"Brrrr... Brrrr... Brrrr..."
The sound of the Radio Snail suddenly rang out, but it didn't come from the table. Lily took out her portable small Radio Snail and pressed the button to answer the call.
"What's up?" Lily frowned.
Calls reaching her weren't uncommon, but if it wasn't for an important matter, they generally wouldn't happen.
The three assistant officers under her performed quite well and could handle many things.
But the one calling this time was not one of her assistant officers.
The small Radio Snail projected an emotionless female image.
"Lily, it's Misty."
Back in Gares' time, the person known as 'Wind Chasing General' surrendered along with 'Destiny Warrior' Sipher.
These two didn't join the Disaster Pirates, but within the territory, they held important positions. Misty and Sipher jointly took duties of patrolling and vigilance, often rotating to ensure no disorder within the territory.
Even though Pirates were stationed in Storm City, they didn't partake in these matters. Sage clearly separated these affairs.
Security issues were all managed by them.
"A merchant brought a batch of slaves here intending to sell... Do we allow slave trade here?"
"No way... Hmm? Wait a moment."
Lily was about to say no, but then realized there seemed to be no such rule, so she looked at Sage.
Sage had mentioned something about slaves before, essentially saying they held no real value; as laborers, they were much more valuable than as slaves.
"Hold on..."
Sage hesitated, "Selling slaves here?"
Trading slaves in the New World... an unimaginable path indeed.
Sage hadn't regulated whether slave trading was allowed because he felt it was unnecessary, as nobody here had human rights.
There were so few adhering countries in the New World, it was almost negligible. In this sea, most couldn't afford the Heavenly Tribute, and a few others scorned paying it.
And they're Pirates here; it's still a Pirate stronghold, even worse than Non-Adhering Countries. Those countries have no human rights, and here, it's not even certain if they'd have their lives.
What slaves to trade here?
To put it bluntly, anyone here, regardless of their status, would become slaves if caught within the World Government's range.
And more importantly...
"Who the hell brought those slaves here?" Sage raised an eyebrow, "Could it be from a place I haven't yet conquered?"
The New World is vast; nobody would come from afar just to sell people here, so it must be nearby. People wouldn't dare in places he's marked; however, there were several he hadn't yet claimed.
But those are in Sage's designated territory, destined to be conquered. If those people came from there...
Sage said fiercely:
"Selling my people back to me, profiting not only from my money but from money devoid of any productive value? Who the hell has the guts, Misty, bring that person over!"
He liked spending money, but he wouldn't waste it meaninglessly!
He'd invest in industrial enterprises and spend on raw materials without hesitation because that money was meaningful; the more you spend, the more you earn.
Sage eating while his subordinates drank soup was enough to make them all fat and strong.
But buying slaves? What does it count as?
The money spent on buying slaves doesn't hold any productive value!
And they very likely belong to him originally!
Soon, Misty brought the group over, stopping right at the tall stairs without entering the Royal Palace.
There were about thirty or so people; aside from a corpulent, fur-clad merchant at the front, the rest were all chained, gaunt, and even their hair looked yellowish.
It wasn't a natural hair color, just the pure result of malnutrition.
The group huddled timidly, like mice, glancing around. Especially upon entering the Royal Palace area, they were both fearful and envious, ready to kneel before invisible eyes.
Until Sage appeared at the doorway.
Thud!
"Lord!"
Surprisingly, the first to kneel wasn't the slaves, but the merchant at the front.
As he knelt, the merchant shouted, "I'm innocent!"
"Oh? Running to a Pirate Gate to plead innocence, that's rare."
As soon as Sage came out, without even paying attention to the people's faces, he sneered and pointed at the merchant, "Are you one of my people?"
"He's not."
Beside him, Misty, whose skin was even paler than Lily's, with brown hair, shook her head lightly, saying:
"This guy claims he's from the West Sea, laboriously obtaining a batch of slaves, and knowing we're short on people, he intends to sell them here."
"I'm innocent, Lord, I didn't break any of our Pirates' rules!"
The merchant wailed, "I happened to encounter a group of fools trying to rob me while transporting goods from the West Sea, and considering the recent recruitment difficulties, I thought I might as well bring them over. Of course... if I could make a little money, that would be even better."
"Lord, these people can be bought for a mere bit of money; I'll calculate it by the minimum human price of fifty thousand Belly per person. Just fifty thousand Belly, and you can buy the...."
Bang!
Before the merchant could finish, his forehead bore a bloody hole, hit by a Bullet that sent him collapsing face-first.
Sage held his Flintlock Gun, the muzzle slowly smoking, as he cursed at the corpse, "You're damn well not one of my subjects!"
His people, he paid proactively. Nobody approached him asking for money.
Even those merchants would eagerly offer freebies to please him, all in pursuit of bigger profits, but discreetly. They wouldn't be so stupid as to state it so blatantly and directly.
Too stupid!
Too stupid for Sage to spare him.
Such a person was dispensable. After all, Sage was indeed a Pirate, not a paragon of morality.
But what he said was disgusting, not only insulting the intelligence of his subjects but indirectly insulting him as well.
At this point, Lily found some information and said:
"Sage, this person is called Kaiyou, apparently a Pirate with a bounty, though not very high, less than ten million."
"He was here half a month ago, selling a batch of loot, then strolled around, bought some trade goods, and left. At that time, he didn't pay taxes before leaving the sea and caused some commotion."
Due to this incident, Lily hadn't had much trouble searching for the records.
Wanting to buy things and then leave required paying full taxes. After all, who knew where these items would eventually end up?
Domestic merchants were fine; their industries couldn't escape. Nobody could afford the consequences of betraying Sage, so taxes were paid obediently.
But for non-domestic individuals, a unified 70% value tax was charged. After buying an item worth a hundred Belly, you had to pay another seventy Belly as tax, and thereafter, it had nothing to do with Sage.
Since Sage didn't need extra channels, he was already the largest channel, never worried about sales, only that production couldn't keep up. Not imposing a 100% tax on outsiders already showed his leniency.
Allowing foreign merchants to buy goods here was to increase liquidity. Although not everything was taxed, certain products and purchases exceeding a specific amount were certainly taxable.
"I thought if my merchants were this foolish, I might have to consider evaluating another batch."
Sage clicked his tongue, finally turning his attention to the gaunt crowd, "Hey, where are you from?"
The thirty or so people exchanged glances, not daring to look up, until one finally mustered the courage to step forward, trembling:
"Master, we..."
"Call me Pirate Captain!"
"Yes, Pirate Captain sir, we are from the West Sea... Can we get something to eat? We are really starving."
So, they actually came from the West Sea?