Hammer Town

On the dim roadside, Rubick held Nami's hand and wouldn't let go.

Nami knew she couldn't break free. Looking miserable, she said, "Mister, I'm still a kid..."

Rubick nearly coughed up blood. Hadn't she just claimed to be an old hand?

Rubick released her hand, his enthusiasm gone. "Forget it. You can go. I really don't want a kid. I'm not a babysitter."

Nami decided to make one more try. "Actually, I could be your manager."

Zoro tucked his swords into his belt, hoisted Pithsgar's corpse onto his shoulder, and started to leave.

Rubick couldn't help asking, "You're not coming with me?"

"I told you ages ago. I don't want teammates. I'm used to being alone."

"You'll change your mind!"

Rubick shouted after Zoro's retreating back.

"Seriously, is being alone that cool?"

Rubick grumbled, then looked around and discovered that Nami, who had been beside him moments ago, had vanished too.

"Nami?"

No one answered. Rubick called her name again, finally accepting that she was gone.

"What is wrong with these people?"

Rubick let it go. Nami was already the Cat Burglar who roamed East Blue; she hardly needed him looking after her.

He followed the road into town and soon found a lively district. Shops of every kind lined both sides of a stone-paved street wide enough for two carriages.

There were taverns and restaurants, sword shops, even a red-light district.

Rubick found that strange. Why would a place completely controlled by the Marines need a red-light district? Pirates couldn't even land here. Was it meant for the Marines?

"I need a room."

Rubick found an inn that didn't look too expensive. A sign inside read, "2,000 Beli per night."

"Would you like the 2,000-Beli room or the 4,000-Beli room?"

Rubick reached into his pocket for his money, then froze. Damn it—his money was gone!

"Hold on."

Rubick motioned for the innkeeper to wait and searched every pocket he had. Unfortunately, the 30,000 Beli he had left was nowhere to be found.

The innkeeper snorted and pointed outside. "No money? Sleep by the road."

Rubick immediately settled on Nami as the culprit, but where was he supposed to find her at this hour? Forget Nami—he might not even be able to find Zoro.

"Damn it. Next time I see her, I'm going to smack her backside raw!"

Cursing, Rubick left the brightly lit district behind and headed into the woods outside town. His food was gone, and now so was his money. He planned to sell his boat tomorrow.

If he didn't pay the mooring fee within the next couple of days, the boat would no longer be his anyway.

"Ah, you're always too softhearted, taking every problem on yourself."

Rubick laughed at himself, found a tree, and sat down against it. He would spend the night here. Tomorrow, he'd look for Zoro. Surely borrowing a measly 100,000 Beli wouldn't be too hard.

Rustle, rustle...

Footsteps sounded through the grass in a steady rhythm. Rubick opened his eyes and first saw a pair of long legs. Her feet were in high-heeled sandals, a short blue skirt wrapped around her hips, and above that was a white short-sleeved top. She looked dressed for the heat.

His gaze passed over her ample chest and rose to the face he'd been thinking about. Who else could it be but Nami?

"You little Cat Burglar! You stole my money and still dare show your face?"

Nami sat beside Rubick as if nothing had happened and wrapped both hands around his arm. "Mister, don't think so badly of me. I've already booked a room. That soft bed will be much nicer than this hard ground."

Rubick snorted. "If you're inviting me, I hope there's only one bed."

Nami said irritably, "Mister, I'm still a kid. Could you really do that?"

Just my luck!

Rubick had never even had a girlfriend in his previous life. Between being single since birth and the core socialist values drilled into his head, there was no way he would do anything to Nami.

He said impatiently, "Fine. A twin room, then?"

Nami pulled Rubick to his feet. "Relax. It's a luxury presidential suite."

Rubick had barely taken two steps when he stopped short. "Wait. Don't tell me you spent all 30,000 Beli?"

"Of course. How else could I book a luxury presidential suite? Besides, I'm a gorgeous young girl in the prime of her life. Could you bear to make me stay in an ordinary inn?"

"Damn right I could! I've never spent more than 10,000 Beli on anything, and you blew 30,000 on a room for one night!"

"No, I put in another 20,000 myself. It was 50,000 Beli altogether."

Nami beamed, looking proud of herself.

"What are you so proud of? Easy to spend when it's someone else's money."

Nami pulled Rubick toward the shopping street. "So, mister, will you hire me as your manager now? You don't have a penny to your name. Never mind a room—you can't even pay for food."

Nami pulled out a stack of wanted posters. "I think we should have a good talk tonight about which pirate to take down tomorrow."

The presidential suite Nami had booked was in the very center of the shopping street, at a place with a blunt name: the Hammer Grand Hotel.

The name alone made it obvious the hotel had ties to the Hammer Town authorities.

"I rented it for two whole weeks. If we catch another big pirate and collect the bounty before then, we can keep staying."

Nami led Rubick into the hotel, and an attendant immediately came over. After all, she had booked a presidential suite for two weeks straight. She was getting the full service treatment.

"Sir, miss, welcome back."

The attendant bowed slightly and gestured toward the lobby. "It's quite late. Would you like dinner first, or a hot bath?"

"I'd like a hot bath first. What about you, darling?"

Rubick pointed at himself. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

Nami was getting annoyed. She'd called him darling, and he was acting as if he'd gotten the short end of the deal.

"I want a bath too. I bathe every day."

Rubick wasn't like the people here. Apart from his first days after arriving, he had bathed daily. It was simply a personal habit.

The attendant suggested with a smile, "Why not bathe together? The tub we provide is certainly big enough for two. What do you say...?"

Nami wrinkled her nose. No wonder she hadn't noticed any strange smell on Rubick. Was he really that fastidious?

Knowing Nami would be embarrassed, Rubick spoke up. "We'll bathe separately. You know how shy girls can be."

The attendant smiled broadly. "Of course, sir."