Sniping

For nearly half a month, Maud had been diligent and honest.

He did more of what needed doing, never less.

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

With such a perfect performance that demonstrated his value as a laborer, he gradually blended into the weapon shop's circle.

Although Saul always said he was satisfied with him, Maud didn't let himself go because of it. He continued to be cautious in both words and actions, doing his best to avoid anything that might cross the line or be out of place.

He knew very well that Saul's easygoing nature was genuine. When accepting him, Saul hadn't cared about his past identity or origins at all, only the value he could demonstrate in the present.

But if he failed to show any value, or if he displeased Saul, the current situation could change in an instant.

So whenever he was around Saul, Maud remained highly vigilant.

As for Sunny, once he had figured out her personality, they became familiar with each other after a little over ten days.

After Maud had picked out his second prey, the biggest problem was not how to kill that prey, but Saul's attitude.

"Sunny, if I kill the guy next door, do you think Saul will have a problem with me?"

Maud leaned against one side of the half-open shop door and peered through the gap, observing the situation in the alley.

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

"The one named Albert Red. You were the one who gave me the information. That name isn't fake, is it?"

"Are you questioning my intelligence-gathering abilities?"

The little intelligence expert, Sunny, raised a brow, her gaze stabbing toward Maud like a needle.

It takes you several hours just to read one newspaper from cover to cover...

Though he thought this, Maud didn't dare show it. He put on a serious expression and said, "How could I possibly question your abilities? Whenever I see those files on the neighbors you gave me, I can't help wondering what level of professionalism an intelligence agent must have to dig up every last detail about the neighbors so thoroughly."

When Maud had first gotten the neighbors' information from Sunny, the level of detail had been so outrageous that he couldn't help wondering how many lifetimes of bad luck someone needed to have before ending up with a neighbor like Sunny.

Hearing Maud's flowery flattery, Sunny wasn't pleased at all. She snorted and said, "Quite a few people in town use fake names, so I can't guarantee that every piece of information concerning real and fake names is accurate. But as for the people next door, I can guarantee it."

Maud asked cautiously, "Did they offend you?"

"No."

"Then why did you investigate them so thoroughly?"

"Because they live next door to us."

Sunny looked at Maud as if he were the strange one.

"..."

Maud was rendered speechless. He silently steered the conversation back to the original topic. "You still haven't answered my question. If I kill Red, will Saul be upset or anything?"

"How would I know about something like that?"

"All right."

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

"I find him too noisy."

Maud casually made up a motive.

Speaking of which, the main reason he had noticed his neighbor Red was that whenever Red passed by the shop drunk, he would always shout drunken ramblings in his booming voice from the alley.

The contents were basically stories about his exploits when the pirate crew raided merchant ships—how many people he had killed during the raids and how he had tortured those who refused to submit.

But what left the deepest impression on Maud wasn't Red's drunken boasting. It was the ugly look on his face whenever he treated those acts as something to brag about.

It was thanks to Red's booming voice that Maud realized there were plenty of suitable prey nearby, meaning he didn't need to go looking far away.

Hearing Maud's motive for killing, Sunny suddenly understood. "That's true. That guy really is noisy."

"You believed me?"

"?"

Everything was ready; all that was missing was the final push.

After thinking it over carefully, Maud still felt it necessary to probe Saul's attitude first.

If Saul didn't care, he would immediately take up his rifle and lie in wait for Red.

But if Saul disagreed, he could only abandon the idea.

If he had a suppressor, he wouldn't need to worry so much. He could simply find an opportunity to kill Red with a cold shot.

But the most fundamental reason was that he was too weak right now.

If he were strong enough, why would he need to spare any thought for the consequences of merely eliminating prey he had taken an interest in?

That night.

After dinner, Maud went to find Saul.

After Maud explained his purpose, Saul smoked while casting a sidelong look at him.

"Why do you want to kill Red?"

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

This time, Maud naturally couldn't give some perfunctory excuse like Red being too noisy.

"To practice."

This was the answer Maud had prepared beforehand.

He didn't elaborate. It was simple and blunt.

Saul was somewhat surprised and carefully studied Maud's expression.

In the world of pirates, using someone else's life to practice and get used to bloodshed was perfectly ordinary.

Just as Saul had once made Maud personally kill Watt, who had delivered himself to their door, so that Maud could leave his past behind.

Still, he hadn't expected Maud to bring it up on his own. He had originally planned to give Maud a little more time to adjust.

It was going to happen sooner or later anyway. Saul didn't object, but he did give Maud a warning.

"You bear the consequences."

Brief and to the point, it was both a warning and an indirect agreement.

As for whether Red lived or died, it was even less important to Saul than what he would eat that night.

"Understood."

Maud was delighted.

With Saul's stance, he could proceed with this matter without restraint.

As for the consequences that might arise from killing Red, Maud had already been mentally prepared when he obtained the information from Sunny.

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

But as long as he handled it cleanly, he wouldn't need to worry about such consequences.

Three days later, beneath a moonless, windswept sky.

Maud hid in the shadows atop a building. After setting up Usopp, he silently watched the end of the alley through the faint light.

From the corner at the far end to where he was hiding was roughly a hundred meters.

As long as accuracy was ensured, a smoothbore flintlock's range was far inferior to that of a rifled flintlock, but a hundred meters was still within its range.

However, taking wear and tear into account, Maud planned to act only after Red entered within sixty meters.

Eight whole hours had passed since Maud had watched Red leave the alley at dusk.

At dusk, pedestrians had been coming and going through the alley, so he couldn't find a suitable opportunity to fire.

Now that the night was deep, there was hardly a single pedestrian to be seen, greatly reducing his concerns.

As long as Red returned at this time, Maud would decisively pull the trigger.

Time slowly passed, and the moon disappeared behind dark clouds.

Visibility in the alley was extremely low. If not for the few lamps hanging on the walls, it would have been completely dark.

Maud waited patiently.

Several dozen minutes later, Red still hadn't appeared, but his voice came first.

Maud's spirits suddenly lifted. He focused his vision on the end of the alley.

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

"Two...!"

Maud cursed inwardly.

The smoothbore flintlock had only one bullet. After firing, he would need some time to load a second.

This meant that even if he successfully sniped Red, the other person would have ample time to find cover and determine the bullet's trajectory from the sound of the gunshot and the direction in which Red's blood sprayed.

Do I have to give up?

But Sunny had said that Red's pirate crew would set out to sea tomorrow at noon, and Maud couldn't act during the day because daylight offered none of the concealment that night provided.

In other words, if he missed this opportunity, he had no idea when the next one would come.

Maud frowned.

As the two people approached step by step, the time left to him grew increasingly short.

At that moment, Maud, hesitating indecisively, failed to notice the gaze secretly watching him.