These past few days—
Sabaody Archipelago had become quite lively.
Thanks to more than half a month's worth of announcements, nobles from every kingdom had arrived in droves.
And among them, naturally, was the ever-present Rosward family.
Surrounded by over a hundred bodyguards in black suits and riding on massive slave beasts, the father, mother, and son trio strutted arrogantly through the streets.
On both sides of the road, civilians knelt in silence, foreheads pressed tightly to the ground.
"Father, will there be any mermaids tomorrow?" asked the idiot son, Charlos.
"There should be," Rosward replied with a nod.
He had already asked in advance and received confirmation.
Not just one, either—apparently, a pair of twin mermaids would be auctioned.
"Perfect! One of my twelve wives died a few days ago from... play. I'll buy the mermaids to fill the gap!"
"No problem," Rosward said, though he added, "but since they're twins, how about you take one and leave the other to me?"
"What?! Twin mermaids? No way! I want both of them!" Charlos shouted, sniffing loudly and wiping snot across his face.
Rosward winced, but ultimately relented.
He supposed splitting up twins would ruin the novelty and fun. Since Charlos was his son, he let him have both.
As for himself... he'd just tell the auction house to capture another for the next event.
Seeing his father nod, Charlos was ecstatic.
"Twin mermaids... oh, this is going to be so exciting!"
Snot dangled from his nose like a slimy rope, but he didn't care.
Saint Shalria, however, looked on with open disgust.
"You filthy creatures really should tone it down. And at least have them properly cleaned before you play with them."
"And remember—after touching those dirty things, don't come within a hundred meters of me for a month."
---
Three days later—
As the three Celestial Dragons marched grandly down the avenue, accompanied by their guards...
Civilians on both sides trembled in fear, praying the nobles would pass quickly.
After all, no one could predict when one of them might take offense to a glance—and fire a gun without warning.
It had happened far too many times already.
Every time the Celestial Dragons appeared, it was like a lottery of life and death for the unfortunate souls nearby.
No one ever knew if they'd still be alive in five minutes.
But no one noticed that, unlike the trembling civilians, two figures within the crowd remained calm.
Though kneeling like the others, their bodies were still and steady.
One of them held a den den mushi (transmission snail), quietly reporting in a hushed voice:
"Celestial Dragons spotted in Area 31, currently moving through Central Street."
But just as he gave the report, the Celestial Dragons' procession came to a sudden stop.
"Tell that woman to raise her head," Charlos said, pointing at a blonde woman kneeling on the roadside.
A black-suited guard immediately obeyed. "Yes, Saint Charlos!"
He approached quickly, standing before the woman.
"Raise your head!" he ordered.
The woman trembled. She knew all too well what would happen if a Celestial Dragon set their sights on her.
Still, she kept her head bowed, too afraid to move.
The guard, however, didn't care. Failure would mean his own death.
He grabbed her hair and yanked her head up by force.
But in the very next moment—Bang!—a gunshot rang out.
Everyone assumed it was punishment for the woman's hesitation, but no one dared look up to confirm.
In truth, the shot had not been aimed at her.
It struck the black-suited guard—right in the forehead.
Dead on the spot.
"Do you think your filthy hands are worthy of touching the woman I want?" Charlos sneered, lowering his golden pistol.
He turned to the now-exposed woman, her face pale with terror.
"Ooh... what a beauty!"
"You'll do nicely. My wife roster had a vacancy—you'll fill it!"
Charlos' eyes lit up as he shouted excitedly.
Several black-suited agents carefully approached and cuffed the woman.
The cuffs were chained to a leash, the other end of which landed in Charlos' hands.
They were so cautious they didn't even touch her skin—nobody wanted to end up like their dead colleague lying in a pool of blood nearby.
Charlos tugged on the chain, dragging her close.
To be fair, the woman was stunning—perhaps not as famous as the legendary beauties of the sea, but for a nameless commoner, she was truly top-tier.
No wonder Charlos was interested.
"Didn't you say earlier you wanted the twin mermaids? Changing tastes already?" Shalria mocked from the side.
Charlos didn't care.
"I'll just expand my wife count from 12 to 14!"
"Fine, whatever makes you happy."
Shalria didn't press the matter. She found common women disgusting, but if Charlos enjoyed them, it wasn't her concern.
They all ended up dead within a few months anyway.
Charlos might say he had 12 wives, but in reality, the number of women he'd "replaced" had long exceeded a hundred.
---
Just as the procession was about to resume—
A shadow suddenly dashed forward into the formation.
Before anyone could react, the intruder knocked out two black-suited guards beside the woman, severed the leash with a slash of his sword, and scooped her into his arms before fleeing.
He was none other than the soldier assigned to monitor the Celestial Dragons.
He simply couldn't stand by and watch that woman be dragged away like that.
Sure, their operation to target the Celestial Dragons would begin soon—but who knew what kind of torment she might suffer in the meantime?
That said, he also knew the rules.
Saving her was one thing—but he couldn't lay a finger on the Celestial Dragons themselves.
Otherwise, a Marine Admiral would surely be dispatched, ruining everything.
"Don't just stand there—go catch those two and bring them back!"
"I want to ravage that woman in front of that man's eyes—then kill him myself!"
After a stunned moment, Charlos erupted in rage, his grotesque face twisted beneath his mask, screaming at the top of his lungs.
---
Read 120 chapters ahead on P@treon and Ko-Fi:
patreon.com/Sami_27
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27
COMPLETED story available on Patreon and Ko-Fi.