With the matter settled, the group decided to split up at the port.
Roger and the others would go throw a farewell party for Shakky, while also handling supplies and coating the ship. Valthior and Gaban would head to Mary Geoise.
Without wasting any time, the two groups quickly went their separate ways at the harbor.
"So, should we rent a boat and head to Red Port?" Gaban lit a cigarette and asked casually.
Red Port was the port of Mary Geoise, named after the Red Line. There were six Red Ports in total—East, West, South, and North Ports, each directly connected to the four seas, plus two more known as the "Front Port" and "Rear Port." The Front Port was located in the first half of the Grand Line (Paradise), while the Rear Port was in the New World.
However, people at sea generally referred to all six collectively as "Red Port."
Valthior chuckled. "Rent a boat to Red Port? Who do you think I am? I've never rented a ship in my life—let alone to go back to Red Port."
Without waiting for Gaban to respond, Valthior continued, "Come on, I'll show you what it means to be a descendant of the Twenty Kings—the young master of a Five Elders family!"
With that, he flicked his sleeve and strode toward the island. Gaban grinned and followed.
"Then I guess I'll get to witness the grandeur of Saint Valthior firsthand!"
Instead of heading straight for another port, Valthior led Gaban toward the commercial district.
At the same time, he pulled out a Den Den Mushi and gave a few instructions along the way.
There was a reason why the Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise treated the Sabaody Archipelago as their personal backyard.
Across the vast islands of Sabaody, various Celestial Dragon families had established offices to serve their members whenever they came here for leisure. The Jaygarcia family was no exception.
As Valthior and Gaban approached Grove 40, where the commercial district was located, they saw a group of men in black suits already lined up on both sides of the road across the bridge, waiting respectfully.
The moment they spotted Valthior, a brilliant firework shot into the sky.
Then, two burly men carried out a massive velvet red carpet, rolling it out from the bridge all the way to the entrance of the commercial street.
"What's this?" Gaban asked curiously as he followed beside Valthior.
"My household servants," Valthior replied calmly.
As soon as he stepped across the bridge and onto the red carpet, everyone on both sides dropped to their knees in unison and called out respectfully:
"We pay our respects to Saint Valthior!"
It was Gaban's first time witnessing such a scene so directly, and he clicked his tongue in amazement.
Valthior, however, remained completely unfazed. "Rise."
A man who appeared to be the leader quickly stood and approached Valthior respectfully.
"It has been a long time, Young Master. As per your instructions, I have cleared the entire commercial district of all visitors."
"Long time no see, Lincoln," Valthior said, lightly patting the man's shoulder.
Just those two pats seemed to make Lincoln feel ten pounds lighter. He smiled respectfully. "To have my name remembered by you, Young Master, is the greatest honor of my life."
Valthior nodded casually, not bothering to say more. Instead, he gestured toward Gaban.
"This is my friend, Gaban. He'll be returning to Mary Geoise with me. I came here to pick out some proper clothes for him. After that, arrange for the Marines to prepare a warship to escort us to Red Port."
Gaban nearly froze when he heard that.
Wait—what? Arrange a Marine warship to escort us to Mary Geoise? You really don't care about our pirate identities at all, huh? I've got a bounty of over 300 million Berries!
Then again, in this era, bounties hadn't skyrocketed yet. Whitebeard had caused chaos in the New World for years, and his bounty was only a bit over 800 million.
Shiki, on the other hand, had reached a bounty of 1 billion Berries due to his relentless crimes, even making headlines recently.
As for Roger, he was still sitting at just over 500 million, having kept a relatively low profile in recent years.
Valthior had named Gaban directly, and since Gaban wasn't exactly unknown, Lincoln clearly recognized him.
But unlike Gaban, Lincoln didn't find anything strange about Valthior's order.
Marines? Pirates? What did that matter?
All he knew was that Saint Valthior had said Gaban was his friend. Compared to that, the Marines were nothing more than dogs raised by the Celestial Dragons.
To him, there was no difference between himself and the Marines.
The orders of the Celestial Dragons came above all else.
Thus, Lincoln responded without hesitation, "As you command, Young Master."
Soon, Valthior, Gaban, and a group of Jaygarcia family servants entered the commercial district .
The name "commercial district" might sound ordinary, like a simple shopping area.
But in reality, it was a gathering place for high-end luxury brands from across the seas.
There was no space in Mary Geoise for so-called master craftsmen, fashion designers, or luxury artisans—those seemingly glamorous "elites of society."
In the eyes of nobles like Valthior, they were no different from ordinary servants—just with slightly better skills.
Yet at the same time, the Celestial Dragons had an enormous demand for luxury goods and artworks.
Thus, the nearby Sabaody Archipelago became the hub where these "elites" gathered.
And the commercial district was the heart of it all.
Masters and artisans from all over the world were concentrated here.
Now, every single one of these "social elites" was kneeling respectfully at the entrance of their shops, awaiting Valthior's arrival.
Having long since grown bored of such displays, Valthior didn't even bother entering most stores.
Whenever he passed a brand he found acceptable, he would simply stop briefly and say, "Take him in and pick something. Also, prepare several sets based on these measurements and send them to the Oro Jackson at the lawless port."
Since he was already here, it wouldn't do to buy only for Gaban.
He might as well pick up some things for Roger and the others too—no point letting those country bumpkin pirates embarrass him by gawking at trivial luxuries.
Soon, Gaban was led into a store by kneeling craftsmen, looking completely dazed.
With a simple wave of his hand, Valthior didn't even need to speak—servants immediately brought over a luxurious and comfortable chair, placing it in the middle of the street.
A table was set before him, quickly filled with exquisite pastries, snacks, fine wines, and drinks.
As he sat down, several stunningly beautiful maids took their positions behind him, gently fanning him to dispel the mild warmth of Sabaody.
Others prepared fruits into bite-sized pieces, poured drinks, and lit cigars.
Even when Valthior showed no intention of indulging, they continued their tasks meticulously.
Expensive cigars and cigarettes were lit, only to be discarded after burning a short length, replaced immediately with fresh ones—ready for the moment Valthior might wish to take a puff.
For the first eighteen years of his life, Valthior had lived in exactly this kind of absurd luxury.
So he felt no discomfort at all.
Leaning back in his chair, he took a sip of a cold drink and asked, "Are there any others on the island?"
To Lincoln, the word "others" could only mean other Celestial Dragons.
He immediately understood and replied softly, "Young Master, there are no other nobles on Sabaody today."
"Is that so? Good. Saves me the annoyance of seeing them," Valthior nodded lightly.
Meanwhile, inside the shop, Gaban had already gone numb.
Clothes that started at tens of millions of Berries were casually tossed aside as afterthoughts.
A luxury artisan whom Silver Axe himself respected was personally selecting outfits for him—over a dozen sets already.
Though Gaban hadn't calculated the exact cost, a rough estimate put it at over 3 billion Berries.
And these were just entry-level items.
According to the craftsmen, time was short this time—otherwise, they would have tailored everything specifically for him, which would have been the true luxury experience.
Out of curiosity, Gaban asked about custom tailoring.
The answer? A single tailored set arranged by Saint Valthior would start at no less than 2 billion Berries.
The materials alone—threads, fabrics—had names that sounded outrageously expensive. Many of them, even after years at sea, Gaban had never heard of.
By the time he walked out, more than a dozen servants trailed behind him, arms full of packages.
Lincoln didn't even ask for a price.
"Put it on the tab," he said casually.
At the end of the year, someone from the Jaygarcia family would naturally come to settle the bill.
And truth be told, while Celestial Dragons were lawless, they never defaulted on payments.
That kind of behavior was beneath them—it would make them look poor.
So these shops never worried about getting paid.
...
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin