Though it was such a lively tavern on an island in the Grand Line, so it was only natural that there were plenty of pirates and other criminals around, Sig wasn't showing any Fish-Man traits at the moment. He was still six feet tall, and had a tattoo of a skull flag on his arm that nobody recognized but everyone could identify at a glance. Even though he looked a little young and was sitting alone, nobody was going to pick a fight with him.
Sig had originally planned to look for members of the Two-Headed Wolf Slaver Squad who were scouting the area, but after observing the details with his Telepathist ability, he hadn't noticed anyone suspicious.
Just as Sig was feeling disappointed, however, he suddenly heard an even more "straightforward" clue...
"I saw that little Belka at the port again today. Tsk, tsk... That figure, that pert ass..."
"Damn it, if you're going to talk, then talk. Don't fucking drool!"
"Gah ha ha! All you can do is look. That girl's not just got a perky ass—she can take on the average guy with a bounty of a few million!"
"Tch, it's only because there aren't as many pirates coming to Machu Picchu Island lately. With those few tricks, she thinks she can run wild on the Grand Line? She'd be better off running wild in bed!"
A group of men who might have been pirates or some other kind of criminals were talking about women in rather vulgar terms.
Sig wasn't interested in women, but the name Belka caught his attention. According to the Marines' intelligence, their agent on Machu Picchu Island was currently using the alias Belka!
Sig had originally thought that, after the main Marine force assigned to deal with the Two-Headed Wolf went to capture the Sun Pirates and the operation was called off, the agent would have withdrawn as well.
Besides, Sig wasn't a Marine, so he hadn't planned on making contact with the Marine agent.
But when he heard that Belka was still around, he immediately became interested.
The group at the neighboring table, who had just brought her up, continued talking about Belka, and Sig learned that she was now one of the local gang bosses in Machu Picchu Town. Officially, she was a "middleman" who arranged berths at the port's two piers, matching cargo ships with porters and porters with merchants. In reality, she was just collecting protection money.
Sig was a little surprised. He hadn't expected an "intelligence agent" to be so conspicuous...
After learning where Belka was, Sig immediately tossed down 500 Beli and downed his beer so it wouldn't go to waste. Then he got up and headed for the port.
Sig hoped to get as much information as he could out of Belka. If that didn't work...
She was just a Marine sergeant, and from a branch base at that. She shouldn't be able to beat him, right?
As Sig pushed open the tavern's little swinging door, he came face-to-face with a woman who was even a little taller than he was.
In his human form, Sig stood six feet tall. He'd shot up a bit when he advanced along the Paths of the Divine.
But this pink-haired woman looked about twenty-five or twenty-six, and she was a little taller than Sig. She wore a low-cut crop top under a short-sleeved denim jacket that also left her midriff bare. Tattoos were visible on her upper arms and stomach, and she had a cigarette in her mouth and a short flintlock tucked at her waist. She had the look of someone who thought she was hot shit.
After they brushed past each other, Sig turned to look at her ass... It was very perky.
Recalling the instant flash of "disdain" he'd sensed from her, Sig was certain he knew the identity of this perky-assed lady.
Though she'd done her best to hide it, Sig had noticed the disdain and exasperation in her eyes when she saw the skull flag tattoo on his arm.
Nobody would recognize the flag of the Sword of Freedom, but anyone could tell it was a pirate flag.
If she really practiced what she preached, there was no reason for this crow dressed like a pirate to despise his pig.
She also had two lackeys with her, and their expressions were naturally different from hers. Both of them looked distinctly nervous.
Combined with the "physical description" the locals had given, Sig was eighty percent certain that she was Belka!
So, somewhat awkwardly, Sig went back into the tavern after her.
Well, when he'd turned to observe her features, his Telepathist ability had let him "observe discreetly" without triggering her instincts or getting caught. But... he'd clearly already left the tavern, then spotted a woman with a perky ass at the door and eagerly followed her back in. It really wasn't a very respectable look.
Belka raised her leg and kicked the little swinging door open. The noisy tavern fell silent for a moment.
The men who'd just been discussing Belka's features were now all sipping their beers in tiny mouthfuls.
Sig did his best to slip back in without attracting attention. At that moment, he desperately wished he'd already reached Sequence 6, when he would have been able to use "Psychological Invisibility" to hide in the blind spots of everyone's attention.
Now, quite a few people glanced at the sneaking pervert. Why else would a guy follow a woman back in after leaving?
"Boss! Orange Wine!" After sitting down, Belka put both feet up on the table and leaned her chair all the way back.
But despite her manner, she hadn't ordered hard liquor, which seemed a little out of character.
Sig glared at the bartender. Do I look like I'm broke? Why did you recommend beer to me earlier?
"Orange wine," Sig quietly told the bartender when he came over.
The bartender gave him a strange look too, as if he thought Sig was a pervert.
Belka turned to glance in Sig's direction. Sig had already made sure not to look at her. If they hadn't "brushed past each other" at the door, Belka never would have realized he'd followed her back.
Whether that was a good thing or an annoying one, after glancing at Sig, Belka gave him a teasing smile.
The good thing was that Belka hadn't suspected Sig had any ulterior motive. The annoying thing was that she'd simply taken the young man for a pervert—he'd already left the tavern, yet he'd followed her back in!
"Big Sister, those guys have noticed us. Should we go back and report... go back and report to the boss?" Lackey A asked nervously.
"Even if we don't go back, we should keep a low profile... And there's no point in staying here any longer, anyway," Lackey B reminded her.
The tavern had returned to its usual din, and nobody could easily hear what they were saying. Even if they did, most people wouldn't have noticed anything odd.
But Sig automatically filled in the blanks: "Two-Headed Wolf spies have discovered they're Marines," "They're urging Sergeant Belka to return to the Marine Base and report for duty," and "The reinforcements sent to wipe out the slaver squad have already gone to catch the escaped slaves, so there won't be any reinforcements."
"Does drinking still not shut you two up?" Belka snapped irritably.
The three of them kept talking in riddles for a while. After finishing her orange wine, Belka slammed her thick-bottomed glass onto the table and said to the bartender, "That kid over there is paying!" Then she got up and left.
Sig: ???
The roughnecks around him burst into laughter, mocking the young greenhorn who'd wanted to get with an older woman, only to end up being teased instead.
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