Registering at the police station went smoothly, and before I knew it, the day of the operation had arrived.
Today was the day the government-sponsored "deal" was scheduled to take place—and the day the rival faction's pirates would attack to disrupt it.
"P-pirates!"
"Just as we expected... Everyone, battle stations! Mercenaries too! They'll try to slip through under cover of darkness!"
Yep, here they come.
Just like the intel said. The Bell Canyon Pirate Crew, notorious for their silent assassinations and night ambushes.
Knowing they were coming, there was no need to panic.
Besides, I could already hear their "voice." And judging by their presence, none of them seemed particularly strong.
Except for that one exceptionally sharp aura... That must be their captain, "Darkness," right?
They're surprisingly skilled... they're practically right on top of us.
It seems they've painted their entire pirate ship black, probably to make their night raids more effective. Their seamanship is impressive too. They've even taken the wind and moonlight into account, managing to get this close without alerting us.
At this distance, they'll be boarding our ship in minutes, before we can even finish preparing our defenses.
But...
"Even if there's more to this 'escort' job than meets the eye, it's still a job I accepted. I'm not going to let them take it from me. Time to move."
They're about to grapple.
But instead of waiting for them to dock, I dove into the dark sea.
At the same time, I pulled a large sheet of paper—big enough for one person to ride on—from my body, unfurled it, and hopped aboard. Just like before, it felt like a mock magic carpet.
I flew straight onto the enemy ship. The pirates stared at me, their faces a mix of surprise and confusion as I suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Hello there! Time to die~♪"
I paused, realizing it was evening. "Oops, should've said 'Good evening' instead," I thought, but decided it wasn't worth correcting.
***
"So, everything went smoothly. We apprehended Captain 'Darkness' and handed him over, which got us a nice bonus."
"Kuwahahaha! As expected of you, Sue-sensei! You make it sound so effortless!"
After completing the mission, I returned to the Sickear Kingdom and was having dinner with Morgans at the same restaurant as before, recounting the details of the operation.
We had successfully completed the official escort mission. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the other guards and the fact that I had stormed the enemy ship first and drawn most of their fire, our casualties were minimal.
At most, a few people were injured, but no one died. The only material damage was a slightly damaged ship deck.
The next morning, the "deal" went off without a hitch. The faction I was working with successfully gained a significant advantage over its rival.
Simultaneously, we captured several key members of the Darkness of Bell Canyon, a pirate crew likely connected to the rival faction, along with their ship's officers.
Naturally, I was the one who took them alive. They became my bonus.
Captain "Darkness" of the Bell Canyon Pirate Crew, I heard, had a rare condition that allowed him to see clearly even in the faintest light. Combining this with his natural agility and a silent assassination technique, he was a pirate known for ambushing his targets from the shadows and taking them down with a single strike.
In reality, he attacked with unwavering agility even in the darkness. A first-time opponent would have had their throat ripped open by his claws before they even knew what hit them.
But his murderous intent was practically radiating off him, and his so-called "Silent Assassination Technique" wasn't exactly silent. My Observation Haki picked him up without a problem, and I was able to react accordingly.
He was bewildered when I—who shouldn't have been able to see him—accurately parried his attack with my Japanese umbrella. Seizing the opening, I swung a home run right into his face, knocking him out cold in one hit.
After that, I casually rounded up the executive-level goons nearby, tied them up with whatever rope I could find, and left them there.
Then...
"Well, glad that's over. Good job. ...So?"
Oh, Morgans was wearing that nasty grin again.
"And what about our other objective? How did that go?"
"..."
Without a word, I pulled several sheets of paper from my pocket.
Carefully making sure none of the other patrons could see, I showed them to Morgans. "Ohoho!" he exclaimed, his voice dripping with delight.
He tried to keep his voice down, but he wasn't making any effort to hide his excitement. 'What a free spirit,' I thought.
The papers I'd just handed Morgans—memos and letters—were stolen from the Captain's Quarters of the Darkness.
Their contents were perfect: solid evidence of the corrupt relationships between key figures in the Sickear Kingdom, detailing various favors exchanged and black market dealings.
The plans for the recent attack were also described in meticulous detail, right down to the client's name.
The letter ended with instructions to burn it after reading, but of course, they'd kept it. Just as Morgans had predicted, they were holding onto it as leverage, proof of collusion to be used when the time was right.
Besides the evidence linking them to the pirates, there were also some scribbled notes about the kingdom's internal corruption—the kind of stuff that should never see the light of day, secrets that would be disastrous if revealed.
Some of the information was a direct threat to the Royal Government. I wondered if the pirates had uncovered it themselves or bribed corrupt officials for the intel.
Whatever the source, these documents proved one thing: you can never trust pirates, no matter the circumstances.
If I'd managed to get my hands on this, the faction behind this whole scheme would have been as good as finished.
"We were supposed to hand over everything we found during the mission, including any loot from the pirate ship... but I broke the rules... sigh."
"Feeling guilty, Sue-sensei? Kuwahahaha! You're too serious. But don't beat yourself up. Honestly, reporting this would have been far more dangerous. No doubt about it."
"...You're probably right."
This contained information that absolutely couldn't fall into the wrong hands—secrets that any faction would recognize as too dangerous to reveal.
If I'd been foolish enough to simply hand this over with a naive, "Look what I found!"... the Sickear Kingdom would have likely marked me for death, reasoning that "since you know this..."
Should I have just left it in the Captain's Quarters? No, even that felt too risky.
If the Royal Government had raided the ship later and found it, they might have thought, "Wait a minute, that mercenary fought on this ship. He might have seen this... better destroy it just in case."
The higher-ups in this country don't value human life very highly. That's why they hesitated so little to use methods like hiring pirates to attack the trade and sabotage our mission—methods that were guaranteed to cause casualties.
So, taking this letter and all the other evidence was the wisest choice for my own safety.
After the mission, everyone was thoroughly searched to make sure no one was smuggling anything out. Several crew members got caught trying to sneak jewels from the pirate ship and got chewed out for it.
I was searched too, but I managed to sneak these papers out without them finding them.
They stripped me down completely, searching not just my pockets and bag, but even my clothes. Still, I guess they never suspected I'd hide anything *inside* my body.
Oh, no, not like swallowing them or anything!
You see, I'm a Paper Human thanks to the Paper-Paper Fruit. I can not only turn my body into paper, but also assimilate paper into my body and store it inside myself.
That's how I hid the notes and letters. And, by the way, when it looked like I was pulling them out of my pocket just now... I was actually taking them out of my body.
I even keep a large sheet of paper—the one I use for my Mock Magic Carpet for travel and transporting things—permanently hidden inside me this way.
"Well, I guess I've gained some invaluable experience and learned a lot. The dark underbelly of this country is even more murky and convoluted than I imagined. They say truth is stranger than fiction, and yeah, this has definitely been an education."
"Kuwahahaha! Glad to hear you found it fruitful, Sensei! By the way, mind if I buy these documents off you? Some of this information looks like a nightmare to handle, but it's perfect Big News material!"
"You're serious about publishing something this explosive? Fine by me. I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway. Do as you please."
"Much obliged. How about this as a token of my gratitude?"
Morgans handed me what looked like a check. I glanced at the amount... Huh?!
"...Whoa."
"? Was it not enough?"
"No, quite the opposite... Wait, can a single piece of information that just happened to fall into my lap really move this much money? Whoa... That's scary. Even though I sold it, it's still scary... Whoa."
"Kuwahahaha! Of course! Depending on the timing and circumstances, information can be a treasure more valuable than gold, a weapon more dangerous than a gun. Anyone who understands its true worth will naturally pay accordingly. These pieces I just bought from you could fetch dozens of times more if sold to the right people in the right places!"
"But managing it and making deals would become much more dangerous and complicated, right? No way... Well, I'll take it anyway."
With a sigh, she tucked the check away inside her body, just like before.
"Come on, Sue-sensei, there's no need to be so nervous. As a bounty hunter, you must handle sums like this all the time, right?"
"Well, yes, but... this money came in a rather unusual way. Just thinking about trading information worth this much makes me a little uneasy. Still, I suppose you could call it a good 'experience.'"
"Exactly! Always look on the bright side, Sensei."
After some more casual conversation, both Morgans and I left the country the next day. The job was done, there was nothing else to do, and there wasn't much else to see anyway.
As we parted, Morgans invited me to write a column or series for the World Economic News if I ever got the chance. I wasn't sure if he was serious, though.
Honestly, I'd love to try writing for them. The idea of my work being published in a global newspaper and read by people all over the world... yeah, that sounds pretty cool. As a writer, it's both nerve-wracking and incredibly tempting.
By the way, here's a little side note about the Sickear Kingdom.
This whole incident exposed a massive scandal: one of the factions was colluding with pirates. And when the newspaper scooped the story, the kingdom's political instability spiraled even further out of control.
Within months, it escalated from covert maneuvering to open warfare—a full-blown civil war with soldiers clashing and weapons drawn.
The conflict dragged on for over a decade, draining the kingdom's resources and eventually leading to its complete collapse.
Ah well... crime never pays, right? (Not my problem.)
To be continued...