Carter Doto / Wood

He no longer had a trace of flab on him. His belly was still big, but it was no longer the loose fat that wobbled with every step. It was all firm muscle.

He pushed up his glasses, then pressed the doorbell beside the small gate.

Ding-ding-ding!

Ding-ding-ding!

Creeeak!

The bell had barely rung when the iron gate opened a crack with a shriek.

A muscular man with a bare chest stepped out through the gap.

He stood before Ahua, swept his gaze over the group, then settled it on Kuta.

Presence wasn't something a person had to put on. As long as Kuta stood among them, no one could overlook him.

Even in a shirt, patterned shorts, and flip-flops, even without doing or saying a thing, his bearing and looks made it clear he was the leader.

"Welcome to Carter Shipbuilding Company. Are you here to have a ship repaired or to order a new one?"

They were a shipyard, but they took repair jobs too.

With so many battered ships arriving every day, how could the company pass up that business?

Money was money.

Nothing shameful about earning it.

Kuta lowered his head and glanced over the man, then looked through the gap at what lay beyond the gate.

"It's pretty big."

He drew back his gaze and smiled at the man. "We're here to order a medium-sized sailing ship."

"Order a ship?"

The man's gaze passed over the three black suitcases carried by the Ahua Trio, and a smile appeared on his face.

Judging by the group's bearing, they were no ordinary customers. And they had brought three suitcases.

Big business. Big business.

Carter Company might have been the largest shipyard on Carter Island, but that didn't mean it made a fortune. It took plenty of orders