The journalist nad Harrison took a few adorable photos of Klee ow, then asked so routine questions like "Where did you learn to dance?" and "Why did you enter the competition?" before taking his leave.
After all, it was just a dance competition held from ti to ti on an island in the East Blue. Even if it made it into the East Blue special edition, it wouldn’t take up much of the spotlight.
Sherwin then continued wandering the island with the Felynes.
His strategy for exploring towns hadn’t changed—walking through the entire town to light up the map was the bare minimum.
Along the way, if they ca across local specialty foods, tasting them was a must. If Sanji ow could learn the recipe, even better.
Whenever they ran into a weapon shop, it was ti for a proper look around. Klee ow would pick out any explosives she found interesting,
while Sherwin tried his luck to see if he could buy another fad blade... Since the East Blue was so "rural," Morgans didn’t even have a single useful lead. Thankfully, Sherwin had read the manga!
Ever since Seijuro ow joined the crew, bars had beco one of their regular stops. Huai ow also liked to gather intel there.
The newest mber, Huai ow, was actually the least troubleso. She didn’t have many personal needs and often helped Sherwin keep Klee ow and Sanji ow in check.
Of course, that not to say Huai ow had no interests at all. For instance, shopping for clothes—an almost universal hobby among females—didn’t vanish just because she was a Felyne...
"Welco to Heyshow Panda, Mr. Sherwin."
All the shops on the island had already been inford by Mayor Rand, so naturally, the staff here recognized Sherwin. Not to ntion, Klee ow had recently won the championship in the dance competition.
"Are you here to have clothes custom-made for these adorable Felynes?" the staff greeted enthusiastically.
"Then you’ve co to the right place! This is the main store of Heyshow Panda—our best designers are all here."
Wait, seriously?Sherwin raised an eyebrow in surprise.
As the biggest fashion brand in the pirate world, its origin and main store were actually located in the most "rural" area of the East Blue...
Was this so kind of dark cody?But then again, considering that the legendary first Pirate King and the highly probable future second Pirate King, the Sun God, both ca from here, maybe it wasn’t so surprising after all.
Sherwin had already planned to shop here, and now that he’d stumbled into the main store, all the better—especially since he was still enjoying that -50% off status buff.
He pointed at the Felynes beside him and said, "Then I’ll trouble your designers to create a few outfits for them."
"Sherwin-nii, didn’t you say this brand is a total scam, ow?"The little ragdoll tugged at his ear, asking in confusion.
"..."
"..."
Sherwin and the store clerk exchanged a few seconds of awkward eye contact, until the latter finally broke the silence, saying,
"It seems there may have been a misunderstanding about our store, Mr. Sherwin. But once you see our designs, you’re sure to find them well worth the price."
Before long, a little old lady, not much taller than the Felynes, ca walking down the stairs.
She wore a jacket in the style of Mondrian grid paintings and on her head sat an elaborate aristocratic hat—about half her own height—adorned with all kinds of jewels, flowers, and feathers. A pair of triangular gold-rimd glasses rested on the bridge of her nose.
"This is our chief designer, Madam Joanna," the shop assistant imdiately introduced her to the group. "Madam Joanna, this is—"
"So cool!" Madam Joanna cut the assistant off and, with a speed completely inconsistent with her appearance, zipped over in front of Sherwin.
Tilting her head back, she examined Klee ow and Hua i ow on Sherwin shoulders—or more precisely, their outfits—with sparkling eyes and an excited shout: "Such fresh designs! Such perfectly matched combinations! This is just... so cool!"
"Uh... Madam Joanna?"
The assistant was stunned. He had called Joanna here to design outfits for the clients, not to get distracted by the client own clothing!
However, the old lady completely ignored the assistant frustration. While waving at Klee ow and Hua i ow, she coaxed them in a sweet, syrupy tone,
"Co down here, my two little sweethearts~ Let granny take a proper look at your clothes~ Granny got so yummy treats for you~"
Hua i ow shot her a cold sideways glance, flicked her tail, then turned her head away without a word.
Klee ow, on the other hand, seed a bit tempted. But just as she held her little paw to her mouth and gave her soft pink nose a gentle sniff, she imdiately puffed up and exposed the truth angrily, "You’re lying! Klee didn’t sll anything tasty at all, ow!"
"Uh..." Madam Joanna awkwardly scratched her nose, then gave a sheepish laugh and said, "Well, I don’t have any right now, but I can send soone to buy so... um, hey you over there?"
She turned to look at the shop assistant, just about to order him to go buy so snacks for the cats—but halfway through opening her mouth, she suddenly froze. Whipping her head back around, she widened her eyes and exclaid in shock, "T-The cat just talked!"
Smack!
Sherwin pressed a hand to his forehead, speechless. Just now he had assud that Madam Joanna was a well-traveled woman, soone familiar with beastkin. But no, it turns out she simply hadn’t processed it yet!
By the ti Sherwin walked out of the main Panda store with the Felynes, he still felt a bit dizzy...
After her initial shock, Madam Joanna focus had once again locked onto the outfits worn by Klee ow and Hua i ow.
She clung to Sherwin, insisting he grant permission to use the designs of their clothes. She even waived all his purchases at Panda and stuffed a mbership card into his hand.
With such a great deal, Sherwin naturally agreed without hesitation. And since everything was now free, he figured he might as well order a few custom outfits for himself too.
Compared to the Felynes, who had self-adaptive equipnt, he—the practically bare-skinned Hunter—was the one who needed clothes the most.
To be fair, Madam Joanna design skills were quite impressive. After asking Sherwin and the Felynes for their preferences, she quickly sketched out several design drafts, even successfully incorporating so elents from their original outfits.
If this were a mobile ga, those would definitely be sellable as premium skins.
Even though Madam Joanna worked quickly, Sherwin wasn’t so kind of demon client constantly demanding revisions.
Still, by the ti all the designs were finalized, the sky had already turned completely dark—and they had barely explored the town.
Sherwin wasn’t in a hurry anyway. They weren’t pressed for ti right now, and it would take several days for the clothes to be ready. So after taking the Felynes to find a place for dinner, he settled into the best inn in town.
Over the next few days, Sherwin continued to explore erapal with the Felynes while waiting for Panda to finish making their clothes.
Originally, he had planned to leave erapal Island once he received the clothes. However, after touring the entire town, Sherwin discovered a shipyard not far outside of it.
Considering that other places in the East Blue might not be as "modern" as erapal Island, Sherwin decided to take care of building the Spark Knight here as well. While he was at it, he also asked the shipwrights to help modify the Explosive Black Cat: Maria...
At the very least, the Angler Submarine and the Spark Knight should be able to deploy more easily, instead of having to be carried out of the ship hold every ti, right?
But there was a slight disappointnt—when Sherwin suggested adding a propulsion system to the Explosive Black Cat: Maria, the shipyard workers said it couldn’t be done.
The ship was simply too large. Their technology and materials couldn’t et the requirents. Even if they installed it, it would burn out within minutes.
On Huai ow suggestion, Sherwin had to settle for a large rudder installed at the stern instead.
Since modifying the ship would take quite a bit of ti, Sherwin and his group stayed on erapal Island a while longer.
Once everything was finally complete, they set sail aboard the newly-upgraded Art Is Explosion: Beautiful Big Sister Black Cat Maria, leaving behind this
"trendsetting hub of the East Blue."
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