were limited. They couldn't be as widespread as phones, with one per person. Otherwise, Ian could have used his Den Den Mushi to chat with Master Koushirou and Zoro back in Shimotsuki Village anytime.
Of course, not being able to call didn't mean they couldn't communicate. Ian could still write letters. The mail ships docked at Loguetown's port handled that—letters and documents could be sent via those ships.
Tearing off the vegetable leaf from the plate, Ian placed it in his hat to feed the Den Den Mushi, then started eating his own meal. After so many days at sea, eating mostly cold food, finally having a hot meal felt incredibly delicious.
Johnny and Joseph were also devouring their food. The three of them ate voraciously, ordering more after finishing one portion. In no time, a pile of plates had stacked up in front of them.
When they finally looked up, full, and saw the stack of plates, Ian was startled. How much had they eaten!?
He only had about fifty thousand Berries in his pocket. If it wasn't enough to cover the bill, they'd be in trouble. A bounty hunter having to wash dishes in a restaurant to pay off a debt would be too embarrassing!
"Are you pigs!?" he couldn't help but smack Johnny and Joseph on the heads. These two guys, their bellies were almost round, and they were still eating! It looked like they were trying to eat enough for a lifetime in one go!
"Ian, didn't you say you were treating us?" Johnny said, holding his head and still chewing, mumbling, "You're not backing out, are you?"
"Bullshit!" Ian lowered his voice. "I only have fifty thousand Berries here. If we eat too much and can't pay, what then?"
"Then we run!" Joseph whispered. "We've done dine-and-dash before, it's not our first time!"
"..." Ian found his logic oddly compelling and was momentarily at a loss for words.
Just then, the three of them heard a commotion behind them.
This food-stall-style restaurant was already lively, and it had been noisy before, so Ian hadn't paid much attention. But this time, the noise was louder than usual, so they turned to look.
It was happening at another counter. A crowd of over twenty people, all diners from the restaurant, had gathered in a semicircle, pointing and arguing about something.
"What's going on? Why did that guy suddenly stop moving?"
"Yeah, he was eating just fine a moment ago!"
"He's not dead, is he? His face is buried in the food, and he's not moving at all!"
"Look, he's still holding food in his hands. It looks like he died while eating!"
"Hey, boss, is there something wrong with your food? Did it give him food poisoning!?"
The diners speculated about the cause, and their suspicions gradually turned toward the restaurant owner. The owner didn't want to take the blame, so he quickly waved his hands and said, "Impossible! So many people are eating, why isn't anyone else having problems?"
Hearing the diners' chatter, Johnny said, "Ian, it looks like someone suddenly died!"
Joseph crossed his arms and confidently said, "I think it might be a heart attack patient who had an episode while eating!"
Johnny wasn't convinced. "You haven't even seen the guy, how can you be so sure?"
As they argued, they didn't notice the strange expression on Ian's face.
To put it mildly, Ian's expression was odd—puzzled, incredulous, and overall very peculiar.
This scene felt so familiar!
Ian quickly stood up and pushed through the crowd gathered around the counter. When he got inside, he saw a person sitting with his back to him on a chair at the counter. Both hands were holding a knife and fork, raised high above the table, with food still stuck on them. But his head was drooped down, his face pressed into the plate.
This suspected "victim" was wearing black shorts with chains hanging from both sides, but his upper body was bare, with no clothes. On his head was an orange cowboy hat, and on his left arm was a tattoo spelling "ASCE," but with an X marked over the letter "S"!
Seeing that tattoo, Ian immediately understood. It really was him!
When he'd heard the diners say someone had stopped moving while eating, Ian had a bad feeling. Now that he saw who it was, he felt... he felt like cursing!
The only person he could think of who would dress like that was Ace, no one else.
And the reason he wanted to curse was that, although he'd agreed to help Garp catch his grandson Ace, Ian never expected to run into Ace so soon!
As he'd thought before, in the vast ocean, what were the odds of meeting a specific person?
Now Ian's experience could tell everyone: Very, very high!
So high he didn't even know how to complain!
Vice Admiral Garp, can you really predict the future? You just entrusted me with this mission, and the next moment I run into Ace himself. Did you somehow know I'd meet him?
What left Ian speechless was that he'd just been whispering to Johnny and Joseph about "dine and dash," and then he immediately encountered Ace, the master of dine-and-dash!
Damn, this world is really strange. Ordinary people can't understand it at all!
Just as Ian stood there, stunned, Ace, whose head had been buried in the plate, suddenly jerked up.
This shocked the surrounding diners, who had thought he was dead, so much that their jaws dropped!
Completely unaware of the commotion he'd caused, Ace let out a "Pfft!" and took a long breath. As he started chewing the food in his mouth again, he said with relief, "That was close! I accidentally fell asleep and almost suffocated!"
Hearing this, the diners and the restaurant owner all collapsed in a heap.
He was asleep!?
Although Loguetown often attracted all sorts of strange people, this was the first time anyone had seen someone this bizarre.
After a few big bites, Ace finished the food on his plate and stacked it on top of the already tall pile of plates—all his. His appetite alone rivaled what the three of them had eaten together.
"Ah, I'm full, I'm full!" Ace patted his belly and turned around, revealing his freckled face. His cowboy hat had two round badges with a smiling and crying expression, and the long hat strings hung down to his chest, with a skull dangling from them.
Seeing a crowd gathered around him, Ace looked puzzled and asked, "What happened?"
Unable to hold back anymore, everyone shouted at him, "You tell us!!?"
We were all worried about you, and now you're acting like nothing happened, asking what's going on!?
Ace didn't mind, or rather, he had no idea why they were yelling at him. He just stood up, slung his shoulder bag over his back, bowed politely to the restaurant owner, and said, "The food was great, thanks for the meal!"
The restaurant owner was caught off guard by Ace's sudden politeness and instinctively replied, "Not at all, glad you enjoyed it!"
"Well then, goodbye!" Ace bowed again.
"Alright, take care, and come again!" the owner responded automatically.
As Ace walked out of the restaurant, the owner felt like he'd forgotten something. Finally, a waiter cautiously reminded him, "Boss, that guy didn't pay..."
The owner finally snapped out of it and rushed to the door, only to see Ace already sprinting away. He immediately roared, "Catch that freeloader!"
When Ace walked out, Ian also snapped back to reality. Remembering the task Garp had given him, he didn't hesitate. He grabbed his hat, put it on, and chased after him out of the restaurant.
Johnny and Joseph exchanged a glance and followed suit.
In the end, Ian heard the restaurant owner's shout from the door change to: "Catch those freeloaders!!"
"..."