Chapter 209: What Are You Guys So Nervous About?
"Ahem, what are you doing? This is an official diplomatic office. Don't be so direct next time, Hermes!"
A tiny hand made entirely of clouds shot out from beneath the desk, sweeping all the gold coins out of sight with lightning speed.
"You can run your bar, and he can do his coating business. There's no problem with that, and our rules won't make things difficult for you. But for that Rip-off Bar of yours... this time, you don't still have a rule that forbids entry if a fight breaks out, do you?"
Hearing Nanamo ask this, Shakky shook her head. This wasn't Hachinosu, and she had no intention of continuing to make a name for herself like she did back in the day. She was just an old proprietress living in seclusion and running a bar.
"Excellent. We aren't just taking your money for nothing. If anyone tries to cause trouble, we'll deal with them.
"That trash from Paradise poses no threat to the two of you, but personally, I hope you extort them as ruthlessly as possible. It would be best if you piss them off so much that they smash up your shop.
"That way, I can justifiably convert them all into bounties."
Shakky covered her face with her hand. She realized she seemed to have overcomplicated things. The girl in front of her possessed nothing but an insatiable desire to make money; she harbored no strange ulterior motives whatsoever.
"What's wrong? This is the diplomatic office of the Ryugu Kingdom, not Hachinosu.
"The money you paid for the bar already includes the property transaction tax. How could I possibly hold a grudge against you just because you stole my family's tavern business back then and caused our revenue to drop by exactly 23 percent for several years?"
Nanamo said she didn't care, but the hyper-specific number she spat out clearly indicated that she absolutely still held onto that grudge from over a decade ago.
However, this attitude actually made Shakky feel much more at ease. She didn't fear people with clear, specific goals; what she feared were hotheaded idiots who stubbornly charged down a single path without caring about the consequences.
"I understand your intentions. Don't worry, the money lost over those years will eventually be earned back."
"I certainly hope so. Oh, and by the way, 'Dark King' over there, let me warn you first: I'm just covering a shift here. Uncle Babel went on vacation. When you need to handle business here in the future, it's best if you don't come in person.
"If you make too much noise and piss off the Old Man, it won't end well for anyone."
As the public enemy of pirates back in the day, Babel still harbored quite a bit of resentment toward Rayleigh. If a fight broke out between them here, the fallout would be incredibly troublesome.
Rayleigh didn't say a word, merely nodding. He genuinely didn't want to cause any major trouble.
After securing their permits and handling a series of administrative issues, the two returned to the bar's location. In this corner of the island that no one paid attention to, the Rip-off Bar that had once taken the sea by storm reopened its doors.
Nanamo continued her temp work, but the anticipated tidal wave of crazed pirates had not yet surged into the Sabaody Archipelago. Right now, in the eyes of the world, Roger was still a "living man."
Rumors were spreading like wildfire that Roger had obtained an indescribable treasure and dubbed it the "Great Treasure." Countless pirates were frantically searching for traces of Roger, hoping to kill him and steal his hoard.
But Roger's current whereabouts were entirely unknown, leaving these people to scour the seas aimlessly. Excluding this group, the number of pirates actually crossing the border into the New World with the intention of reaching the final island had actually decreased.
Those who still wanted to go to the final island did so to prove they were no lesser than Roger. Those who didn't want to go believed Roger had already taken all the treasure. Rather than sailing to an empty island, they figured it was better to hunt down Roger himself.
"This job... is actually pretty boring."
A few days later, Nanamo leaned back in a rocking chair formed by Hermes, listening to a subordinate's report. The predicted pirate tide hadn't materialized, and the Sabaody Archipelago remained relatively peaceful.
Nanamo spent most of her time slacking off, only needing to step in and handle an issue on extremely rare occasions. However, she severely disliked this boring state of affairs; after all, if no one caused trouble, she had no extra income.
"How on earth does Uncle Babel endure this on a daily basis?"
"As for Lord Babel, he usually sits here meditating and chanting sutras. Sometimes he also does some scalp care," the clerk beside her replied.
Ever since the kill-order incident back then, the Sabaody Archipelago office had remained largely stable. As long as someone formidable was holding down the fort, no major incidents ever occurred.
"Oh, right. Uncle Babel is technically a monk. I almost forgot about that."
Babel's appearance always made Nanamo forget the hot-tempered uncle's actual profession. A traditional monk wouldn't have his mind constantly filled with thoughts of forcefully "purifying" people into the afterlife.
"You look quite relaxed."
"Hm? Old Man?"
"Big sis!"
Just as Nanamo was having Hermes adjust the rocking chair's swaying amplitude, a familiar male voice suddenly echoed beside her. The man was holding a child—Chloe—and Amphelite was walking right beside him. It was none other than Nereus himself.
"Old Man, what are you doing out here? Conducting an inspection?"
"Just taking your little sister out for a walk. Someone brought a flyer for Sabaody Park back to Fish-man Island, and ever since Chloe saw it, she's been begging to go."
"I came to pick you up so you could join us, didn't I? Your shift ends in 30 minutes anyway."
The Ryugu Kingdom's office here adhered strictly to punctuality. Once the shift was over, all the employees returned to Fish-man Island; there was naturally no need to leave anyone behind to stand guard.
Since Sabaody Park was an entertainment venue, it operated 24/7, giving them plenty of time to enjoy themselves.
To Nereus, this was merely a simple sightseeing trip, a vacation to an amusement park just to play with his kid.
But in the eyes of others, it was an entirely different story.
"Report! Target Nereus spotted on the Sabaody Archipelago! Motives unknown!!"
Nereus hadn't made the slightest attempt to conceal his movements, openly strolling onto the Sabaody Archipelago. He didn't care, but others definitely did.
The Marine personnel stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago base were already thrown into utter chaos. Every soldier was on high alert. Even though it was completely useless, it was a matter of Marine dignity.
After a brief compilation, this intelligence would be immediately forwarded to Marine Headquarters.
Even though Nereus's current status was that of a King, the Marines still didn't dare lower their guard around him. Sending people to monitor Nereus wasn't an attempt to stop him if he tried to do something.
The Marine Headquarters was well aware of the disparity in strength. A single Admiral couldn't achieve that; they would have to dispatch two Admirals to shadow him constantly to even have a chance.
This surveillance was merely to figure out what Nereus was up to, allowing the Marines to mentally prepare themselves and avoid being caught completely off guard.
"Report! Target has arrived at Sabaody Park! He is currently... riding the Ferris wheel with others..."
The Marine's voice hesitated slightly, seemingly unable to believe what his own eyes were seeing.
"Monitor the perimeter! Preemptively deal with anyone who might potentially anger him! Do not let that madman... go on a rampage on the Sabaody Archipelago!"
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