"I'll do as you say, I'll try them all."
As Gawain responded, he reached out his hand to the little girl.
Seeing Gawain's outstretched hand, Shirahoshi shook her head in protest.
"You've fed me before, so let me feed you this time, Gawain ~."
As she spoke, the little girl tore off a small piece of spicy Aqua Meat and offered it to Gawain's mouth.
"My lord, please open your mouth, I beg you, ah~~~."
"Just this once."
Gawain opened his mouth indulgently and swallowed the Aqua Meat that Shirahoshi had brought him.
After a couple of chews, Gawain's eyes lit up. The meat tasted surprisingly good, and the seasonings were also unique. The spicy flavor was extremely well-infused, and the more you chewed, the more fragrant it became.
Seeing Gawain enjoying his meal, the little girl took another small piece of sea salt-flavored meat and handed it to Gawain.
"Try this one too, sir~."
"Um."
Gawain tasted the sea salt flavor, and it was even more fragrant than the spicy one. The moment the Aqua Meat entered his mouth, Gawain couldn't help but recall his past experiences.
Moreover, what he recalled were the countless happy things that had happened over the years!
After taking a bite of meat, Gawain felt as if he had been reborn.
As Gawain savored the moment, Kalifa pushed up her glasses and nervously began her introduction.
"Saint Gawain, this sea salt is a specialty of the Water 7. Every year, the Water 7 is hit by a super tsunami, and that violent tsunami will sweep the purest seawater from the seabed onto every wall of the Water 7."
After the tsunami subsided, the common people of Water 7 would collect sea salt from the walls and rooftops, and the most famous effect of this sea salt was that it could remind people of the taste of happiness.
"It lives up to its reputation."
Gawain nodded, savoring the taste of the meat, while Kalifa continued to speak to Gawain.
"Sir, before I returned, the Owl had already taken inventory of the valuables aboard the Puffing Tom."
The valuables total for two carriages; the last carriage is a gift from Chief Justice Baskerville, and the penultimate carriage is prepared for you by Spandam.
The total value of the valuables in the last carriage is approximately 2.23 billion Beli, and the total value of the valuables in the second-to-last carriage is approximately 5.57 billion Beli. The valuables have been transported to your residence. I..."
"What did you say, seven billion?!"
How could those things possibly be worth seven billion?!
Based on my estimation, they're only worth a few billion, how could the error be so huge?!
Jinbe couldn't help but interrupt Kalifa, his eyes widening as he looked at Kalifa incredulously.
Faced with Jinbe's questioning, Kalifa calmly adjusted her glasses.
"Jinbe, what you're referring to is their price, and moreover, the price a pirate like you would pay to a gold exchange."
The exchange price offered to merchants was already very low, but the exchange price offered to pirates, who specialized in buying ill-gotten gains, was several times lower.
The figures I'm referring to are the intrinsic value of those treasures themselves, the final figures representing the value without any middlemen taking a cut.
Therefore, even with such a large deviation, it shouldn't be unreasonable.
As soon as she finished speaking, Kalifa picked up the notebook in her arms and handed a series of financial reports to Jinbe.
Jinbe took the report, glanced at it, and then muttered something under his breath.
"No wonder there's such a big difference. Gold exchange is really shady. I'm definitely not cut out for this kind of thing."
While muttering to himself, Jinbe handed the report to Gawain.
Gawain didn't look at the report; after putting the data aside, he waved to Kalifa.
"From now on, you will be my secretary, and I will temporarily entrust my financial affairs to you."
"Yes, sir!"
Kalifa knelt down, speaking to Gawain with a mixture of excitement and respect.
"I will certainly not let you down, sir!"
That would be best.
Gawain waved his hand.
"That's all for tonight. Get some rest. And Shirahoshi, the snacks are delicious, but don't overindulge."
After saying this, Kalifa stood up to take her leave, then led Shirahoshi to her king-size room.
Gawain also bid farewell to Gion and Jinbe, and fell into a deep sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, sunlight was already filtering through the bluish curtains, casting a sea-like hue over Gawain.
He patted his face, Gawain and put on his clothes. The soreness in his body lessened a lot, replaced by simple pain.
He went to the bathroom, took a shower, and dragged his swollen and aching feet. Gawain put on his suit and left the bedroom.
In the cubicle outside the door, seeing Gawain wake up, Gion, who was resting on the sofa with her eyes half-closed and holding her sword, spoke softly.
"Sir, everyone is waiting for you in the reception room."
"Everyone's up so early. What happened? Or are you just having trouble sleeping?"
As Gawain asked the question, he reached into the wine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of red wine.
Gion prepared sake glasses on the side, explaining with a smile.
"Spandam arrived around five o'clock and has been kneeling in the reception room waiting for you."
As for the others, they all went mad when they learned that Spandam had arrived..
At this point, Gion rolled her eyes.
"I don't want to describe the scene, but it was probably like a crazy pervert pinning a crazy piece of trash to the ground and beating him up."
In short, when I heard the noise in the living room, I went in and saw Franky beating Spandam..."
Beside him, Gawain, holding a glass of red wine, asked with amusement.
"That's definitely Franky's personality. What happened in the end? Did he die?"
"No."
Gion shook her head.
"You'll see for yourself. The scene is extremely bloody, but it's just bloody. Spandam at least has one life left."
According to Franky, he wants to completely transform Spandam into a robot just like himself.
Seriously, sir, Franky's modifications don't necessarily have to be powered by cola, do they?
I always felt that with his technology, if the power source for robots could be replaced with other, higher-quality energy sources, then this technology would have a lot of potential!
"You're right, I'll talk to Franky in a bit."
Gawain nodded, then finished his glass of red wine and walked towards the reception room.
In the living room, amidst the tea tables scattered throughout, a group of people sat on their respective sofas, each looking at Spandam with a different expression.
At this point, even half of his face had been smashed and caved in by Franky.
Not to mention his entire body of bones; heaven knows just how well Franky understands the human body, this guy precisely broke every single one of Spandam's bones!
That makes sense, though. Franky is a ruthless individual who transformed himself into a mechanical life form; his expertise in biology and mechanics far surpasses the imagination of ordinary people.
Therefore, even after being beaten to such a state, Spandam was still barely breathing.
Beside Lucci, Kaku grinned smugly.
"This guy actually got what he deserves. Tsk tsk, it's hard to believe that this is the same former officer who kicked us out of the Enies Lobby headquarters and made us give up training and instead carry out long-term missions."
Spandam, you're really in a sorry state right now.
"Heh... hehe..."
On the ground, Spandam opened his mouth with difficulty, laughing as he tried to appear as obsequious as possible.
"I... I'm not in a sorry state, this is all... all a reward from Lord Franky..."
"Lord Franky's fist is exceptionally... powerful, truly worthy of being Lord Franky."
As soon as he finished speaking, Spandam turned his neck and gave Franky was dressed in a suit, a smile.
Seeing Spandam's smile, Franky curled his lip in disgust.
"Don't think that just because you're trying to please me, I'll forgive you. From the day you killed Master Tom, we've been sworn enemies, you bastard!"
Franky grabbed Spandam by the collar.
"After I take you to see Saint Gawain and tell him my request, I will take you to my master's grave and completely transform you into a robot like me!"
I will make you experience the pain I have felt, twice as much!
Also, I will take you to visit those old acquaintances one by one. Whether it's Grandma Kokoro or Yokozuna, you must kneel before them and apologize!
"Yes!"
Spandam nodded with difficulty.
"I will obey you in everything, Lord Franky. As long as I live, I will obey you and every decision made by Saint Gawain."
I will always remain repentant, and I will live up to the rest of my life that you have given me!
You actually... you actually wanted to transform me into a powerful mechanical life form. As long as it makes me stronger, as long as it allows me to play a more important role for Saint Gawain, I will gladly endure any pain!
I am...
Snap!
The door opened, Gawain walked in slowly, interrupting Spandam's declaration of loyalty.
Instantly, everyone in the living room stood up.
Jinbe naturally came to Gawain's side.
Good morning, sir. I thought you could sleep in a little longer.
"No need. The work in Water 7 is almost done. Let's head to Amazon Lily as soon as possible. Rayleigh is probably already here."
As he spoke, Gawain raised his hand to the others who were bowing.
Once everyone was standing straight, Gawain went to Spandam and Franky's side.
"So, are you going to spare his life, Franky?"
"Gawain, it's too lenient for a guy like him to just die!"
I was just about to tell you this. I want to change him, to turn him into someone like me, and to let him experience what I went through!
"Can."
Gawain nodded.
"However, when you modify it, don't turn its power source into cola. Try new areas to expand the related technologies of mechanical modification."
"Okay!"
Franky smiled with satisfaction, then picked up Spandam with a cold laugh and walked out of the living room on his own.
Even as he was being dragged away, the Spandam brain in his hand continued to try to convey its loyalty to Gawain.
Watching Franky and Spandam's retreating figures, Gawain smiled thoughtfully. He didn't care about Spandam's life or death, because Spandam's abilities had already been fully utilized.
One Spandam in exchange for an underling like Iceburg, who could be finance minister, and the loyalty of an academician like Franky —isn't that enough?
However, since Spandam survived, he might still have some other uses.
No matter how well Gawain does in the future, he can't possibly satisfy every citizen. At that point, he might have to occasionally put forward someone like Spandam to share and resolve some of the people's discontent.
The lives of ordinary people are hard, so please execute corrupt officials. Therefore, no matter how great an emperor is, there will always be a few corrupt officials like this around him.
Killing one person to rectify the world—that's the greatest use of corrupt officials.
The same applies to those around me.