Guests

Pleasure district?

Isn't that just the modern-day equivalent of a red-light district?

Saul goes to a place like that for his morning exercises?

That kind of physique and age...

Maud felt speechless.

The shop opened for business, but it was deserted.

Sunny didn't ask Maud to do anything, and Maud didn't proactively take on any tasks.

He leaned against the corner of the wall, closing his eyes to continue sorting through his memories of the One Piece.

Once the memories were mostly sorted, he would have to pick up his long-abandoned "Daily Training" routine.

After all, the Hunter's Notebook couldn't provide substantial assistance in the short term, unless another Watt happened to walk through the door.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Two hours passed, and not a single customer had come in.

Maud glanced at Sunny, who was sitting behind the counter, engrossed in a newspaper.

Judging by their calm reaction, business being this slow was probably the norm for this weapon shop.

And it seemed a bit too quiet.

Maud turned his gaze towards the slightly ajar double wooden doors.

As a lawless zone where street brawls and fights could break out at any moment, after several hours, the only sounds were the faint footsteps of people passing by outside.

Feeling strange, Maud walked towards the shop door.

Seeing no reaction from Sunny, Maud confidently pulled open the wooden door and leaned out more than halfway to look outside.

A moment later, Maud retreated back inside and silently closed the door.

Damn it, isn't this just an alleyway in a residential area?

No wonder it's so quiet most of the time.

Opening a weapon shop in a location like this, anyone who didn't know better would think you were selling liquor.

Maud cursed inwardly.

The prestige of Mad Hatter Town, which he had envisioned based on the limited information he had, was rapidly declining.

He suddenly felt an urge to go out and explore the streets, but quickly suppressed it.

If he had time to think about that, he'd be better off figuring out how to get a gun from Saul to carry with him.

Maud turned around and walked back towards the corner.

Just a few steps out, the shop door was suddenly pushed open.

Maud instinctively looked back, and upon seeing who it was, his eyes immediately widened in surprise.

A group of three stood at the entrance. They appeared to be walking side-by-side, but in reality, the men on the left and right habitually lagged half a step behind, emphasizing the status of the person in the middle.

The man on the left had medium-parted curly hair and a long-barreled flintlock musket slung over his back. A wide, earth-toned belt, about five fingers wide, was slung diagonally across his waist, with a cloth bag full of ammunition hanging from the left side of the belt.

The man on the right was portly but taller than the other two.

He had a green bandana tied around his head and wore small, wine-red sunglasses that were comically mismatched with his face. He held a half-eaten piece of meat in his hand.

The double wooden doors were pushed open by the man in the middle.

Seeing Maud's unusually surprised reaction, the man chuckled heartily and said, "Hey kid, didn't bump into you, did we?"

Mad Hatter Town, Cape Street.

This area was adjacent to the bar street and was also the location of the black market.

Any transactions that couldn't see the light of day could be conducted here openly.

Cape Street was centered around Mad Hatter Town's largest auction house, with various establishments connected to the underworld radiating outwards.

Arthur's place of employment, the Home of Beauty, was among them.

As an Undertaker, he was always busy with work.

Of course, a large portion of that work was acquired through his "abilities."

Today was one of his rare monthly days off, and to fully enjoy this precious time, he had already scheduled his activities to the brim the day before.

However, after eating and drinking his fill and preparing to head to the pleasure district for some exercise, he had a bad feeling as soon as his Den Den Mushi rang.

Half an hour later, he was back at his post.

Working for others meant you were never truly your own master.

He lamented inwardly as he changed into his work uniform.

The uniform, mask, and armband emblazoned with the character for "Death" were standard issue for Undertakers upon joining the profession.

After changing into his work clothes, Arthur waited for the next order.

More colleagues hurried back to the Home of Beauty, presumably all called back by the boss on short notice.

"Why are you guys back too? Don't tell me the Pig Farm is in trouble again?"

"Yeah, something happened this morning, another slave riot."

"How many slaves were killed or injured this time?"

"Not sure, they said it was worse than last time."

"Tch, I thought we got a big order, but it's just more of that garbage from over there."

One of the undertakers complained.

The lead undertaker glanced at the colleagues present and said calmly, "We'll leave once everyone's here."

Arthur sat in an inconspicuous corner, silently listening to his colleagues' conversations.

So, the Pig Farm was in trouble again, and quite a few slaves must have been killed or injured.

That meant today was going to be busy.

And it was going to be a lot of work for little pay.

Arthur sighed inwardly.

What a rare holiday...

"I heard there are a few big items at the auction at the end of the month."

"What kind of items?"

"A Devil Fruit, a famous sword, and a Fish-Man slave."

"Really? Where did you hear that? You know before they even released the catalog?"

"I swear on my honor!"

"So it's fake then."

"?"

"Oh, I almost forgot I'm a ruthless undertaker. I threw away that 'honor' thing when I joined. Should I swear on something else instead?"

From his corner, Arthur's ears twitched. He subtly glanced at a few colleagues whispering not far away.

A Devil Fruit and a famous sword?

Arthur was a little surprised but didn't easily believe the truthfulness of this news.

Although in this mixed-up place, thanks to things like alcohol, some rumors could indeed spread faster than official news, Devil Fruits were extremely rare.

If one was available at the auction, they would probably have advertised it extensively by now.

"A Devil Fruit..."

A look of longing appeared in Arthur's eyes.

At his income level, it would take him at least several decades of not eating or drinking to even have a chance to compete.

If there really was a Devil Fruit at the end of the month's auction, even if he couldn't bid, he could go and join the excitement.

As for the famous sword, that old guy Saul might be interested.

Bar Street, a certain tavern.

It was noon, but the tavern was already bustling with noise.

As one of the main hubs for spending money, taverns were always a top choice for pirates, so this kind of clientele was not surprising.

Kid occupied a table by himself. In this somewhat crowded tavern, he stood out a bit.

Despite this, no one bothered him.

Because the dozen or so pirates lying on the floor served as a warning.

Just then, a man wearing a blue mask walked into the tavern, looked around, and then walked directly towards the table where Kid was sitting.

Arriving at Kid's table, the masked man sat down directly.

Kid looked up at the masked man and said, "You're here."

The masked man nodded and asked, "Did you buy the gun?"

"No."

Kid shook his head.

"Someone bought it?"

"No, the owner wouldn't sell it to me."

"Wouldn't sell it to you? What happened?"

"I don't know."

Kid drank the wine in his bottle, feeling annoyed.

The masked man guessed what was going on and said, "Then give me the money, and I'll go buy it."

"I've almost spent all the money."

"..."

The masked man was speechless.

Kid, however, looked indifferent.

In his opinion, money was something easily obtained by robbing someone.

Thanks to Ye Xiaozizi for the 600 reward, Poisonous Milk Feng Bujue for the 500 reward, and Effort Hammer for the 100 reward~