Last Wish

The next afternoon, at Loguetown's central square, the execution platform.

Rayne arrived at his "workstation" ten minutes early.

To his surprise, more civilians had come to watch today than ever before.

But unlike before, the crowd was unnervingly quiet.

There were no curses or insults directed at the pirate about to be executed. In their place came suppressed, intermittent whispers.

"...Is it really Lord Buck? I don't believe it..."

"Sigh, he saved my daughter's life. How could he..."

"A good man shouldn't end up like this..."

"But the newspapers said he killed Hawk's entire family. Six people..."

Behind his cold mask, Rayne silently listened to the complicated discussions, his heart utterly still.

But he knew that everything they said was true.

When the time came, the familiar scar-faced officer stepped onto the platform. He swept his gaze over the emotionally conflicted crowd below, cleared his throat, and read the prisoner's charges in a voice louder than ever before:

"'The Lone Wanderer' Buck! As a pirate, you defied the law. Last Wednesday night, you broke into Hawk's residence and brutally murdered Hawk and his family—a total of six people! Your crimes are heinous, and the evidence is conclusive!"

The scar-faced officer's voice echoed across the square.

"By judgment of the Loguetown Naval Branch, you are sentenced to death. Execution will commence immediately!"

He swung his arm sharply.

"Executioner, prepare!"

At the command, Rayne expressionlessly raised the long-barreled rifle in his hands and pressed the stock against his now-solid shoulder.

Through the sights, he looked once more at the man bound to the wooden stake.

The file he had read yesterday surfaced in his mind.

"The Lone Wanderer" Buck, a pirate who had been active in the waters around Loguetown for years.

With no fixed residence and always alone, he targeted only notorious wealthy merchants and vicious pirates, using most of his spoils to aid the poor in Loguetown's slums.

Among the common people, his reputation was even better than the Navy's.

For that very reason, so long as no lives were lost, the Loguetown Naval Branch had always turned a blind eye to him.

Until last Wednesday.

That night, while robbing Hawk, a local unscrupulous merchant, he had either made a mistake or been pushed too far. In the end, Hawk's entire family of six had died.

Six lives crossed the Navy's red line.

Regardless of public opinion, the higher-ups had issued an absolute order. That was why today's execution had taken place.

Rayne's thoughts returned to the present.

He looked at the man in his sights.

The people Buck had saved might have numbered more than sixty. But the law was the law, and the crime of killing six people was also a fact. Merit and wrongdoing could not cancel each other out.

At that moment, Buck neither struggled nor cursed.

Through his mask, Rayne looked into his eyes.

They were incomparably complicated eyes.

Within them, Rayne saw the relief of settling dust, the unwillingness to accept fate, and the liberation of knowing everything was about to end.

But there was no regret.

Rayne realized that he could not simply decide whether this man was good or evil, or whether he deserved to die.

He was the executioner.

His job was not to judge, but to carry out the sentence.

"Execute!"

The scar-faced officer's roar exploded like thunder.

Rayne's finger was as steady as stone.

The instant the order was given, he pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

The gunshot brought an end to the complicated life of this "Heroic Thief."

Suppressed sobbing rose from the crowd.

And in Rayne's mind, the system's cold notification sounded right on time.

[Prisoner: "The Lone Wanderer" Buck]

[Overall Level: R5]

[Sin Index: 270]

[Execution Participation: 100%]

[Available Benefits]: (3 options available)

[Last Wish List]: (Activatable)

"Sin Index 270... So the system counted the weight of those six lives down to the last detail." Rayne thought. In the system's eyes, there was no rule of "merit offsetting wrongdoing."

"Overall Level R5... That is somewhat unexpected." As expected of a pirate who had been active for years, he was the strongest pirate Rayne had executed so far.

Rayne knew full well that this meant the [Body Inheritance] this time would be a massive improvement.

His gaze finally settled on the brand-new entry that had appeared for the first time—[Last Wish List].

Just as he was about to study it more closely, a red object flew toward him through the translucent screen before his eyes!

Rayne instinctively raised his left hand.

Smack.

He caught a rotten, ripe red tomato firmly in his palm, thick juice slowly dripping through his fingers.

He raised his eyes and, through the mask, saw the faces below the platform filled with anger and grief.

They did not dare do anything to the Navy soldiers, so they could only vent all their resentment on him—the executioner who had personally killed their hero.

Without saying a word, Rayne tossed the rotten tomato in his hand into a nearby trash bin.

He felt somewhat fortunate.

At least he had to wear this damned mask every time he carried out an execution.

After returning to his tiny private room, Rayne impatiently opened the system again.

"[Last Wish List]... It looks like a quest system." He carefully studied the faintly glowing icon. "Does every criminal above R-rank have one, or is Buck a special case?"

Driven by intense curiosity, he focused his mind on the words "Activatable."

In that instant, a massive torrent of memories that did not belong to him exploded directly in his mind like an incredibly realistic VR film!

He "saw" everything—

It was a night of torrential rain. Buck had infiltrated the residence of the wealthy merchant Hawk, intending to steal enough Beli from his ill-gotten fortune to support the slums.

But in the basement, he unexpectedly found a ledger.

Written in dense black ink were cold names, ages, and strings of shocking prices in Beli.

Suddenly, the door was kicked open, and flames flared. Hawk and his two sons blocked the only exit.

"I was wondering what kind of rat had gotten in." A disdainful sneer hung on Hawk's fat face. "So it's the town's 'Heroic Thief,' the one who only steals trash."

"These children... you did this?" Buck's voice was hoarse with overwhelming rage.

"Children?" Hawk froze for a moment, then suddenly understood. He laughed even more arrogantly. "Ah... You mean those little brats from the slums who disappeared? That's right, I sold them. Good-looking, obedient little brats are hot commodities in the slave market! I advise you not to meddle in things that don't concern you."

He pointed upward. "Every deal in this ledger is protected by the 'important people' above me!"

"Important people above him."

"Disappeared little brats."

The instant Buck heard those two phrases, his principle of never killing was utterly crushed.

The scene flashed to the faces of mothers in the slums, crying as they begged him to help find their children.

Scarlet instantly filled his entire vision.

When silence returned, Buck stood amid the corpses, covered in blood, his eyes empty.

Just as he prepared to take the ledger to the Naval Branch and turn himself in, faint crying came from a secret room on the second floor.

He saw the infant hidden inside, still swaddled in cloth. It was the child of Hawk's unmarried daughter. Since no one knew who the father was, the baby had been secretly raised in the house.

Looking at the innocent infant, complicated emotions appeared in Buck's empty eyes.

In the end, he carried the baby and vanished into the rainy night.

The scene rapidly shifted. He saw Buck entrust the baby to a childless middle-aged woman in the slums whom he trusted most.

Only after doing all that did he go to the Naval Branch and confess to robbery and murder.

The torrent of memories ended there.

Before Rayne's eyes, specific text finally appeared beneath [Last Wish List] on the system screen.

[Buck's Last Wish: Entrustment]

Description: "I killed all those scum, but I never expected there to be an innocent child. My life savings are hidden in the old place. Please take them out and give them to her. At the very least... let her raise that child safely."

Quest Objective: Go to where Buck hid his savings, retrieve them, and deliver them to the middle-aged woman raising the infant.

Quest Reward: Unknown.

After learning the whole truth, Rayne was left somewhat dazed.