The following afternoon, at the Loguetown central plaza, on the execution platform.
Aiden arrived at his "workstation" ten minutes early.
He was somewhat surprised to find that the number of civilians gathered to watch today was greater than ever before.
Unlike previous times, however, the crowd was unnaturally quiet.
There were no insults or curses directed at the pirate about to be executed. Instead, there was a heavy, rhythmic rising and falling of hushed whispers.
"...Is it really Lord Buck? I don't believe it..."
"Sigh, he saved my daughter's life. How could he..."
"A good man shouldn't end up like this..."
"But the newspapers said he killed Hoke's entire family—six people in total..."
Wearing his cold mask, Aiden listened silently to these complex discussions, his heart undisturbed.
But he knew that what these people were saying was the truth.
When the time arrived, the familiar scar-faced officer stepped onto the high platform. He scanned the crowd of people with their tangled emotions, cleared his throat, and read the prisoner's crimes in a voice louder than ever before:
"'Lone Walker' Buck! As a pirate, you disregarded the law. Last Wednesday night, you broke into the Hoke estate and brutally murdered Hoke and his family—six people in total! Your crimes are heinous, and the evidence is irrefutable!"
The scar-faced man's voice echoed across the plaza.
"By the judgment of the Loguetown Marine Branch, you are sentenced to death, to be executed immediately!"
He swung his hand down abruptly.
"Executioner, prepare!"
Hearing the command, Aiden expressionlessly raised the long-barreled rifle, resting the stock against his now-solid shoulder.
Through the iron sights, he looked once more at the man tied to the wooden stake.
The file he had read yesterday involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
"Lone Walker" Buck was a pirate who had been active in the waters around Loguetown for several years.
With no fixed residence, he traveled alone, specifically robbing notorious wealthy merchants and wicked pirates, then using most of the proceeds to provide relief to the poor in the Loguetown slums.
Among the civilians, his reputation was even better than that of the Marines.
Because of this, as long as no lives were lost, the Loguetown Marine Branch had always "turned a blind eye" to him.
Until last Wednesday.
That night, while robbing a local crooked merchant named Hoke, it was unclear whether he had made a mistake or been pushed too far, but it ended in the tragedy of Hoke's entire family of six being killed.
Six lives. This touched the Marines' red line.
Regardless of public opinion, the higher-ups had issued a death order, which led to today's execution.
Aiden's thoughts returned to the present.
He looked at the man in his sights.
The commoners this man had saved might number more than sixty. But the law was the law, and the crime of killing six people was also a fact. Merits and faults could not offset each other.
At this moment, Buck did not struggle, nor did he curse.
Through the mask, Aiden looked into his eyes.
They were incredibly complex eyes.
In those eyes, Aiden saw the acceptance of a man after the dust had settled, the refusal to submit to fate, and the relief that everything was about to end.
But notably, there was no regret.
Aiden realized that he couldn't simply judge whether this man was good or bad, or whether he deserved to die.
He was the executioner.
His job was not to judge, but to execute.
"Fire!"
The scar-faced officer's roar exploded like a thunderclap.
Aiden's finger was as steady as a rock.
The moment the command was given, he pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot put a period at the end of this "Chivalrous Thief's" complicated life.
The sound of suppressed weeping came from the crowd.
And in Aiden's mind, the cold system notification chimed right on time.
[Prisoner: "Lone Walker" Buck]
[Overall Grade: B5]
[Sin Index: 270]
[Execution Participation: 100%]
[Selectable Rewards]: (3 options available)
[Last Wish List]: (Activatable)
"A Sin Index of 270... It seems the system calculated the weight of those six lives very clearly," Aiden thought. In the eyes of the system, there was no law of "offsetting merits and faults."
"Overall Grade B5... that's a bit unexpected." As expected of a pirate active for many years, he was the strongest pirate Aiden had executed to date.
Aiden knew very well that this meant the [Physical Improvement] this time would be a massive upgrade.
His gaze finally fell on the brand-new entry that had appeared for the first time—[Last Wish List].
The moment he prepared to investigate it further, a red object flew toward him through the semi-transparent screen!
Aiden instinctively raised his left hand.
Splat.
A ripe, rotten red tomato was caught firmly in his palm, thick juice slowly dripping between his fingers.
He looked up and, through his mask, saw the faces below filled with anger and grief.
They didn't dare do anything to the Marine soldiers, so they could only vent all their resentment on him—the executioner who had personally killed their hero.
Aiden said nothing, tossing the rotten tomato into a nearby trash can.
He felt somewhat fortunate.
At least every time he performed an execution, he had to wear this damn mask.
...
Back in his small private room, Aiden couldn't wait to open the system again.
"[Last Wish List] looks like a quest system." He carefully studied the shimmering icon. "Is it something all B -rank criminals and above have, or is this Buck a special case?"
With intense curiosity, he focused his mind on the word "Activatable."
In that instant, a massive torrent of memories that did not belong to him exploded in his mind like an extremely realistic VR movie!
He "saw" everything—
It was a night of torrential rain. Buck had sneaked into the merchant Hoke's estate, his target being enough Berries from the ill-gotten gains to provide relief for the slums.
But he unexpectedly discovered a ledger in the basement.
On it, written in black ink, were rows of cold names and ages, followed by shocking strings of prices in Berries.
Suddenly, the door was kicked open, and light flared. Hoke, bringing his two sons, blocked the only exit.
"And here I thought it was just some stray rat." A contemptuous sneer hung on Hoke's fat face. "So it's that 'Chivalrous Thief' from town who specializes in stealing trash."
"These children... you did this?" Buck's voice was hoarse with extreme rage.
"Children?" Hoke paused, then came to a sudden realization and laughed even more arrogantly. "Ah... you mean those brats who went missing in the slums? That's right, I sold them. Good-looking, obedient brats are hot commodities on the slave market! I advise you not to meddle in things that don't concern you."
He pointed upward. "Every single transaction in here is protected by the 'Adults' above me!"
"The Adults above."
"Missing brats."
The moment he heard those words, Buck's "no-killing" principle was utterly crushed.
The images flashed—the faces of the mothers in the slums weeping and begging him to help find their children.
Crimson instantly stained his entire field of vision.
When everything returned to silence, Buck stood in the middle of the corpses, covered in blood, his eyes hollow.
Just as he was preparing to take the ledger and head to the Marine Branch to turn himself in, a faint cry came from a secret room on the second floor.
He saw the hidden infant still in swaddling clothes. It was the child of Hoke's unmarried daughter; because no one knew who the father was, the baby had been kept a secret in the house.
Looking at the innocent infant, complex emotions appeared in Buck's hollow eyes.
Ultimately, he cradled the infant and disappeared into the rainy night.
The images jumped forward rapidly. He saw Buck entrust the infant to a middle-aged woman in the slums whom he trusted most and who had no children of her own.
Only after doing all this did he go to the Marine Branch and surrender for the crimes of robbery and murder.
The torrent of memories ended there.
Before Aiden's eyes, the [Last Wish List] on the system light-screen finally displayed specific text.
[Buck's Last Wish: Entrustment]
Description: "I killed those scumbags, but I didn't expect there to be an innocent child. My life's savings are hidden in the old place. Please take them out and give them to her... at least so she can raise that child in peace."
Task Objective: Go to the location where Buck hid his savings, retrieve them, and hand them to the middle-aged woman raising the baby.
Task Reward: Unknown.
After understanding the full scope of the incident, Aiden was left somewhat stunned.