"Did he recognize me?"
Maude felt a ripple of unease in his heart, though his face remained perfectly calm. He sat down in his chair, facing Tatam, acting as if Lafitte hadn't spoken to him at all.
Seeing no reaction from Maude, Lafitte's blood-red lips curved upward slightly. He adjusted the brim of his hat with one hand while resting his cane against his back with the other.
"Pardon me. Perhaps I should address you as… Usopp."
"..."
Alright then. Since he'd been called out by name, there was no point in pretending anymore.
Maude turned his head, looking at the smiling Lafitte with feigned confusion. "Are you talking to me?"
"Yes."
Lafitte's expression was as composed as ever, seemingly unfazed by Maude's feigned ignorance.
"Do I know you?" Maude asked, tilting his head in apparent puzzlement.
"We've never exchanged names," Lafitte replied candidly. "So, no, we don't know each other."
"Oh, then never mind."
Maude averted his gaze, turning back to face Tatam. Picking up his glass, he pretended to take a sip.
Lafitte, undeterred by Maude's aloofness, continued speaking as if having a one-sided conversation. "I've heard about what happened the other day at the Battleaxe Tavern. Such a pity I wasn't there to witness the show."
"..."
Maude remained silent, thinking back to that chaotic night. Everyone had been scrambling to escape danger. If Lafitte had been there, he'd probably have stirred up even more trouble.
Still smiling, Lafitte calmly remarked, "For you, Mr. Usopp, to emerge unscathed in such a perilous situation while pitting the Redhorn Pirates and the Abby Pirates against each other—remarkable. Truly inspiring."
"..."
Maude couldn't fathom Lafitte's intentions, so he chose to stay quiet.
When it became clear Maude had no intention of responding, Lafitte didn't seem to mind. Instead, he abruptly made an unrelated comment.
"This place… is a wonderful spot, don't you think?"
When he said the word "wonderful," there was an odd note of satisfaction in his tone.
After that, Lafitte tipped his hat to Maude in a slight bow and began walking toward the bar's exit.
As he reached the door, Lafitte paused, his back to Maude.
"Mr. Usopp, my name is Lafitte. The next time we meet, we'll be acquainted, won't we?"
With that, he pushed the door open and left the bar.
Hearing the door click shut, Maude finally glanced toward the entrance, frowning slightly.
What's his game?
It wasn't just that his disguised identity had been exposed. For Lafitte to connect his undertaker persona from the auction house to his actions as "Usopp" at the tavern—it couldn't have been a coincidence.
There was no way Maude could believe Lafitte hadn't been paying special attention to him.
The thought of being targeted by someone as unpredictable and enigmatic as Lafitte gave Maude a headache.
"I haven't even done anything to him," he muttered to himself.
If he had to think of something, it would be the time at the auction house when he had taken the initiative to eliminate two enemies chasing Lafitte, purely to minimize risks.
But surely that wouldn't warrant this level of attention?
Unless… Lafitte, like Wolfrat, was simply short on friends?
Maude shook his head, unable to make sense of it.
Outside the bar, a sudden sneeze echoed from the alleyway.
"Someone must be thinking about me," came Wolfrat' self-muttering voice.
Inside the bar, Maude's mouth twitched.
If it weren't for Lafitte, he'd already be back at the weapons shop by now.
With a quiet sigh, he placed his Dark Crow on a nearby chair.
The door creaked open as Wolfrat strode in, his face lighting up with joy the moment he spotted Maude.
"Usopp, there you are!"
He closed the door behind him and walked briskly over to Maude, sitting down beside him.
"I've been wanting to talk to you about the Redhorn Pirates and Abby Pirates these past few days, but I didn't know where you were staying. It was driving me crazy."
Turning to Tatam, Wolfrat asked, "Tatam, did you give Usopp the note I left for him?"
"I did," Tatam replied.
"Good."
Wolfrat nodded, then looked back at Maude, sighing with relief. "We were pretty lucky that day. After we escaped, both Kazte and Abby ended up seriously injured. They probably won't be causing us any trouble for a while."
"Yeah."
Maude gave a halfhearted reply, his tone indifferent.
Wolfrat, noticing Maude's lack of enthusiasm, turned back to Tatam and gestured for a drink. Then, as if recalling something, he asked, "By the way, Tatam, I saw Lafitte earlier. Did he come to you for information?"
Tatam nodded.
Rats, ever the gossip, pressed on. "Tch, who's the unlucky target he's after this time? Care to share a little?"
"No."
Tatam refused outright.
"Stingy."
Wolfrat waved dismissively, then added, "That Lafitte guy is dangerous, though. Ever since he showed up in Mad Hat Town, there must be at least a hundred people who've died by his hand."
Hearing this, Maude's interest was piqued.
Am I one of those unlucky targets?
Maude joined the conversation, asking, "Why does he kill so many people?"
Encouraged by Maude's curiosity, Wolfrat leaned in, explaining, "He was exiled from his homeland for excessive violence. For him, killing people doesn't seem to need much of a reason. And those he kills are often strangers to him."
"Someone that unreasonable exists?" Maude feigned ignorance, looking genuinely shocked.
Wolfrat's eyelid twitched at Maude's reaction, though he kept his face neutral. Deep down, he thought, Aren't you the same?
Wolfrat had investigated Maude before. Those pirates Maude had killed—whether it was the navigator from the Redhorn Pirates or the fishman slave from the auction—had no apparent grudges against him.
If anything, Maude's actions baffled Rats. But as long as Maude or Lafitte only targeted pirates, Rats had no complaints.
In a pirate haven like Mad Hat Town, the more people like Maude and Lafitte, the better.
Wolfrat raised the glass Tatam slid over to him and sighed. "This town's full of unreasonable people, but Lafitte just stands out more than most."
Maude nodded in agreement. "True. But with someone as dangerous as Lafitte, it's best to stay as far away from him as possible."
Wolfrat's eyelid twitched again. Do you even realize how much you sound like him?
Unable to respond, Wolfrat fell silent.
Maude didn't notice Wolfrat's inner turmoil and suddenly asked, "By the way, Wolfrat, how much do you know about Kazte and Abby's injuries?"
Wolfrat raised an eyebrow. "Pretty much everything."
"How serious are they?"
"Kazte's wounds are mostly on his inner thighs—knife cuts. But since he's a Zoan user, he should recover in less than two weeks.
"As for Abby, she took a direct hit from Kazte—a kick to the torso. Her internal injuries are severe. She'll probably be bedridden for a month or so. Why do you ask?"
Maude smiled faintly.
"Hmm… Wolfrat, how about we go for a big score?"
----------------------------
Join my patreon to access advance chapters: patreon.com / emperorgarus