[43]Lorena's First Appearance

[2600 words]

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Baratie is a somewhat large ship, oval-shaped, with regular sails but with a fish-like head resembling a hammerhead shark, It has mounted cannons on both sides used for combat and fending off pirates ,The restaurant consists of 4 levels as follows:

-Lower deck, where the main restaurant is located.

-Middle deck, which is the main kitchen.

-Upper deck, where 23 cooks reside.

-The folded "fins" on the sides below serve to stabilize the restaurant during stormy weather and are also used as platforms during battles to prevent the restaurant itself from sustaining side damage.

[A/N: Refer to the wiki for a better view.]

Certain parts of Baratie attracted the attention of Don Krieg, the pirate who wanted to invade the Grand Line, but he was rebuffed along with his large fleet of ships by Mihawk.

The main feature was that Baratie had "fins", the lower part of the ship was round and could be extended into "fins" or a battle platform. Additionally, the fish head of the ship could be detached to create the mobile attack unit SabagashiraI similar to a pedal boat, covered and made of metal, with cannons positioned inside the fish's mouth.

Overall, this was the restaurant design currently admired by Ren.

[A picture of Baratie's restaurant here.]

"Drop the anchor" Ren ordered, and Nami obeyed his words.

"Wow... I didn't expect to find a floating seafood restaurant,Aren't they afraid of pirates?" Kaya wondered with surprise.

"No, they're not afraid of pirates because they themselves were pirates in the past" Ren laughed and dropped a bombshell of information on the girls.

After that, Ren told them the story of the restaurant owner, Zeff, how he lost his leg and decided to retire from pirate life and open a restaurant in the East Blue away from conflicts and chaos.

"Zeff recruited repentant pirates to work in his restaurant, teaching them cooking and manners, but the pirate spirit still runs deep within them" Ren said, mocking the group of cooks as the girls listened with interest to the story and the roots of this restaurant.

They didn't know the source of Ren's words, but they believed him without a doubt. How did Ren know all this? He seemed like a god in Nami and Nojiko's eyes.

"Should we kill them?" Ren looked at Nojiko, this girl was becoming more extreme towards strangers day by day.

"No, we have no reason for that."

"They're already dead, since the day they decided to escape,The pirate's path is difficult and full of moments of regret and the will to repent. Those who fail to continue...their free spirit has already died."

The girls didn't understand Ren's words well, especially Kaya, but it seemed that Nojiko was thinking deeply and analyzing Ren's words, She seemed to be on the verge of realizing something.

"Enough talk, It is said that the food they serve is delicious and I'm hungry,Let's go in."

Ren ordered and jumped from the ship directly onto the wooden deck of Baratie.

"W-what? Wait...Kyaaaa!"

Nojiko carried Kaya with one hand like a child and used Geppo to cross the distance and reach Ren.

Ignoring the girl's screams, Ren looked at Nami, who was still on the pirate ship.

*Swooosh!*

Nami used Soru and disappeared from the surface of the ship, and after a few seconds reappeared in front of Ren.

"Hi~"She greeted them with a beautiful smile.

She hung her sword on her waist, Nojiko also attached her sniper rifle holder to her waist and inserted the weapon into it.

If anyone saw them, they would think they were going to war.

As for Kaya, the girl was unarmed, she that trusted Ren will protect her.

Inside the restaurant, on the lower deck, where the main restaurant is located, the atmosphere was lively.

Many tables were filled with food, drinks, and seafood, while people happily ate their meals and discussed various topics among themselves.

"Have you heard about the new pirate who appeared?"

"His name was Ren, right? Yeah, I couldn't believe he managed to kill Smoker-san! What kind of monster he is?"

A beautiful woman, seemingly noble, spoke with a tone filled with fear and panic.

"The seas have become more dangerous than ever befor, I must return to the kingdom as soon as possible" the noblewoman said to the man who seemed noble like her.

"Don't worry, according to the news in the newspaper, that evil pirate is sailing in Log Town waters, it's impossible for us to encounter him on our way ,Hahaha."

It seems the man's words relieved her stress:"Fufufu~ You're right, but there are still other pirates in this dangerous sea."

The man's eyes sparkled with determination; it was his time to boast,He opened his mouth and said:"No need to worry, Miss Lerona! Even if Ren himself comes, I'll kill him with one shot and protect you!"

He said it loudly, and people looked at him with admiration, His clothes suggested that he was a nobleman from a wealthy country, The woman named Lerona looked at him coldly, about to speak up and ask him to stop boasting.

But meanwhile...

*Creak*

The restaurant door was pushed open, and several people entered with quiet yet powerful steps.

"I heard you say you'll kill me with one blow?" Ren laughed and looked at the nobleman, whose face seemed to lose its color.

Nami and Nojiko looked at him coldly; in their dictionary, this man was already dead, even if Ren didn't do it, they would ensure he wouldn't leave here alive.

It's okay if you want to boast in front of a woman to make her fall in love with you, that's your business, but don't mention the captain's name on your lips!

These were the thoughts of the yandere duo.

"T-this...!he is...The pirate Ren!!"

One of the customers exclaimed in fear and stuttered, saying Ren's name.

Chaos and screams spread among the customers, but Ren quickly raised his hand and silenced everyone.

"Consider me non-existent..Continue your meal."

He said calmly, his voice seemed to possess an irresistible charm that compelled them to comply,The noise quickly subsided as if it never happened.

The owner, Zeff, descended to the lower deck to see this scene, his eyes narrowed sharply, murmuring, "What is this monster doing here..."

"I-i mean, it was just a misunderstanding, sir! I didn't mean you! I swear!" Suddenly, the nobleman knelt before Ren, pressing his forehead to the ground and begging for forgiveness.

"No No No, I'm sure you meant me... isn't that right, Miss?" The last sentence was directed at the noblewoman named Lorena.

Lorena was frightened, tense, her whole body trembling, feeling Ren's gaze penetrating her and squeezing her heart. She began to breathe quickly, signs of losing control showing on her.

*Touch.*

"W-what!?"

She said in surprise, then saw Ren tapping on her shoulder and saying, "There's no need to feel stress, Actually I'm not as bad as they say about me, but the Marine bastards insist on making me look like a villain..."Ren pretended to be sad.

The restaurant hall was silent, and no one dared to speak. The customers, who were ordered by Ren to sit and eat, dared not move.

"Cough."

"Does Mr. Ren have any requests?"

Zeff intervened, using his experience, he saw that Ren had no ill intentions from his coming here, so he decided to treat him like any ordinary customer.

"Oh... look who we have here, Black Leg Zeff."

Zeff was surprised that Ren knew his identity, but thinking about Ren's strength and his Bounty, he calmed down and said,:"It seems Mr. Ren knows me...But I'm just an old man now, decided to live out the rest of my life in this peaceful sea."

Ren nodded to Zeff's words:,"A wise decision, the seas are rough these days."

"Has Mr. Ren been to the Grand Line before?"

Zeff asked a bold question; when hearing this, all the spectators listened carefully, even the girls from Ren's crew wanted to hear his answer.

"I've been there, but in a different way than usual."

"This..."Everyone was confused by his answer, but Zeff decided wisely not to ask too many questions lest Ren lose his patience.

"Suppose you're willing to pay the price for answering your question, right?" Ren laughed, knowing that old man Zeff understood what he meant.

"The food this time is free for Mr. Ren... Please wait for you and your crew until I finish preparing it."

Zeff said with a helpless smile.

"Great."

Zeff left after hearing Ren's response, and went to the kitchen to warn the cooks to treat Ren well.

In the kitchen, a man with yellow hair and strange curly eyebrows, prepared an order for one of the customers and heard Zeff's warning.

"Hey? Is he really strong like that?" Sanji asked.

"You naughty boy! Do you even know what it means to defeat the White Hunter? He was a Logia user! Logia!, you idiot!"

Sanji frowned and said:"What is this Logia? Is it something to eat?"

"Yes."

"Eeeeh???"Sanji's intention was to mock the old owner, he had never seen Zeff act with such extreme caution towards anyone before, so he felt curious.

"I warn you Sanji! Whatever that pirate does while in our restaurant, as long as he doesn't kill anyone, even if he insults our cooking and breaks the dishes, don't dare to argue! This is for all of us, remember, so that years of hard work don't go to waste!"

Zeff warned him seriously, reminding Sanji of Ren's savage actions and how he killed civilians and destroyed houses and ships.

His bad reputation spread throughout the East Blue, and he even got an official title from the Marines.

[A/N His title will be revealed later.]

"Old man..."Sanji looked at Zeff's serious face, nodded silently, and reassured him.

He owed a lot to this man in front of him; even if he asked him to give up his life, he would do it.

Back to the lower deck.

Ren looked at the nobleman who was still kneeling and said to him: "Leave from here, I don't want to spoil my mood when I eat my meal."

"Y-yes sir! Miss Lorena let's go-"

"This lady will stay here with me."

Ren said in a voice that brooked no argument.

It seemed that Lorena surrendered and closed her eyes.

"B-but..."

"Get out!"

Nami shouted at the nobleman, the fool quickly apologized and left the restaurant in terror.

The customers watched this scene with different expressions, fear, pity, panic, and...admiration?

"What's your name, miss?" Ren asked the frightened woman in front of him.

"I'm L-lorena" she said trembling.

"A beautiful name... no need to worry Lorena, I won't harm you, I just want to chat with you a little." Ren smiled.

When she saw his smile, all she could do was admire his handsome face and lower her guard a little.

"By the way, my name is Ren, this is Nojiko, that's Nami, and the blonde girl is Kaya" Ren introduced himself and his crew members.

Lorena looked at Nami and Nojiko with concern due to their cold expressions, but Kaya's smile reassured her a little.

'At least there's one normal person among them...',she sighed inwardly.

"how old are you, Miss Lorena?" Ren asked another question.

The girl didn't know why this terrifying pirate was asking her such questions, but all she could do was answer:"I'm 20 years old."

"Um, young and beautiful" He said, Lorena's expression was a mixture of shyness and fear, and she remained silent.

Lorena was a young woman, 184 cm tall, with long blue hair, her facial features were symmetrical, and she was wearing a blue kimono that matched her long hair hanging behind her back.

[Lorena pic here]

'What's the reason for this sudden notification from the system...There doesn't seem to be anything special about this girl.'

In fact, Ren wouldn't invite any girl to his table just because she was beautiful. Earlier, when he entered the restaurant, he received a sudden notification from the system.

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[Ding! The "Second Half" had been detected, her memory is sealed, host should obtained The "Memory Key" to unlock the seal.]

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.

That was the simple notification that puzzled Ren.

Second half? Sealed memory? Memory key? What the hell are these things?

And what made him even more confused was that the system didn't want to answer any of his questions and just remained silent.

"Miss System, I'll ask you this again, do you have any explanation for the current situation?"Ren asked coldly internally.

[...]

" Then no answer ?"

Ren snorted coldly, the girls suddenly looked at him and didn't know what had angered him.

"Is there something wrong, Captain?" Nojiko said, looking at Lorena with coldness, thinking she was the reason for Captain Ren's dissatisfaction.

Lorena shuddered from Nojiko's icy gaze"'I'm done! I'm really going to die this time!' her heart pounded hard as she remembered all the rumors about Ren describing him as a cold-blooded killer.

"Nothing, nothing at all" Ren replied calmly.

'Since you don't want my answer, let's see if you can ignore me now...'

When Miss System heard Ren's cold and mocking tone, she felt a bad feeling.

"Die."

He took out his gun from the infinity space and aimed it at Lorena.

"Kyaaa!! I don't wanna die!" Lorena couldn't bear it anymore and screamed as she covered her eyes with her hand, waiting for the shot to come.

[Wait, host!! Don't do that! I swear you'll regret it! Not that I'm threatening you, but you'll regret it when you know this woman's identity!]

[If I could tell you more information, I would have! But please, don't do anything reckless that you might regret in the future!]

[I must remind you that this woman's soul is unique, when she dies, she won't remain in this world and you won't be able to revive her even using your skills!]

[That's all I can tell you for now! Trust me!]

"!!!"

Ren was shocked by the unexpected reaction from the system, the feminine voice screamed in his mind in panic, after it stopped talking, Ren processed the information he had received.

He sighed and lowered his gun, then put it back in The infinity space again.

'This method worked...' Ren wouldn't naturally kill the innocent woman in front of him, he just wanted to see the system's reaction, and the results were unexpected, or rather shocking.

Nami, Nojiko, and Kaya were surprised when they saw Ren aiming his gun at the girl, but they knew Ren well, he wouldn't kill an innocent person, he wouldn't kill someone who hadn't wronged him first, he wouldn't kill someone he didn't want to kill, he wouldn't kill someone who wasn't looking for trouble.

And as expected, Ren lowered his gun and put it away, there was no gunshot that Lorena was waiting for.

"Huh...?"Lorena seemed confused when she opened her eyes and looked around.

There was no gun in the hands of the terrifying pirate.

She was still breathing.

She was still alive.

"I was just kidding with you, Miss Lorena...I'm sorry about that" Ren said embarrassedly.

He knew his excuse was stupid, who jokes with people by pointing a gun at them?

"How dare you point your gun at a beautiful lady?!"

A shout came from a man with yellow hair and formal black waiter clothes.

Troubles had come looking for him.

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Author's gossiping.

Today's Question:Have you guessed Lorena's identity?

Also did you have any idea about Ren's title?