As little a surprise as it was, the building's inside offered plenty assurance that a pirate theme was definitely the intention.

The first thing he noticed was the wall of scent that slammed into them, being met with mixes of spiced-up aromas he never thought could possibly smell pleasant until now. They stung the inside of his nose for long enough to make his eyes water up, but once adjusted to it, the backwards tanginess took that water from his eyes and got to work on his mouth.

It could hardly be called a restaurant, as the place seemed more like a dine-in marina. Hauls of freshly caught fish were being brought in by the cart-load, through what appeared to be an opening that lead out to the bay.

From where they stood at the main entrance, there was a straight path to a sort of reception desk, from which a path could be taken left, out to the first floor of dining areas, or right, up a flight of spiral stairs to what he could only assume was another food court. There were even glass-floored areas of the main deck that gave a perfect view down into the water of the bay, but a certain thalassophobic Miscreant took great care in keeping his eyes off the floor for just that reason.

From the first ceiling, ornaments hung in the form of nets, swaying anchors, the teeth of sea monsters, or any other trophy of the trade that gave more glory to the atmosphere. Every table on the first floor was like that of a tavern, long ovals sitting up to ten at stool-style seats around it. The vast majority were all occupied, with the table's respective chefs performing works of culinary art for those in audience.

Even they were doing their due diligence in upholding their workplace's feel, with the men either wearing fake beards or using their own, clad in cloth and leather, with gold or silver as any jewelry's primary material. The women seemed arguably more in-tune with their characters, though, as while some sported captains' apparel, others appeared to find better accommodation in Mermaid or Siren outfits, some even wearing commoners' clothes studded with precious jewels.

Kyoya had always been a fan of open-air gigs, but this was mashing two of his favorite culinary circumstances together in a fashion he never knew he needed so much.

The young woman working reception seemed to compose herself at the sight of the trio, with Solitaire offering a gentle wave before walking to the desk.

"A pleasure to see you as always, young miss Albion. How may we acquaint you?"

The Princess gave a light sigh, looking back to Kyoya and Lyric.

"I understand the formality, but the character of this place is half the reason I come. You don't have to drop the act, at least not for the Albion family."

At that request, a determined glint surfaced in the receptionist's eyes, after which she revealed a toothy smirk and crossed her arms.

"Alright, then! What'll it be, girly? I don't suppose you three've got the guts to board the Galleon!"

Lyric piped up, driven as ever to be part of the gag, garnering a poorly hidden laugh from her partner.

"You bet we do! Tell 'em, Ace!"

Doing her best to hold back laughter of her own, Solitaire followed.

"Yes, yes. Is Levvy working today?"

Though it was subtle, Lyric seemed to shrink back ever-so-slightly at the mention of this name.

After pondering that question for a moment, the receptionist pardoned herself and looked around the desk for a small notepad. Following a brief period of review, she put it back down and nodded.

"She's on board today, seeing to the top deck. She's not workin' any tables at the moment, want me to give her a ring?"

"That'd be fine."

While she did that, Kyoya snuck a glance to Lyric, who seemed a bit too engrossed in the world around them to have noticed. With that having failed, he nudged her shoulder.

The Seraph snapped out of her shanty-induced trance, looking to him.

"Hm?"

"Levvy?" He questioned.

"Beats me. I've never really met-met the gal, but I know Ryder's a good friend of hers. Apparently they were partners in crime at one point... but, past that, we're in the same boat on this one." Shrugged the Hope.

However, he wouldn't go without some idea of what it was that incited her response to the mention of that name earlier.

"And, uh... You alright? It looked like you sorta-"

"It's nothing serious. Just worry about what you'll give as answers to Ace's questions."

With that idea shut down, Kyoya thought it best not to pursue the topic.

"Right... I guess we're gonna have to leave it to Solitare to do the introducing."

As suggested by the dissolving of a magic circle, the receptionist had concluded her communications with this 'Levvy', Solitaire now in the process of exchanging the Chell for a ticket of some sort.

She looked back again.

"Are you two ready?"

Kyoya gave a thumbs up, with Lyric excitedly nodding away. "All right. Our table is on the third floor, so we'll be taking the stairs."

Without much else to be said, the trio took to ascending the rich mahogany staircase, spiraling up two stories before emerging at the third floor, which overlooked both floors below it, almost like a loft.

This floor's atmosphere seemed drastically shifted in comparison to those beneath it, without so much as a single customer to offer any hustle nor bustle. It was quiet, calm, with only the distant chatter of diners below to keep from being completely silent. Same as the level's spirit, the lights were also a tad dimmer, this floor as a whole offering somewhat less space in comparison to those below. Overall, he felt it generally more like a night bar than a restaurant.

There were only a handful of tables on this level, all of which much smaller and circle-shaped, with the one in the center being maintained by a lone employee.

Judging by appearance alone, Kyoya couldn't have thought her to be any older than nineteen. She was of similar height to Lyric, six-foot at most, with deeply tanned skin and side-swept hair of blonde hue, a simple white-cloth bandana tied over the top of her head. Her build was rugged, more tone than not, one that suggested her usual activities to be more on the exciting side of the spectrum.

The getup she wore seemed almost too genuine to be of simply workplace attire, one such piece being a tanned leather vest, adorned with threaded gold as stitching, miscellaneous animal teeth serving as decorative flair around the neckline. It was worn over an ivory cloth crop-top that cut off several inches above her stomach, sporting swirling blue designs.

Her pants were a brownish-crème cargo-jean hybrid that fed into knee-high strapped boots made of off-black leather, metal studs in place along the straps' lines.

She also wore a pair of two-piece gloves, the first cutting off at her wrist, and the second reaching just past her forearm.

Though Kyoya couldn't get any look at her eyes, on account of her being turned away from them, he couldn't help feeling that even they would offer more to the persona of a plunderer.

The girl stood at the center table, delicately tending to several glasses with a washcloth. After the sound of Solitaire's greaves creaking the wooden floor announced their presence, this new pirate edged a look over her shoulder, ghoulish yellow eyes leering back.

He felt Lyric flinch.

"And here I'd thought she was kidding, calling to tell me I had a visitor."

Levvy's voice was just as rugged as the frame she held up, expectedly scruffy and even more so unbothered. The Miscreant couldn't help but feel Lyric's sudden discomfort to be completely warranted.

"I hope we aren't catching you at a bad time. My friends and I would like this table, if you're willing." Despite doing her best to be sincere, Kyoya could tell by now, both from experience and from observation, that requests from any member of the royal family were generally difficult to decline.

That said, it didn't seem that Levvy was quite so intent to accept, until taking notice of Lyric, who'd taken a sort of defensive position a bit closer to Kyoya than normal.

"This is usually about the time I close up shop..." She sat the glass down, placing her rag in one of her pockets. "What're you thinkin' today?"

"If I were to come in asking for a glorified shift extension, I'd at least be considerate. Chef's choice."

"You drive a hard bargain... but, you don't ever eat out unless it's to talk business, so I'll probably be missing out on something juicy if I turn you down, huh?"

Solitaire simply gave her a smile.

Dismissing the gesture altogether, their host then turned her attention to the Seraph. "By that hairpin, I take it you're the friend Allison's always on about. Lyric, yeah?"

Moving out from behind her partner, the Seraph did her best to meet Levvy's eyes.

"Yep, that's me. I've, ah..." She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "...I've heard a lot. About you, I mean."

"Is that right? What would my old partner have to say about me, I wonder?" The Pirate turned away to pull out a few seats for them, opening a compartment on the tabletop to reveal a fully-functioning grill.

"All good things, no doubt. The thick of it was that the both of you kinda rethought things after you... y'know, went off the deep end, and everything."

Levvy stopped moving and began to shudder, leaving Lyric to immediately retreat back behind Solitaire. But, that shudder soon revealed itself to be her attempt at suppressing a laughing fit, the Seraph slowly moving back to comfortable territory.

"Off the deep end!? That's hysterical! Did you think that one up yourself?"

"Y-yeah, it wasn't anything special, I just made a water joke, is all-"

Lyric was clearly having trouble understanding what was transpiring. Obviously, if she couldn't put things together, Kyoya didn't even have a chance. Of course, this didn't stop him from wondering.

"Either way, that was a good one." Levvy took a deep breath and brought composure back about her. "I needed that today. C'mon, you lot. Sit down, already, I hate cooking when people are crowding around me."