Chapter 2: Kid
If it had been before his soul changed bodies, Maud would have been able to withstand a bullet without any problems.
But now...
The black, empty gun barrel was like the scythe of death hanging over his head. If it fell, he would undoubtedly die.
"I'm not a threat."
Without time to think, Maud quickly made his position clear, staring intently at the barrel.
The fact that the barrel pointed at him as soon as it poked through the door meant that the person holding it had noticed his small movements before opening the door.
In this situation, Maud had no choice but to make it clear that he was harmless.
Deep down, it was all because his current physical state couldn't support any of his potential reactions.
Outside the room, there was complete silence, and the gun barrel didn't move.
A few seconds later, a slightly hoarse female voice was heard from outside the door: "Stand in front of me."
"Okay."
Maud moved without hesitation to the center of the doorway, and the barrel followed him.
When he got to the front of the door, Maud finally saw the person holding the gun.
It was a girl dressed in thick cloth clothing with a thin build.
She had short, unruly hair, and three claw-like scars crossed her face, from the corner of her left eyebrow to the right side of her mouth.
If he hadn't heard her hoarse voice, he would have mistaken her for a man at first glance.
"I'm not a threat."
Maud reiterated his position and slowly raised his hands to show he was unarmed.
At the same time, he glanced at the bag the girl was carrying in her left hand, and his eyelids trembled a little.
Compared to the experienced and steady movement with which she held the gun, the presence of the bag made Maud feel more uneasy.
Sunny looked Maud in the eyes and said calmly, "Behave yourself. If we wanted to hurt you, do you think you'd still be standing here talking?"
After a brief warning, Sunny put away the musket with skill.
She knew that Maud's small movements were due to an instinct for self-preservation.
Otherwise, she would have pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Seeing that the situation wasn't so bad, Maud let out a sigh of relief.
"Now that you've woken up, this isn't necessary."
Without waiting for Maud to react, Sunny threw the bag aside.
Including the time it took to get back, this guy had been unconscious for a full seven days.
According to Saul's instructions, if he didn't wake up, they would recycle him as junk to recover some of the medical expenses.
But she hadn't expected the guy to wake up at the last minute.
Maud looked at the bag, moved his lips, and said, "If I hadn't woken up, was this bag... for me?"
"Yes. If you hadn't woken up, I would have put you in the bag to sell you on the black market. Then, an 'undertaker' would have dismembered you into more than a dozen pieces to turn them into merchandise that can be bought with money."
Sunny smiled with a sinister coldness.
Maud fell silent.
Dismember, pieces, sell.
The words were subtle enough, but he could understand what kind of shady business it was.
The previous gunshots indicated that this place probably had nothing to do with peace.
He could see that Sunny wasn't kidding, but as she had said, if they wanted to hurt him, he wouldn't have had the chance to wake up.
In other words, although the future was uncertain, for now, he was safe.
And if the situation wasn't so bad, he would have the opportunity to grow with the Hunter's Notebook.
"What should I call you?"
Maud changed the subject and asked the girl for her name.
Sunny slowly narrowed her eyes and smiled with a twisted mouth: "You're quite calm. Call me Sunny. As for your name, I think I already know it."
Maud was stunned, not understanding why. Then, he saw Sunny pull a bronze pocket watch from her pocket.
Seeing the pocket watch, which was both familiar and strange, Maud raised an eyebrow.
It was his item.
No, to be precise, it was the previous body's item.
But when the previous body was transferred to the slave ship, a man had stolen it without a second thought.
Now, the watch was in Sunny's hands.
This meant that the people who attacked the slave ship were Sunny and the others, right?
Maud thought to himself.
If he remembered correctly, the pocket watch had two photos embedded in it. One was a full-body photo of the previous body's sixteenth birthday celebration.
In the bottom right corner of the photo, there was a signature, so it was no wonder Sunny had said that.
The other photo was a family portrait of three members... huh?
Was it three or four members?
The headache flared up again.
Maud frowned.
Sunny was looking at the watch, so she didn't notice Maud's expression.
"This pocket watch is yours, but now it's my 'loot.' However, since we might become companions, I'll reluctantly give it back to you."
With that, Sunny tossed the pocket watch to Maud.
Maud caught it and, enduring the sharp pain, opened the lid to reveal the stopped dial and the two photos embedded in the lid.
His gaze passed over his full-body photo and stopped at the family portrait of four people who were smiling with special brilliance.
Four?
Weren't it just the previous body and his parents?
Some memories suddenly showed signs of resurfacing, and the headache intensified.
Maud quickly closed the watch lid and fell silent.
He was grateful that this body had given him a new life, but he didn't want to be affected by the remaining memories.
Sunny noticed the change in Maud, but she wasn't interested in digging further, so she warned him: "As an experienced person, I suggest you destroy that photo with the signature and get a nickname."
Maud looked at Sunny, not asking why, and said, "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."
Sunny nodded, and then glanced at the blood-stained bandages on Maud's forehead. She didn't say more and got straight to the point.
"Come on, come with me to see Saul."
Maud, naturally, had no right to refuse. He put away the pocket watch and followed Sunny obediently.
The two walked one behind the other down the hallway and down the stairs to the first floor.
Just as they reached the first floor, a loud noise came from the front of the hallway, like the sound of a wooden door being slammed open and hitting the wall.
Sunny stopped at the sound. Maud, seeing her, also stopped and looked to the front of the hallway.
When the sound of the door being kicked disappeared, an old man's voice, like a duck's, was immediately heard.
"Kid, why the hell are you kicking my shop door again? Do you want me to pull the tendons from your legs?"
"Shut up, I brought you the money. Get Jinu's gun out now."
A rebellious and easily recognizable voice replied.
"Go to hell. I'd rather take that gun apart and throw it in the dump than sell it to you."
"Oh, then throw it. I'll find it anyway."
"Get out!"
The conversation came from the front of the hallway, where there seemed to be a not-very-large store.
Hearing the conversation from the main hall's store, Sunny sighed, a little helpless.
The conversation continued and the tension increased.
"Follow me."
Sunny quickened her pace.
Maud followed her silently.
The hallway wasn't long, and the two quickly reached the main store.
Without time to observe the layout and type of store, Maud's attention was immediately drawn to the old man and the young man who seemed to be on the verge of starting a fight.
As the voice had revealed, it was an old man and a young man.
Maud guessed that the old man was Saul, whom Sunny had talked about, and the grumpy young man must be a client.
"Hmm?"
Maud saw the young man's striking red spiky hair. His gaze slid over the protective glasses on his forehead and finally stopped on his face, which looked a bit familiar.
The related memories suddenly crowded into his mind.
"Kid?"
Maud's heart gave a little jump as he recognized the origin of the spiky-haired young man.
When he heard the name before, he hadn't made the connection, but now, seeing the real person, he finally confirmed that this was the world of One Piece.
However, unlike the image he had in the depths of his memories, this Kid was clearly younger and more immature.
Maud unconsciously designated Kid as one of his prey.
This was because the nature of the Hunter's Notebook ability was meant to be used against characters from the original work whose information was already known.