Ambush

Over the past half-month, Maud had been diligent and honest.

He did more of what needed to be done, never less.

As for what shouldn't be done, he wouldn't even entertain the thought.

With such a perfect display of his value as a laborer, he gradually integrated into the weapon shop's circle.

Although Saul often said he was satisfied with him, Maud didn't let that go to his head. He remained cautious in both word and deed, doing his utmost to avoid any behavior that might overstep or cross the line.

He knew full well that Saul's easygoing nature was genuine—when accepting him, Saul didn't care about his past identity or background, only the value he could demonstrate in the present.

But if he failed to show that value, or if he incurred Saul's displeasure, the current situation could change in an instant.

So when dealing with Saul, Maud stayed constantly on high alert.

As for Sunny, after figuring out her temperament, he had gotten familiar with her within about ten days.

When Maud identified his second target, the biggest problem wasn't how to take it down, but rather Saul's attitude.

"Sunny, if I off that guy next door, do you think Saul would have a problem with it?"

Maud leaned against one side of the half-closed shop door, tilting his head to peer through the crack, observing the situation in the alley.

Sunny looked up at Maud's profile and said flatly, "Which guy?"

"The one called Albert Red. The info you gave me—that name isn't fake, is it?"

"Are you questioning my intelligence-gathering ability?"

The little informant Sunny raised an eyebrow, her gaze stabbing into Maud like needles.

Maud thought to himself, You take hours to read a single newspaper...

But he didn't dare show it. With a serious expression, he said, "How could I ever doubt your ability? Every time I look at those neighbor profiles you gave me, I can't help but wonder—just how professional does an intelligence agent have to be to dig up so much dirt on the neighbors?"

When he first got the neighbor profiles from Sunny, the level of detail was so appalling that Maud couldn't help but sigh, wondering just how many lifetimes of bad luck someone would need to have Sunny as a neighbor.

Hearing Maud's flowery flattery, Sunny wasn't swayed. She snorted coldly and said, "A lot of people in town use fake names, so I can't guarantee the accuracy of some intel on that front. But for the ones next door, I can vouch for it."

Maud asked cautiously, "Did they do something to you?"

"No."

"Then why did you look into them so thoroughly?"

"Because they live right next door."

Sunny looked at Maud with an expression that said, You're being weird.

"... "

Maud was momentarily speechless. He silently steered the topic back: "You haven't answered my question yet. If I kill Red, would Saul be upset or something?"

"How would I know something like that?"

"Alright."

"Red has no connection to you at all. Why do you want to kill him?"

"He's too noisy."

Maud casually made up a motive.

Truth be told, the reason he had noticed Red as a neighbor was mainly because Red, several times when staggering past the shop drunk, would shout drunken ramblings in the alley with his loud voice.

The content was basically about his exploits when raiding merchant ships with a pirate crew—mostly how many people he'd killed during the raids and how he'd tortured the stubborn ones to death.

But what left a deep impression on Maud wasn't the drunken boasting itself, but the ugly look on Red's face when he treated it as something to brag about.

It was thanks to Red's loud voice that Maud realized there were plenty of suitable targets right nearby, so there was no need to go far.

Hearing Maud's stated motive for murder, Sunny said in sudden understanding, "True, that guy really is noisy."

"You believe that?"

"?"

Everything was ready, only the east wind was needed.

After careful consideration, Maud still felt it necessary to first probe Saul's attitude.

If Saul didn't care, he'd immediately grab his gun and set up an ambush for Red.

But if Saul disagreed, he'd have to give up the idea.

If silencers existed, he wouldn't have to worry so much—he could just find an opportunity to take a quiet shot and kill Red.

But the root cause was still that he was too weak right now.

If he were strong enough, just taking out a target he'd set his sights on wouldn't require him to waste energy worrying about the consequences.

That evening.

After dinner, Maud sought out Saul.

Once Maud stated his purpose, Saul took a drag of his cigarette and looked at him sideways.

"Why do you want to kill Red?"

Like Sunny, Saul wanted to know Maud's motive.

This time, of course, Maud couldn't possibly offer a perfunctory excuse like Red being too noisy.

"Practice."

That was Maud's premeditated answer.

No further explanation, simple and blunt.

Saul was somewhat surprised, studying Maud's expression closely.

In the world of pirates, using someone else's life for practice and blooding was a perfectly ordinary thing.

Just as he had once made Maud personally kill the Watt who had delivered himself to their doorstep, to help Maud leave his past behind.

But he hadn't expected Maud to bring it up on his own; he'd originally planned to give Maud more buffer time.

Since it was inevitable anyway, Saul didn't object, but he did give Maud a word of warning.

"The consequences are yours to bear."

Concise and to the point—a reminder, and tacit approval by the same token.

As for whether Red lived or died, to Saul, it mattered less than what he'd have for dinner tonight.

"Understood."

Maud's heart thrilled.

With Saul's stance made clear, he could go ahead and do this.

As for the consequences that killing Red might bring, he'd already mentally prepared himself from the moment he got the intel from Sunny.

At worst, Red's pirate crew might come seeking revenge.

But as long as he did it cleanly, there was no need to worry about that.

Three days later, the moon was dark and the wind high.

Maud hid in the shadows atop a building, setting up [Usopp] while silently gazing down the alleyway's end by the faint lamplight.

From the corner at the far end to where he was hiding, it was about a hundred meters.

Ensuring accuracy, the range of a smoothbore flintlock, though far inferior to a rifled one, was just within a hundred meters.

Still, factoring in things like aging, Maud planned to act only when Red entered his sixty-meter range.

Eight full hours had passed since he'd watched Red walk out of the alley entrance at dusk.

Back in the evening, there had been passersby coming and going in the alley, so he couldn't find a good opportunity to shoot.

Now the night was deep, and there was hardly a single passerby in sight, which removed many of his concerns.

As long as Red came back at this hour, Maud would pull the trigger without hesitation.

Time slowly passed, the moon hiding behind dark clouds.

Visibility in the alley was extremely low; without the few lamps hanging on the walls, it would have been pitch black.

Maud waited patiently.

Dozens of minutes later, Red's voice came before his figure appeared.

Maud's spirits suddenly sharpened, focusing his eyes on the alley's end.

A few breaths later, two figures walking side by side entered the alley.

"Two...!"

Maud cursed under his breath.

The smoothbore flintlock only held one bullet; after firing, he'd need time to reload a second.

That meant even if he successfully sniped Red, the other person would have ample time to find cover and, based on the gunshot's flash and the direction of Red's splattered blood, deduce the trajectory.

Should he just give up...?

But Sunny had said Red's pirate crew would set sail tomorrow at noon, and Maud couldn't act during the day, since daylight offered none of the night's cover advantages.

In other words, if he missed this chance, he wouldn't know when the next one would come.

Maud frowned.

As the two men walked closer step by step, the time left for him grew increasingly tight.

At this moment of hesitation, Maud remained completely unaware of a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows.