A night under one roof

The luxurious presidential suite Nami had booked was on the fourth floor of what was already the tallest building in the area. There was only one presidential suite on the hotel's top floor, and it stood empty and quiet year-round.

"I heard the owner originally designed this suite for his family to live in, but before they could move in, they ran into pirates while they were away. None of them ever came back."

Nami's social skills were beyond question. She shared the gossip she had picked up from the staff with Rubick.

"After that, Hammer Town took over the hotel. But this is a small place, after all, so this suite stays empty year-round."

Nami pointed at the master bedroom. "I'll sleep in there, and you can sleep out here. There are four guest rooms outside anyway, so pick whichever one you like. Once we've had our baths, let's talk in the living room about our plans."

With that, Nami directed two maids to carry a large tub of hot water into the master bedroom.

It was much the same for Rubick. Two pretty maids struggled to carry the water, and after setting it down in the bathroom, they eagerly asked whether he wanted someone to scrub his back.

"Go on, go on. Out, both of you."

Rubick wasn't so desperate that he would settle for anyone. He was after someone like Robin, and failing that, winning Nami over wouldn't be bad either. Why would he be interested in the maids here?

Besides, judging by how practiced they seemed, they might well have a second line of work.

After a nice, comfortable bath, Rubick put on a pair of beach shorts and headed into the living room, drying his hair with a towel. He had decided that once he had some money in a few days, he would go out and get a haircut.

Before, he hadn't been able to fully control his elemental transformation, so getting a haircut had been out of the question. Otherwise, the barber would make a snip, only to discover, to their horror, that Rubick's hair had turned into smoke. That would certainly cause a panic.

Nami had finished her bath too. She had a bath towel wrapped around her waist, but she was wearing a T-shirt.

Rubick sat on the sofa and said with a grin, "I thought you wouldn't bother wearing clothes once you had a towel on."

Nami scratched her left arm with her right hand, then smiled too. "I don't trust you that much. Never mind that. Let's talk about this agent business."

Nami placed a stack of bounty posters on the coffee table and spread them out one by one. She asked casually, "So, old man, how high a bounty can you handle with your current strength?"

As far as Nami was concerned, anyone Pirate Hunter Zoro called his big brother couldn't be all that weak. She had always made her money through theft, but she had also been thinking about finding a faster way to earn it.

That was why she had made a point of approaching powerful bounty hunters, hoping to work with them by gathering information. That way, the money would come in faster.

But most of them were only after her. Spending ten days or half a month at sea was perfectly normal, and when those grown men finally came ashore after being cooped up together, their first stop was the red-light district.

If Nami went out to sea with them, the consequences were easy to imagine.

Today, however, she had unexpectedly found someone reliable in Rubick. After roaming the seas for over a decade, Nami had long since learned how to read people. She felt that Rubick was someone she could absolutely count on.

If he were just a little stronger, wouldn't that mean hope for Cocoyasi Village?

Nami decided that before thinking about Cocoyasi Village, she needed to see what Rubick could do.

Rubick replied, "Three million without breaking a sweat, five million with ease. Any higher, and it'll depend on how fast we can run."

"That's it?"

Nami's voice immediately rose twenty decibels. "Zoro has killed pirates worth eight million! You're his big brother, and you can only handle small fry worth five million?"

"What? Is that a problem?"

Rubick answered as though it were perfectly reasonable. To his surprise, Nami stomped back into her room, then quickly returned with a stack of cash in her hand.

"Here. Twenty thousand Beli. Take the money, leave, and close the door behind you."

Rubick swiftly pocketed the money, then complained, "Come on, don't be so heartless. I helped you out of a real bind earlier."

Nami wasn't grateful in the slightest. Trouble of that level hardly even counted as trouble in her eyes.

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening! You can stay for one night, but tomorrow you're out!"

Nami returned to her room and slammed the door with a deafening bang.

"That girl!"

Rubick shook his head and returned to his own room. Now that he had twenty thousand Beli, he figured he should have enough to sail to Foosha Village.

When he opened his door the next day, Nami was already sitting in the living room.

"Morning, Nami."

Nami glanced at the sun high outside and remarked, "Old man, you sure sleep late."

She patted the coffee table. "Will you take a six-million-Beli job?"

Rubick looked at the bounty poster beneath her fingers. It was for "Blood Blade Red."

"Sure. Easy."

Nami frowned. "I wanted to ask you last night. Why can you handle a pirate worth five million so easily, but you can't beat anyone worth more?"

Because I don't want to reveal my trump cards, obviously!

Rubick didn't want to discuss it. He merely said, "Once we're truly partners, I'll tell you why."

Nami tapped the bounty poster on the coffee table. "Then deal with this pirate first and let me see what you can do."

"But before that, I need something to eat."

Rubick walked over to the door, where a cord hung. Since this was the presidential suite, the cord connected directly to the reception desk on the first floor. All he had to do was pull it, and an attendant soon came upstairs.

"Sir, what can we do for you?"

"Milk, bread, and steak for five."

The attendant paused. "For how many?"

"Five. Hurry up."

The attendant said nervously, "Sir, two portions are complimentary, but the other three will cost extra."

Rubick took out ten thousand Beli and pressed it into the attendant's hand. "Here's ten thousand up front. Bring the food quickly."

"Right away, right away."

Once the door closed again, Nami clicked her tongue in amazement. "Old man, I never would've guessed you could eat that much in one sitting."

Rubick sank into the sofa. "You should eat more too. It'll help you develop. If you'd met the woman I like, you'd know what it means to feel inadequate."

A look of eager curiosity immediately appeared on Nami's face. "Old man, tell me about the woman you like. We've got nothing else to do anyway."

"Once you're truly my partner, I'll tell you. Anyway, she's a gorgeous, sophisticated, mature woman who's a little taller than me. And she's got an hourglass figure, with a lot more curves than you."

"Shallow!"

Nami argued indignantly, "You men are all pigs! You only like shallow women like that. I'm telling you, give me two years and I'll have an hourglass figure too!"