The Infant

Frankly speaking, Bred disliked infiltration and undercover work—he hated it intensely. It sounded nice to call it "fighting in the enemy's heart," but no pretty words could conceal the fact that danger surrounded him, threats lay everywhere, and he had to live every day in constant fear and caution. For someone who longed for a smooth and peaceful life, it was simply agonizing.

Especially since the Hunter Association knew that Bred was a World Government spy.

When he learned of Nico and her husband's whereabouts, along with a Poneglyph, Bred was overjoyed. Though he did not show it on his face, he immediately reported to Minister Honest. He even personally devised a "cast a long line to catch a big fish" strategy to shift the trouble elsewhere, eagerly hoping to wrap things up perfectly, retire with merit, return to Mary Geoise, and continue steadily building his strength in safety at the Cipher Pol Agent Academy.

Bred had even considered having other Cipher Pol agents carry out the "cast a long line to catch a big fish" strategy, perhaps leaving someone from the four-person team behind to keep a close watch on the Poneglyph—the foundation upon which the strategy had been created—and assist in its execution.

Bred had thought Honest would choose Melard. Melard was the only descendant of a Cipher Pol agent in the four-person team. Her family was still alive, and she had been educated from childhood to protect the World Government, so there was no need to worry about her loyalty. Meanwhile, he, Esdeath, and Kurando Akabane were orphans—half-baked rookie agents who had not yet completed the Cipher Pol Agent Academy's brainwashing curriculum. Their loyalty still needed strengthening, so they were completely unsuitable for being left unsupervised! They could go bad so easily~

Yet Minister Honest chose Bred instead, giving him a huge surprise...

"Strength and authority—neither can be lacking." After hanging up his phone, Bred repeatedly opened his palm and clenched it into a fist, sighing, "Right, Joanna?"

Mosquito Girl, who had been looking around, froze for a moment before laughing heartily. "Hehe~~~ Right! Everything Bred says is right!"

"So be it." Bred swiftly sent messages notifying Esdeath, Kurando Akabane, and Melard that the mission was over and that they should return to Mary Geoise. Then he rose. "We still have work today. Let's go."

Mosquito Girl efficiently scooped Bred up and shot into the sky.

Not long afterward.

Bred arrived at a large seaside estate. It belonged to the Fabricio Family, a well-known old-school mafia syndicate of the Mafia Federation Kingdom.

"Welcome, Mr. Bred!" The well-trained butler did not look down on Bred because of his age. He bowed politely and led the way. "This way, please. Master Kaiser has been waiting for quite some time."

As they walked, Bred said, "I don't know why you paid such a high price to hire me alone for an entire day, but I am fulfilling the duties of a private Hunter. My priority is protecting my employer."

"The Fabricio Family understands the Hunter Association's rules," the butler replied gently with a smile.

After several twists and turns, Bred was invited into one of the vehicles in a convoy.

Kaiser, the boss of the Fabricio Family, gave a slight nod in greeting. He was already extremely old, his skin loose, muscles atrophied, eyes cloudy and unfocused. His beard, eyebrows, and hair were all exceptionally sparse.

"Hello, young man~" Kaiser's voice was hoarse, rough, indistinct, and frail. It was difficult to understand him without listening carefully.

Fortunately, Bred trained in Observation Haki, which had also sharpened his hearing. "Hello."

After the simple greeting, Bred remained silent. This was a private Hunter's basic professional ethic: ask nothing, say little, restrain all curiosity and personal feelings, and treat oneself as invisible regardless of what the employer did. Unless someone threatened the employer's safety, or the employer made a request within the bounds of the contract, he would ignore everything else.

The convoy drove slowly away from the estate, passed through bustling streets, and headed directly to the docks on the other side of the island.

Kaiser met with several mafia bosses. They chatted among themselves and waited together. Before long, the captain of an incoming freighter joined them.

The subordinates of the various mafia bosses then began busily unloading cargo.

Drugs, tobacco and alcohol, gambling equipment, firearms... slaves. The freighter carried quite a variety of goods.

Clearly, this was a shameful transaction. Bred had been hired by the Fabricio Family as a bodyguard to prevent the other side from double-crossing them.

"Master Kaiser, only the slaves are problematic," said the Fabricio Family's butler after returning from inspecting the goods.

Holding a flask, the freighter captain said casually, "It was a long journey. There weren't enough extra vegetables and fruit aboard to feed those trash."

"It isn't scurvy. It's malaria," the butler said.

Kaiser thought for a moment, then waved a hand. "The treatment costs are too high. Forget it—we would lose money. Deal with them on the spot. Pay what should be paid, but I hope there won't be a next time."

"Thank you for your generosity, Master Kaiser!" The captain immediately beamed.

"No!"

"Please! I..."

"AAAAAHHH~~~"

"..."

Blood, wails, death.

Bred witnessed it all without reacting. He could save no one, nor could he be anyone's savior. He merely murmured, "Human nature truly is poisonous."

"Bred? Humans... doing this to humans... why..." Mosquito Girl was especially confused, though she could not quite put her thoughts into words.

Understanding what Mosquito Girl meant, Bred said, "With twenty percent profit, people become restless; with fifty percent profit, they are willing to take risks; with one hundred percent profit, they dare risk the gallows; with three hundred percent profit, they gain the courage to trample everything in the world beneath their feet! Profit blinds people, corrupts them, and turns them into ugly creatures closest to demons."

"I... I don't understand." Mosquito Girl looked lost.

Bred said nothing.

Suddenly.

"A baby?!"

"She's alive. Looks like she was only born recently. What do we do? I can't bring myself to do it!"

"Is that her name? Altair."

"Hurry up. It's no different from killing a puppy. Her mother's corpse already stinks—she won't survive."

"You make it sound easy. You do it!"

"..."

Cries of alarm and discussion came from the freighter.

Bred: "..." Altair?!

He made his decision at once.

"Sell that baby to me. Deduct the price from the payment for hiring me," Bred said as he walked to Kaiser's side.

Kaiser slowly nodded in agreement. "Alright."

PS1: Altair was from Re:REARS, the Military Uniform Princess. It had been decided that only this one character from Re:REARS would be used. Her abilities would also be adjusted to better fit this work's setting and world.

PS: Thanks to readers [Angry D Banana] and [Ling Yi Nu] for their 200-point coin tips, and to readers [I Don't Want to Go On], [A Jug of Clear Wine, a Sword], [0170616***], and [Butterfly Transformation Cliff] for their 100-point coin tips. Thanks as well to everyone for your recommendation votes. Thank you.