The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart.
Wallace, a journalist obsessed with making big news, connected all the clues in that instant.
The broad knowledge Wallace had accumulated over years of journalism became excellent material for imagining Garen's identity:
First, Garen claimed to come from the distant Kingdom of Demacia.
But when Wallace asked in detail where the Kingdom of Demacia was located, Garen became vague and could not even say which sea his hometown was in.
Second, Garen's armor and sword were practically peerless treasures seen once in a millennium;
Wallace knew nothing about their forging techniques or materials, but even in the royal palaces of some great East Blue kingdoms, he had never seen natural sapphires as huge as the ones embedded in them.
What sort of noble knight could possess such extravagantly luxurious weapons and equipment?
That question was well worth pondering.
And Garen himself had just let slip an extremely crucial piece of information, revealing the important detail that, in his eyes, "five million wasn't enough to buy a toilet."
Five million Beli wasn't enough to buy a toilet?
The only people Wallace could think of who lived so extravagantly and treated money like dirt were those legendary Celestial Dragons.
Wallace's imagination continued to run wild as he began contemplating the earth-shattering secrets hidden beneath the surface of this world:
Why was it said that the Celestial Dragons were a bunch of useless fools, yet they could still sit securely upon the throne of the "gods" without a care?
Why did the Marines, despite having countless powerful fighters, still treat such a group of weaklings with utmost respect?
Wallace found the answer in Garen:
The stereotype of incompetent fools was merely the outward image the Celestial Dragons presented.
The true elite force hidden by the Celestial Dragons consisted of geniuses like Lord Garen!
That was right.
In just one minute, Wallace had formed a guess about Garen's identity—a guess that sounded absurd, but seemed quite possible upon closer thought.
That was how big news was often made.
"Hey!"
Garen, looking frustrated, nudged the motionless Wallace out of his thoughts and said sternly:
"Don't go writing nonsense about this!"
"Understood!"
Wallace's gaze immediately sharpened. He picked up his pen and heavily blacked out the passage he had not yet finished writing:
"I will never reveal even the slightest bit of Lord Garen's secret!"
"Just don't get any strange ideas. I really am not one."
Garen accepted Wallace's declaration with some helplessness.
"Ahem."
Nami, who had spent years at the bottom of the East Blue pirate ecosystem, did not understand what the words "Celestial Dragon" represented. She merely coughed twice and brought the derailed conversation back on track:
"In any case, five million Beli is absolutely not enough!"
Buggy hesitated and said nothing.
Nami immediately shot Garen a meaningful look.
Garen nodded knowingly and raised his sword at Buggy's feet. "Fatal Strike!"
Buggy's flying head landed on the deck for the third time.
Garen's broad greatsword quietly blocked all light from Buggy's view.
"D-Don't kill me!"
Buggy was so frightened that his tongue twisted. "I still have money!"
"How much more?"
Nami bent down to look at the helplessly collapsed Buggy, drawing out the last word of her question.
Having always been a thief, Nami was growing increasingly fond of her side job as a Pirate Hunter. It required no skill and brought in money quickly.
"About three million."
Two tears of anguish seeped from Buggy's eyes. "It's all in the captain's quarters!"
Nami nodded in satisfaction, then puckered her lips and gestured toward the cabin with her eyes. "Lead the way!"
"Yes..."
Buggy replied weakly.
The silence effect had just ended. Under Nami's watchful gaze, Buggy's scattered parts flew up from the ground and led Garen's group toward his captain's quarters.
Unlike the Steel Cutlass Pirates, Buggy the Clown's ship was much cleaner, and Buggy's spacious private captain's quarters even carried a faint air of cleanliness and luxury.
Nami's impression of the flying clown immediately improved quite a bit.
As a professional pirate thief, it was rare for her to see the room of such an old middle-aged male pirate kept so clean.
After entering the room, Buggy remained unwillingly silent for a long while before finally pointing out the treasure chest's location under Miss Nami's intimidating gaze—it was in a hidden compartment beneath the floorboards.
Nami walked over, pried up two floorboards, and lifted out a heavy chest.
When she opened it, she found glittering gold coins, gleaming jewels, and bundles of Beli banknotes.
Nami's brilliant amber-like orange eyes turned gold in that instant.
"All the money you wanted is here..."
Buggy forced out a fawning smile. "So you won't kill me now, right?"
"No."
Nami waved her hand with ill intent:
"Captain Red Nose, you still aren't being honest enough."
"You're about to go to prison anyway. Are you still going to be stingy with worldly possessions?"
"You..."
Buggy's fake smile instantly froze into ice.
Nami bent down once more and tapped the hidden compartment beneath the floor, where the treasure chest had just been taken out.
The sound was crisp, followed by a clearly audible echo.
Buggy's expression darkened even further.
"A double-layered compartment."
A faintly smug smile appeared on Nami's face:
"You think such an old trick could fool my eyes?"
Buggy's vision went dark, and he nearly fainted on the spot.
Nami, however, chuckled as she felt around inside the compartment and lightly touched some sort of mechanism.
With a slight exertion of force, Nami lifted another layer of the compartment hidden beneath the floorboards, revealing a small, exquisitely crafted treasure chest.
Nami impatiently took it out and opened it, only to find that it was filled with jewels and precious stones of exceptional quality.
Buggy had not spent all these years as a pirate for nothing. This small box of jewels was worth far more than the large chest of valuables from before.
"There's also a little booklet?"
Curiously, Nami picked up a thin booklet from among the jewels and casually flipped through it in front of Buggy:
"The explosive formula for the Secret Buggy Bomb?"
Wallace could not help interjecting:
"Is that the cannonball that sank our ship earlier?"
"That kind of shell really was extraordinary. Its power was completely different from ordinary solid cannonballs!"
"Oh."
Nami responded without much interest and casually placed the secret Buggy Bomb formula back into the treasure chest.
Buggy said nothing, but the sound of his breaking heart echoed endlessly in his chest.
As a legendary pirate who had returned from the Grand Line, he was being completely manipulated by a greedy little girl.
Finally, Nami gave the devastated Buggy a playful smile:
"Then we'll gladly accept Captain Red Nose's generosity!"
After saying that, Nami turned to Garen.
"I'll leave this Red Nose to you. Whether you kill him or spare him is up to you!"
"Wait."
Buggy suddenly came back to life and gritted his teeth.
"You've emptied out all my treasure! And you still want to kill me?"
"Whether you live or die isn't up to me."
The smile on Nami's face grew even more sly:
"It depends on what our Knight decides..."
Nami waved the small treasure chest in her hand again and said with satisfaction:
"You take your time. I still need to properly put away this haul."
The captain's quarters fell silent at once.
Cold sweat covered Buggy's head as his eyes remained fixed on Garen, who held his life in his hands.
Garen, meanwhile, was conflicted.
Should he kill Buggy or not?
The other man had first bombarded him with explosive shells, then ordered his lackeys to hack him to death. Killing him would be no more than he deserved.
And Buggy the Clown was also a fairly strong Devil Fruit user.
That Steel Cutlass worth ten million had already provided such generous experience. If he killed Buggy the Clown, he might directly reach Level Five.
But Garen also cared somewhat about Buggy the Clown's identity.
Not because Buggy was an original character with an abundance of scenes, but because...
He was the Pirate King's crewman and Red Hair's old buddy!
What if, ten days or half a month after killing Buggy, Dark King Rayleigh, one of the Four Emperors Red Hair, and a whole group of retired hidden big shots from Roger's ship came knocking at his door together...
At that point, as a novice player who had only just started out, even two more systems probably would not be enough to keep him alive.
Should he kill him or not?
Garen agonized over it alone for a very, very long time.
But during that long silence, Buggy the Clown broke down first.
Like a madman, he suddenly rammed his scattered floating body toward Garen, attempting one final desperate struggle to reclaim the weakness Garen held over him.
"Fatal Strike!"
Garen's neural reaction speed was no longer what it had once been.
Without hesitation, he swung his sword and scattered Buggy into a pile of parts on the floor once again.
Having failed to survive against all odds, Buggy burst into tears and wailed:
"Help! Help!"
"Hey, hey."
Garen called helplessly, "Stop shouting."
But the despairing Buggy only continued yelling, "Help! Help!"
"Ah..."
Garen sighed softly and obligingly supplied the rest of the lines:
"Stop shouting!"
"No one will come to save you even if you scream your throat out!"
Before you continue