In the castle's study, a small candle flickered on the desk, casting shadows across the rock-made walls.
At the desk, a tired-looking man shuffled papers, the glasses barely clinging to the edge of his nose.
"Cursed…" Wolter murmured to himself with an annoyed look. "If the count keeps going with his slaving business, it is only a matter of time before the navy finds out…"
He was looking at the papers in front of him and was far from pleased. It was atrocious the amount of money they were making, but to the outside world, they were just a simple shipping company.
Shipping materials across the World Seas.
However, that cover story wasn't enough to keep the navy's nose out of their business, so Count Sander had been paying the nearby navy branch commander to turn a blind eye.
The navy commander didn't know that they were in the slaving business. If he knew, the amount of money Count Sander was giving him wouldn't nearly be enough to keep him quiet.
'These stupid pirates have been robbing and kidnapping the poor folks of passenger vessels in the nearby waters, which is why the navy has increased the security around these parts.
'The Count should've kept that business as far away from Kiwi Island as possible, but no, he just had to make more money!'
At that moment, someone knocked on the door of the study.
'At this time?' Wolter frowned and checked his silver-edged timepiece.
It was one hour past midnight.
"Who the hell could it be?" Wolter stood up and went to the door.
When his hand touched the doorknob, he opened the door, but immediately a sharp-edged knife appeared near his throat.
If he moved an inch, it would surely cut him.
"You aren't the Count." Julian said while pressing the knife against Wolter's throat. "Who are you?"
Wolter paled and raised his hands in surrender.
"M-my name is Wolter, I-I am Count Sander's accountant."
"Good, you must know where he is keeping his money!" Julian pushed him inside the room, and he and Kiernan entered before closing the door behind them.
Wolter plopped down on a chair and nervously wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers.
"Well, where is it?" Julian asked. "Where is Count Sander keeping his money?"
"Y-you're actually trying to rob him? Do you have a death wish?" Wolter asked. "He has a lot of influence around these parts, y'know!"
"That's not what I asked!" Julian slapped Wolter across the face.
"There!" Wolter pointed to a wall with a painting.
The painting showed a family of four—a tall, rough-looking man with a younger woman and two twin children who were smiling cheerfully.
"That must be the Count Sander," Julian looked at the rough-looking man in the painting.
The man was tall, bulging with muscles, and had somewhat longer blond hair without a beard and a hooked nose. This painting was clearly old by a decade, at least.
Kiernan went to the painting, tossed it to the corner of the study, and then found a metallic safe hidden behind it.
"What's the code?" Julian asked from Wolter.
"I-I don't have it!" Wolter said. "Do you think the Count is foolish enough to give me the code? Only he knows it."
"Shit…" Julian scratched the back of his head. "What now?"
"Do you have a hairpin anywhere?" Kiernan asked.
Julian tossed Wolter to the side and rummaged through the drawers until he found a hairpin. It was pink and seemed to have belonged to a woman.
"Here." Julian tossed it over to Kiernan. "What're you planning to do?"
"Lockpick it." Kiernan crouched on the ground and inserted the hairpin inside the safe's small keyhole.
'This lock is luckily quite old-fashioned.' Kiernan thought. 'At least compared to the Earth's safes. They've become so incredibly complex lately that lockpicking them is next to impossible, especially with a fucking hairpin.'
"Can you really pick a lock?" Julian asked.
"Yeah, I should be able to." Kiernan said, and focused on the lock in front of him.
"Sheesh…" Julian smirked. "I wonder where the hell you came from to have picked up a skill like that."
"You're making a grave mistake." Wolter said. "Count Sander will find you and kill you."
"Hmm." Julian smiled and sat on the chair, looking at Wolter. "I am really curious about this Count Sander, y'see. Something about him doesn't feel right."
"…" Wolter frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Where did he make his fortune?" Julian asked. "My friend here found his slaves in the basement, apparently thirty of them. Is he part of that nasty slaving business?"
"I-I don't know what the hell you're talking about…" Wolter's voice started to shake.
"How did Count Sander make his fortune?" Julian asked out of curiosity.
"H-He is the owner of a large shipping company!" Wolter said. "He ships important materials and goods across the World Seas."
"I see, so that is the lie you're saying to the public. What is the truth?" Julian asked with a smirk. "Y'know, I've got a good nose when it comes to these things, and I think I know what he does."
"H-He is just an owner of a shipping company, that's it!"
"Nah…" Julian chuckled. "He is a former pirate, isn't he?"
"P-p-pirate, hah!" Wolter laughed nervously. "We're in the navy territory—pirates can't just come here as they please!"
"Yeah, and I thought about it, but this…" Julian pointed at the painting that was now lying on the floor. "Isn't the real face of Count Sander, is he?"
"W-what nonsense are you spouting?"
"Perhaps someone with Physical-type Martial Ability changed his appearance." Julian said with a smile. "To trick the bounty posters, and with money, he made a new identity."
"And with the wealth he amassed during his pirate career, he made himself the ruler of this small island." Kiernan said from the side. "And his crew is here, on this island, as well."
Julian smiled and ripped Wolter's shirt, revealing a burned skull mark on his neck area. It was the pirate mark of the Pirate Kingdom.
"Hahaha!" Wolter dropped his act and laughed. "Then, you should know that we won't let you leave this island alive."
At that moment, everyone heard a clang.
'Impossible!' Wolter thought in shock. 'He really lockpicked that safe?!'
"Heh…" Julian smirked.
Kiernan opened the safe and smiled. "Jackpot."