Chapter 46

Chapter 46 - B·W

"Adrian," Artoria wasn't as happy as he had imagined.

"Hmm?"

Artoria asked, "If they don't have a bounty, are you really planning to sell them?"

Adrian thought for a moment, "Probably not. I'll just scare them. If I really sold them, I'd become a human trafficker."

While making money was one thing, there were certain things he couldn't touch. He wouldn't deal in human trafficking, even if the targets were villains, scum, or murderers.

Selling pirates today and bandits tomorrow—after engaging in such profitable behavior, could he really stop?

If he couldn't stop, would he eventually target ordinary people too?

Adrian didn't want to test whether his rationality could overcome greed. He had choices now, and he didn't want to become the kind of person he once despised.

As for killing directly... he had only been here for a little over a month. From a normal student not yet integrated into society to a ruthless leader, it was impossible. What kind of hardships would one need to go through to change so drastically?

Since coming here, Adrian had Tom's company.

"Having your own principles is a good thing," Artoria looked into the distance with a profound gaze, lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" Adrian didn't hear her speak for a while and turned to ask.

Artoria pointed seriously at a shop in the distance, "That great bun looks really delicious."

"..." This twist was a bit sudden, and the emotion continuity was a bit off. Adrian fell silent for a moment, "Let's buy it!"

If it's about this, then I won't be tired. Tom immediately jumped onto the handlebars of the car, pointing enthusiastically at several shops next to the bun store. He didn't care about whether his owner had principles or ambitions. For Tom, it didn't matter if someone was good or bad, strong or weak; as long as they were his owner, that was enough, as long as they were willing to take care of him.

"Understood, understood!" Adrian grabbed Tom's nape and stuffed him into Artoria's arms, "Great Divine Bun, right? Let's buy it! Great Chocolate too! And marshmallows!"

Strolling down the food street with two food enthusiasts emphasized his wealth and capriciousness.

Back at the tavern, the three of them carried bags full of goodies and significantly fewer Berries. Each of them still held a marshmallow.

Adrian's eating style was bold and unrefined, lacking aesthetics and uniqueness.

Artoria adopted a graceful eating style, taking small bites as she enjoyed the delicacies.

Tom's eating style was absurd, inexplicably similar to eating an apple as he took even, neat bites out of the marshmallow and seemed to relish it.

After putting everything away, Adrian changed his clothes to prepare to impersonate Peterman.

First was the mask. Master Tom was skilled in carpentry, quickly crafting a wooden mask that closely resembled Peterman.

He also repaired Peterman's broken bow and arrows. Although it couldn't be used, it could maintain the illusion. He also made a pair of stilts.

Since that guy was at least a head taller than Adrian, he had to put on the stilts, then don the robe and mask. This way, he would be less recognizable at first glance.

Tom's disguise techniques were rudimentary but effective. He had managed to navigate among a group of dogs wearing a dog headpiece. Most likely.

Artoria changed into a black suit, put on a hat and sunglasses to conceal her hair and eyes, and acted as a follower by Adrian's side.

Tom was stuffed into a sack, only his head exposed, hanging on the wooden bow Adrian carried on his back (similar to how Chopper hung on Law's sword handle).

The three of them strolled casually toward the designated location.

50GR East Coast, with no port and no special scenery, wasn't frequented by many people. Adrian silently waited for the other party to arrive, eager to see who was plotting against him.

As he waited, the sun began to set.

"What's going on? Why haven't they come?" Adrian was a bit puzzled. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Have we been found out?" Artoria said, "But I didn't sense anyone approaching, and from a distance, they shouldn't be able to see through your disguise."

...

On the other end, after Bizzness's assistant hung up the phone, he looked at his boss in confusion, "Boss, why wait for two hours? If I went directly, I could have reached there in half an hour."

Bizzness pinched his goatee, "Throw away the communication bug and prepare to set sail."

The assistant was puzzled, "Huh? Why?"

Bizzness asked in return, "What would you do if you obtained a unique item and contacted the buyer?"

"Of course, I would exaggerate how difficult it was to get the item or praise its quality, then use that as an excuse to raise the price. Finally, I'd mention that if they didn't accept, many others were interested..." The assistant realized something.

Bizzness nodded, "Exactly. But that guy only cared about the meeting location and didn't mention the price at all. He's either planning to deceive us into a trap or he's selling us out before he gets killed. The latter is more likely."

The assistant thought for a moment and agreed, "…You can't really expect these human traffickers to have any sense of integrity."

Bizzness said, "Regardless, we've already prepared the original cargo. The cat was an unexpected discovery. If this doesn't work out, we'll try again next time. Since we can't handle a local boss like Peterman, then let's try a more professional criminal organization."

At the mention of a criminal organization, the assistant hesitated, "Are you talking about... B·W?"

"Exactly, the booming Baroque Works."

The assistant was startled, realizing he didn't know how to judge his boss anymore.

Though Bizzness had sent quite a few people to make trouble at a small tavern, none of them managed to even break a plate. This was what made him uneasy.

However, if he was uneasy, his boss was still daring enough to collaborate with the Baroque Works, an organization known for its ruthlessness. They appeared to be bounty hunters on the surface but were willing to undertake kidnapping and assassination jobs.

"Boss, isn't that too risky? Instead of this, why not..."

"Instead of going directly to the tavern?" Bizzness understood what he was about to say and shook his head, "Baroque Works is in a period of expanding its influence. This is the time when they adhere to their rules the most. Though it seems dangerous, they only care about getting paid for their services. If they break the rules, they won't make money. So, there's actually little risk in approaching them now."

"As for that seemingly weak tavern, we sent many people to make trouble, yet we couldn't even break a single plate. That's what I'm worried about."

The word "risk" can't be judged only on the surface. Bizzness had lived by this principle to make it this far, and his business kept growing.

Bizzness gazed at the receding coastline, as if he could see

a frustrated Adrian, "Adrian, my boy, make sure to protect my cat until my hired help arrives..."

Baroque Works, also known as Baroque Works Agency, or Baroque Corporation, referred to as B·W.

(CN Author's note:

This setup somewhat had its issues — no one except Robin knew the boss's identity, and that seemed a bit far-fetched. It was also a bit off in terms of timeline. But well, this is my story, and I'm in charge. I won't make it too unrealistic.

In a few chapters, a third character will be introduced, a character from Chinese animation, perhaps a bit niche. And after that, the fourth character might be a nostalgic figure for many. Don't expect me to just introduce a bunch of funny characters at once; I'm a novice author, I can't handle that...

Right now, my goal is to give each character their time on stage, maintain their personalities, and avoid forcing in romantic plots.)