Chapter 377: Seizing the Shop
Since he had already made his choice, Reggie knew there was no point holding back.
That was how people survived in the Lawless Zone.
He searched his memory for anyone matching Axel's description, but nothing came to mind. Reggie had never paid much attention to ordinary customers unless they posed a threat.
Emma, however, suddenly looked thoughtful.
"I think I know who you mean."
Reggie turned toward her in surprise.
"You do?"
He lowered himself into a nearby seat as he spoke. Standing around too long would only draw attention.
In Reggie's mind, anyone Axel was specifically searching for was unlikely to be ordinary. Since Reggie spent nearly as much time in the tavern as Emma did, it was strange that she remembered the man while he did not.
Unless the person had deliberately remained inconspicuous.
Emma nodded.
"The man you described is... strange."
"Strange how?" Reggie asked.
Emma hesitated before answering.
"Most customers come here for the workers."
Everyone understood what she meant.
She glanced toward Axel before continuing.
"But that old man never does. Every time he comes, he just drinks."
Reggie frowned.
"If he stood out that much, Dylan's men should have noticed him too."
The guards assigned to watch the tavern spent most of their idle time gossiping about customers and workers. They monitored nearly everything that happened inside.
Yet Reggie had never heard them mention such a man.
Emma shook her head.
"Women here notice different things."
Her voice became quieter.
"A customer who only wants someone to sit with him while he drinks means a few hours without having to deal with unpleasant customers."
She gave a small, bitter smile.
"That's rare enough for us to remember."
A hand suddenly closed around hers.
Emma looked over.
Sanji was holding it gently.
"Miss."
His expression was unusually serious.
"Don't talk as though that's the best life has to offer."
Emma blinked.
Sanji continued,
"You still have plenty of time ahead of you."
"Take care of yourself until you can see something better."
Emma stared at him for a moment.
Then nodded, slightly embarrassed.
"...Thank you."
Reggie watched the exchange with a faint frown.
"Leaving all the real observation to the women here..."
He shook his head.
"Those idiots really are careless."
The reconstructed Lawless Zone produced enormous profits, but it was also the sort of place where a single mistake could get everyone involved killed.
Yet Dylan and his men had apparently grown complacent enough to let the workers notice details they themselves ignored.
Of course, there was another reason Reggie had spoken up.
Watching Emma react that way to another man irritated him more than he wanted to admit.
He glanced toward Axel, trying to judge the relationship between him and Sanji.
Axel's crimson eyes revealed nothing.
Sanji did not seem bothered by Reggie's tone either.
Emma was the only one who reacted, immediately drawing back into herself as though she expected to be reprimanded.
That made Reggie feel strangely uncomfortable.
He had survived by being harsh when necessary, but at that moment he felt like the kind of man who endured pressure from stronger people only to pass it down onto someone weaker.
Axel ignored the tension.
"Tell me everything you know about the old man."
It was phrased as a request, but the tone left little room for refusal.
Emma took a breath.
"He comes once every few days."
"I've spoken with him several times, so I remember him pretty well."
She paused as she sorted through the details.
"He said he likes the wine here. Every time he visits, he orders the most expensive bottle, Wol Wine. Sometimes he tries one or two new drinks as well."
"How long since his last visit?"
"Three days."
Emma thought about it.
"So if his usual pattern continues, he should come back sometime within the next few days."
Axel nodded.
"That's useful."
He looked around the tavern.
"How expensive is this place normally?"
Emma blinked.
"You mean for a customer?"
"Average spending, including the most expensive wine."
"Normally around twenty thousand Berries."
She continued,
"If they order Wol Wine, closer to a hundred thousand."
Axel raised an eyebrow.
"One bottle costs more than fifty thousand?"
"Yes."
"That's expensive."
Emma nodded sincerely.
"It is."
Twenty thousand Berries could cover a family's living expenses for a considerable amount of time.
Yet money moved through establishments like this every night.
The workers themselves had often been bought for far less than the profits they would eventually generate.
Axel tapped the table.
"I heard there's a large auction on Grove 1 today."
Emma's face changed.
The warmth vanished from her expression.
She had come through that auction house herself.
Axel noticed immediately.
"Relax."
He looked at her.
"I'm not planning to sell you."
His gaze shifted toward Reggie.
"Either of you."
Reggie gave a small nod.
Some of the tension in Emma's shoulders eased.
"Yes. There's a major auction once every month."
She hesitated.
"I heard Celestial Dragons sometimes attend."
Even saying the title affected her.
Fear entered her voice.
That name alone carried enough weight to terrify people across Sabaody.
Emma had suffered plenty since being sold, but she still considered herself fortunate that a Celestial Dragon had never purchased her.
Axel gave a short laugh.
"Then maybe that old man is selling himself today."
The others looked at him strangely.
Axel did not explain.
A cold light passed through his crimson eyes.
"I'm taking this tavern."
...
"Reggie!"
The merchant's angry voice filled the private room the moment Reggie returned.
"You came at the right time."
He pointed accusingly.
"Dylan told me you sided with the customer who damaged my property."
"Yes, sir."
The merchant did not notice the change in address.
Reggie had once called him Master or Boss.
Now it was simply sir.
The merchant was too angry to care.
"Do you understand what you did?"
He gestured wildly.
"That is my property!"
"Your job is to protect me, and Dylan's job is to protect everything I own!"
Dylan stood nearby with a smug expression.
Watching Reggie get scolded was clearly satisfying.
Reggie remained calm.
"That customer was different."
The merchant glared.
"Different how?"
"What, is he not human?"
Reggie lowered his eyes.
It was almost pitiful how little the man understood his own situation.
The merchant had personally ordered Reggie to watch a former four-hundred-million-Berry wanted man.
Then Reggie had rushed out to stop Dylan from provoking that exact person.
The conclusion should have been obvious.
But Dylan had apparently convinced him that the customer was harmless.
Reggie finally said,
"That was the man you ordered me to watch."
The merchant froze.
"What?"
His face paled.
"What did you say?"
Then his expression twisted with fury.
He drew the flintlock pistol at his waist.
Dylan barely had time to react.
Bang!
The bullet tore through his leg.
Blood sprayed across the floor as Dylan collapsed with a scream.
The room had been heavily soundproofed, leaving his cries trapped inside.
The merchant paced anxiously.
"What happens now?"
"Should I leave?"
His eyes darted toward the back of the room.
"Damn it, I haven't moved my valuables yet."
"The safe?"
"The jewelry?"
"What do I take first?"
Reggie answered calmly.
"He isn't angry."
The merchant stopped.
Then visibly relaxed.
"So I'm safe."
He patted his chest.
Reggie said nothing.
The merchant accepted his own conclusion as fact.
Once the panic faded, Dylan's screaming became irritating.
The merchant looked down at him.
"You useless bastard."
His face twisted again.
"You nearly got me killed."
He raised the pistol.
Dylan's eyes widened.
"Wait... you can't..."
Bang!
Another shot.
Then another.
The merchant kept firing until Dylan stopped moving.
Reggie watched in silence.
He had witnessed this sort of cruelty countless times.
It still left him cold.
When the merchant was finished, his anger disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.
He holstered the weapon and turned toward Reggie with a smile.
"You handled this well."
He nodded approvingly.
"You've always been careful."
"Too careful, sometimes."
His eyes briefly moved toward Reggie's collar.
"Even with the slave collar around your neck, I never completely trusted you."
"But it seems I was wrong."
He spread his arms generously.
"From now on, you'll manage the tavern's internal affairs."
The merchant clearly thought he was granting an enormous reward.
Reggie's expression did not change.
The merchant frowned.
"What?"
"You're not satisfied?"
"Yes."
The answer stunned him.
"What?"
The merchant stared.
"You don't want authority?"
"You'd rather continue guarding me?"
Reggie shook his head.
"No."
He looked directly at him.
"I already have a new master."
The merchant's face went white.
"What did you just say?"
Then anger returned.
"Have you forgotten what's around your neck?"
He pointed toward the collar.
"I can kill you whenever I want!"
Reggie slowly reached up.
"This?"
He removed the collar.
The merchant's eyes widened.
The device that had controlled Reggie's life for so long was already broken.
Reggie tossed it onto the floor like worthless scrap.
The merchant stared at it.
"How...?"
His voice began trembling.
"How did you remove it?"
His hand crept toward the pistol.
Reggie saw the movement.
A cold flash crossed the room.
The merchant screamed.
His hand and the flintlock pistol fell together.
Blood spilled across the floor.
He collapsed backward, clutching the ruined wrist.
"No!"
He desperately tried to crawl away.
"You can't kill me!"
"I bought you!"
"I'm your master!"
Without both hands, his heavy body could barely drag itself across the floor.
Reggie walked behind him.
"Not anymore."
The dagger drove into the merchant's heart.
His body stiffened.
Then went still.
For several seconds, Reggie simply stood there.
The nightmare that had controlled his life was over.
Footsteps came from the doorway.
"Looks like you finished."
Axel entered.
Reggie immediately dropped to one knee and lowered his head.
"Yes."
He spoke quietly.
"From now on, this establishment belongs to you."
Then he added,
"Thank you for removing my collar."
"And for allowing me to end this with my own hands."
Only a short while earlier, Reggie had watched Axel casually destroy the slave collar that had held his life hostage.
His expression then had probably looked much like the merchant's just before death.
Axel waved a hand.
"Get up."
"There's nothing to thank me for."
Reggie remained kneeling.
"I already told you that freedom comes with a price."
"You're serving me now."
"In practical terms, it isn't much different."
"It is."
Reggie's answer came without hesitation.
"The weak submit to the strong. That's how this world works."
He raised his head slightly.
"But you had the power to ignore people weaker than you and didn't."
"For someone like me, following you is an honor."
Axel frowned.
"Stop flattering me."
Reggie paused.
"I don't like hearing that kind of thing."
Axel's expression remained flat.
"Too much praise makes people misunderstand themselves and overestimate their own strength."
"Understood."
Reggie nodded.
His obedient response made Axel lose interest in the subject.
He looked around the lavish room.
"I don't like this place."
Reggie waited.
"Change it."
"To what?"
Axel thought for a moment.
"A restaurant."
He glanced around again.
"Tea, food, alcohol. Something like that."
Reggie silently stared at him.
Then why not just take over a restaurant?
He wisely kept the thought to himself.
Whatever the logic, taking this establishment was what had finally freed him.
Even if that freedom now came with another master.
Axel turned toward the door.
"First, clear everyone out."
Reggie blinked.
"Everyone?"
"All the customers."
Axel nodded.
"If anyone refuses, throw them out."
Reggie hesitated only briefly.
Axel glanced at him.
"You once had enough nerve to attack a pirate worth hundreds of millions."
"Surely you can handle a few local thugs."
Reggie's expression became bitter.
"Having the nerve to attack one and actually winning are very different things."
That mistake had been exactly how he ended up enslaved.
Axel ignored the complaint.
Reggie asked,
"And after the customers are gone?"
Axel smiled.
"Renovate."
He turned toward the entrance.
"And get ready to welcome our guest."
....
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