Chapter 47: Cremia Transit Port
North Blue - Cremia Transit Port
A light morning fog covered the North Blue's most chaotic trade port. The docks were a cacophony of shouting merchants, grunting laborers, and arguing smugglers.
This was the infamous Cremia Transit Port—a gray zone where nobles, black marketeers, and bounty hunters mingled. Here, money was the only authority.
A passenger ship docked, and the people disembarked, melting into the crowd.
Just then—
FWOOSH!
A tall figure materialized at the edge of the ship, as if condensing from the air itself.
He stood nearly ten feet tall, with a lean, powerful build perfectly accentuated by a tailored, dark gray suit. His black hair was slightly curled, and his handsome face was calm, almost aloof, drawing every eye on the dock.
It was Roy, out of his Marine uniform.
"So this is it," he murmured, his voice low and smooth.
The entire port, which had been buzzing with noise, suddenly went quiet.
Merchants stopped shouting. Nobles' daughters covered their mouths, gasping. Laborers froze, one of them dropping a heavy crate on his own foot without even noticing. All eyes were irresistibly drawn to the man who had appeared from nowhere.
"Wh-who is that?!"
"He's so tall... and handsome!"
"Is he a noble? Or a movie star?"
"Shh! Be quiet! What if he's someone important..."
Roy ignored the commotion, walking down the gangplank with long, unhurried strides. His leather shoes made a steady, firm sound on the wooden dock.
"This is a pain..."
He had specifically worn civilian clothes to avoid attention, but his height and appearance made him stand out even more.
Oh well.
A small smile touched his lips. His eyes scanned the hidden corners of the port, and he could already feel dozens of greedy, wary eyes locking onto him.
"This... actually saves me the trouble of finding them."
He casually walked into a clean-looking tavern. The moment he pushed the door open, the noisy room went dead silent.
The bartender froze, sweat beading on his forehead. He forced a smile. "Sir... what can I get for you?"
Roy sat at the bar, his long fingers tapping the wood. "Information."
The bartender's smile stiffened. "I-information?"
"Gild Tesoro. Where is he?"
Roy looked up, his dark eyes cutting straight through the bartender, his voice still soft, but now carrying an undeniable weight.
The air in the room went cold.
In the corner, a group of burly men quietly stood up, their hands moving to the weapons at their belts.
Without turning, Roy chuckled. "Sit down. If you want to live."
The voice was light, but it hit them like a shard of ice. The men froze, their instincts screaming: Danger! Extreme danger!
They stiffly sat back down, cold sweat trickling down their necks.
Roy turned back to the terrified bartender. "So? My question."
The bartender's lips were white. "He... he was at the 'Golden Sands Casino' yesterday... But... but this morning, he headed north... to the abandoned mining district..."
"Good." Roy nodded, tossing a single Beri onto the counter. "Thanks."
He stood up and left. The entire tavern let out a collective, shaky breath.
Outside, Roy looked toward the faint outline of the mountains to the north, his eyes narrowing.
"The abandoned mines... It seems the future 'Gold Emperor' is still... digging in the trash."
The next second, his figure vanished into the morning fog, leaving only a confused crowd and a few trackers who had just lost their target.
North Blue - The Abandoned Mines
The hot sun beat down on the desolate quarry. The air smelled of metal and dust.
Gild Tesoro, 28 years old, stood bare-chested, his blond hair matted with sweat. On his back, the dark, ugly brand of a Celestial Dragon's slave was still visible.
He stood at the edge of the pit, clutching a piece of reddish-gold ore, his knuckles white. It was "Star-Steel," an incredibly rare mineral that fetched a high price on the black market.
"Keep digging!" he roared at the dozen half-starved laborers in the pit below. They were swinging their pickaxes, their faces covered in grime.
"This ore is our ticket out! Just a little more, and we can buy a real ship and leave this hellhole!"
His eyes burned with a paranoid fire. He looked at the ore, but he was seeing something else:
His girlfriend, Stella, being dragged away by a Celestial Dragon...
Him, spitting in the noble's face, only to be captured and sent to Mary Geoise...
Him, crawling on the marble floors, his mouth full of blood...
Him, in chains, forced to sing and dance for a single gold coin...
He muttered, his voice hoarse. "In this world... if you don't have money, even breathing is a crime."
"There's nothing money can't buy. A man with no money... can do nothing!"
"But with money..." His gaze turned into a feverish, twisted obsession.
Just as he was lost in his thoughts, a new sound cut through the heat.
"Ahem."
Tesoro spun around, his hair standing on end. A three-meter-tall, black-haired man in a fine suit was standing less than two feet behind him, hands in his pockets, looking at him calmly.
"When did he—?!"
Tesoro's eyes darted around. The laborers in the pit hadn't noticed a thing.
"Who..." He instinctively took a step back. "Who are you? A noble? A spy? A bounty hunter?"
Roy didn't answer. He just glanced at the Star-Steel in Tesoro's hand.
"Star-Steel. You've got a good eye."
Tesoro's eyes narrowed, and he defensively hid the ore. "Who the hell are you..."
Before he could finish, Roy took a step forward and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait, what are you—"
"FWOOSH!"
Both men vanished from the quarry, leaving only the confused laborers and the glint of the sun on a discarded pickaxe.
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