"To put it simply, you've been scammed. Is that clear enough?"
Seeing that the woman was still standing there in a daze, the guards stabbed her again before continuing their duties.
This sea has never lacked swindlers, and some pirates even make a living by swindling. Although such pirates are ridiculed as low-level pirates, they are actually among the more intelligent types in the pirate community.
Aside from some targeted scams, scammers sometimes use very simple methods.
They would first use seemingly clumsy methods to eliminate normal people, and those who remained would become their targets for fraud.
This book was first published on the Taiwan Novel Network → 𝓉𝓌𝓀𝒶𝓃.𝒸ℴ𝓂, providing you with a reading experience without errors or disordered chapters.
It's not uncommon for people to impersonate members of powerful organizations, pretend to be high-bounty pirates, or claim to be relatives of powerful figures to profit from such activities.
News travels at sea with significant delays; by the time the victims realize something is wrong, the perpetrators have long since disappeared.
This kind of scam is extremely risky. Although it may fool small people, it can also attract bigger ones, such as admirers or challengers. If it is discovered, it could be fatal.
The guards didn't know if the name Olek was real or fake. Perhaps the conman never expected that someone would come all the way to Piltover to verify it.
"Wait a minute, boss, we can't just ignore this."
What are you trying to say?
"That fellow is impersonating His Majesty Oran's son; he's damaging His Majesty's reputation!"
"That's right. Here's what you do: take her back to headquarters to register her. I'll report it to Captain Brand in a bit."
No one doubted that Olek might really be Oran's illegitimate son.
They trusted their own eyes, both Oran himself and his daughters, who were imbued with their own goodness.
If Oran really had a son, how could he leave him out in the wild? And how could he let him find such an overbearing woman?
Some things require reporting up the chain of command. This might be a big deal for the woman who was scammed, but for Oran, it was just a case of someone who wasn't very bright falling into a trap.
The security personnel couldn't possibly report such a small matter directly to higher authorities; it was passed around several times before finally reaching Brand.
"Your Majesty Oran! New information from the garrison: someone is impersonating your son overseas! Those who have been deceived have come knocking on our door!"
"Zack, create another clone to take my place for a while."
"Yes, Master, leave it to me."
A fun family volleyball game was originally being held here, but thankfully Zach was here to make up for the lack of players at any time.
"What's going on? How come I didn't know I had a son?"
"I heard he's a fraudster. The detailed statement is at headquarters. Would you like me to take a look at it now?"
"No need, let's talk about it tonight. It's nothing serious."
"Okay, but since it concerns your reputation, I think it's better to take it seriously."
Perhaps we should contact the World Economic News Agency to issue a statement? Princess Leriana has been making quite a stir lately; anything related to Piltover is likely to be big news now.
"That's a good suggestion. Let's make a decision tomorrow."
This matter can be considered a small thing or a big thing, but it's not worth sending people all over the world to hunt down such a swindler. It's too much of a waste of manpower and resources. We'd be better off spending that time looking for Devil Fruits.
But Brand is right. These days, a reputation built up shouldn't be ruined so easily. A public announcement and a reward should suffice. There are still people Oran can't help if they've been scammed; some people are beyond saving.
Even if you hold his hand to stop him from transferring money to the scammer, it won't work. There will always be someone more willing to believe a scammer than their family.
As evening fell, Uta sang her lullaby again to her family members before going to bed. The order seemed a bit reversed, but it was actually the norm throughout the year.
Uta loved those musical notes very much, and her greatest interest was singing for others.
After the children had fallen asleep, Oran looked at the statements he had obtained from the security team during the day, along with the photograph.
"These people are really easy to fool."
Looking at the photo of a person who had nothing in common except for their hair color, Oran even felt a urge to study how these people's brain circuits were formed.
A prince descended from the sky, and she married him, becoming his queen.
Such a meteoric rise to success is extremely rare, except perhaps in fairy tales.
"Morgans, it must be dawn where you are by now."
After flipping through the phone book, Oran dialed Morgans' number. It was dark on Firefly Island, which meant it should be dawn at the entrance to the new world.
"Unfortunately, King Oran, I'm not actually in the New World right now, but that's no big deal. Do you have any questions? Yesterday's headline was your daughter's idea."
"No, that's not it. Please publish a notice for me: 'I have no children living outside the home. Beware of scams.' Also, I've sent you a photo. I'm personally offering a reward of 50 million Berries."
He was reportedly spotted in the West Sea a few months ago, using the alias Oleksandr. That's all the information we have.
"It's a small matter. I'll publish it on the front page tomorrow. But if I may ask one more question, what did he do to offend you?"
"They're using my name to scam people, that's all."
Morgans actually lied; he was in the New World, but he didn't want to reveal his new location so soon after Leliana came to him.
Inserting this news was no problem for Morgans; the buzz surrounding Leriana was still going strong, and they could capitalize on it to generate some new sales.
A "private bounty" appeared in the newspaper.
Fifty million Berries is just a small sum for Oran right now, and it's no problem to spend it on something like this. But if that amount of bounty were thrown into the West Blue, it would be a different story.
It's not that there aren't people in the West Sea with a bounty of 50 million, but none of those guys are easy to deal with. They're either local gang leaders or captains of pirate fleets.
Even if they enter the Grand Line, they would still have the power to fight, and could very well become this year's supernova.
But the person for whom the bounty is placed in Oran looks like a defenseless conman, which makes him much safer.
Although it's quite difficult to redeem the bounty, it's not a big problem. As long as you can capture the target, you can sell them at a discount. There are still forces in the West Blue that can make contact with the Grand Line.
The bounty hunters of the West Sea were instantly excited; this was like a windfall.
Moreover, the West Sea is rife with gang culture, and many gangs have their eyes on this person. Fifty million Berries is enough for those gangs to develop for a while.
"Chief Green Pepper! It's news from Dr. Siddiil. It seems someone in the West Sea has offended him?"
"Is that so? Keep a closer eye out when you're out. If you see this kid, arrest him. This is enough to cover a year's medical expenses."
For some rather outrageous reasons, Green Pepper bought an annual pass in Piltover, the kind that costs 50 million and covers a year's treatment.
Moreover, for the Babao Water Army, catching this kind of guy is just a piece of cake. The 50 million bounty is not important. The key is to do Oran a favor.
Because of the prevalence of gangster culture in the West Sea, the underworld has developed to a much larger scale, and many people in it share the same ideas.
Similarly, many naval branches also had the idea of doing a favor. Even without this person, they would still be patrolling normally, it would just be a matter of paying more attention to other intelligence.
Even some kingdoms in the Western Sea posted relevant notices.
This isn't about Oran's face anymore; it's about some unspoken rules among royalty. Conflicts between royal families and between nations are national issues, but if just anyone can impersonate royalty, it won't benefit them either.
Even some pirates have their eyes on him, wanting to use his head as a pledge of allegiance in order to join the ranks of a Shichibukai.
For a time, people on all three paths—black, white, and gray—were searching for his whereabouts, and the search intensified as the news spread.
Impersonating this identity brought him great convenience, but after the scandal broke, he also experienced the power of the new era's "face king".
This was only because Oran simply published a clarification in the newspaper and dropped a small reward; he didn't really exert his full effort.
"Damn it, is that woman out of her mind? She actually went all the way to the Grand Line to verify it!"
A few days later, a bald man came to a restaurant, cursing the woman he had previously cheated on.
Even for ordinary people from member states, traveling from the West Blue to the Grand Line is quite difficult, and the effort required is much greater than that of regular tourism.
He chose to impersonate the Son of Oran in the West Blue because he felt that no one could make a scene on the Grand Line.
"This guy has no self-awareness at all. What makes him think he can actually be chosen by a prince?"
He has now shaved off all his dyed hair and is thinking about where he should run away to.
But he never expected that after evading the navy, avoiding pirates, and successfully escaping from the gangsters, he would be defeated by a group of young people.
"That's him! He's the guy the Soul King was talking about!"
Several young men and women with skulls painted on their faces and glow sticks on their bodies excitedly compared the photos in the newspaper.
They even cut a hole in an enlarged newspaper so that the man's face could be perfectly fitted inside for comparison.
"Who are you guys?! Have I ever offended you?!"
"It doesn't matter. The Soul King said during the tour that whoever catches you will not only get the bounty, but also get to participate in the Soul King's next tour for free."
A personally signed new album, and the chance to perform on stage together—I'm so excited!
Brooke saw the newspaper during the tour and then offered some extra rewards.
It's no exaggeration to say that Brook now has the largest fan base on the high seas, and these people are as crazy as terrorists. Brook's reward is even more tempting than the bounty.
If Redfield hadn't already gotten what he wanted, this conman might have experienced what it's like to be hunted by the Red Earl.
Yes, just as you thought, it rises one day and falls the next, and it's gone by midnight.
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