Let me arrange something for you

"I ask, you answer." Bred took a pen, a sheet of paper, and a book from the desk. As if he were genuinely making casual conversation, he placed the book beneath the paper and began taking notes with the pen. "Name: Nico Swain. Family name Nico, given name Swain; age: twenty-eight; birthplace: Ohara Island; occupation: a historical hunter with a hunter's license, an ancient linguist... The basic information I gathered about you—was all of it correct?"

Now that the real trouble had come knocking, Swain instead felt relieved, relaxed. He became calm and resolute, undergoing a strange sort of psychological growth. He was utterly unlike the obsessively idealistic man who had devoted himself to uncovering history's mysteries before danger arrived, or the fragile, pitiable wretch whose emotions had gradually collapsed under the growing pressure of the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head. Because he was a woman's husband and a child's father—he had to protect them!

"It's all correct," Swain said.

"Can you decipher ancient writing? As far as I know, very few people can. Kozuki Oden of the Kozuki Family in Wano Country, captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, is the only one I know of." With the polite questions over, Bred revealed his true purpose.

Bred's question was undeniably incisive. Everyone seeking the secrets of history was, in truth, investigating the meaning of ancient writing. Only by deciphering ancient writing could one interpret the Poneglyphs composed in that script; only then could one uncover the hidden information engraved upon the Poneglyphs, and ultimately learn about the Void Century.

"I can, but only a few fragments. Ancient writing is far too complicated." Swain sighed. "I know of Kozuki Oden too. He is the only person in the world capable of fully deciphering the Poneglyphs. His ancestors created the near-indestructible Poneglyphs and passed down the methods for deciphering ancient writing through the generations, ensuring that the history of nearly eight hundred years ago was not completely erased by the World Government."

Bred stared intently at Swain for a long while, then unexpectedly changed his angle of questioning. "Why must you study the Poneglyphs and the Void Century?"

"Foolish curiosity?" Swain mocked himself.

"It is foolish indeed! But what's foolish isn't curiosity—it's ignorance!" Bred said with no small amount of sarcasm. "From the World Government's willingness to enact laws forbidding it, to spare no expense in cracking down on those studying the Poneglyphs and the Void Century, and to go to such lengths to erase the history of nearly eight hundred years ago, one can easily conclude that the Void Century is equivalent to the World Government's dirty laundry. Of course, the World Government's excuse for forbidding you to study the Poneglyphs and the Void Century—that the information hidden in the Poneglyphs includes the whereabouts of the Ancient Weapons—is true."

After thinking for a moment.

"The information hidden in the Poneglyphs also includes a map leading to Laugh Tale, the final island pirates dream of," Bred added.

Swain was both shocked and bewildered. "You..."

"I don't understand ancient writing, but I wasn't lying," Bred said.

Swain fell silent.

"Ancient Weapons powerful enough to destroy the world—even if that isn't your purpose, and even if you never intended for evil people to use them, the consequences would be the same! Once a pirate reaches the final island, he becomes the Pirate King. He might unite the loose rabble of pirates into one enormous force! Add the dirty history that damages the World Government's image and credibility, and either one would shake the World Government's rule." Bred drawled, "The World Government would be crazy not to punish you to the death. You aren't wronged or pitiful. You're simply foolish and ignorant."

Swain's lips trembled. "We mean no harm."

"That's why your foolishness lies in your ignorance—just like what I said earlier: even if you never intended for evil people to use it, the consequences are the same." Bred launched into a torrent of accusations. "Have you considered Golden Lion, the great pirate? He's searching for Ancient Weapons right now. Suppose he used you to obtain one—what would happen? I'd guess he'd destroy several countries to make an example of them, force the World Government to surrender, and make himself ruler of the world. But the World Government would one hundred percent refuse. Then a world war would inevitably break out, dragging tens of billions of innocent people into the disaster!"

The horrifying possibility Bred described left Swain sweating coldly without pause.

"You think you're in the right? That what you're doing is challenging a tyrannical authority's blockade of the public's right to know? Wrong. Completely wrong..." After spewing a string of nonsense, Bred suddenly struck. "The Poneglyph in the basement of the Tree of Knowledge library—which of the thirty Poneglyphs is it? Does it contain 'information'?"

"It does..." Swain blurted out instinctively.

Realizing what he had done almost immediately, Swain shut his eyes in despair.

"You lied to me, hmm? If you can't decipher ancient writing, how did you determine that Poneglyph contains 'information'?" Bred smiled without smiling. "There are roughly thirty Poneglyphs. Four are crimson, and twenty-six are gray. The crimson Poneglyphs are maps leading to Laugh Tale, the final island; they are also called 'Road Poneglyphs.' Of the twenty-six gray Poneglyphs, nine contain 'information,' mostly concerning the Void Century, while the rest record matters such as the Ancient Weapons."

"With the few fragments of ancient writing we can decipher, we determined that Poneglyph contains 'information,'" Swain said with difficulty.

"Let me arrange things for you, then?" Bred ran a hand through his short, regrown golden hair. "Write down the names of everyone in the historical community who can decipher ancient writing, even just a few fragments. In exchange, I'll spare your wife and the child in her womb. I'll even allow you to kill yourself and leave behind a final message or something."

Swain: "..."

"I'm already being very considerate," Bred said, spreading his hands helplessly.

Pale-faced, Swain hesitated for a long while. "I want to send Olvia away first. Otherwise, I don't trust you."

"I can perform an abortion on her right now. Do you believe me?" Bred smiled with genuine innocence.

Swain trembled in terror. "No! No! You can't..."

"You could always try killing me and escaping with Olvia. The world is vast and boundless—there must be somewhere you can hide," Bred suggested, seemingly out of kindness.

Swain broke down. Even with his strange psychological growth and his fierce desire to protect his wife and child, he was, at heart, still a refined scholar. He could not outplay Bred. He simply had too many weaknesses.

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PS: Thanks to readers [Big Tree in the Mirror Forest], [Mediterranean an], [The Utmost of Utmost Importance], [Plain-Colored Xuan], [That Rain Drenched the First Night], [5114 Pfft], [Ten Thousand Miles of Cold Rivers and Passes], and [Zong Ziyu] (another familiar ID) for their 100-point coin donations each. Thank you, everyone.