Chapter 210: Ain's Doubts
"And then, then you extorted one billion Berries from him?"
Theodore raised his hand high, shouting with his mouth hanging open. His face was full of disbelief.
"Yeah," Axel said calmly. "What can I do when the other party is rich and stupid?"
He shrugged.
"But even if we investigated him seriously, he technically didn't break the law. I reckon he scared himself into paying."
His words were full of slander toward Tesoro, but Axel still kept his promise and did not reveal the truth.
"How come I never run into people like that?"
Before Theodore could finish muttering, his eyes suddenly widened.
"Brad, stop! That piece of wood is mine!"
Because of this incident, Brad had chosen to leave Newport Island with his family.
Although the matter seemed unrelated to him, no one could guarantee that the other party would not hold a grudge. After all, it had happened on his territory, and he was only a shipwright with little combat ability.
If anything happened, a single gun could take his life.
Compared to money, Brad cherished his life more, so he chose to leave with Theodore.
And what he was currently clutching in his arms was his rare stock of Treasure Tree Adam.
Not long after Theodore left, Ain quickened her pace and walked over.
Her cold, aloof expression remained unchanged, but her heart was filled with worry.
She could not help it.
Although Axel's explanation sounded reasonable, there were too many things she did not understand.
What exactly had Axel said to make the other party come in person?
And what had he done to make that man give up a massive fortune, even one Ain could recognize as enormous, and agree to withdraw from Newport Island?
When all these strange things were put together, Ain could not fully believe the explanation.
For a moment, she even thought of doubting Axel.
But that thought vanished as soon as it appeared.
Out of trust between partners and friends, Ain still chose to believe that Axel had not betrayed the interests of the Marines.
"Tell me honestly," Ain said. "What exactly did you exchange with him?"
Axel froze slightly.
He had not expected Ain to try to expose the truth.
It was not because he was surprised that she had seen through him.
Rather, under the current circumstances, almost everyone knew there was more to the story. Even the seemingly muddled Theodore had noticed and was simply pretending not to.
Yet under these conditions, Ain was the only one who actually asked.
Seeing Axel stay silent, Ain pressed him again.
"What exactly happened?"
In the end, she was still a young girl.
A trace of urgency appeared on her cool, pretty face, and Axel could not help laughing.
"Pfft."
Seeing that he could still laugh at a time like this, Ain's face darkened. She looked like a teacher scolding a student.
"What's so funny? I'm asking you something serious."
"Nothing," Axel said. "I just laughed because it was funny."
Ain was left speechless for a moment.
She did not even know how to respond to that.
"You still haven't answered my question."
"Didn't I already answer you?"
"Answered?"
Ain thought hard for a while, then hurriedly said, "I haven't heard any answer from you at all. Are you fooling me?"
"How would I dare?" Axel teased. "You're so formidable."
Just as Ain gripped the hilt of her sword and looked ready to flare up, Axel slowly added, "The answer is nothing. Didn't I just say that?"
Ain's face darkened even more.
She had thought Axel was talking about why he laughed.
She had not expected that to be his answer.
"How can it be nothing?" Ain said. "Teacher Zephyr taught us that there are no benefits without reason. If you gain something, something must be paid in return."
She stared at him.
"So what exactly did you do to make that person change his mind?"
Tesoro was covered in the aura of a nouveau riche, but Ain had some combat experience. She could feel that he was an extremely dangerous person.
Moreover, after the two of them walked out, anyone could see the messy state inside the shipyard.
It was easy to imagine that the two sides must have clashed.
She wanted to know what had happened.
But Axel did not want Ain to carry too much.
He had always been used to shouldering things alone. This time was no different.
Besides, if he explained the process, there would be too many things he could not explain, such as the secrets he used to threaten Tesoro and the cooperation agreement he had formed with him.
So he could not say it.
And he would not say it.
Axel raised his voice slightly.
"Didn't I tell you? It was nothing."
Not long after his words fell, the sound of soft sobbing came from beside him.
Axel turned his head and saw Ain with reddened eyes. Her face had gone slightly puffy, and she looked like she wanted to cry but was trying hard not to make any sound.
She simply stood there, sobbing quietly.
How did she start crying while we were talking?
Axel was dumbfounded.
After thinking carefully, he knew he had gone a little too far.
Because Ain usually acted so mature, he had naturally ignored her age.
But she was only around ten years old.
Speaking to a girl her age in that tone, in a situation like this, would make anyone feel wronged enough to cry.
Now Axel faced a difficult situation.
What should he do after making a little girl cry?
He recalled how a normal person would react.
The first type would remain unmoved and let the girl continue crying. Only someone with a heart of stone, or someone too concerned with saving face, would do that.
Axel did not consider himself a good person, but he could not do that.
The second type would coax and deceive her. Usually, coaxing a little girl a little would be enough to quiet her down.
But considering this was Ain, that probably would not work.
The third type...
Axel's flexible mind instantly produced dozens of possible reactions, but before he could choose, those ideas swung back and forth in his head like a pendulum, only to be rejected one after another.
Not knowing what else to do, he had no choice but to use the most appropriate method chosen by countless men throughout history.
"It's my fault. I'm sorry."
First admit fault.
Then apologize.
Axel had never expected there would be a day when he would use this move.
Seeing Axel apologize, Ain slowly stopped sobbing. Her voice was still tearful when she spoke.
"I was just... worried... that you would do something that violates Marine discipline."
She lowered her head.
"Because I don't want to... fight you."
Axel did not know whether to laugh or cry.
He did not know what Zephyr had taught Ain, but how had she connected violating discipline directly with fighting?
Most likely, Zephyr had drilled some principles into her during training, such as Marines who violated discipline needing to be stopped.
Axel could only comfort her.
"Don't worry. The conditions I proposed were all within the scope of what I can do. They don't violate Marine discipline."
"Really?"
Ain rubbed her eyes and asked again.
Axel emphasized it helplessly.
"Really."
"That's great."
Ain let out a heavy sigh of relief.
A sincere smile appeared on her face, like a child who had just received a toy.
Then she suddenly lunged forward and threw herself into Axel's arms.
"You... what are you doing?"
Axel's voice carried a hint of embarrassment.
After all, he also had a fully developed male mind.
Faced with this situation, he could neither push her away nor hold her tightly, so he could only let his hands hang awkwardly at his sides.
Ain, however, only murmured happily to herself.
"That's great... that's great."
Axel's mature mind could not quite understand Ain's actions.
But this feeling of being cared for and protected...
It was not bad.
.....
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