Victoria Cindry

[Reputation: 9,232,154]

The total reputation of over nine million was accumulated by Arthur during this period.

There were two sources. First, with the prosperity of Blood Port Town, countless merchants have been wholesaling goods and spreading news of the Kingdom of St. Martin throughout the West Blue in recent months.

Secondly, the news of Aldebaran and his companions caused a direct surge in reputation. This time, the participants in the battle were well-known pirates, bounty hunters, and others. When combined, the generated reputation was substantial. Especially when Aldebaran and the others were interviewed, they mentioned Arthur's name.

By the time Aldebaran and his companions arrived at the Marine HQ, his reputation points were estimated to reach ten million. It would be a great opportunity to draw rewards!

Moreover, by that time, Aiolia should have returned with something.

Thinking about these things, excitement appeared on Arthur's face.

After a while, he calmed down.

He picked up a piece of document from the table and began to read it.

This was the information sent by a division of the external intelligence department, the Passerby, which Arthur had established over the past few months.

As the name implies, the Passerby consisted entirely of ordinary people, without any special abilities or strong individuals. Their main task was not to gather important information but to collect relatively ordinary news.

The personnel were mainly distributed in various neighboring kingdoms, working as servants for nobles, street vendors, hotel staff, and so on. Just like their name, they were ordinary people.

And this piece of intelligence was from the Oga Kingdom.

After the compensation was sent to the Oga Kingdom, Arthur had instructed a member of the Passerby to offer the Misfortune Gem as a family treasure to King Karev of Oga Kingdom.

Karev liked the Misfortune Gem very much, and as a result, the member of the Passerby was rewarded and became a small noble in the kingdom!

However, not long after receiving the gem, Karev fell down the stairs and died on the spot due to not paying attention while walking.

Later, his eldest son, the Crown Prince, successfully ascended to the throne.

After ruling as the Crown Prince for two months, he died due to accidentally choking on a bone while eating.

Next, Karev's second son, the Second Prince, wanted to succeed as the king, but the Crown Prince's son, the Crown Grandson, disagreed.

After a period of struggle between the Second Prince and the Crown Grandson, it ended with the victory of the Crown Grandson, and the Second Prince died as a result.

So far, the Crown Grandson had held on the longest, but it had been two months already, and there were no signs of him dying. However, the news stated that he had been very unlucky recently, so it seemed that his time would come soon.

"In a little while, I can take down the Oga Kingdom!" Arthur muttered with a smile on his face as he looked at the intelligence report.

Then, Arthur picked up another report.

This report wasn't from the intelligence personnel; it was from Wisp.

Under Wisp's control, the quantity of arms for both the Bell and Hall Kingdoms remained unequal. It was either one side overpowering the other or vice versa, constantly maintaining an imbalanced state.

Both kingdoms were caught in the vortex of war and couldn't escape.

Of course, Arthur knew that if the death toll on both sides became too high, they would likely be unable to bear it and initiate negotiations, making concessions on both sides.

So, he had to pay attention to when both sides were nearing their breaking point and provide a large amount of arms directly to one side, pushing them into a desperate situation, forcing them to fight to the death.

In the end, only one kingdom would remain, but the situation of the remaining kingdom wouldn't be favorable either. That would be the time for the Kingdom of St. Martin to invade.

"The timing for both is about the same. I should be able to take down both kingdoms together!" Arthur thought.

Then, Arthur frowned slightly. If both kingdoms were taken down together…

At that time, the Kingdom of St. Martin's influence would have greatly increased. However, afterwards, the World Government would definitely intervene and try to restrain the development of the Kingdom of St. Martin.

After all, the World Government wouldn't be pleased to see such a formidable power rise, as it would pose a certain threat to their rule.

"Ah..." Arthur sighed deeply and thought, "Well, let's worry about that later!"

There was still some time before that, and he had time to think slowly.

After finishing reading all the intelligence and reviewing important documents, Arthur took an underground train to Blood Harbor Town. He had an appointment with someone today.

Blood Harbor Town office.

Arthur sat behind his desk.

"Knock knock!"

"Come in!"

Two women entered the room. One was Victoria Eidos, the president of the Eidos Chamber of Commerce, and the other looked a lot like her but much younger, with short hair, probably around eleven or twelve years old.

"Please have a seat, Master Eidos*!" Arthur made a gesture of invitation.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Eidos took a chair in front of the desk and sat down directly. The young girl following her stood behind her, lowering her head and looking somewhat nervous.

"Master Eidos, what brings you here this time?" Arthur glanced at the young girl behind her and smiled as he asked.

He felt that he had seen this young girl somewhere before!

"This time, it's not an official matter. It's a personal matter that I'd like to request Your Majesty's help with," Eidos said somewhat shyly.

"Oh!?" Arthur was a bit puzzled but still smiled and said, "Please go ahead, Master Eidos, and tell me what it is."

"It's about my sister, Victoria Cindry!" Eidos pulled the shy girl who had been hiding behind her and brought her forward.

"Victoria Cindry!?" Arthur murmured. He seemed to have heard that name somewhere.

"Well, you see, my sister has always wanted to be a famous singer! She hopes you can help!" Eidos said.

"Uh... I don't think I can be of much help with becoming a famous singer," Arthur replied speechless for a moment. Becoming a famous singer was something he really couldn't assist with.

"That's not it, Your Majesty!" Eidos shook her head and said, "My sister wants to find a mentor, someone to teach her singing!"

"Uh... I don't know much about singing either, so I can't teach her!" Arthur said.

"Your Majesty, my sister wants to be mentored by the musician Bruce from your country!" Eidos directly stated, seeing Arthur's misunderstanding.

"Oh!" Arthur finally understood. So she wanted to be mentored by Bruce!

After thinking for a moment, there was no harm in agreeing. After all, Bruce was often idle, holding concerts everywhere, selling posters. It would be better to give him something to do and also do Eidos a favor.

"No problem, I'll talk to Bruce about it when the time comes!" Arthur smiled and agreed.

Suddenly, his smile froze!

He remembered who Cindry was...

Wasn't she the future Warlord of the Sea, Gecko Moria's subordinate, and Hogback's favorite female star?

She had unfortunately fallen to her death from the stage and was buried, only to be dug up by Hogback and turned into a zombie maid.

However, Eidos didn't notice Arthur's reaction and happily said, "Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"

"It's no problem!" Arthur waved his hand and said nonchalantly.

Next, the two of them discussed some other matters.

During their conversation, Eidos also hinted at a few things.

As the sky darkened, Eidos left, seemingly still unsatisfied.

"A little girl!?" Arthur stood by the office window, watching Eidos's departing figure, lost in thought.

*TL Note: Seems like I've been making a mistake in translating Master Victoria's name in the previous chapters. It should've been "Victoria Eidos", not "Victoria Ivans". And since now we have another member of the Victoria family, starting from this chapter I will address her with her given name (according to the One Piece's naming convention and the original author's intention). I am very sorry for the inconvenience.