West Town, mayor's office.
The town's mayor was a plump middle-aged man with brown hair hanging over his shoulders like strands of kelp. His purple formalwear looked expensive, but stretched over his round belly, it instantly looked cheap. A short-barreled pistol hung at his waist, making him look more like one of the Pirates than a mayor.
Perhaps this was what they meant when they said a place shaped its people.
Only a pirate-like mayor could keep the town's loafing troublemakers in line.
At that moment, the mayor, Pickle, was pacing anxiously around his office. His men watched until their eyes grew dizzy.
"Damn it! We always moved the grain back at night, and only after those people drew the Marines away. How did the Marines still find out?"
Every move Loa and his companions made had the Drum Kingdom's attention. Just now, several hundred Marines led by Mingde had set out for West Town. Naturally, Pickle's people had noticed.
Pickle was terrified. He feared his plan had been exposed.
"But boss, we don't need to be afraid of them, do we?" one of his men asked hesitantly. "They're just Marines. It's not like they can search the place, is it?"
"What the hell do you know?"
Pickle snorted. "That Vice Admiral Loa is leading them. Do you know how he operates?" Then Pickle threw a stack of documents onto the desk and pointed at them. "Read it yourselves. You think a bastard who carries out massacres at the drop of a hat will hold back because of who we are? What a joke!"
The man who had spoken picked up the documents. His face went pale.
Holy shit, that guy's a monster! The thought of Loa coming after them sent a chill through him.
"Th-then what do we do?"