Upon hearing what Wood said, Robin's face instantly fell, filled with exasperation. She had thought that Wood genuinely knew the hero of the Fish-Men, someone who could earn them favor with Tom. But it turned out that everything Wood said was just a bunch of lies!
"Wood, could you maybe go to Tom's workshop by yourself later? I'd like to wander around on my own."
"Why? Didn't you say you had plenty of ideas for modifying the Dark Maru? And aren't you worried about wandering the streets as a pirate with an 80 million Berries bounty and no combat skills? Don't you think there might be bounty hunters on this island?"
Wood was puzzled. Earlier, he had planned to come alone, but Robin insisted on tagging along. Now, after having her fill and buying some books, she was ready to ditch him.
"I can't help it. If I stay with you, I might get beaten to death by the island's shipwrights. There are a lot of Fish-Men here, and you're using their hero's name to deceive people. That's definitely going to make us some enemies! Wood, let's escape now before they find out we're lying. Tom probably won't hold it against us."
Robin had thought that Wood was well-connected, and if he really knew Fisher Tiger, they might get a discount. That was the confidence she had when they, despite being short on money, dared to seek out the best shipwright for modifications.
But now? Robin realized Wood was just all talk.
"What are you worried about? Tom is the world's best shipwright; surely, he has enough class to handle this. Besides, it's not like we can't pay. If necessary, we can just offer double the fee."
Seeing the carefree attitude from Wood, who seemed to be brushing off her concerns, Robin covered her face with her hand and listed out the cold, hard facts to make him realize just how poor their pirate crew was.
"Double the fee? Are you planning to fly up and touch the sun?"
"A large sailboat, with materials and labor, would cost around 50 million Berries. Given the craftsmanship in Water 7, the price could even go as high as 80 million Berries. Tom, as the world's top shipwright, would likely charge even more."
"Considering we're just modifying the ship and not overhauling it, the fee might be lower, but it will still cost several tens of millions of Berries. Do you even know how much money we have left?"
Robin had learned this information earlier from chatting with a bookstore owner when buying her books. Though young, she was experienced enough to understand the importance of knowing local prices to avoid being taken advantage of.
Upon hearing Robin's mature analysis of shipbuilding costs, Wood paused before saying, "Don't we still have 82 million Berries? Even if we don't get a discount and have to pay extra, we should still be able to cover it, right?"
Hearing this, Robin scoffed. "82 million Berries? That was ages ago! The daily expenses of the crew and ship repairs have eaten into that. And let's not forget a certain someone who insists on throwing a party every time we find treasure. We've either halved our funds at every celebration or spent all the money outright. So, do you really think we still have that much left?"
Robin, acting like a little adult, scolded the oblivious Wood, pointing out that he was the reason their funds were always so low.
Wood's love for throwing parties had a reason. Despite their small crew, a party every time they found treasure wouldn't cost much on its own. But the problem was that Wood always invited the locals to join in, which added up over time.
At first, Robin wanted to criticize Wood for his wastefulness, but Ruth stopped her. After Ruth pointed it out, Robin soon realized that Wood only held parties on islands where people lived in harsh conditions. It was his way of helping those in need without hurting their pride, by throwing what seemed like a lavish, carefree celebration.
Robin admired Wood's behavior, feeling touched by his kindness. She had never thought there could be a Marine—or former Marine—like him. However, if he continued to spend recklessly, their pirate crew would soon fall into debt. That's why the crew, by a majority vote, had transferred control of the Nirvana Pirates' finances entirely to Robin.
"Our pirate crew currently has less than 50 million Berries left, Captain. And we can't use all of that to modify the ship—we need to save some for supplies and other expenses. So, the most I can allocate for the ship's modifications is 30 million Berries."
Thirty million Berries should be more than enough for most shipwrights, but Robin hadn't expected Wood to head straight for the world's top shipwright.
If they were dealing with any other shipwright on the island, 30 million Berries would have been more than sufficient. But for Tom, the world's best? It wasn't nearly enough.
"Shipwrights make that much money? If I'd known, I would've chosen that over becoming a Marine. But if that's the case, why don't we just go to another shipwright on the island and not bother Tom?"
Wood initially sought out Tom because of his reputation; after all, Tom had built the Pirate King's ship. The craftsmanship aside, just having Tom's name associated with the Dark Maru would increase its prestige. And maybe, when they finally retired, they could sell the ship for a fortune!
"But we've already made an appointment with Tom's workshop. The other shipwrights on the island respect Tom too much to take over our job. If it were just about money, it would be fine, but we deceived him by pretending to know Fisher Tiger. He's probably going to be really angry."
Robin had heard that the shipwrights in Water 7 were not to be trifled with, especially since they often had to deal with pirates who tried to cheat them.
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 230+ at patreon.com/Betek.