Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Phone Bug (Den Den Mushi)

The idea of treating Tom like a celebrity like Brooke flashed through Adrian's mind, but it was better not to do that until they could afford meals. Besides, Tom might not even like that kind of attention.

The next two days were filled with training, lottery draws, and managing the shop.

Tom's reputation spread among the first two batches of customers. Some treated it as a curious tale, while others believed it immediately. The vastness of the sea meant that anything could happen.

As a result, many people came to the tavern to see Tom. The business was showing signs of improvement, and Tom earned a lot of snacks by playing the guitar.

Regular customers of the tavern gradually formed the habit of carrying snacks to give to Tom. They also ordered more drinks to support the business.

Noticing Artoria's beauty, some people were interested, but she looked too young, so not many approached her.

In the afternoon of this day, Adrian locked the tavern's door, hopped onto the bubble car, and took Tom and Artoria with him.

The bubble car, which cost 10,000 berries, was used for procurement. Unlike the single-person bubble cars where the rider had to be inside the bubble, this model had the mechanical parts installed above a doughnut-shaped bubble. It also had a small cargo compartment at the back.

This kind of car was like the kitchen brigade's three-wheeler.

If a man rode a bicycle with a woman sitting on the rear seat, it felt like a scene from a first love. However, if a man rode a three-wheeler while a woman sat in the cargo compartment, it was usually a scene of an old man taking his old lady for a ride.

Today, Adrian was going to take 15-year-old Artoria, the old lady, along with their pet cat for shopping. This included ingredients and... Phone Bugs.

When transferring the tavern, Old Bob introduced Adrian to the liquor merchant Guragas and left his phone bug number. However, Adrian had never bought a phone bug.

The tavern's original phone bug was taken away by Bob, not because phone bugs were expensive, but because Adrian didn't want to change the number.

Phone bugs looked similar to snails and came in various sizes. They were caught in the wild and equipped with special devices to be used. Phone bugs seemed to be willing to be captured by humans, as it meant they would have a steady supply of food.

Adrian and the others selected a blue regular phone bug and three infant phone bugs. It was the equivalent of buying one landline and three mobile phones.

After purchasing the ingredients, Adrian rode the car back.

Artoria and Tom curiously poked at the phone bug, waking them up and feeding them some leaves.

Most of the time, they were in a sleeping state. They would wake up only when they were called or when they needed to eat.

"It's your lucky day. You managed to buy some Sea King-class meat, though it's a bit pricey," Adrian said, "Tom, do you know how to cook Sea King-class meat?"

Tom was trying to recall the recipe, but Artoria preempted, "This is meat sliced from a fish-type Sea King-class creature. It can be cooked in various ways, like stewed, fried, or deep-fried. If you want to stew it, you'll need these ingredients..."

"Wait, why do you know so much about this?" Adrian asked with curiosity as Artoria listed off ingredients and seasonings.

"Don't you know, Adrian? We read the same newspapers every day. There was a food column in one issue that had these recipes," Artoria chided, "Adrian, you said it yourself. To understand this world, we need to read newspapers and gather necessary information. It seems you're not doing enough."

Adrian: "..."

Did I give you the newspapers for you to read this? No wonder you're going through snacks so quickly every time you read the newspaper. You're probably looking at the food section!

Our tavern is going to go bankrupt thanks to your eating habits!

Back at the tavern, they stored the various ingredients in the refrigerator and placed the phone bugs on the counter. The phone bug had "0210" written on its shell, indicating its number. Phone bug numbers were quite random, ranging from a few digits to more.

Adrian picked up the receiver, dialing Guragas' number: 4396.

"Bu-lu bu-lu bu-lu... Ka-cha."

The phone bug on Adrian's end grew orange mustaches, its eyes changed shape, and a deep uncle-like voice sounded, "This is Guragas. May I know who's calling?"

Everyone watched the transformation of the phone bug in curiosity. Tom tried to cheekily pull its mustache.

He failed; the mustache seemed to be a special light and shadow effect.

"Hello, Uncle Guragas. This is Adrian from the tavern," Adrian curiously watched the phone bug on the other end, wondering if it would also take on his appearance, "I need to place an order for a batch of alcohol, same types and quantities as before. If possible, I'd appreciate it if you could deliver it today."

The mustached phone bug on the other end paused for a moment before realizing something. Except for Tom, they were all witnessing an animal with such rich expressions for the first time:

"Ah, it's young 'Running Adrian'! Is the delivery address still the same as Bob's tavern?"

"Yes, that's right. 59GR Baker Street 221B. The address hasn't changed."

"No problem, we'll deliver it by five."

"Thank you very much."

"Ka-cha." The phone bug emitted the sound of hanging up, closed its eyes, and fell asleep. Its mustache disappeared slowly.

"What a fascinating creature," Artoria propped her hands on the table, showing only the upper half of her face, locking eyes with the phone bug.

Adrian suspected she was acting cute and joked, "Indeed, it's very fascinating. I wonder if it tastes good."

Artoria's eyes flickered with interest. The sleeping phone bug suddenly woke up, looking terrified. It wanted to flee but didn't dare move.

"Don't be scared, I was just joking," Adrian patted the shell of the phone bug to calm it down, "Let's focus on figuring out how to cook Sea King-class meat."

Artoria seemed a little disappointed but quickly looked through the newspapers she had read, showing the page that detailed cooking methods for Sea King-class creatures to Tom.

Tom also took out four recipe books and searched for specific dishes. He found it hard to stop his mouth from watering.

As a cat, he had a slight preference for fish dishes, and he was even more interested in trying "big fish" like this.

Adrian ignored the two foodies and decided to complete today's training plan before Guragas arrived.

Regarding phone bugs, some sources said they mimicked the appearance of the other party, while others said they wouldn't change even when dressed to look a certain way, and they wouldn't even mimic the voice. This was based on the fact that during the Little Garden arc, Sanji received a call from Crocodile pretending to be Mr. 3 before he was exposed.