Chapter 308: 307: Arrival at Germa 66 — Head Chef Cassius
May 11, 1504, Age of the Sea Circle
After several hours of travel from Higo Island, Orion finally arrived at the current location of the floating castle of Germa 66, prepared to begin the mission that required him to spend an entire month here working as a cook.
"Attention, we will soon disembark at the island’s main port. Do not make any movements unless you are ordered to do so, unless you want to be executed on the spot!" said the leader of the expedition that had gone to retrieve the new recruits this time around.
The other individuals present nodded fearfully at the gruff man’s sudden warning, while Orion simply remained at the back of the group, trying to avoid drawing attention to himself.
Truthfully, the people recruited by Germa 66 through the open recruitment periods—held once every six months—were considered the lowest-ranking subordinates, with only a few rare exceptions, so the treatment and consideration they received from Germa 66 was far from pleasant.
Generally, whenever the Vinsmoke Kingdom needed to fill a specific role, even one they considered disgraceful such as manual labor jobs like cooks, they directly recruited people with reasonably good talent and an established reputation throughout the North Blue.
On the other hand, recruitment periods like the one Orion had participated in were used to gather people without professions, who would then be employed in all kinds of miscellaneous tasks across the Vinsmoke floating island, and who most of the time ended up dead or turned into experimental subjects—which was precisely why fixed recruitment periods were held twice a year.
Disembarking from the ship together with the other recruits, Orion advanced deeper into the artificial island until they reached the massive inner courtyard of a fortress, where several soldiers and staff members dressed like butlers were waiting for them.
There, the new recruits were divided into groups depending on the roles they had been assigned, and with remarkable efficiency they were escorted toward their new workplaces by one of the men dressed as butlers, who were responsible for organizing the entire process.
Eventually, only Orion and two other frail-looking young men remained in the great inner courtyard, and the last of the men dressed as a butler approached them with a professional smile before saying,
"Welcome to the glorious kingdom of Germa 66. The three of you have been selected to work in the kingdom’s kitchens. Follow me, I will take you to your new workplace."
Then, without waiting for a response from Orion or the other two youths, the man began walking at a brisk pace, guiding them toward the section of the island where Germa 66’s main kitchen was located, while several armed soldiers followed closely behind to maintain order and prevent any incidents.
After only a few minutes, they arrived at their destination: a massive kitchen where numerous cooks were busy preparing the rations that would later be distributed to the soldiers of Germa 66 during dinner.
On this artificial island of the Vinsmokes, the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants were soldiers, who formed the kingdom’s strike force and were responsible for fighting in wars as mercenaries, enriching the coffers of the landless nation and financing Judge’s scientific research.
However, these soldiers were not the only inhabitants of the artificial island. There were also a large number of people tasked with all kinds of logistical duties necessary to keep the kingdom functioning efficiently, such as the group of cooks working tirelessly to prepare the soldiers’ dinner.
These people lived in several apartment complexes distributed throughout the artificial island, and they were generally grouped according to their work style and occupation. For example, all the cooks who worked here lived in the same residential complex, with most of them sharing rooms with one or more roommates and possessing nothing more than a bed to sleep on.
Naturally, there were certain exceptions, and the more important a person was within their profession, the more benefits they could access. In fact, the head chef of Germa 66—a good-natured man named Cassius—had an entire house at his disposal within the same residential district, where he lived together with his wife and young daughter.
The primary task of these cooks was preparing meals for the soldiers, while the rest of the kingdom’s inhabitants could either cook for themselves or eat at the public cafeterias, provided they paid for it using part of their salary.
As for the Vinsmokes and other central figures of the kingdom, they ate exclusively what Head Chef Cassius and his personal team prepared, receiving meals of the highest quality possible.
"Cassius, I’ve brought your new boys," said the man dressed as a butler without losing his professional smile, gesturing toward Orion and the other two young men with one hand.
"Ah, so it’s already that time of the year again! This time you brought me three great talents! I can already tell they’ve got fighting spirit!" said Cassius with a warm smile as he walked toward Orion, his large belly swaying from side to side.
Orion briefly activated his Prism Eyes, observing that the cook named Cassius possessed impeccable morality and tremendous culinary talent, causing Orion’s opinion of him to improve even further, while he simultaneously began considering recruiting him into his kingdom once his mission was complete.
"These two gentlemen are inexperienced recruits, but they show aptitude for kitchen work, so they shouldn’t give you any trouble," said the butler, pointing toward the two young men who had arrived alongside Orion and were standing beside him rather nervously.
"And this one here is Orion Lavender, one of the best talents we’ve recruited recently. He has experience in cooking, and he can even prepare medicinal meals, so he will undoubtedly be a great help to you," the formal man continued, narrowing his eyes somewhat ominously at the end of his sentence.
Cassius, who had been smiling cheerfully while listening to the butler introduce the two inexperienced youths, showed a look of surprise upon hearing Orion’s description, though he quickly recovered his initial enthusiasm and approached the three newcomers, giving them a friendly hug.
"Welcome to my kitchen! As long as you’re responsible and enjoy cooking, I can assure you that you’ll be very happy working here!" Cassius said happily.
Orion gave a slight nod, while the two young men showed relieved smiles after realizing that their new employer seemed friendly, and that perhaps they would not have to suffer mistreatment in the future.
"Well then, I’ll leave them in your care, Cassius," said the butler with a nod, before focusing his gaze on Orion and adding,
"Orion, tomorrow morning I’ll come to escort you to your special workplace. Mister Cassius will give you more information regarding the matter. Have a good first day."
After saying those words, the butler left the kitchen without looking back, leaving Orion and the other two youths there under Cassius’s supervision.
The head chef asked Orion to wait a moment while he focused on teaching the other two boys some basic tasks they could perform to begin helping in the kitchen, since their lack of prior experience as cooks meant there was very little they could actually do.
Finally, after instructing one of his subordinates to supervise the two novices during their work, Cassius approached Orion, who had been waiting off to the side while observing the work of Germa 66’s cooks with great interest.
Although Orion possessed outstanding culinary skills, he had never worked in a professional kitchen before, since he had always cooked by himself, so the sight of dozens of chefs working together in coordination felt quite novel to him, and even sparked a genuine interest in beginning the "ordinary cook" life mentioned in the mission issued by the system.
"Orion, thank you for your patience. Come with me, follow me to my personal kitchen," Cassius said kindly, guiding Orion deeper into Germa 66’s massive kitchen, where he had a small separate area in which he could usually work without interruptions.
"Robert, the administrator who brought you here, asked me to explain your duties from now on, so let me give you an overview of what your routine here in Germa 66 will look like.
To begin with, every morning you’ll need to be here first thing in the day to prepare breakfast for the soldiers alongside the rest of the cooks.
After that, you’ll have the morning free until two hours before lunch, when you’ll need to return to cook once again. As for dinner, we begin preparing it around this hour every day, and we serve it at 9 PM.
Generally speaking, you’ll have around twelve hours of work per day spread across those three shifts, and the rest of the day will be free for you to do as you please.
Or at least... that would be the case for an ordinary cook," Cassius said, pausing briefly as he tried to organize his thoughts.
Orion raised an eyebrow curiously, though he said nothing to interrupt Cassius’s words, waiting for him to continue his explanation.
"From your expression, I can tell no one informed you about the special duty you’ll be carrying out.
For quite some time now, Germa 66’s administration has been trying to recruit a cook skilled in medicinal cuisine, someone capable of preparing meals for Queen Sora, who has been bedridden with an illness for several years now.
Even so, it hasn’t been easy finding someone talented in that field, or at least it hasn’t happened in recent years."
Cassius looked around cautiously, as though worried someone might overhear his next words, and lowering his voice slightly, he continued,
"To tell you the truth, there’s a rumor among Queen Sora’s servants that King Judge has no real interest in her health, and that he hasn’t put even the slightest effort into finding a competent doctor to treat her, much less something far less important like a specialized cook for her...
In any case, those are nothing more than rumors, so you shouldn’t speak about them... unless you want to end up involved in some sort of accident... It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened in this kingdom."
Orion could tell that Cassius’s warning was sincere, and he nodded to indicate that he understood.
"In any case, your daily routine will be different from the other cooks under my command, since you’ll personally be in charge of preparing meals for Queen Sora.
Until now, my sister Cassidy had been responsible for preparing her food, serving as the head cook of the queen’s mansion, which has its own dedicated staff solely focused on attending to the queen."
"That means you’ll have double the workload. Every morning, you’ll come here first at 5 AM to begin preparing breakfast for the soldiers, then at 8 you’ll head to Queen Sora’s mansion to prepare her special breakfast.
And you’ll probably have to repeat the same process for lunch and dinner as well, although that will be something my sister decides after speaking with you about it.
I don’t think there’s anything else I need to tell you for the moment. The rest of the specific information regarding the menus and the cooking styles we use, I’ll explain to you later whenever necessary."
Cassius finished giving Orion a general explanation of the situation, then extended his hand and said,
"Once again, welcome to the kitchens of Germa 66. It’s a pleasure to work with you!"
Orion smiled faintly and shook the good-natured cook’s hand.
"Thank you very much, the pleasure is all mine!"
After the brief conversation with Germa 66’s head chef, Orion remained in Cassius’s personal kitchen at the man’s request, helping him prepare dinner for Judge and the rest of the Vinsmoke family.
In this way, Cassius was able to personally verify Orion’s level of culinary skill, and he was completely astonished to discover that this young man who had just arrived possessed abilities on a level similar to his own!
After all, Cassius was one of the most famous cooks in the North Blue, and had once owned a renowned restaurant where he worked together with his older sister.
It was precisely that outstanding reputation which had drawn Germa 66’s attention, and the two siblings had ultimately been recruited to serve the Vinsmoke family after the famous landless royal family made them an "offer they could not refuse".
After nearly two hours of work, the preparations for the Vinsmokes’ dinner were complete, and Cassius temporarily left the kitchen to personally present the dishes before the king of Germa 66. As the head chef of the kingdom’s kitchens, it was his responsibility to personally serve the meals to his employers.
Orion, who according to Cassius’s instructions was supposed to wait for his return in the kitchen together with the two new recruits—since Cassius still needed to assign them their dormitories within the residential complex used by the cooks—noticed with surprise that outside the kitchen stood a blond child covered in bandages and visibly beaten, staring into the kitchen with shining eyes, yet not daring to take a single step inside.
Looking at the information that had appeared on the system screen, Orion knew that this child was the only Named Character (VIP) in this place, and that his name was Sanji.
For a brief instant, Orion activated his Prism Eyes while observing the five-year-old boy standing outside the kitchen, and he was utterly shocked by the child’s immense talent, as well as by the brilliant morality surrounding his body like a halo of light, indicating his innate kindness.
Sanji’s talent far surpassed that of any subordinate Orion currently possessed, and Orion could not restrain his urge to recruit him into his kingdom, because in the future, once he fully matured, he would undoubtedly become one of the most powerful individuals in the world, and that was not something Orion could simply ignore.
Perhaps it was because Orion had been staring so intently at Sanji while his kidnapper—recruiter tendencies began surfacing, but at that exact moment Cassius hurriedly patted him on the shoulder and quickly whispered,
"That is Young Master Sanji, the third prince of Germa 66. The king has expressly forbidden him from entering the kitchen, and none of the cooks are allowed to speak with him...
A few months ago, one of the cooks felt pity for Prince Sanji’s situation and spoke to him briefly in an attempt to encourage him..." Cassius paused for a moment as his expression darkened while recalling what had happened.
"He was executed for insubordination a few days later. So don’t even think about approaching Prince Sanji. He enjoys coming here to watch the cooks work from a distance, but none of the cooks are authorized to interact with him," Cassius concluded, pushing Orion away from the doorway out of fear that he might ignore the warning and try speaking to Sanji anyway.
"Wait here with the two new recruits, I won’t take long to return!"
Cassius left the kitchen, walking toward the royal dining hall where the Vinsmokes had gathered for dinner, without paying the slightest attention to Sanji, nor even daring to greet him or acknowledge his presence there.
Orion watched the small blond child with interest. After noticing that the cooks had finished working and were leaving the kitchens, Sanji showed a disappointed expression before walking away in the same direction Cassius had gone, most likely heading to dine with the rest of the royal family.
"It seems the situation in Germa 66 is quite complicated," Orion murmured, recalling all the details of everything that had happened since arriving in the landless kingdom only a few hours earlier.
Then, smiling faintly, Orion watched Sanji walking off into the distance and thought to himself,
"Sanji, huh... I’m definitely recruiting him into my forces!"
Orion had already made his decision, though he would have to wait until completing his current mission before acting on it.
...
About twenty minutes later, Cassius returned to the kitchen where only Orion and the two new recruits remained, and led them to the residential complex where the cooks lived, which from now on would become their new home.
The two boys with absolutely no cooking experience did not hold much status, so they were assigned the simplest room available, shared with two other low-ranking cooks.
On the other hand, the residence assigned to Orion—who was considered a top-level recruit—was located right beside the house where Cassius lived with his family.
"From now on we’re neighbors, Orion, so if you ever need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to tell me!" the good-natured cook said, patting Orion on the shoulder in a friendly manner.
"I’ll keep that in mind, thank you, Mr. Cassius," Orion replied, inclining his head slightly in gratitude.
At that exact moment, the door to Cassius’s house opened, and a woman with an intellectual air stepped outside while carrying a little girl in her arms.
"Cosette, look who came home," Cassius’s wife said with a loving smile upon seeing her husband return after a long day of work.
"Daddy, daddy!"
The little girl named Cosette stretched out her adorable arms, asking to be held by her father, and Cassius happily fulfilled her wish with a broad smile, lifting the small child into the air and playing with her carefully so she would not fall.
"Orion, let me introduce you to my family. This is my wife Vanessa, and this little one is my daughter Cosette. She’s four years old, isn’t she adorable?" Cassius said with a grin from ear to ear, clearly delighted to have returned home to his beloved family.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am," Orion said, slightly bowing his head in greeting.
Cassius’s wife also greeted Orion politely, and then little Cosette looked at him with shining eyes and shyly said,
"Hello, my name is Cosette, I’m four years old..."
Cosette began introducing herself in a very organized manner, even holding up four fingers to indicate her age, and it was obvious that her parents had taught her to introduce herself that way as a formality.
The sight of little Cosette formally introducing herself in her childish voice was quite adorable, and Orion could not help thinking about his own children, whom he had not seen in months, while a sudden urge to return home washed over him.
Still, he knew that right now he needed to focus on his mission, so he suppressed those feelings and reached out to gently squeeze Cosette’s cheek, causing the little girl to look startled for a moment before adorably puffing her cheeks and hiding her face shyly against her father’s chest.
"If you’ll excuse us, dinner is ready," Vanessa suddenly said, looking at him with a gaze noticeably colder than before.
Then, without waiting for Cassius to say anything, she grabbed him by the arm and led him inside their home, closing the door behind them and leaving Orion unsure how to react.
"Could it be..."
Thoughtfully, Orion opened the system screen and saw a couple of notifications indicating that his "Child Abductor" title had taken effect, increasing Cosette’s favorability by 10 while decreasing Vanessa’s by 10 points.
Furthermore, although he had not paid attention to it at first, the title had also affected Cassius, though his favorability was much higher than Vanessa’s, which stemmed from the differences in their individual personalities.
Orion had discovered long ago that people’s favorability did not fluctuate in the same way for everyone, but was instead influenced by each individual’s personality. For example, Cassius was a far more sociable and friendly man than his wife, which was why his initial favorability toward Orion had been much higher than hers.
For that reason, the effects of this troublesome title Orion had obtained also varied from person to person, although most of the time the negative effects were neutralized by the influence of his two passive skills, Charm Halo and Charisma Halo, which naturally increased people’s favorability toward him—with Charm Halo being especially effective on the opposite sex.
Orion sighed softly, hoping that his strange title would not cause him problems in the future, then entered his new home, where he would spend the next month. Even though he had only just arrived at Germa 66, he had already encountered several people he wanted to recruit, such as Cassius, and above all Sanji, who was undoubtedly a treasure for the future of his kingdom.
In addition, Orion had been surprised to discover that Cassius’s little daughter, Cosette, was also a Named Character, a fact that further solidified his intention to recruit Germa 66’s head chef and his family.
Lying on his bed while gazing through the window at the skies of the North Blue, Orion prepared to spend his first night on the artificial island of Germa 66. Tomorrow, he would meet Queen Sora for the first time, and without a doubt he would uncover even more information about the situation within this peculiar landless kingdom.
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