The Beast

[Part 1 · Spineless]

Jim Crow was the big boss of the Curiosity Museum.

Besides that, he was a big shot in the Perfume Bottle Gang, an advisor to the leader, a shrewd negotiator who thrived in business, and a state legislator in Arizona.

He was thirty-six that year, young and promising, with a corpulent build and a belly big enough to be generous.

His thick head of hair had blown away with the wind. The most striking feature of his appearance was a vicious, savage arrow-shaped scar on his face. If your memory was any good—go back to the [Unrivaled] volume. Damien Katz, who worked for George Joshua and managed the Curiosity Museum aboard the fourth cruise ship, had used Jim Crow as an alias more than two hundred years ago.

Tonight, Jim Crow was going to meet three people.

One was the famous author, David Victor.

Another was an unknown sheriff, Jack Martin.

The last was a yellow-skinned stranger of uncertain origins: Vincent, or Wen Bucai.

He had learned about the three from his butler. They had bought tickets together and entered the Curiosity Museum's hall, then split up and gone to explore different venues.

And there was one especially important detail!

The detail Mr. Jim cared about most!

According to the ticket seller, Vincent, the yellow-skinned Chinese laborer, wore a wide-brimmed hat decorated with parrot feathers—one that looked just like Sullivan Okopela's.

That alone was enough for Jim Crow to keep the information to himself, never mentioning it to anyone else in the Perfume Bottle Gang.

He felt restless and uneasy, like an ant on a hot skillet. Ever since the gang had lost contact with Sullivan, the leader had been unable to eat or sleep. He'd ordered his men to search everywhere for Sullivan, but refused