86 The Clash of Same Names

"Ahem, ahem!" Knowing he couldn't just stand by and watch the show any longer, Sherwin quickly cleared his throat twice.

He reached out to stop Klee Meow, who was already pulling out a bomb, then feigned dissatisfaction and sternly questioned, "What so funny about Sanji name?! Is this how you treat your guests?!"

"Ah… sorry, sorry…" Zeff wiped away the tears of laughter at the corners of his eyes and hurriedly apologized, "It not what you think, guest."

Based on Baratie and Zeff usual treatment of guests, there was no way they would apologize so politely. But cute little cats always have special privileges. So not only did Zeff take the initiative to apologize, even the unruly chefs like Patty were now all wearing forced smiles.

"Actually, we have a Sanji here too," Zeff said, holding back his laughter as he pulled out a clearly uncomfortable Sanji. "Here, this is him. We were just laughing because of the coincidence."

"Come to think of it, the two Sanjis do feel pretty similar. Look at that little yellow cat—not only does its fur match Sanji hair color, but the tuft of fur on its ears is curled up just like Sanji eyebrows."

With this historic meeting between the two Sanjis, someone finally noticed that the resemblance wasn't just in their names.

"Nonsense, meow! I'm nothing like this dull-looking guy, meow!"

"Who the hell would be like this stupid cat?! You bastards!!!"

Because they were both being laughed at due to their shared name, the two Sanjis had terrible chemistry and flat-out refused to acknowledge any similarity between them.

"Who are you calling a stupid cat, meow?!"

"Who are you calling dull-looking?!"

The two Sanjis glared fiercely at each other, clearly on the verge of throwing down at any moment.

"What do you think you're trying to do to our guest?!"

Just as Sherwin was enjoying the show, Zeff suddenly launched a flying kick that sent Sanji crashing away.

Then, crouching down like a doting grandpa, he looked at Sanji Meow with a kindly expression and said, "Don't mind that idiot. Didn't you want to try my cooking? I'll make it for you right away."

Ever since learning Sanji Meow name, Zeff had grown increasingly fond of him.

But Sanji Meow didn't have a grandpa named Zeff. So even though Zeff was showing genuine goodwill, he still crossed his arms and solemnly declared, "I'm very strict about food, meow."

That only made Zeff even happier. He threw his head back in hearty laughter, "Hahaha… Isn't that obvious? As a chef, being careless with food is unacceptable!"

"All of you, come with me!"

Zeff called over all the chefs at Baratie and even grabbed Sanji by the collar while he was still lying on the ground. Ignoring his shouting and struggling, Zeff dragged him along into the kitchen, full of energy.

Hmm… looks like we're in for a feast today.

Though it was a bit of a shame the show was over, getting to eat a meal made with Zeff and Sanji full effort, along with the rest of the chefs, didn't sound bad at all.

Besides, Sherwin didn't believe the two Sanjis would let this go so easily.

Casting a meaningful glance at Sanji Meow—who was still making faces at Sanji as he disappeared into the kitchen—Sherwin gave his little head a pat and said,

"Alright now. Even if you want to settle things with that Sanji, let eat their cooking first. You don't want to ruin Klee fun, do you?"

"Hmph! That idiot looks nothing like me, meow!" Hearing Sherwin bring up Klee Meow, Sanji Meow finally toned it down a little and sat back down at the table—though he kept muttering under his breath, "We're nothing alike. I don't have those ridiculous curly eyebrows, meow…"

"Sanji-nii, why are you angry, meow?" The little ragdoll tilted her head in confusion. "Klee would actually be really happy to meet a human or a Felyne with the same name. That would be so much fun, meow."

Sanji Meow opened his mouth, but didn't know how to respond. Mainly because he was too embarrassed to admit he was just petty and couldn't stand someone having the same name as him.

"Who knows," Sherwin said with a chuckle, glancing at the stuck Sanji Meow before shrugging. "Maybe they just rub each other the wrong way."

In fact, Sherwin had more or less expected this kind of outcome when the two Sanjis met. After all, both Sanji and Sanji Meow had strong competitive streaks.

It wouldn't take much provocation from the others at Baratie for them to end up butting heads—it was only natural.

But explaining all that was too much of a hassle, and Sherwin knew that even if he did, Klee Meow probably wouldn't understand. So he decided to just brush it off casually.

"Is that it, meow?" Klee Meow scratched her little head, still feeling like there was more to it than just "not getting along."

At that moment, Seijuro Meow—who had been silent the whole time—suddenly offered a fairly reasonable explanation:

"Some Hunters with the same or similar titles settle it through one-on-one duels to determine who truly deserves the name. Sanji situation might be something like that, meow?"

"Y-Yeah, that right, meow!" Sanji Meow immediately jumped on the excuse. "He a chef too, right? Of course I want to see how good he really is, meow!"

"Ohhh…" Klee Meow seemed to understand a bit better now.

If she were to meet someone—be it a person or a Felyne—also named Klee and good at handling bombs, she'd definitely want to compete to see whose bombs are more powerful.

No! They don't even need to have the same name—just knowing bombs is enough, meow!

Sherwin-nii said it—art is explosion, meow!

Looking at Klee Meow, who had suddenly become excited, Sherwin couldn't help but get a bad feeling for some reason...

"Your appetizers."

"These are the appetizers for our guests… Don't forget my tip, you bastards!"

While Sherwin and the Felynes were chatting casually, Sanji Meow came out of the kitchen with a sour face, followed by Patty, who was spouting his usual weird service lines. They set down four plates of appetizers in front of them.

"That was pretty quick… here your tip."

Sherwin had confidence in Baratie food, so he didn't hold back. He pulled out a few Berries and dropped them into the tray in Patty hand.

"Please enjoy your meal to the fullest, dear guests!"

With the tip in hand, Patty instantly beamed with joy, and even his service tone returned to normal.

"This is so tasty, meow!" Klee Meow, after taking one bite of the appetizer, immediately tugged on Sherwin sleeve and urged, "Sherwin-nii, you've gotta try it too, meow!"

Sherwin picked up his fork and stabbed a small piece of sausage, placing it in his mouth...

As expected, the food here didn't disappoint. Even something as simple as sausage tasted far better than what you'd find elsewhere.

Seijuro Meow was also nodding in satisfaction as he ate, and quickly finished the small portion of appetizer on his plate.

Only Sanji Meow, trying to maintain his professional pride, curled his lip in disdain. "It just the appetizer. You can't judge a chef true skill from this, meow."

Once everyone had finished the appetizers, the second course—soup—was promptly served. Once again, it was delivered by the scowling Sanji Meow and the strangely grinning Patty.

"The soup delicious too, meow!" Klee Meow was always the number one hype-cat no matter where she was. But after a few sips, the little plush cat smacked her lips and added, "Still, it not as good as the soup Sanji-nii makes, meow."

"True. Compared to Sanji cooking, it just a tiny bit off."

Sherwin and Seijuro Meow, who were also sipping their soup, both nodded in agreement.

Hearing all the praise, Sanji Meow mood instantly lifted. So he decided to be modest and say a few kind words on behalf of the soup that was just a tiny bit inferior to his own.

"This soup actually—"

But before he could finish, the little yellow cat caught sight of Sanji expression from the side—his face had somehow become even darker than before.

So he swallowed the words that were already at the tip of his tongue, quickly changing what he was going to say:

"—actually isn't that great, meow!"

(=`ω=)