Although the festival was still underway, some were already calling this year's Elegia Concert—
the most entertaining one yet!
A lot had gone wrong, but in the end, everything had turned out all right.
The child abduction case had been resolved, and every slave trader operating in Elegia had been arrested.
Even the most dangerous incident—the "theater explosion"—seemed, to many people, like nothing more than an over-the-top prank.
Just an extra bit of excitement at the festival. No harm done.
That was how ordinary festivalgoers had experienced it all.
But for those who had lived through every incident firsthand, including Gordon, the whole affair had been thoroughly exhausting.
It wasn't until dawn, as the sun began to rise, that the disturbance caused by World Government agents was finally brought more or less under control.
Gordon sent the theater audience home, then sealed off the site under the pretext of "preparing the venue," turning it into a temporary base for the group.
Uta and Robin were the youngest, and after being busy all night, they had both fallen fast asleep.
Fujitora and Jolian sat on the ground, resting with their eyes closed.
Crocodile was mulling something over, muttering to himself from time to time, his expression shifting between moods.
Lindsey had gone out to buy a bottle of wine. He drank a few generous gulps beneath the "morning sun" and smiled.
Gordon and Shanks, meanwhile, were waiting for news.
Before long, Ben Beckman of the Red Hair Pirates arrived and briefed his captain and Gordon on the situation.
"Those guys were all hard cases, Captain!"
Beckman raised his thumb, looking helpless. "Every last one of them—whether they were still at large or we'd caught them—killed themselves."
He opened his mouth and pointed to his back teeth. "Some had bombs strapped