Chapter 42 A-He
Under the navigator's command, the ship steadily headed toward the nearest Marine base. To avoid being mistaken for hostile pirates and attacked before they even approached, Ren had the original pirate flag taken down and replaced with an ordinary sail.
At the moment, Ren was tallying the assets of the Nightfire Pirates.
To be honest, these people were extremely wealthy. After a careful count, Ren found that the treasure aboard the ship was worth over 100,000,000 Berries.
In this era, 100,000,000 Berries carried far more purchasing power than it would in the future, likely several times its later value.
Money depreciated if left idle, so Ren planned to send these valuables directly to Kurozumi Orochi's overseas stronghold after returning, and have them converted into supplies there.
"So much money!" Molly's eyes sparkled as she imagined herself lying atop a mountain of gold.
"I didn't know you were such a little money-grubber," Ren said in mild surprise.
"Hehe. Someday, I want to become the head of the Magistrate of Finance, just like Sister Yukiko!" Molly said proudly.
Recalling her greedy expression just now, Ren silently decided that she could not be entrusted with that position. It wasn't that he feared embezzlement—rather, he was worried she would become excessively stingy when allocating funds.
"By the way, Molly," Ren said, "use the Den Den Mushi to contact the people at Orochi's overseas stronghold. Tell them to continue monitoring news related to Suigu Town."
"Yes!"
The night before, they had already found Redfield's wanted poster among the Nightfire Pirates' records. Like Roger at this time, Redfield was still an unknown minor pirate.
While Ren's ship sailed toward the Marine base, Yukiko and the others passed through Kibi and arrived in the Flower Capital.
"So this is the Flower Capital," Shutenmaru muttered, looking around. "It's my first time here."
The climate here was clearly different from Kuri. The Flower Capital was perpetually spring-like, neither as hot nor as harsh.
Even after entering the Flower Capital's territory, there was still a long distance to travel before reaching the true capital city.
The capital itself was built atop the central highlands, where a massive cherry blossom tree bloomed year-round. From this distance, however, it was still out of sight.
Outside the city proper lay suburbs and wilderness, but even the wilderness was inhabited. Not everyone was qualified to live within the capital. For instance, an old acquaintance of Kin'emon's—a woman named Tsuru—ran a small teahouse in the desolate outskirts.
"Wouldn't it be best if Lord Ren ruled a place like this as well?" Yukiko said quietly.
She had visited the Flower Capital before. When Kuri was first established, she had traveled here while recruiting construction workers from across the country.
"I remember there's a teahouse ahead where we can rest," Yukiko said. During her previous visits, she had often stopped at a small teahouse along this route.
The teahouse served tea and simple food, mostly snacks like three-color dango.
This trip to the Flower Capital involved only around 30 people, entourage included. The band with gongs and drums had naturally stopped much earlier.
Soon, they passed through a stretch of woods and spotted the teahouse. The owner had already heard the commotion and was standing nervously at the entrance.
Calling her an owner was somewhat inaccurate—the woman was still young and beautiful, making it hard to believe she ran a teahouse alone in such a remote place.
Tsuru had originally stepped out cautiously upon hearing the noise. Running a business here required not only skill, but extreme vigilance.
She soon saw the approaching procession. The elegant decorations startled her slightly and made her even more cautious.
It was clearly someone important.
Such people could sometimes be more frightening than ruffians. However, she quickly relaxed when she spotted Yukiko among the group.
Yukiko had passed through this area many times before and often rested here. Back then, she hadn't brought such a grand entourage, and her followers certainly hadn't worn light armor like they did now.
Because of Yukiko's temperament and her generous spending habits, Tsuru remembered her very clearly.
Normally, Tsuru would have gone forward immediately to greet them. This time, however, she hesitated.
Her eyes fell on the stern-faced man seated within the crimson palanquin, his eyes closed as if resting.
Kurozumi Orochi, having used the Momo Momo no Mi, appeared extraordinarily lifelike. His cold, lofty demeanor made Tsuru afraid to approach rashly, worried that a single misstep might cost her life.
"This is the place. Let's rest for a while," Yukiko said calmly, glancing at Tsuru's tense posture.
This scene struck Tsuru as strange. Clearly, the man in the palanquin should have been the most distinguished figure, yet Yukiko issued instructions freely, neither consulting him nor worrying about disturbing his rest.
It was as if she herself held the highest authority.
In reality, that was indeed the case.
Setting aside Orochi and Shutenmaru, even the former bandits under Shutenmaru—now Tenryu Bugyo soldiers—were more inclined to follow Yukiko's orders. As Ren's trusted confidante, her words often directly represented his will.
"Miss Yukiko, are you…?" Tsuru asked carefully as Yukiko approached.
"Miss Tsuru," Yukiko said gently, "my liege, the current Daimyo of Kuri, and I are on our way to the Flower Capital to pay respects to the Shogun. We're only passing through and thought we'd stop to rest. Please prepare some tea and food."
"Daimyo…?" Tsuru gasped, covering her mouth.
She had known Yukiko was no ordinary woman, but she had only assumed she came from a wealthy family. She never imagined she served under the recently renowned Daimyo of Kuri, and in such a high position at that.
Realizing she had been slow to respond, Tsuru hurriedly said, "I—I will go pay my respects to the Daimyo at once."
Yukiko nodded. Though she felt there was no real need to show courtesy to the disguised Orochi, they could not afford to reveal any flaws during the journey.
"Our Daimyo is actually very amiable, Tsuru," Yukiko added softly. "You don't need to be so nervous."
Tsuru nodded, but her heart still raced.
The highest-ranking person she had ever met was Kozuki Oden, the man who had saved her from the Mountain God's belly two years ago.
Yet even he had been disowned by Kozuki Sukiyaki on the spot.
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