Chapter 103

Tanya and Kotatsu gazed at the sight that lay below them. They were currently riding the gondola that would take them to San Faldo Heights Hotel from the carnival.

"This place really loves carnivals," Tanya said, dryly commenting on what she saw.

Tanya and Kotatsu were high enough to see the edges of the island near the horizon. From what she could see, Tanya guessed that more than half of the whole island of San Faldo was part of one big carnival.

"I can't go around to enjoy it, though," Kotatsu said, rather sadly.

Tanya observed how Kotatsu was feeling down. She knew that Kotatsu was really looking forward to having a good time with Eri. Unfortunately, the carnival doesn't like people bringing pets.

"Don't worry, Kotatsu," Tanya said, attempting to cheer him up. "What do you say we look for something fun in the commercial district?"

Kotatsu looked ahead to where they were going. The tall hotel that was San Faldo Heights seemed to be right in the middle of a commercial district. Tanya was right, maybe there was something fun to do over there.

"Okay!" Kotatsu said. "I want steak!"

"Sure, no problem. Still, you really started having a craving for meat, huh?"

"I know, right? Must be because of my Devil Fruit." Before eating the Devil Fruit that Hepha gave him, Kotatsu wasn't much of a meat eater.

"You're more attuned with your wild side now," Tanya said.

Eventually, their gondola ride came to an end. Their gondola stopped inside the top floor of the hotel. Tanya and Kotatsu got off and went ahead to ride the elevator.

Once inside the elevator, Tanya realized how much the hotel took security seriously. The elevator's buttons were locked except for the ground floor. 

The '1' button was the only one lit up. All the other buttons weren't. Beside the button panel was a card swiper, which Tanya guessed would unlock the button of the floor the card was assigned to.

"This place must be fancy," Tanya commented before pressing the button for the ground floor.

"How can you tell?" Kotatsu asked.

"These buttons are locked," Tanya said, explaining to Kotatsu. "Someone needs to have a card to unlock the rest of these buttons."

"How do you know so much about things down here?" Kotatsu asked. "You spent most of your time in a lonely library at a sky island, right?"

"I did," Tanya said, nodding to Kotatsu. "But, the library had novels from down here in the Blue Sea. I read those and gained a basic understanding of what life down here would look like."

"You really like books, huh?" Kotatsu asked, rather amused.

"Why? Is something funny about it?"

"Not really," Kotatsu said. "It's just that you're almost the same age as Eri, but she doesn't like books much."

"That's an understatement," Tanya said with an amused smirk. "That girl hates studying."

"But she does it anyway," Kotatsu said. "I really admire that about her."

"...me too," Tanya said with a rare sweet smile.

At that moment, the elevator doors opened. Tanya and Kotatsu stepped out.

"Now, where is that receptionist…"

Tanya looked around the pristine and clean ground floor. It definitely had an inviting vibe, especially for wealthy people. 

Then, Tanya saw the receptionist. She and Kotatsu walked to the long counter placed on the far wall of the ground floor lobby. Behind that counter were a few receptionists facing their own computers.

"Good afternoon!" One of the receptionists greeted Tanya and Eri once they were near enough. "How may I help you?"

Tanya observed earlier how the receptionist saw her before she saw them. She then took out the card given to her by the staff they talked to the moment they entered the carnival from the train station.

"We want a big room. Something comfortable for six people," Tanya said.

The receptionist received the card from Tanya with a smile. She then checked her computer for a moment before giving Tanya an answer.

"You're very lucky, young miss!" the receptionist said. "You're the 100th customer for the day! You'll be getting one of the premium rooms for free instead!"

"Seriously?" Tanya raised a brow at her incredible luck. "Uhhh… there's no catch here, is there?"

"Well, only the room is free," the receptionist said with a rather embarrassed smile. "Room service is still at its usual rate."

"I see," Tanya said. "How long can we stay there?"

"For one night only," the receptionist said.

"Hmmm… double it and give it to the next person."

"What?" The receptionist seemed surprised.

Tanya didn't like how lucky she was. Something in her gut told her not to take what was being offered to her.

Thankfully, it seemed Kotatsu felt the same. He stayed silent and calmly observed Tanya's interaction with the receptionist.

"But…!" The receptionist seemed to be struggling to respond. "It's a rare opportunity, miss!"

"And I bet it'll make the next customer happy," Tanya said. "It'll be my gesture of kindness for the day. I'll stick with the room I requested."

"I… I guess that's fine, miss," the receptionist said. 

The receptionist then gave Tanya a card. By the looks of it, it was a normal card and not a premium one. Tanya then paid for it.

"Thanks," Tanya said before walking away with the card in her pocket. "Let's go, Kotatsu."

Kotatsu followed Tanya. However, they didn't walk towards the elevator. They walked to the revolving doors leading out of the hotel.

Back at the receptionist counter, the receptionist that spoke with Tanya had a rather annoyed look on her face. She then picked up the phone on the Transponder Snail by her side and made a call.

After a few rings, the other side picked up. The receptionist spoke with calm urgency.

"Plan A has failed. The targets refused the room and went outside of the hotel. I repeat, Plan A has failed."

…

"I had a bad feeling," Kotatsu said to Tanya the moment they walked out of the hotel.

"Me too, Kotatsu," Tanya said.

"What if we were wrong?"

"Then, it's no big deal."

After a few more steps, Kotatsu raised his nose in the air. He then started sniffing and drooling as if he was smelling something incredibly delicious.

"What is it?" Tanya asked.

"Steak!" Kotatsu said. "I smell steak!"

At that moment, Tanya's stomach growled. Apparently, she was hungry as well.

"Lead the way, Kotatsu."

"Gladly!"

Kotatsu walked with his nose as a guide. Tanya followed closely as she looked around them. From what she could observe, they were in the wealthier parts of the island.

Tanya was disappointed at not seeing any library as they walked. They passed by so many jewelry and clothes shops on the way, but not a single library or a bookstore.

"We're here!" Kotatsu said, turning Tanya's attention to the single story building in front of them.

Kotatsu's nose was right. They found themselves right in front of a fancy steak house. They wasted no time and entered the place.

"Welco-! Gyaaaah!"

The host was surprised at seeing the duo in front of him: a little girl and a lynx with the head of a tiger. He was more surprised by Kotatsu.

"Table for two, please," Tanya said without skipping a beat. "For me and my friend here."

"Uhmmm… miss? I'm afraid no pets are allowed in our establishment."

"This again?" Tanya felt herself becoming more and more pissed.

"I'm not a pet," Kotatsu said, speaking up for himself for the first time. "I'm no savage animal either!"

"I-It talks?" The host seemed surprised. Then, his professionalism surfaced. He calmed down and addressed Kotatsu properly. "I'm sorry… sir?"

Kotatsu nodded.

"It appears you're indeed not a pet," the host said before lowering his voice to a whisper for Tanya and Kotatsu to hear. "I can get you a table, but the people here right now are rather…"

"Rich and uptight assholes?" Tanya asked as she already noticed the condescending and disgusted stares coming their way. Unlike the host, she didn't mind if the customers heard her.

"Err… yes." The host mouthed the words. "I really apologize… but you'll have to be seated in a corner…"

"We don't mind," Kotatsu said.

"As long as we get to eat," Tanya said, adding to what Kotatsu said.

"Very well, then! Please follow me."

The host was true to his word. He led Tanya and Kotatsu to a table in the corner of the restaurant, away from the other customers.

"A waiter will be with you shortly," the host said.

"Thank you," Tanya said to the host before he went away.

Tanya sat comfortably on her chair. Since Kotatsu was a feline, he wasn't too comfortable with sitting on a chair meant for bipedal creatures. Instead, he opted to lie down on the ground near Tanya.

The two of them waited patiently for the waiter to come by closing their eyes to doze off for a moment. Even with their eyes closed, Tanya and Kotatsu still felt the disdainful gazes being sent their way.

A quick self-assessment made Tanya realize why they were being stared at with such gazes. Kotatsu was an animal, and Tanya looked like a pirate with her green coat and attire.

Tanya's green coat was something she got from the battles the crew fought while out at sea. It was worn by a short pirate captain.

Ace let Tanya have the coat. He said it fit her so she might as well wear it.

'Plus, you guys will be captains in the future!' Ace's words rang in Tanya's mind. 'The Swords of the Royal Ace!'

Tanya smiled at the memories replaying in her head. She started calming down as her level of annoyance from being hungry, not seeing a bookstore, and being stared at went down.

No one wants trouble, but it seems trouble has a knack of coming instead.

"Get out of here!" shouted one of the customers brave enough to approach and confront Tanya and Kotatsu.

Tanya already felt him approach and braced herself, praying that the guy won't be aggressive. Too bad that wasn't the case.

With one eye barely open, Tanya gave a quick glance at the man that confronted them. She inspected him and the two burly men that followed behind him.

Judging by what he wore, the man that confronted Tanya and Kotatsu was a rich old man whose ego is as high as his age. The two men behind him were obviously his personal guards.

Who the hell brings guards to a restaurant?

"Why?" Tanya asked as she calmed herself down. It was rather difficult. "We're paying customers."

"Ha!" The old man scoffed at Tanya. The two guards behind him seemed to have encouraged him to say his next words. "A poor slob like you? I doubt that. Get out of here! You're ruining our meal!"

"Yeah!"

"Tell 'em!"

Some people agreed with the old man's words. Others just pretended not to see anything.

"Man, you're noisy," Tanya said before glancing down at Kotatsu. He was already sleeping soundly. "Fine, I guess I'll have to deal with this."

"Get out!"

The old man did something that pushed Tanya's barely held back annoyance too far. He poked Tanya's face with his walking cane.

To Tanya's credit, she didn't immediately explode in anger. She did, however, threaten him.

"I'm giving you this one chance," Tanya said. "If you don't want your head cut off, get out of my sight right this instant."

"Silly child!" The old man was rather amused. "Who do you think you are to make threats like th-!"

Tanya made a simple swiping motion with her fingers. A thin blade of wind shot out and decapitated the old man in front of her, shocking the two guards and the rest of the customers.

"I'm a pirate," Tanya said. The sudden shocked silence in the restaurant made everyone hear her words.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The first shriek of many came and broke the dam holding back the screams of panic. The people rushed to get out of the restaurant.

Tanya waved her hand and a wall of wind blocked the entrance and exit of the restaurant. People were pushed back by the wall of wind.

Suddenly, they felt themselves suddenly unable to breathe. The people couldn't make a sound and were forced to kneel down.

"Calm down, everybody." Tanya's calm voice reached their ears. They turned their attention to Tanya.

Tanya held in her hand a ball of wind. It was something that Ace suggested for her to try a while back: to control the oxygen in the air so that only she and her allies could breathe.

"This old man was just being rude," Tanya said as she held up the head she decapitated with her other hand. "Stay in your seats, eat in silence, don't disturb us, and you'll have nothing to fear."

The ball of wind in Tanya's hand dissipated. The people in the restaurant could breathe again. They stared fearfully at Tanya.

"Am I making myself clear?" Tanya asked as her eyes glowed green.

(A WHILE LATER)

"Those steaks were delicious!" Kotatsu said as he licked his lips.

Tanya's display of power in the steakhouse made her a priority customer. The chefs focused on her order to please her. Not that they needed to, because Tanya wasn't planning on taking a life that did nothing to her.

Their orders came quickly and they devoured it greedily. Tanya and Kotatsu were hungrier than they themselves expected.

"They were!" Tanya said, agreeing to her companion. "Still, Soma's cooking tastes better."

"You're right," Kotatsu said. "Where did Captain find Soma? He's really incredible!"

"Who knows?" Tanya said. "Our Captain has a knack with finding talented people."

"You're probably the most talented, though," Kotatsu said.

"Where'd you hear that?" Tanya asked.

"Even before I ate my Devil Fruit, Captain loved cuddling with me," Kotatsu said. "I'm his favorite backrest!"

"You're not bothered by that?" Tanya asked, curious if Kotatsu's emotions changed as well after becoming more intelligent.

"Not at all!" Kotatsu said. "Captain is so warm, you see. Cuddling with him feels nice!"

Tanya was amused. Kotatsu really was just a big talking cat.

"Anyway, he used to speak to me while he relaxed with me on his back," Kotatsu continued. "He still does it now, of course. He told me back then, when we first met you, that he was really amazed!"

"At what?" Tanya was curious.

"He said you were smart and wise beyond your age," Kotatsu said. "Your mastery over your Devil Fruit impressed him too! Most of all, he was curious about who you'll be when you grow up."

"What did he mean by that?"

"He said you have what it takes to be a king," Kotatsu said. "You have this… Conqueror's Haki?"

"...I do?"

What Kotatsu said was a surprise for Tanya. She doesn't remember Ace ever telling her about what Kotatsu said just now. She knew about Conqueror's Haki, but didn't know she had it. Was Ace waiting for something?

Tanya wanted to ask Kotatsu more about it, but she suddenly noticed Kotatsu tense and perked up as they walked.

Kotatsu raised his head and sniffed the air like he did a while ago when he first smelled the steaks. Tanya sighed exasperatedly, thinking that Kotatsu was hungry again.

"Has your stomach evolved, too?" Tanya asked. "We just ate!"

"No, this is different," Kotatsu said.

Tanya noticed the serious tone in Kotatsu's voice. Most likely, he smells trouble.

"What is it?" Tanya asked, matching the tone of Kotatsu.

"I smell him!" Kotatsu said. "He's here! I smell Blackbeard!"