"Good and evil clearly distinguished, actions carried out with restraint!"
"Worthy indeed of a righteous knight!"
Before anyone noticed, the young reporter had already moved close to Garen and said with deep admiration:
"Lord Garen, hello!"
Using the name he had heard from Nami earlier, he respectfully introduced himself to Garen:
"I am Michael Wallace, a field reporter for the East Blue Daily."
"Wallace, huh."
Garen wore a strange expression. "That sounds like the name of someone who makes big news."
Wallace's eyes immediately lit up as he said:
"Lord Garen truly has a discerning eye!"
"Reporting world-shaking news has been the dream I have pursued all my life!"
Wallace's every word was sincere praise, leaving Garen's big face with nowhere to hide.
Not long after narrowly escaping death, Wallace had already tidied up his appearance, which had been badly distorted by fright. Though some dust still clung to him and his short blond hair was slightly messy, he still carried himself like an elegant gentleman of the elite.
Being fawned over by someone like that was indeed a strange feeling.
Yet Wallace's praise was not over.
Looking at the pirate corpses hanging from the flagpoles along the docks, he said with emotion:
"Not only are you wise and mighty, Knight, but you also regard money as dirt!"
"To deter those petty pirates, you were even willing to give up such a generous reward."
"What?"
Nami, who had been secretly embarrassed and annoyed nearby, suddenly brightened up. Her beautiful watery eyes instantly gleamed with the golden radiance of banknotes.
From Wallace's praise, she had caught a keyword that struck deep into her soul:
"Money? Where?"
Wallace casually pointed at Steel Cutlass, who had already been hung from a flagpole.
"Miss, didn't you know?"
"Turning in Steel Cutlass's head can get you a bounty of ten million Beli!"
"What? Ten million Beli?"
This time, Garen was the one who cried out in shock.
Garen still did not know how much purchasing power Beli had.
But with such an astonishing number as ten million, he would surely be able to escape the tragic fate of surviving on dine-and-dash meals.
Nami and Garen looked at each other, and a silent agreement was instantly reached through that meeting of eyes.
A moment later.
"Ahem."
Garen stepped forward and said to the middle-aged Peacekeeper busy hanging corpses:
"On second thought, this is still a public place with people coming and going."
"Steel Cutlass died too horribly. It could affect the city's appearance."
"Better take him down."
Another round of bustling activity followed.
Garen dragged Steel Cutlass's wide-eyed corpse back over, then eagerly asked Wallace:
"Where do I collect this bounty?"
"Uh..."
Wallace looked somewhat strange, but he still answered seriously:
"Ten million Beli is no small sum. You need to go to a Marine branch of sufficient scale to redeem it."
"Although there are Marine branches nearby that meet the requirements, considering all the possible repercussions..."
"I would still recommend sailing a little farther and redeeming it in Loguetown, where Marine Headquarters troops are stationed."
Loguetown was far away. With a Marine base nearby, traveling farther instead of closer to redeem the bounty did not seem like a wise choice.
But as a reporter familiar with the situation in East Blue, how could Wallace not know what those local so-called Marine branches were like?
Because the World Government and Marine Headquarters had weak control over the lower ranks, the local Marine branches had effectively become independent kingdoms for their Marine officers. In that respect, they were somewhat similar to the local garrison system of the Ming Dynasty.
With power in their hands and no one to supervise them, nine out of ten local Marine officers would degenerate into greedy, brutal, and unscrupulous petty tyrants.
Any somewhat experienced Pirate Hunter would not risk redeeming bounties at such shady establishments flying the Marine flag. Even if they were strong enough not to be robbed, corrupt officers might still accuse them of attacking the Marines and force them into becoming pirates.
"Loguetown?"
Garen did not understand the social background behind this. He was only interested in the somewhat familiar name.
"Is that the Loguetown where the Pirate King died?"
"That's the one!"
Nami quietly moved closer to Garen and said with a slight smile:
"You don't know the routes, do you?"
"Don't worry. I'm the best navigator in East Blue!"
Though she said that, Miss Nami's eyes were fixed firmly on the corpse Garen was holding.
Or rather, on the ten million Beli.
Nami smiled even more sincerely, her large eyes curving into shallow crescents.
"If you hire me to guide you, my price is very reasonable."
"Just four million—no, five million Beli!"
"..."
Garen silently turned his head away. "Can't afford it. No money!"
"I don't care!"
Nami did not mind the dirt at all. She grabbed the corner of Steel Cutlass's clothes and stubbornly said:
"I helped too just now. Half of that money should be mine!"
"Half for you?"
Garen calmly retorted:
"Didn't you just make things harder for me?"
"You!"
Nami puffed up her cheeks like round ping-pong balls.
Garen had saved her from danger just now, so she truly felt too embarrassed to argue with him about that.
But after only a few breaths, a watery tenderness suddenly appeared in Nami's eyes again.
Nami gently brushed back her slightly messy short orange hair, displaying the feminine charm of her voluptuous body to the fullest. Even her voice became soft and sweet:
"Knight, I'm the 'Knight's Lady' you seek..."
"Stop right there!"
"I don't know you that well!"
Having been tricked several times already, Garen completely ignored Nami's performance.
"Besides, I can't even afford food. What use do I have for a wife?!"
After that exchange between the two money-grubbers,
Wallace's gaze toward Garen became even stranger.
The faint tremble of his facial muscles seemed to carry the gloom of crumbling faith.
"Ahem."
Garen felt a little embarrassed under that stare.
With a thick face, he began speaking nonsense with his eyes wide open:
"Wallace."
"Do you think I'm taking this bounty because I covet wealth and indulge in luxury?"
"Huh?"
Wallace froze, but the admiration in his eyes for Garen immediately grew firmer.
"Could it be that Lord Garen has deeper considerations?"
"Exactly."
Garen's expression suddenly became solemn and devout, as lofty as that of a saint.
"True justice means ensuring that evil people receive the punishment they deserve, while good people should also receive the rewards they deserve."
"That is true..."
Wallace nodded in agreement.
But Garen's sermon was not over.
He cleared his throat and said with a grave expression:
"Wallace, let me tell you two small stories about the distinction between righteousness and profit."
"In the distant land of Lu, there was a great merchant named Duanmu Ci Zigong."
"His teacher was the renowned great sage, Confucius Qiu Zhongni."
Imitating his high school Chinese teacher, Garen explained the stories of Zigong Redeems a Person and Zilu Receives a Cow to Wallace in simple, accessible terms.
Wallace was instantly won over by these concise yet meaningful little stories.
He looked at Garen with even greater reverence than before, excitedly taking out his notebook to record Garen's every precious word:
"I never expected..."
Wallace praised him with tears in his eyes:
"Lord Garen, you are not only a moral role model, but also a giant of thought!"
"No!"
"I am merely a child picking up shells on the shore, fortunate enough to stand on the shoulders of giants."
Garen casually quoted another famous saying and sighed with affected profundity:
"Petty men speak of profit; gentlemen speak of virtue."
"Yet for one who wishes to practice great benevolence, the small lies in virtue, while the great lies in profit."
"Bounties are great profits meant to encourage everyone to act righteously, not small profits meant only for me."
"If someone personally gave me money, I naturally would not think highly of it. But as for a bounty, I have no choice but to accept it reluctantly!"
"This is all for the sake of practicing justice!"
So Lord Garen was actually this great!
Though he was a proud knight who refused to go along with worldly ways, he endured humiliation for the greater good and did not hesitate to taint himself with the stink of money!
Wallace was already too choked up to speak. He could only hurriedly record Garen's noble words and deeds in his notebook.
He had completely taken the Knight before him as a moral exemplar, and in his heart had already drafted a lengthy article about Garen.
Nami's mouth twitched as she watched from the side.
She desperately wanted to crack open this young reporter's skull and see just how much water had gotten into his brain.
After Wallace finished rapidly recording every insight from the lesson, he looked up at Garen again and sighed:
"My thoughts were too shallow. I actually mistook you for a common man greedy for money!"
"No matter."
Garen had grown accustomed to spouting famous sayings in front of Wallace. "To know one's mistake and correct it is the greatest good."
"I'm sorry!"
Wallace sincerely lowered his head in apology. Then he took out a sheet of paper from his pocket and tore it to pieces before Garen and Nami.
"What are you doing?"
Garen asked in confusion.
Wallace casually tossed away the scraps of paper and said in a voice filled with reverence:
"I was blind just now and misjudged Lord Garen."
"I had originally intended to use a one-million-Beli check to repay the debt of saving my life."
"But now that I think about it, such insignificant 'small profit' would be an insult to your noble deed!"
"A check?"
Garen paused slightly.
"One million Beli?"
Nami clenched her fists.
The two looked at each other and, with perfect unspoken understanding, felt their hearts ache at the same time.
On the first day after signing, I received more than twenty tips. Compared to my previous book, these results are practically taking off. Thank you to every reader who has supported me!
Lolicon Yagami Light, Zhu Han, and ProjectY also all became helmsmen at once. Thank you so much!!
However, this lazy fish does not have an extra-update function (;￣ェ￣)
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