Chapter 5: The Undertaker
Mad Hatter Town is a melting pot of vices, an infamous den of inequity for pirates in the West Blue.
At the same time, all the forces of the underworld are firmly rooted in Mad Hatter Town, allowing all kinds of illicit industries to thrive.
The main reason for this flourishing is that the Pirate King, Gold Roger, ushered in the Great Pirate Era with a few words before he died.
And the fundamental reason is a simple and clear line of connection woven with the desires of the human heart.
For example, arrogant pirates steal large amounts of money from decent citizens.
And underworld bosses find a way for the pirates to willingly take the money out of their pockets.
Thus, Mad Hatter Town, as a lawless paradise, has given rise to various industries.
Slaves.
Organs.
Weapons.
Red-light districts.
Everything that can easily provoke the emotions of a normal person can be found here.
Among the many illicit professions in Mad Hatter Town, one of them is the undertaker.
Their main job is to collect corpses. Sometimes, they act as doctors and have a fairly direct cooperative relationship with organ traffickers.
Arthur, whom Sunny called to take care of the corpse, is one of the undertakers in Mad Hatter Town.
His skill is not the best, but he is in a prominent position.
When Saul brought Maud's previous body, Arthur was in charge of treating it.
And now, as the doctor in charge, he was very surprised to see Maud awake.
"What do you mean 'you woke up'?"
Saul detected something strange and looked at Arthur with an expression of displeasure.
Arthur had assured him at the time that Maud had more than a 50% chance of waking up after the treatment, and that was why Saul had considered it.
At the time, he thought that even if he didn't wake up, he could sell Maud on the black market to offset the losses. In the end, he agreed.
Now, it seemed that the probability of Maud waking up was definitely less than 50%.
Arthur, being found out by the astute Saul for a simple mistake, didn't hesitate to shrug and admit it.
"If I hadn't said that, how could you have accepted my business?"
"You old liar! I hope you die a miserable death!"
Saul immediately insulted him.
"Right back at you."
Perhaps because he was wearing the mask, or because he was very brazen, Arthur was quite calm.
"Anyway, you profited too. Just so you know, the starting price for a human slave is 500,000, and you only spent 50,000 on treatment. You should be happy."
"Maud isn't a slave."
Sunny suddenly corrected him.
She didn't say what she was thinking next, which was that Maud is a laborer.
Arthur looked at Sunny, said nothing, and left his work to walk toward Maud.
Seeing Arthur approach, Maud became wary.
This guy didn't seem to be someone trustworthy.
Arthur was a big, muscular man. When he stood in front of Maud, he was half a body taller than him.
He lowered his head to look at the bandages on Maud's forehead and suddenly reached out to grab them.
But Maud was prepared. The instant Arthur moved, he took a few steps back, dodging the attempt.
"Oh?"
A flash of astonishment appeared in Arthur's eyes.
His movement had been quick and sudden, and he never thought Maud would be able to dodge it.
With the diagnosis he had given Maud at the time, he was sure that even if he woke up, his body control would be affected and he wouldn't be able to recover to such a degree in such a short time.
But the facts were plain to see.
Regardless of anything else, his self-healing ability was superior to that of a normal person.
The astonishment in Arthur's eyes quickly disappeared, and a look of greed covered them.
This was good material and the kind of product that certain special clients liked the most. Not only would it sell well, but it could also easily exceed the market price.
Thinking this, Arthur took a step forward, wanting to further confirm Maud's physical condition.
The next moment, he suddenly stopped.
He looked at Saul, who was smoking tobacco and had no expression. He felt that the look Saul was giving him was very sharp.
At the same time, he realized that this little guy, who seemed normal, had probably already caught Saul's attention. It was impossible to turn him into a product.
He felt disappointed.
But he could only suppress the thought of negotiating a deal with Saul.
"Sorry, sorry. Seeing a patient I treated with my own hands, I got emotional. I almost forgot that my current identity is that of an undertaker."
Arthur made up an excuse for his intrusion and went back to the corpse to continue with his work.
Saul's gaze softened.
Although he was annoyed that Arthur had taken advantage of him, he didn't doubt Arthur's professional ethics. He knew that every penny he had spent had been used for the treatment.
Otherwise, he would have made Arthur leave the same way he had come in, which wouldn't have done justice to their years of friendship.
Maud looked at Arthur's back.
So your name is Arthur...
Beside him, Sunny glanced at Maud, and a look of confusion appeared in her eyes.
Next to the corpse, Arthur examined the wound and took a thin needle and thread from the neck of the dead man's clothes.
"The heart was stabbed several times, so I'll only give you 60% of the market price."
"Okay. Finish up quickly and get out."
Saul exhaled a puff of smoke and said impatiently.
Arthur didn't say anything else. His right hand, holding the needle, moved quickly over the corpse's wound.
In an instant, the few wounds were already sewn up without a trace.
Maud, seeing Arthur's skill, couldn't help but think of the woman from his past life who used a needle and thread as a weapon, and who was extremely difficult to deal with.
Shit.
Could this guy, who didn't even have a name in the original work, also have that skill?
And Saul, although he was short, his strength was definitely not weak.
This was just in the West Blue...
So, what would the situation be like in the Grand Line and the New World?
Maud's mind became a little more serious.
It seems I have to be even more careful when choosing my prey.
Lest, due to a lapse in judgment, instead of being the hunter, I end up being the hunted.
In fact, Maud was overthinking it.
As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. How could a person who hung out with Saul be a weakling?
And how many old pirates like Saul, who retired from the previous era, could be found in a place as remote as Mad Hatter Town?
After sewing up the corpse's wound, Arthur left a small wad of money and took the corpse with him.
After Arthur left, the shop door was closed again, ending the business day early.
As for the blood on the floor, Maud was, naturally, in charge of cleaning it up.
Although he was hungry and thirsty, in his current situation, Maud had no choice but to submit.
Fortunately, Sunny already considered him a companion and gave him a cookie and a glass of boiling water.
After swallowing the cookie and drinking the water, Maud was finally able to fill his stomach and immediately took the tools to clean the blood.
At that moment, Saul went up to his room, and Sunny didn't leave.
Inside the counter, there were two stools, one high and one low.
The low one was the one Saul used to stand on, and the high one was for sitting.
She sat on the low stool, propped her face on her hand, and watched Maud clean the floor.
When Maud finished cleaning, she finally asked what had been confusing her.
"How did you manage to dodge it?"
"Huh?"
Maud looked at Sunny, confused.