chapter 81

Two days have passed since my meeting with Sabo, and no one else from the revolutionary army has tried to contact us again, which isn't surprising considering the way I refused them.

Now that I think about it, I might have been a little too tough on Sabo, considering the speechless state he was in when I left with his head lowered, and his hat covering his face, leaving me unable to see his expression.

In truth, I didn't mean for things to end the way they did, and I went there with the intent of refusing whatever offer the RA had for me more gently. Still, their pathetic attempt to show off their capabilities to impress me had an opposite effect, as I did not find the idea of someone spying on me pleasant.

That, and the word victim, which honestly scathed my nerves, caused me to snap on poor Sabo, who probably had nothing to do with any of this.

I have always hated that word even in my past life because I've seen many of my friends use it as an excuse to throw away their lives and futures.

We're victims of fate for being born here and now. We're victims of a corrupt system. They said while they threw their lives into gambling, drinking, crime, or worse, most of them ending up dead or in a jail cell.

It has never been easy living in my country. Still, I hated the way they victimized themselves and gave up like that because "There was nothing they could do about it," so hearing Sabo calling me the word I hated the most understandably caused me to snap. But I digress.

"So it had to be an auction, after all?" I ask with an annoyed expression, heaving a deep in exasperation at this seemingly cliche situation as I light a cigarette.

"This is the place, captain," Kozue said from the side with a raised eyebrow. "But what is the problem with this place being an auction?" she asked while leaning her head to the side in genuine confusion.

"You wouldn't get it," I replied, as I inhaled a big mouthful of smoke from my cigarette, my expression becoming profound with all the Chinese novels I've read in my past life flashing in my head.

"Let's go inside and retrieve that sword. I don't want to stay inside this place a second more than I need," I added with a sigh as I shook my head to clear it of all those Chinese novels' auctions arcs and made my way to the entrance.

Kozue didn't reply, merely rolling her eyes at my antics as she quickly followed me into the auction building.

The inside of the building was the usual stereotype one would expect to find in an auction with an elevated stage for the auctioneer to do his work, faced by many comfortable-looking chairs arranged in rows with a dozen or so VIP boxes overlooking the auction hall.

"You there, the guy with the long nose, take my companion and me to one of those booths up there," I called out to one of the auction employees as soon as I came inside the auction hall, ordering him with a blank expression.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. We reserve those booths for our most distinguished guests, and none of them is available at this time," the auction employee said in a snobbish tone, his expression the most arrogant I've seen since coming to this world.

"I said, take my companion and me to one of those booths up there," I repeated as I vanished from my where I was standing, appearing in front of the snobbish auction employee.

"Did you not hear me?" I asked with a beaming smile as I gripped his shoulder with my left arm, applying some strength, causing the auction employee to gulp as he winced in pain.

"But there are no free booths right now, sir," the long-nosed man explained with sweat rolling down his forehead.

"Don't mind such unimportant details, just take us there," I remarked, still smiling as I applied more strength to my grip.

"Of course, sir, but can you first let go of my shoulder? I can't move," the auction employee asked in an almost begging tone.

"Of course. I was only helping you remove some dust," I replied as I let go of the long-nosed man's shoulder and began dusting his shoulder.

"This way, please," the auction employee said. His expression was a mixture of a wince and a polite smile as he turned around and began walking.

It didn't take long for us to be standing in a hallway with several doors that led to the VIP booths.

"This one," I said in a leisurely tone as I kicked the closest door to me. "Everybody out!" I exclaimed as soon as I set foot inside the booth.

"Who the hell do you think I am?" one of the finely dressed youths asked with an outraged voice after hearing my words as the rest of them began spouting nonsense about their families and how important they were.

I merely ignored their nonsense as I walked into the booth with a smirk, then proceeded to beat the crap out of self-proclaimed important youths, tossing them outside after I did.

"Is this really okay, captain?" Kozue asked as she watched me take a seat after tossing out the snobbish youths while doing the same. "Causing a scene like this, I mean," she added, after noticing the curious look I gave her.

"It's fine. I already told you and the rest of the crew about my situation," I replied with a shrug. "I'm a wanted man in all but name, so I might as well do as I like," I added as I slumped into my seat, making myself comfortable.

"Indeed, now all we need is a bounty and Jolly roger to make it official," Kozue said with a smile. "But I suppose I'm not used to acting in the open like this," she explained with a sigh.

"Oh, do you find it troublesome?" I asked as I took out my whisky bottle, sipping from it in a leisurely manner.

"On the contrary, I find it quite refreshing, captain," Kozue replied with a soft smile. "I only need to get used to it, that's all," she concluded, her smile becoming more pronounced.

"You've got all the time in the world. You don't need to hide from anything or anyone as long as you're on my ship!" I stated with a smirk while spreading my arms dramatically, causing the green head to chuckle while rolling her eyes.

"Oh, it's already beginning," I said as I watched the auctioneer, a refined-looking middle-aged man wearing traditional Chinese clothes, make his way onto the stage.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our monthly auction," the auctioneer said with a deep, loud voice, causing everyone to go quiet as they listened to him speak.

"The first item for today's auction...," and that's all I could force myself to listen to before his words turned into gibberish.

"Tell me when they bring out that sword you want to take, Kozue," I said in a bored tone as I ignored the rest of the auction, preferring the company of my infinite whisky bottle.

After what felt like thirty minutes later, I heard the sound of rushed footsteps coming from outside, and it seems Kozue heard it too as she narrowed her eyes while unsheathing her sword.

"Let's see where this goes, for now," I remarked with a smirk as I put my hands on her shoulder, causing her to sheath her sword return her focus on the auction.

'This should prove to be a little fun distraction from this boring auction," I thought to myself with an eager smile as I turned to look at the booth's door expectantly.

The footsteps stopped outside of the booth's door, and suddenly there was yelling as someone else approached the crowd gathered outside.

The yelling quickly developed to whoever it was that approached the crowd, beating the shit of them for a couple of minutes, causing them to flee the scene and me to frown as my fun distraction disappeared.

"Sabo of the revolutionary army," I remarked as the door opened, revealing Sabo, who shamelessly invited himself inside with a smile on his face.

"I thought I made myself very clear about joining the revolutionary army the last time we met," I said with a scowling expression while looking the blonde in the eye.

"I'm only here to look around the auction since I haven't been into one before," Sabo said with his usual honest smile. "I thought I'd help with your little problem and maybe stay here for the rest of the auction," he added as he took a seat, still smiling shamelessly.

"Suit yourself, just don't bother me," I replied with a shrug as I picked up my whisky bottle, intending to indulge in it until this farce ends.