The merchant ship was approaching a shore at a steady speed. Rakers island was finally in sight, with a huge number of men and women walking around the docks. It was a place that was bustling with life.
Regan sighed in relief and reflected on the journey. He had spent a good deal of it conversing, laughing, and joking with Rose. Izgrim had been silent the entire way for some reason, opting to instead glower and scowl at Regan.
Regan could smell the jealousy and the envy that exuded off of him, and as for the three men, they were more fearful and taken aback by Regan's strength. He was only a boy, and yet he could kill all three of them if he wanted to.
Sitting with that fact seemed to perturb them greatly, but they still showed him the same level of kindness that was expected of Dantes's elders.
Rose was more touchy than usual, and much calmer in Regan's presence compared to the very first day he had displayed his strength.
Clam had driven the ship up against the docks, and everyone began unloading all the booze they were to sell off on Rakers island. Izgrim struggled with his load, whereas Regan began carrying six barrels all at once, each one stacked on top of each other.
He brought them down onto the wooden platforms, and quickly removed each one from on top of each other. Jinkota and Randi came out carrying a stand and a sign that read 'Premium Inn,' and Randi later came out with a drum dolly and a barrel of booze.
They planned to sell his fathers booze through the stand, and through the drum dolly where one of them would go around shouting and advertising his fathers brand while allowing for small samples to be taken.
Clam came out with a wagon and began pulling it to the docks. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and allowed himself a moment of respite.
"Damn. Need to rent us a horse. Rose can you help us with that dear?" Clam said.
"Of course! But, uh, where would I find one?"
"Should be some place near here. Many people bring their horses around here, it's a lucrative area since there are many foreigners coming in." Clam explained, looking around the place. "Randi give her some money and show her around will ya?"
"What about the barrels?" Randi said.
"Ah, don't worry about it. Dantes can handle all of that!"
"Did you load some of the treasure onto the carriage?" Regan asked, waving Rose and Randi off.
"Course I did." Clam grinned. "What're you planning to do with it?"
Regan put his thumb under his chin. "Well, first we should bring in a small amount of it to a pawn shop or some jeweler."
"Why a small amount?" Clam inquired.
"It'd be too suspicious if we brought in a large amount. Unless we looked the part."
"Looked the part?"
"Yeah. We procure some money from selling the small amount, and then we go out and buy us some clothes. I'm thinking something regal or aristocratic." Regan shrugged. "We'll be like the three musketeers or something."
"The three what?" Clam blinked.
"Uhh, nothing. Ignore me. What do you think of my idea?"
"I think it's great!" Clam endorsed, nodding with approval.
"I think it's stupid." Izgrim scowled. That brought Regan's and Clam's attention onto him. Izgrim did not waver with his opinion, not even when their eyes bored into him.
"We came here to sell your fathers booze, and you guys are talking about treasure and pawn shops. The hells wrong with you two?"
"Woahhh, who the hell pissed in your morning milk, eh?" Clam laughed.
"Izgrim, this is good for us. Think about all the money we'll bring back home." Regan argued.
"Damn right! Our town ain't ever seen money like this since…since never!" Clam roared, finding his own joke hilarious.
"I agree with Izgrim." Jinkota spoke up. "We're here as merchants, and yet you two are sounding a lot like pirates. Treasure this and treasure that. It's absurd."
"You know," Regan began, "there comes a point in time where morality becomes stupidity."
"Oh? You're calling us stupid now?" Izgrim scoffed, the scowl on his face deepening.
"And so what if I am?" Regan said, remaining steadfast.
"Enough of that, Dantes." Clam cut in, donning a serious expression on his face. "Let's not argue nor fight amongst ourselves. Ah, look. Rose and Randi are back!"
Rose and Randi were each pulling along a horse. One of them had a lustrous black coat with a silver mane that draped past its neck. The other was white as snow, with short dark hair that could put the night to shame.
"Perfect. Let's strap them to the wagon." Clam said.
"This is costing us 4000 berries per hour, by the way." Randi declared.
"Heh, as if money is an issue for us now." Clam snickered. "They're good horses. They look strong."
Clam and Rose began mounting the horses. Clam took to riding the white horse, while Rose held the reigns of the other.
Jinkota and Randi loaded some of the barrels onto the wagon, while Regan carried the rest that they had unloaded. There were still more that they needed to bring out, Rose and Clam would go back to the ship to meet up with Randi, Jinkota, and Izgrim. to bring the rest back.
They could've had Regan go back to gather them all alone, but him carrying so many would bring about too many unwanted gazes that were already on him, and they needed him to stay with all of the goods.
"Where we heading?" Regan asked.
"Just up ahead. We'll set up shop near the other stands." Clam yelled, trying to be heard over many rambunctious conversations between merchants and buyers.
Regan nodded and began taking in the world around him. There were many businesses selling their goods. Some of them were selling food, Regan could smell the clams, crawfish, and shrimps from many of the stands.
There was a small girl wheeling about a barrels-worth of cockels and crawfish, yelling, "Crawfish and cockels! Fresh, ever so fresh! Buy one get one free!"
Another stand was owned by a family of three. A father, his wife, and their daughter. They were selling clothes with feigned expressions of happiness on their faces, but the little girls was as truthful as theirs was false. She seemed ever so cheerful to be selling items alongside her parents.
Regan suspected that she was the key attraction to their business. A true bundle of joy.
Regan found the stables that Randi and Rose had gotten the horses from. They smelled of shit and piss like the stables in the real world.
Many passerybys couldn't keep their eyes off of Regan. He was carrying four barrels that were stacked on top of eachother with relative ease, not even breaking a sweat. He found suspicion on some of their faces, many of them believed that the barrels were actually empty or weightless in some way and that his efforts in carrying them was meant to be some spectacle that would garner a crowd.
Clam and Rose had stopped the horses next to a street with a myriad of buildings on either side, and with stalls right in front of them. It was a perfect place to conduct business.
Regan helped Rose and Clam set up the stand, and placed the barrels behind it. They pulled up the fabric that displayed the title of his fathers business in bold letters, and began making their way back to grab more of the barrels.
The stand had come with cups, jugs, tills for the berries that would flood in, and foldable beds. There wasn't much room under the roof, there was space enough for two beds only. The lodging was quite lacklustre. But there was no doubt his fathers business would do well here with the drink they were about to serve. And when it did, they could expand the franchise onto Rakers island entirely.
Rose and Clam left to bring back more barrels, leaving Regan to tend to the stand and everything else that they had unloaded.
Regan stood there, his feet tapping against the ground, bored out of his mind once more. He thought about leaving to fulfil his plans, but he couldn't just leave everything behind. No, especially not the treasure that Clam had furtively placed behind the counter of the stand.
Regan bent down to grab one of the coins and gemstones in the treasure chest, until he found a lithe figure approaching him. The figure was a man with a hooked nose, a long beard black beard, a cleft in his chin, and eyes that were perpetually closed.
He had long black hair with a white hat that couldn't be seen, and a milk-white coat over his shoulders.
Oh shit, this dudes a marine!
"Pleasure to meet you." He said, stretching out his hand. Regan shook it with caution.
"Pleasure to meet you," Regan repeated. "How can I help you?"
"The premium inn, huh? I saw you carrying all those barrels. That booze any good?"
"The best in the North Blue." Regan said.
"Ha! I'll be the judge of that. Give us a cup for taste."
Regan removed the lid from one of the barrels and scooped up some of the booze with a cup. He handed it to the marine and watched as he took it down with a single gulp.
The marine's face lit up, and his tongue began sticking out of his mouth as the booze finally hit him. "Shit, shit! Damn, okay! This is good, this is really fucking good. Pass us some more!"
Regan gave him another cup, stifling a laugh as the second mouthful of booze almost sent him to heaven. Regan felt that this was a great opportunity to ask the man a question.
"Say, you don't happen to know where a pawn shop is, do you?"
"Eh?" He burped, wiping his mouth. "I do. Why? You planning on selling off your booze in there? Woahahahah!"
"Maybe in the next 200 years." Regan chuckled, his face darkening a little as he remembered the immortality of Imu and the Gorosei.
"Nah, I have some valuable stuff I mean to sell off. Where is this pawn shop?"
"Down there," the marine pointed. Regan followed his finger to a distinguishable building that made all of the others look dilapidated.
"I see." Regan smiled. "Thank you, uh, what's your name?"
"Strawberry. That's vice-admiral Strawberry to you, kid."