Whiskey Peak.
"Another drink!"
In a cushioned booth, Sullivan raised his glass and downed his twentieth shot of hard liquor.
"Wow! Master Sullivan is amazing!"
Cheers erupted throughout the tavern.
"Hahaha, I'm just getting started!"
Sullivan laughed heartily, looking like a complete party animal.
Meanwhile, at a nearby table.
"Ugh… sob sob sob…"
Juvia was in tears.
"We both have blue hair… so why did Master choose her? Has he grown tired of me already?"
She downed glass after glass, drowning her sorrows in alcohol.
"There, there… don't mind that bad man. Let's just worry about ourselves…"
Nami hugged Juvia and consoled her gently.
Erza and Mirajane exchanged a look and sighed helplessly.
They'd been with Sullivan for months now.
They knew him too well.
Something was off, he wouldn't behave this way without a reason.
That wild partying persona… was just an act.
When drink thirty came and went, the time ticked past midnight.
At last, Sullivan collapsed face-down onto the table, completely "knocked out."
Elsewhere, Erza, Mirajane, Nami, and Juvia were also seemingly passed out.
Of course…
Only Juvia was actually drunk.
The curly-haired man Igaram cleared his throat out of habit.
"Whew… that took some serious effort. He really lives up to that 80 million bounty."
Igaram looked around grimly.
To bring Sullivan down at the table, they had exhausted nearly all the bounty hunters in the compound.
One man drinking nearly a hundred under the table, utterly unheard of.
"But at least we finally got him!"
Princess Vivi let out a sigh of relief.
If that had gone on any longer…
She wasn't sure she could've endured it.
Because… the drunker Sullivan got, the more his hands started to "wander."
At first, he just wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
Then, gradually…
It wasn't just her shoulders.
Face, neck, stomach, thighs…
Everywhere but the most sensitive spots had been "explored."
It was practically like she'd been live-action roleplayed as a toy princess!
"Well, well… Vivi, you've done a great job."
Igaram nodded with approval.
"It's fine. It was all for the mission," Vivi replied, barely holding it together.
"Tch, the only scumbag is that man. The women with him must've been manipulated or coerced. We'll make sure they're treated properly later."
"I understand."
Igaram gestured.
Several bounty hunters waiting outside entered with ropes, ready to tie Sullivan up.
But just as they reached for him…
Suddenly, without warning, the bounty hunters stiffened as if electrocuted…
And then collapsed flat on the ground, black smoke curling from their mouths.
"NANI?!"
Igaram was stunned and quickly pulled Vivi back.
He stared at the unconscious Sullivan, unsure and alarmed.
But Sullivan didn't move a muscle.
Igaram signaled again, more bounty hunters stepped up.
And they too fell, one after another, like puppets with cut strings.
"What the hell is going on?"
Mr. 9, wielding two metal batons, gulped nervously.
"We were told to capture him alive, but if he takes some damage, that's fine!"
Miss Monday took off her nun's habit, revealing bulging dark muscles underneath, and moved in without mercy.
The table shattered under her brute strength.
But by sheer coincidence, Sullivan shifted in his sleep and rolled onto the couch.
"Damn! Next time he won't be so lucky!"
Miss Monday lunged again.
But before she could land a blow, Sullivan, still seemingly asleep, swung a fist mid-roll and sent her flying.
"No way we can't beat one sleeping guy!"
Mr. 9 flipped backward and launched a spinning kick.
Same story again.
He was sent soaring by Sullivan's unconscious kick, hundreds of meters into the air.
"This bastard, he was never asleep at all!!!"
Igaram's eyes narrowed with a chill. He finally saw the truth.
"Princess Vivi, run! I'll hold him off!"
Now that it was clear Sullivan had been playing them all along.
There was only one thing Igaram could do: cover her escape.
After all, the man had an 80-million bounty.
They had no chance in a straight fight.
Igaram tugged on his tie.
A series of gun barrels emerged from his curly hair, ready to fire.
"Uncle, I suggest you don't make a move."
Erza's cold voice rang out.
Before anyone realized it. She was already blocking the doorway, sword drawn and pointed at Vivi.
"Erza, don't hurt the girl. She's not the enemy!"
Mirajane called out.
"I know," Erza nodded.
When they were pretending to be asleep earlier, she'd clearly heard Igaram mention treating them well.
He wasn't lying.
"I knew it," Nami chimed in with a smile. "No way this world has towns that welcome pirates. You guys are bounty hunters, aren't you?"
"Targeting Fairy Tail… You must've been ready to face the consequences."
"We lost. I've got nothing more to say. Kill us, imprison us, do what you want… Just let Miss Wednesday go."
Igaram gave up resistance entirely.
"But ultimately, how we handle you... isn't up to me," Nami added, glancing sideways.
"It's up to the Mas— Wait, Master?! Why are you still asleep?! Wake up already!"
Nami leaned close to Sullivan's ear and shouted.
"Man, it's really impossible to get a decent nap these days…"
Sullivan stretched lazily on the couch and finally opened his eyes.