Ben and HQ headed to the Bridge where all the girls had gathered. "Hey All," Ben greeted. The girls greeted back. Nojiko was in the helm`s seat commanding the ship.
"We are at Partia?" Ben asked.
"Yes Captain. We should be able to see it in a few minutes," Nojiko replied.
"Time for the money," Mikita said.
"Ben you got a quest as well for this?" Kaya asked.
"Yes," Ben replied.
"Will it be complete once we win the race?" Kaya followed up.
"Almost there is one condition left," Ben replied.
"What is the condition?" Marianne questioned.
"Well I will tell you later," Ben said looking at Marianne.
"Something pervert for sure," Kaya replied.
"Pervert," Vivi gasped.
"I can help," Honey volunteered.
"You already did," Ben replied.
"My love, we all will help," Alvida said. The girls including Vivi smiled.
"We can see the island," Marianne pointed out.
Ben saw the island and nestled along the shimmering coastline was a port town. The town's shape is a gentle crescent, curving gracefully around a serene harbor. The buildings were a harmonious blend of colonial and maritime architecture, lining the waterfront. There were narrow cobbled roads which meandered through the town, guiding visitors past quaint boutiques and bustling seafood markets. Soft, warm lights suspended from wrought-iron lamp posts illuminate the cobblestone streets at night. The town had a unique town hall, a grand structure of brick and stone, standing proudly at the town's center. Its clock tower was adorned with an ornate, ship-shaped weathervane.
"Lets dock," Ben ordered.
"What about the Marines?" Mikita asked.
"Gasparde is not that stupid to let Marines know about this," Ben said and added, "However we should be careful, we encountered the Marine ship before we got to Hannabal Island so they might have sent another ship in this area."
"Agreed my love," Alvida said.
"We should split up into smaller groups but stay close. We don't want to attract to much attention," Ben added.
"That sounds like a good plan," Kaya said.
"Okay so me, Nojiko and Alvida will go and get the loot and progress the quest," Ben said.
"I will be with my love," Alvida said as she walked to Ben and hugged him.
"Mikita, Marianne and Vivi will go around for any supplies, staying close to the Miss Love Duck," Ben added.
"Our supplies should be good considering we just got half the loot from Gasparde," Mikita added.
"But we can shop for more," Marianne said.
"Sounds fun," Vivi said.
"HQ, Kaya and Honey will stay on the ship, if that is okay with you girls?" Ben asked.
"That is fine Master," HQ said. Kaya and Honey nodded.
"We are docking in," Nojiko said.
"Let's head to the deck," Ben said. The girls got to the deck and they saw a group of pirates and people, drinking and dancing. They were in a party mood.
"You did it, you won," shouted one man.
"Another winner this year beside Gasparde for once," another pirate said.
"What happened to him?" a drunk pirate said.
"I don't know he should be here soon," the fourth pirate said.
However there were others who were not happy with the Love Pirates winning.
"Damn you, I lost so much money," said a fifth pirate who spilled his drink.
"Nooooo," said the sixth pirate.
"I will kill you for winning," a man cried.
"Can I beat them, Captain?" Mikita asked.
"If they attack then yes," Ben replied.
The Miss Love Duck docked, dropped the anchor and lowered the bridge to the dock. Ben and the girls left the ship. They formed two groups as they discussed before.
A man walked towards Ben,Nojiko and Alvida. He was an older man whose back was slightly hunched. He had a big white mustache and wore a tall striped hat on his head. He wore a striped suit and pants.
"Congratulations you have won," he said. Ben looked at him and recognised him as Giberson, also known as "The Concealer," a well known underworld emperor. Ben thought what is he doing here.
"Thank you, it was tough but we did it. My name is Ben and I am Captain of the Love Pirates and the man who will become Pirate King" Ben said. Ben thought it was a bit of risk telling me this information however, him being underworld king, he will find out. It is best to be on his good side for now.
"Very ambitious. I am Giberson. The dealer you have met has not arrived here so we can wait for him to give you the money," Giberson replied.
"I don't think the dealer will be coming, the treacherous Gasparde had given everyone the wrong eternal log pose. It was directed to a navy stronghold," Ben responded
Giberson, who had a bottle in his hand, looked at Ben. "You did not fall for it?" he asked.
"I had a sneaking suspicion that something was not right and had a closer look at eternal log pose and found it was a fake," Ben replied.
"Clever, sometimes you need brains as well as brawn," Giberson replied.
"If possible, can you give the price money so I can ahead out. We don't want to stay here longer than necessary," Ben said
"Scared of the Marines," Giberson replied.
"We took out a Marine ship on the way however it best not to underestimate your opponents," Ben remarked.
Giberson smiled. "I see that you might do something big in the future," Giberson said.
"Let's get your prize money," Giberson added and started walking into the town.
"Is it okay to trust him," Nojiko said.
"No but we need to get the prize money to complete the quest," Ben whispered.
"Girls keep your guard up," Ben ordered. They all nodded. Ben, Alvida and Nojiko followed Giberson.
Mikita, Marianne and Vivi also disembarked and they headed to the stores nearby.
Ben, Alvida and Nojiko walked through the town. They saw people in a party mood even though it was the morning. They were drinking, dancing, talking and smiling. It was a good atmosphere. The streets were wide. They followed Giberson and he went to a bar.
The bar was nestled within the heart of the city's bustling downtown district. Its exterior was nothing extraordinary. The building was a two-story structure. It had a couple of square windows on the ground and first floor. It was made of red bricks. Above the entrance, a vintage wrought-iron sign swung gently in the breeze, creaking softly as it announced the establishment's name: "The Rusty Mug." A string of warm, amber-hued lights frames the outline of the entrance, casting a welcoming glow onto the sidewalk below.
"There's probably something more than this here," Ben commented.
"Yes my love, this looks pretty ordinary," Alvida said.
"We should leave as soon as possible," Nojiko said.
"Agreed," Ben replied.
Ben, Nojiko and Alvida walked into the bar. Inside the bar they saw a row of seats in front of the bartender. There were several chairs and tables across the wooden floor in the bar. They saw pirates walking, talking and drinking in the bar.
"It's upstairs," Giberson said.
Ben, Nojiko and Alvida followed Giberson to the back of the bar where the stairs were. The stairs were narrow. They walked up the stairs and got to the first floor where there was a corridor and several rooms.
Giberson walked to the third room in the hallway. The door was a red door which had a golden knob. He knocked three times.
The door opened. "Come in," Giberson said.
They walked inside and saw a lady holding the door. She was a blonde woman.
Her golden hair flowed in soft waves around her shoulders.. Her skin was spotless and the most captivating features were her crimson eyes, burning with intensity. She wore a sleek black dress that hugged her curves. A silver necklace with a crimson gemstone adorned her neck. She wore black high heels.
Ben smiled and greeted her, "Hello."
The woman smiled and said, "Hello."
Nojiko cleared her throat. Ben smiled.
"The odds of you winning were low, so with 300,000,000 Beli you will get an additional 300,000,000 Beli," Gibson said.
Nojiko and Alvida's mouths became open when they heard that. Ben thought that was nice however he could not remember the bettings odds they said and frankly he did not care. Beli was not his priority however it was an addition and he can get something nice for the girls.
Gibson pulled out two large briefcases. The blonde woman with the crimson eyes walked to and opened and they saw the money.
"That's good," Ben said. The woman closed the briefcase and Ben handed them over to Nojiko and Alvida.
"It was a pleasure doing business with you here," Ben said.
"Likewise, we will be seeing each other soon," Gibson replied as they shook hands.
"Yes we will be," Ben replied. He thought about Whole Cake Island and the wedding.
They exited the room and headed downstairs to the bar and left. "We should get this back to the ship as soon as possible my love," Alvida said.
"Yes we should," Nojiko replied.
"I agree," Ben said. As they walked they could feel various eyes on them.
"I think we are being followed my love," Alvida said.
Nojiko panicked slightly. "Don't worry, I got it," Ben said.
As they walked, they had to turn off the main road and into an alleyway to get back to the port.
"Stay on your guard," Ben said. The girls nodded. They entered the alleyway. Suddenly they saw two men approaching them. They had a devious smile.
"Hand over the money," said a tall tan-skinned man with spiked blonde hair. He had a wide face with an angular jaw and wore a green and gray striped shirt and pale yellow sash around his waist, beige slacks, and black shoes.
"You should listen to Captain Banzai and hand them over if you want to walk away without getting hurt," said a lanky man with fair skin, thick pink lips, and bright orange hair. He wore a purple and yellow striped shirt, blue pants, and brown shoes.