09. Old Man Gin

I was lucky, and I quickly found an elite hotel, where I spent the night. I had a lot of money, and I could spend 200'000 belly per night, for which I received comfortable conditions, which I have been missing lately.

For the past month, I have slept in an uncomfortable bed in the captain's cabin of a ship wrecked on a desert island. It can't call it good living conditions. I was also lucky that the weather was good and warm enough that I did not have to warm myself with a fire.

I was finally able to sleep in a large, and most importantly, comfortable bed and slept 100%, which I have not been able to do for a long time, including due to stress, from getting into another world. And what can we say about excellent food prepared by a real chef, and not by an incompetent like me.

To be honest, I'm tired of eating meat overcooked at the stake, or solid fruit that simply didn't need to be cooked. Well, I don't know how to cook, what can I do...

In general, I'm glad that I decided not to spend the night in the quinjet and went to the city. I slept well, regained strength, got rid of not only physical, but also mental fatigue. Great start to the day.

After I had a hearty breakfast (that is, I emptied the entire buffet of the hotel), I went to the city in a good mood, using my telepathy to the fullest in order to find out the situation on the island.

First thing, I found a clothing store and spent almost a million belly to buy enough clothes for the rest of my journey. I'm definitely not going to wash my clothes, especially since I don't even have a washing machine, so I decided to stock up for sure.

It turned out a little expensive, but I bought a clothing brand that I read about in the newspaper. It was written about the excellent quality of Doskoi Panda, so I decided to look into the store of this brand located on the island. And not a bit sorry about it.

This company's clothing is worth every belly I paid for. Not only is it made of good materials, but it is also incredibly comfortable and durable, which is ideal for battles. Plus, I fell in love with their Hawaiian shirt designs and couldn't resist buying them.

'Hmm, it looks like I've also got a strange taste of style from the inhabitants of this world.' - I thought involuntarily, walking out of a clothing store holding fifty shopping bags, most of which were the aforementioned shirts.

Entering the first alley I came across, I sent the purchases to the ring, and then went to my second goal. There is a branch of the World Government Bank on the island, and there I can exchange belly for gold, and vice versa.

But I won't go there, so what commission is just insane, as much as 25%. And I've already spent so much, so I can't afford to lose 3.75 million on the exchange.

From the minds of a few passers-by who didn't mind sharing useful information with me (as if someone were asking them), I was able to learn about a certain Old Man Gin.

He is a local loan shark and runs a small illegal business on the island. You can borrow money from Gin, exchange it for gold, buy the necessary information, and so on. In fact, he is the black market of the island, since only he does this here.

This Gin is the type of person who knows everything about everyone and everything about what is happening in the world. And for a reasonable price, he is, of course, willing to share this information.

The funny thing is that almost the entire island uses his services, since his commission is much lower than in a bank, and also because he is known for his honesty, which is rare for people in his profession.

In general, it would not hurt me to make acquaintance with such a useful person. Perhaps this will be useful to me in the future. Although, first I need to exchange my belly for gold.

- Excuse me, is there anyone here? - I asked loudly, opening the door of an ordinary-looking building, located right at the main port pier of Cozia.

Inside I saw a wooden interior, like in some store in the fantasy world. A long counter, though without goods, many shelves filled with books, and at the back there was an entrance to the utility room.

- Yes Yes. Cooming soon. - I heard a cheerful old man's voice, from somewhere above.

After a couple of seconds, steps were heard, and a small old man, only 80 centimeters tall, entered the room. He looked about 90 years old, which was wearing a beige robe, and on his hairless head, there was a small hat.

What stood out most was his thick gray eyebrows, which almost covered his squinted eyes, and his thin mustache.

But what could not be seen was the extreme danger his body was emit, which made all my instincts scream in horror. All experience and all the essence of Dick, wanted to get away from this old man as quickly as possible, as far as possible.

What's strange is that my telepathy behaved the same way, and literally skirted around the old man, afraid to even touch his mind. It looks like I accidentally met an old monster…

- Are you Old Man Gin? - I asked softly, trying to act normal at the same time, trying to take control of my body and mind, which ordered me to run.

- Zuzuzuzu, yes, that's what they call me. I didn't think my little shop would be visited by someone so impressive. Moreover, still young. - The old man said with a chuckle as the pressure I felt began to slowly decrease.

- Impressive? The last two pirate crews I met considered me nothing more than an arrogant child. - I said with a smile, feeling my instincts calm down.

- Ah, those weaklings from the East Blue don't know the world at all. They think that with their pathetic strength, they are something of themselves. It's sad to see how low the great ocean has fallen, spawned so many strong personalities. - Shaking his head sadly, the old man said, standing on a small stool so that he could reach the counter.

- So, in your opinion, I don't belong to these weaklings? - I asked curiously as I walked closer to the counter.

- Zuzuzuzuzu, you're amusing. With the way you walk, your breath, your eye that sees every detail, the skills visible on your body, and the confidence that oozes right out of you, you should be on the Grand Line by now. And what can we say about your excellent instincts. You've worked hard to achieve all of this, haven't you? - said the old man, again for a moment, editing a danger that also quickly disappeared.

- Oh, you can't even imagine. - I answered shortly, thanking for all of the above, Dick's card.

- So, how did someone like you end up in this outback, and I never even heard of someone like you sailing to the island? - Gin asked amiably, giving me a piercing look.

- Fell off the Moon. - I answered shortly, deciding not to invent any lies, anyway, this old monster will understand that this is not true. Besides, who knows how I ended up on the Sixis Island, maybe I really fell from the sky.

- Zuzuzuzuzu, that's funny. You know, you're the second person to say that to me. Although, unlike you, he had snow-white wings. - not offended that I did not answer seriously, Gin said with a chuckle.

- Skypiean or Birkan? - I asked with a smile.

- Birkan. May poor Wang Zhi's soul rest in peace. It's a pity that his home island was destroyed by some overly self-imagining idiot. Zuzuzu, and I see you know a lot, don't you? - Gin replied, looking at me with more interest.

- Like you. Stormy youth on the Grand Line? - I asked curiously.

- Zuzuzuzuzu, still would. My team was a real thunderstorm of the seas. It was a good time. Fortunately, not all of my nakamas have retired like me, of those who are still alive, of course. They still roam the ocean, though each on their own team. - The old man replied with a nostalgic smile.

- And the axe that hangs on the wall, remained as a memory of the past? - I asked, pointing to a Silver Axe that was three times the size of Gin himself. Hope it's just a coincidence....

- Oh, Clementine. It is a pity that I am no longer able to lift she and have to hang she on the wall while I live out my last days. - Gin said looking sadly at the silver axe. It's not a coincidence, is it?

- Getting old isn't fun, is it? - I asked a little sympathetically.

- It's not the word. But at least I'm still alive and well. And I'm doing what I love. So, why did you come to Old Gin's, kid? - the old man said with a wide smile, getting down to business.

- My name is Nemo. And I came to you because I heard that you can exchange gold for money, without a predatory commission, like in a bank. This is true? - I said, opening the bag that I had been holding in my hands all this time.

- Of course. No problems. I'm just wondering, where could you hear this, if my shop is an exclusive place for locals, which is not customary to talk about in front of outsiders? - Gin asked with a grin as he took the bag and started counting my money.

- Magpie on the tail brought. - was my answer.

- Zuzuzuzuzu, you're funny. I like you, kid. I look forward to seeing what you can achieve. So here you have 13'500'000 belly. Recently, the price of gold has dropped a bit, so I can give you 1.9 kilograms of gold. Arranges? - Gin asked after doing the calculations using the abacus.

- No commission? - I asked with some surprise.

- I told you, I liked you, zuzuzuzuzu…. - Gin said meaningfully, and burst into laughter again.

- Since you are so generous, then maybe you could exchange that for gold too? - I asked, handing the old man another bag, which I had prudently taken out of the ring beforehand.

This bag contained the rest of the valuables that I received from Gally nd Alvida. Silver, precious stones, jewelry that did not contain gold, and what was left of the jewelry that I dismantled.

- Hmm, of course, no problem. Although the quality could be better. - said the old man, having examined the goods, noticing how barbarously I dismantled jewelry. I'm far from a jeweler, so I had to extract gold by force...

- Pirates, there is no other way. - I said shamelessly.

- So are you a hunter? It's a pity that lost a talented pirate, zuzuzuzu... - the old man said, chuckling, starting to enter the calculations again.

- Who knows what the future holds for us. Now, it's better not to guess anything. So how much can I get from this? - I asked, shrugging my shoulders at the old man's words.

- You think right, zuzuzu… So, I can value all your possessions at 2'300'000 belly. I will make concessions to you, and I will appreciate it at 300 grams of gold. I can't give more, so from this deal, I won't get anything. - said the old man, looking at me.

- You don't need more. For me, it's perfect. Moreover, it would be impudent of me to ask for more when you did not take a belly from me. - I said sincerely, rejoicing to myself that everything had come together so well.

- Zuzuzuzu, good to see that in our time there is still a polite youth. I'm starting to like you more and more. As a result, together with your money, you get a total of 2.2 kilograms of gold, or 220 gold coins. - said Gin, and taking out a chest from under the counter, he began to get the aforementioned coins from it.

Each such coin consists of gold of the highest standard, and weighs 10 grams. This is another payment method, and it is common for rich people to keep their fortune in such coins, again, due to the fact that they are easier to store and transport. Although it's hard to imagine that, at the moment, each such moment costs 70,000 belly....

- Here, exactly 220. - After counting the required number of coins, Old Man Gin said, and putting them all in my bag, betrayed him to me.

- Thank you, it's a pleasure doing business with you. - I said with a very pleased smile, accepting the bag.

With that gold what I have on my lottery account, my current fortune is exactly 4 kg of gold. I can already buy the fifth ticket, and for the sixth I only have two kilograms missing. Not a bad achievement for just two days of travel. Although, it will be more and more difficult to buy tickets in the future....

- Zuzuzu, you are always welcome. Get in touch at any time. - said the old man with a smile, for whom I had become an amusement. Still, he must be bored of living on this peaceful island, where nothing ever happens.....

*Clank!* *Clank!* *Clank!*

- Hmm, bells? Is it some kind of alarm? - I asked when I suddenly heard the ringing of bells all over the city.

- Pirates. For a long time, they did not reach our island. - Gin said with a frown as he jumped off the stool he was standing on.

'What, did to bring a bad luck?' - I thought involuntarily as I followed Old Man Gin out into the street.

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I have contracted Covid-19. The disease is going hard for me, so the release of the next chapter will be delayed.