Watching the news fly away, Murphy felt that one of his main goals was about to be realized. He stretched with force and, looking around the entrance, immediately noticed a group of slaves with lifeless eyes.
They were completely tamed, without hope and without a future, probably already hopeless.
No, there was one.
It was the slave that Saint Charm had brought with him. Tears were frozen on her face, although she was trying her best to hold back her sobs. She must have been acquired recently, before she had time to break completely.
After all, if you were a slave to Tenryubito long enough, soon you wouldn't even dare smile. And she was still crying. In this state, she would definitely not escape punishment upon her return.
But why did he feel like he had seen her somewhere?
He looked closely: golden hair, sky-blue sleeveless top.
Murphy was certain that he had not met this woman since his arrival in this world. If she still gave him a vague feeling of recognition, then there was only one possibility.
He was going to wait for an answer from Morgans, but now, having nothing better to do, he decided to approach the slave.
"Slaves aren't allowed to express their emotions, don't you know?" Murphy said calmly, looking at her.
- What? - the slave, hearing the question, raised her head in bewilderment and saw an unfamiliar young man in front of her.
She glanced at him briefly, ignored him, and fell back into her sadness.
But the young man's next phrase immediately caught her attention: "Perhaps I can save you."
How is this possible? Now she has become Tenryubito's slave, and no one can save her.
She wiped the tears from her face, but still ignored Murphy.
"In any case, you have no hope anymore, so why not try?" the young man's voice sounded again, like a devilish whisper in her ear.
He's right, no matter how bad it is, it can't get any worse, so why not try?
She looked at him carefully: a young man in white clothes, with an extraordinary appearance, apparently from a noble family. Does he really have some kind of way?
"What do you want to do to save me?" A faint glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.
"What's your name?" Murphy asked, satisfying his curiosity.
"Stella," the woman answered quietly.
Stella? I don't remember...
Murphy repeated the name in his mind several times, but still couldn't remember, so he said, "Tell me your story."
Stella hesitated for a moment, without saying a word.
"If you don't tell me, I'm leaving," Murphy said.
Stella bit her lip and began her story anyway.
It turned out she was captured by slave traders several years ago. Life seemed hopeless, but she somehow managed until she met her beloved Tesoro three years ago.
Tesoro worked day and night to raise the money to buy her back. In three years, he had almost saved up the required amount, but on the way to the auction, Stella accidentally caught the eye of Saint Charm, who bought her without hesitation.
For Stella, hope was already so close, but fate dealt her an unexpected blow - becoming a slave of Tenryubito meant losing all hope forever.
But she remained strong and wished Tesoro a good life. However, no matter how noble her intentions were, events developed differently. Thus, Tesoro, overcome with anger, attacked Saint Charm and was arrested as a criminal. And now, already despairing of her future, Stella was also worried about her lover.
As she told her story, she burst into tears again and looked anxiously at the young man, waiting for his answer.
Tesoro? So this is the Casino King!
Murphy realized instantly that Stella was just a fragment of Tesoro's memories. It was no wonder he couldn't remember her, but he still felt a vague sense of recognition.
Unknown to Stella, after Tesoro's arrest, he too became a slave and was bought by one of the Tenryubito. He waited for three years, thinking that she was somewhere in Mariejois, until he received news of her death.
"I see," Murphy nodded thoughtfully, realizing the situation.
And then...
He just left.
Stella stood in the cold wind, looking at the departing young man in confusion.
"Wait! You said..." she tried to ask quickly, but was interrupted by a sound.
Ding-ding! Ding-ding!
The den-den-mushi bell rang, and the young man quickly took it out.
And after that...
His retreating figure began to move even faster.
"Did you just come to listen to my story?" she whispered, watching the disappearing silhouette.
How can such disgusting people exist in this world!
He looked like a noble young man, but turned out to be a real demon!
Even in her despair, she reached out to what seemed like a lifeline, but it turned out to be just a mirage.
How stupid she is. How could anyone dare to go against Tenryubito?
Stella felt more and more deceived and, unable to bear it, burst into tears even more.
Murphy, looking at the [Exchange] section of the system and not finding the master key there, simply turned around and left. He hadn't promised to save Stella in the first place. She was a stranger to him, and there was no benefit to helping her. If it could be done without much effort, that would be fine, but it clearly required a huge amount of effort, and the chances of success were minimal, and he certainly wasn't going to take the risk.
"I wish you luck. Maybe someday I'll write your sad story so that others can bless you too," Murphy mentally wished the couple and answered the long-awaited call.
"Hagoromo, how did you get this recording?" As soon as Murphy put the phone to his ear, Morgans' impatient voice sounded through it.
- It's a trade secret, better not ask!
- This is unbelievable! Even I just received the news of Roger's arrest, and you already have a full recording of what happened. And most importantly, the information they gave me turned out to be fake!
Oh? So Morgans got the information too?
He could only have gotten news like that with permission from the Marines, which meant his cooperation with them went deeper than Murphy had assumed.
Murphy guessed that the World Economic Newspaper served as a mouthpiece for the World Government most of the time - it was inevitable for survival in this world.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
- What is there to think about? We will publish a special edition right now. If we use all the resources of the World Economic Newspaper, then in less than an hour the whole world will know this news. Just thinking about it makes my body shudder!
Their previous collaboration had already shown that Morgans' reaction was predictable. His editorial staff worked from the shadows, fearing no one. And when a truly important piece of news appeared, they ignored the interests of the World Government and published whatever they considered necessary.
- Then I'll wait for the newspaper!
- Hagoromo, I sincerely invite you again...
- No.
- It's a pity, but the doors of the World Economic Newspaper are always open for you. I won't distract you any longer, I need to get to work on the issue, and also prepare for a possible escape - this is too big news!
After hanging up, Murphy returned to the auction room; it was an uncomfortable place to be outside, especially with someone's offended gaze constantly following him.