Recognized?
Maud's heart stirred, but his face remained calm.
He sat down in the chair facing Tatam, pretending Lafitte wasn't speaking to him.
Seeing that Maud showed no reaction, Lafitte's blood-red lips curled slightly at the corners. He raised a hand to press down the brim of his hat, while placing his cane behind his back with the other.
"Pardon me. Perhaps I should call you Mr. Usopp."
"..."
Well, since he had been addressed by name, Maud could only drop the act.
He turned toward the smiling Lafitte and said blankly, "Were you talking to me?"
"Yes."
Lafitte's expression remained unchanged.
He acted as though he hadn't noticed Maud's feigned confusion at all.
Maud instead asked doubtfully, "Do I know you?"
Lafitte answered bluntly, "We have never exchanged names, so we should not know each other."
"Oh, then there's no problem."
Maud withdrew his gaze and continued facing Tatam. At the same time, he picked up his wineglass and pretended to drink.
Lafitte didn't mind Maud's indifference in the slightest and continued on his own. "I've heard a little about what happened at the Battle Axe Tavern a few days ago. Unfortunately, I wasn't there at the time and missed quite a show."
"..."
Maud fell silent, thinking, Everyone wanted to get away from that mess as quickly as possible. If you had been there, you probably would've complained that it wasn't chaotic enough, right?
Lafitte continued smiling at the silent Maud and said calmly, "For Mr. Usopp to come away unscathed from that situation, and even make the Sharp Bull Pirates and Abe Pirates turn against each other, is truly admirable."
"..."
Maud really couldn't figure out Lafitte's intentions, so he could only remain silent.
Seeing that Maud was determined not to respond, Lafitte still didn't mind. Suddenly,