Chapter 34

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"Ugh!"

Not long after setting sail, Aqua, who had been making bold declarations, leaned over the ship's railing and vomited a rainbow of colors onto the sea below.

Having spent too much time in the dreams realm and not yet fully sober from the previous night's drinking, combined with the busy work of moving things, Aqua unexpectedly yet unsurprisingly got seasick.

"You claim to be the omnipotent Goddess of Water at sea, yet you're proving to be quite useless..."

Zyhark, standing next to Aqua, was quite speechless.

Even so, he still extended a hand to pat Aqua's back, helping her soothe the discomfort of vomiting.

"That's too much, Zyhark. Underestimating me like this, watch me overcome it right now!"

After vomiting, Aqua, trying to muster strength from her weakness, looked for excuses for her condition with rolling eyes.

Suddenly, a gust of wind whipped up waves on the sea, causing the Endless Dream to sway abruptly.

Aqua, just recovering from her nausea, felt her stomach churn again and leaned heavily over the railing.

And she vomited again...

Watching Aqua slump onto the deck like a drained goddess after vomiting, Zyhark covered his face with one hand, sighing deeply with a mix of frustration and worry.

This, he wondered, was the sea really this foolish goddess's domain?

He began to doubt his earlier judgment.

Indeed, it seemed one should never hold too high expectations for Aqua, as the resulting disappointment and blow would be amplified.

"Wait here for me; I'll make you some porridge. I'm a bit hungry too."

As the only companion he had at the moment, Zyhark ultimately couldn't bear to be too harsh and dusted off his hands to head down to the restaurant kitchen.

"Thank you very much for your care, Zyhark-sama!" Aqua was moved to tears by his kindness.

Once in the kitchen, Zyhark skillfully prepared the ingredients for the porridge: some vegetables, a bit of lean meat, and a few large shrimp.

Since they were navigating towards Orange Town, a coastal harbor active with the Buggy Pirates, according to the East Blue navigation map and current wind conditions, it would take approximately five days to arrive.

Of course, Zyhark's knowledge of sailing was theoretical, learned in Windmill Village without practical experience, so he was unsure about the exact timing.

Besides their daily consumption, the floating restaurant was stocked with enough food for a week.

Even if they ran out of food to sell before resupplying at Loguetown, there was no worry about starving themselves.

When Zyhark returned to the second-floor deck with two bowls of steaming shrimp and lean meat porridge,

He found Aqua, who seemed to have regained her spirits, hammering away at a piece of wood with a small mallet.

"Are you alright now?"

Placing the porridge on an outdoor dining table, Zyhark looked at Aqua, who was suddenly full of energy, with surprise.

Just a few minutes ago, she had been listless and half-dead.

"Don't underestimate me, Zyhark. I am the Water Goddess who thrives in any tough situation!"

Aqua put down her mallet and board, sitting opposite Zyhark, her aqua-blue eyes shimmering with pride.

Zyhark stared at her for a few seconds, quickly guessing the reason: "You've blessed yourself, haven't you?"

With the faith of the villagers of Windmill Village, Aqua's divine power had slightly recovered, making such a feat not too difficult.

"Humph!" Aqua nodded shamelessly, admitting to it without pretense.

As she began eating the visually appealing shrimp porridge, her hunger got the better of her, and she hurriedly took a sip.

"Sss—It's hot!"

Predictably, she burned her mouth...

Zyhark couldn't bear to watch the goddess's impatience and turned his attention to the mallet and wood: "What are you doing with those?"

Aqua, blowing on the hot porridge, didn't turn her head as she replied, "I thought our floating restaurant looked too plain, so I wanted to hang a sign at the entrance to make it clearer for customers."

"Did you actually think of such a detail?" Zyhark was surprised.

He hadn't planned on running a serious business, so things like signs weren't his priority.

Could it be that Aqua's seasickness blessing also cured her brain?

This was an unexpected and welcome development; the child was finally acting normal!

With this thought, Zyhark unconsciously showed a touch of paternal pride.

"That's because you know too little about me, Zyhark!"

Aqua, oblivious to the true meaning behind Zyhark's smile, felt he underestimated her.

As she picked up the slightly cooled porridge,

"Wait, Aqua, take my bowl instead."

Zyhark pushed his bowl towards her.

"What are you trying to do? I won't just hand over my cooled porridge for nothing!"

Aqua instantly became defensive, guarding her bowl.

"Your bowl has no salt..." Zyhark said with a straight face.

He had intended to teach Aqua, the drunkard, a lesson, but seeing her occasionally sensible enough to help with the sign, he decided against it.

"What?!" Aqua was shocked.

Eventually, they swapped their bowls of porridge.

As Zyhark ate his tasteless porridge, he enjoyed the cool sea breeze.

"Speaking of which, Aqua, can you control this sea water to create whirlpools or tsunamis?"

Understanding Aqua's limits would help them make more accurate decisions in emergencies during their long sea voyages.

"Joking? Before the great Water Goddess, all waters, be they sea or fresh, are but obedient followers!"

Aqua lifted her head, feigning pride, her flawless face dotted with rice grains.

"Really? Then please, perform for me now." Zyhark took the opportunity to challenge her.

Whenever the foolish goddess began to boast, it usually meant she wasn't very confident in herself.

"Uh, well, let's talk about that later; we're still eating porridge now!"

Faced with the immediate request, Aqua's eyes darted around evasively.

Perhaps unable to withstand Zyhark's skeptical gaze, her pretense of toughness soon collapsed.

"It's so annoying! Although the villagers' faith has increased my power a bit, it's still far from ideal. I can only control a small area of seawater!"

"Go ahead and mock me for being useless if you want; that's all I can do for now!"

Ending on a frustrated note, Aqua slumped against the chair back, giving up entirely.

"Controlling a small area of seawater, huh? That's still pretty impressive."

Contrary to Aqua's expectations, Zyhark didn't mock her but nodded in affirmation.

This meant their ship, the Endless Dream, had a basic level of protection, reducing the risk of being targeted by pirate attacks.

Zyhark wasn't worried about close combat with pirates; his concern was those sneaky ones who would attack from a distance, treating them as target practice.

"Zyhark, you..."

Aqua, somewhat taken aback, was about to say something when Zyhark handed her an empty bowl.

"Finish eating, also please wash the dishes."

Zyhark's request was straightforward.

"What? You expect the noble Water Goddess to wash dishes for you?"

"The price of a bowl of shrimp and lean meat porridge at sea is 800 belly."

"I'm more than happy to serve!"

Hearing it would cost her, Aqua's attitude flipped instantly, smiling as she picked up the dishes.

"To be honest, I preferred your untamed attitude at the beginning," Zyhark said on a whim, though he knew Aqua probably didn't understand the meaning of 'untamed.'

Meanwhile, Aqua, having reached the ship's railing, raised her arm, her fingertips glowing with a light blue light.

Whoosh!

A stream of water shot out, swiftly cleaning the dishes.

Before Zyhark could marvel at her handy ability, a "crack" sounded. The fragile porcelain bowl couldn't withstand the force of the water and broke.

"…You foolish goddess, did you do that on purpose?!"

Zyhark, fitting right into the One Piece aesthetic, turned his teeth into fierce saw blades.

Handy, yes, but a bit too rough on the dishes!

"Ah, ahaha, sorry, sorry, I forgot my power got a bit stronger."

Aqua, holding the remains of the broken bowl, stood there scratching her head, awkwardly laughing.

Their "pleasant" dining experience ended with the tragic demise of the bowl.

After settling their stomachs, Zyhark decided to sunbathe on the deck.

Gazing at the vast ocean ahead, they saw no sign of "customers."

Being the weakest sea, the East Blue seemed to have fewer pirates than other areas.

They encountered a few merchant and fishing vessels, but those ships had their provisions and merely glanced curiously at the Endless Dream before passing by.

Watching the sun begin to set in the west, Zyhark, with nothing better to do, stood up to fetch a pre-prepared fishing rod from the cabin.

As a necessary part of the voyage, he couldn't overlook this activity.

He had learned a bit of sea fishing from accompanying the merchants of Windmill Village on a few trips.

"What, Zyhark, do you, a cunning and sly person, really think you can catch fish?"

Aqua, lounging under an umbrella on the deck, scoffed disdainfully.

"What does being cunning and sly have to do with fishing?" Zyhark retorted as he began assembling the fishing rod.

"All creatures born of the sea are nurtured by it, and the sea is made of pure water. The hearts of those with ill intentions are definitely not welcomed by them!" Aqua declared confidently.

"Oh, you seem to know a lot?"

Zyhark, baiting his assembled rod, was annoyed by Aqua's know-it-all attitude, "How about a challenge between us?"

The proposal hit right where Aqua wanted, as she adjusted her goddess garb and approached.

"Since you're so eager to be humiliated, let the goddess entertain you~"

"Heh, interesting."

Choosing their spots, the serious fishing duel began.

Time quietly passed, and after half an hour,

Aqua, teary-eyed, stared at Zyhark's nearly full bucket of fish, doubting her divinity.

"It's impossible, absolutely impossible. How could you catch so many fish!"

As the Water Goddess closely connected to the sea, Aqua couldn't accept her empty bucket.

Despite knowing she lost but unable to swallow her pride, she ran over and started shaking Zyhark's shoulder.

"Zyhark! Did you use some dirty tricks? How can there be such a big difference in the same sea area!"

"…You just shamelessly came over to peek and learn, and now you're accusing me of cheating?"

Zyhark, with a smile, reeled in his line, catching another fish right in front of Aqua.

"If you're willing to admit defeat, I'll share the secret with you." His offer was temptingly laid out.

After hesitating for a few seconds and thinking of the possibility to outdo Zyhark with this knowledge, Aqua quickly conceded, "Fine! I lose, now tell me!"

Zyhark looked at her with a hint of pity, "Actually, while fishing requires skill, it's mostly about luck."

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Intelligence and luck were Aqua's unfixable flaws.

Her intelligence was apparent in those aqua-blue eyes, and as for luck, well, even with a luck value MAX blessing, it wouldn't help her one bit!

Knowing this, Zyhark was confident in their fishing duel!

"How can it be... just luck…"

Learning the truth, Aqua was visibly upset, and the sound of flapping fish in Zyhark's bucket only fueled her anger.

"I refuse to believe that I, the Water Goddess, can't catch even a stinky fish!"

In a fit of desperation, Aqua jumped over the railing and dived into the sea!

Zyhark was about to stop her, but remembering she could freely move underwater without danger, he let her be.

Soon after,

Aqua, begrudgingly biting a fish, was reeled in by Zyhark...

"Yo-ho, Zyhark, good afternoon!"

The soaking wet Water Goddess flashed a sweet smile, attempting to cover the awkwardness of the situation.

"Are you trying to be funny? You must be here to joke around!" Zyhark was speechless.

Aqua's antics had completely disrupted the peaceful fishing.

Just as Zyhark was about to end the day's activities and bring Aqua back in,

In the distance, towards the setting sun, a medium-sized sailing ship approached the Endless Dream directly.

Seeing the black skull flag fluttering in the sea breeze, Zyhark rubbed his hands together, his spirits lifted.

"Alright, Aqua, this duel is over."

"Get ready to greet our first guest since setting sail!"

(End of Chapter)