CH 10: Careful steps
Ch. 10
The questions he received seemed like simple routine. The man was polite and asked about the events on the ship without questioning his method of arrival or commenting on his actions.
He simply wrote everything down and asked some questions about his thoughts and feelings during the situation.
'It feels like a psychological evaluation.'
Ainz couldn't help but notice that. Any questions about Origins had been avoided, and they seemed to instead weigh on the present-day events and his thoughts on those pirates' actions.
It was tactful, and that surprised him. He had dealt with police before, and they had always been either disconnected or arrogant. Touch Me had been a policeman too, but he lived in the higher-class residence quarters and worked in those environments. Ainz highly doubted that the police could afford to act as they did with 8th-class residents with those living above the 5th. They were wealthy and could easily afford a court case, something he could have done in exchange for not being able to pay for rent, food, and air.
But the Marine in front of him carefully seemed to avoid any questions on which Ainz just as much as hesitated.
He started becoming a little more intense when asking about his morals and opinion on piracy, seemingly wanting to gauge his sense of justice.
"Selfish. I think it's the best-fitting word for those indulging in piracy. To put your own freedom above that of others in order to explore the world is selfish beyond reason."
The Marine agent nodded approvingly while scribbling down his notes.
"An answer I can fully agree with. And about the battle. How exactly did you dispatch the pirates?"
The long-awaited question was nearing.
"I dropped a bomb..."
Ainz was nervous, but he did not show it.
The Marine's eyebrow twitched.
"You dropped a bomb? Would you please elaborate?"
Seeing that Ainz simply remained silent, he continued.
"So it was not the result of a devil fruit ability but the result of a bomb being dropped. That goes against the testimony of the pirates you took as prisoners. It also does not explain how the body of Ken O'tucky was disintegrated."
'Oh shit. I forgot about the pirates. They saw the whole fight'.
Ainz's nervousness was rising, and he straightened up, staring at the man, mentally checking his next sentence.
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Morris had been rather nervous while interacting with the man. He may never have been training at the marine headquarters or any of the more prestigious bases, but he had seen tall men before. The biggest human he had seen was Issho Fujitora. A 35-year-old gambler who he had investigated. Morris had been very nervous, but the man had proved to be respectful, kind, and good-natured, although a bit cynical. Yet Morris had found himself unable to fully relax; the man's stature reminded him too much of what he had heard about the admirals.
This Ainz wasn't that different. When Morris had been told to approach ANOTHER 3m tall human, he had not been as reluctant as before. He may have been nervous, but after his experience with Fujitora, a man capable of crushing people without even needing to stand up, everything else had seemed trivial.
The man in front of him was certainly strong, but what was the chance of him being another rear admiral candidate?
He had destroyed the Pollo pirates, who had a 20 million bounty. (although more because of their ruthlessness than their strength.)
Their captain was said to have some skills, having good reflexes and being capable of moving at speeds beyond the human eye, not to mention that strange fighting style he was said to use.
But in the end, he was just a West Blue pirate. It wasn't like Ainz destroyed a fleet while slurping noodles, sitting in a boat floating 20m above the sea, and stacking the ships of said fleet on top of one another.
So when Morris approached this Ainz Ooal Gown, who had been staring at their ship, he thought he'd be able to relax more. He walked up to him and addressed him as politely as possible.
"Sir Ainz. I am Seaman Apprentice Morris. We heard you are the one who saved those people. On behalf of the Marines, I extend to you our gratitude. You did what we could not."
He bowed while speaking. He knew that admitting fault was always a good way to portray oneself; it had worked on Fujitora, and it would hopefully work on him.
"I would like to ask some questions about the events. Just standard Marine procedure."
It would be a bit more than that; his petty officer had told him to try the same as with Fujitora. Gain his interest in joining the Marines.
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"Ainz" turned around, and Morris's breath hitched in his throat.
He was dressed in robes; he had seen it from afar, but only now did he notice how immaculate these robes looked. Not being a noble, he did not know much about jewelry or fashion, but he knew it was something even most nobles would covet.
Another thing was the man's sheer size. Approaching him, he had not noticed just how large he was. He was wider than Fujitora and even seemed to surpass him in size. He wore gigantic shoulder pauldrons, which looked too heavy for anyone to wear.
It was only then that he noticed the mask. A red mask with a grinning face bearing down at him. The features were surrounded by a dark green color, and the eyes were pitch black. He was momentarily disturbed by the mask. It looked evil.
Not the evil pirate kind, but rather sheer malice, born out of pure sadism.
A deep, regal voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Seaman Apprentice Morris. It is a pleasure to meet you as well. There is no need to thank me. These pirates were an eyesore, which the world can make do without. I understand you have some questions?
Please, ask away. I do not mind."
Morris had momentarily been taken aback by the eloquent tone before starting. He simply started with some basic questions, pointedly ignoring how strange his random appearance had been and instead trying to gauge the man in front of him.
He had gradually been growing more relaxed; the man in front of him was reasonable and polite after all, and he seemed to have a certain disdain for piracy, although he did sound rather nostalgic when criticizing the thrill of adventure.
Nevertheless, Morris had a good impression of the man.
He had then asked him about the manner in which he dispatched the pirates, and the answer he got seemed like a lie.
"You dropped a bomb? Would you please elaborate?"
He felt his eyebrow twitch. Bombs weren't something you just carried around, especially when you fancied yourself a merchant.
Ainz simply stayed silent, so he continued.
"So it was not the result of a devil fruit ability but the result of a bomb being dropped. That goes against the testimony of the pirates you took as prisoners. It also does not explain how the body of Ken O'tucky was disintegrated."
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A mistake. He was sure of it the moment he finished his sentence. He had taken on an accusatory tone, and that was a great way to sour a relationship. He noticed the way in which Ainz straightened up, casting a large shadow above him.
The atmosphere had turned grim, and the other Marines noticed. A few heads turned, seeing how the man loomed over Morris, who had begun to sweat...
Before it dissipated. In a single moment, every sign of danger he had noticed was gone, as if it had never happened. Morris quickly recollected himself.
"Well, it IS the work of my devil fruit in a way. It gave me the ability to store objects and release them by command".
To store objects?
A perfect ability for a merchant. Ainz continued while Morris was still scribbling.
"Would you like a demonstration?"
He nodded, took a step back to be sure, and watched as Ainz Hand disappeared in a black crevice and pulled out the handle of a sword before putting it back in.
"I am also capable of releasing them with high velocity to turn them into projectiles."
It certainly seemed to be usable in battle.
"Any limitations?"
The man hesitated. "The weight."
Morris nodded. Reasonable enough.
He closed his notebook and thanked the man before retreating back to his office, handing him the notebook. He wasn't going to risk himself more by asking about the disintegration.
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"That went better than expected..."
Ainz's quiet words went unheard by anyone.
But the fact that it went so well meant that devil fruits could be more trouble than he initially thought.
It would have been simpler to just have powers of things and elements, but this meant that actions and concepts were abilities as well. What if there was a luck fruit? A death fruit? A life fruit? What were the limitations of those fruits? Where do they even come from? Do they just randomly grow? How developed are their abilities?
Is there really no one who knows the truth about them?
Why? Because of their rarity?
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"I want them."
It spurned him. He was so curious. What did they look like? Feel like?
Was he getting obsessed over them?
Maybe. But he did not think it was a bad thing. Having a goal like that would give him a drive and probably make him go all around the world.
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He and the villagers had been granted housing in the base, next to the town. It was obviously nothing luxurious, but there was a medical staff and the constant protection of the Marines, which would be good for the villagers.
He himself had received a bigger space, probably due to his larger frame, but that was rather useless given the fact that he was not going to stay inside much.
It only took a few minutes before he went outside and strolled through the town.
The town itself was pretty much a small city. It was of no particular renown and seemed like a simple, nearly self-reliant economy. The buildings were of varying colors. Given the name, it was not difficult to guess what this island was thriving off. The city "Daizu" was the only major city on the island, due to the rest of the island being covered by soybean farms and animal farms.
Another thing he noticed was how well protected the island was. There were a lot of Marines patrolling the city, and the Marine guiding them to their rooms had mentioned several more outposts in the vicinity of the farms.
"Well, I suppose this is due to the importance of soybeans. They are usually used to feed livestock, after all. The sheer amount of trade this island can get just due to that is incredible."
That was true. The port was proof of this, filled with ships and tons of merchandise being moved. The island was thriving.
While he was calmly observing his surroundings, the people around him were doing the same. Seeing the bit over 3 m tall robed man with a mask walk the street was rather rare after all. Nevertheless, he came around without any incidents and simply enjoyed his walk.
He considered leaving the city and exploring the soybean farms but stopped as he had reached the end of the port.
There, in between 2 ships, he saw some people doing what he was sure to be a shady deal. They were well hidden in the shadows of the ship, but the fact that it was happening NOW was a bad sign. It meant that corruption and these kinds of deals were a common thing and that the criminals had grown arrogant enough to do them in broad daylight.
It also meant the Marine had been bribed.
There was not a single Marine in the vicinity, and most people simply walked by, their heads kept low. They either didn't notice or didn't react to what was going on.
Ainz felt a tug on his ropes.
A man walked by him, gave him a pointed stare, and then walked into a small street.
The undead overlord was confused. Was this some kind of mugging for Volunteers?
Nevertheless, his curiosity got the best of him, and he followed, silently casting several buffs just in case.
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The boss had told him to be on the lookout.
There were routine dealings going on, involving some Marine big shot. They were dealing in information about the maritime routes so as not to come across a marine control while transporting the merchandise, and it was best for prying eyes to stay away. So they met at the port. It was not the best location for the Gambino family, but the Marine could not or would not stray too far from the base.
But it would be fine as long as no Marines showed up. The West Blue was used to the presence of the Five Families, and the civilians knew to keep their noses where they belonged.
That was until a certain someone appeared. He sighed. He did not know who this goon was, but he was most likely not from here. He had been staring at the negotiations, which had been coming to an end, with his full body facing them, seemingly not even thinking of being subtle. If these negotiations were any more important, this would have warranted a straight report to the boss, but this kind of negotiation was just a routine. Even IF there was a leak or a problem, he wasn't going to be executed immediately.
He was going to see if there was another thing to be won from that guy. He did look rather rich after all.
Approaching the guy, he marveled a bit at the sheer size of him. He could become a great intimidator. The boss would be glad to have a guy like that as a bodyguard or enforcer just for his looks alone.
He tugged at the robes of the guy, gave him a long stare, and then walked into an alley. He wasn't sure if the guy was going to show up. No sane person would follow some random dude into an alley after having witnessed an illegal transaction. But he found it to be a good idea. If the guy came, it could mean 2 things. 1. He was an idiot, a fool who did not understand what was going on. Or 2. The guy was just that confident. In both cases, he'd be able to get something. And if he didn't... then he'd simply do his job and report the guy.
He did not even have to wait a minute before seeing the man enter the alley, simply walking towards him.
"Well, you clearly aren't from here, are you? Following strangers into alleys can be dangerous, you know?"
He pointedly took on a relaxed stance, showing that he was not doing anything. His statement was meant to tug on their nerves, to see how nervous that prospect could make them.
The man did not move an inch.
"Indeed, I am a stranger in this sea. And while I appreciate your concern, I am quite confident in my ability to defend myself."
The voice of the man was noble, something that had him momentarily taken aback before he let out a laugh.
"Ohh? So that big boy frame of yours is not just for show, huh?"
A smirk before he continued.
"So? Why'd you follow this humble civilian into this little alley?"
The man simply skipped the question.
"Apologies, while it is not my wish to interrupt the joy you are clearly getting out of this situation, I do have one, no, two reasons to have followed you."
Haaah, no time to play around anymore... He straightened up and listened.
"The first one is to solve a potential misunderstanding. I understand I took notice of something rather... unnecessary to me, and I do not wish for you to ring any false alarms".
Obvious. A person who "does not want any trouble."
"Secondly, I am a merchant. I deal with quite a lot of things, and I believe that you people may find special interest in some of my wares."
Hoooh. A merchant?
"What do you deal with?"
"Many things, ranging from simple food to weapons, drugs, and other services."
"Quality?"
The man put an hand undernwath his robe, and pulled out a bottle. A black liquid was swimming inside.
"I'd advise against drinking it. Strength is irrelevant when it comes to this little concoction.."
"Poison?"
"Unlike any other."
A smile blossomed. It was his lucky day. Bringing out someone like this to the boss was sure to get him into an even better position. Well, it depended on the poison.
"You got a name? Or do you just want to stay Merchant?"
"Momonga."
That's it? An alias, perhaps?
"Well then, 'Momonga,' you'll be staying in our wonderful city for a while, won't you? Come back at the same time in 4 days. We might get you a good deal."
The giant simply nodded.
"I bid you a good day."
He had already stopped listening
"Yeah, yeah, bite you too or something."