Chapter 73: Bailey, Led Astray

Tonight’s hunt was uneventful and safe, yet the rewards exceeded expectations. Satisfied with what he’d gained, Maud knew when to stop. Shaking off the many curious gazes following him, he slipped away from the main street into the tangled maze of alleyways. He wandered through the winding paths for a while, making sure no one was tailing him, before finally making his way back to the weapon shop under cover of darkness.

Passing by the shop shelves, Maud hesitated for a few seconds. Following his instinct, he returned the Dark Crow to its place on the shelf before heading into the back room.

In the corridor, Bailey was startled awake by the noise, lifting his head to look at Maud. His nose twitched, catching the scent of blood lingering on Maud’s body.

Maud glanced at Bailey, who was slumped by the wall, and smiled. “Since you’re up, let’s have a midnight snack together in a bit.”

“What are we eating?” Bailey’s sleepiness vanished in an instant. He leapt to his feet, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“Keep your voice down, don’t wake Sunny.”

“Okay!” Bailey nodded vigorously, his teeth gleaming.

When he first arrived at Saul’s Weapon Shop, Bailey thought Maud and Sunny were the most terrifying demons in the world. He had imagined his future days would be filled with misery and hardship. Yet to his great surprise, life here was nothing of the sort—it was actually rather comfortable. Most importantly, he never went hungry, and every meal was delicious.

For him, the happiest thing about staying here was the food.

Bailey’s gluttonous nature had surprised Maud and Sunny at first, but they quickly grew accustomed to it.

“Head to the kitchen first. I’ll be there soon,” Maud said, then made his way upstairs, treading lightly as he returned to his room.

As he closed the door behind him, Maud took out the stack of Berries he’d collected from Harvey and his gang. It was quite a thick wad. He counted it—just over a million Berries.

Though Mad Hatter Town was chaotic and dangerous, if you had real strength, money came easily. If Maud wanted, he could rake in several million Berries in a single night without much effort. But if it was only for money, he’d rather spend his time practicing his reloading speed in the shop.

Stowing the money away, Maud went downstairs, washed the blood from his body in the bathroom, and then headed to the kitchen to prepare the midnight meal.

There wasn’t much to choose from in terms of ingredients—mostly meat, which had long been a tradition at the weapon shop. As Saul put it, a man needed to eat to survive, and if you were going to eat, you might as well eat well. Saul would rather forgo adding a famous blade to his collection than compromise on the quality of their meals.

Maud took out a pile of meat from the fridge, cooked it simply, and soon half a table was laid out with a feast of meat.

Bailey had been waiting impatiently. As soon as the food hit the table, he pounced, devouring everything in sight.

Maud sat down, eating as he watched Bailey, who had grown considerably plumper.

“Now, even a pig could outrun you,” he teased.

Bailey looked up at Maud mid-bite, his mouth stuffed with meat, and mumbled something unintelligible.

Maud couldn’t make out the words, but Bailey’s eyes clearly conveyed his disbelief—something along the lines of, “Impossible!”

Glancing at the ring of fat around Bailey’s waist, Maud said, “Haven’t you noticed your appetite has shrunk lately?”

“Huh?” Bailey froze, then struggled to swallow the mouthful of meat, falling into thought. Compared to a month ago, he really was eating less.

Seeing Bailey’s dawning realization, Maud narrowed his eyes and said seriously, “Do you know why?”

“No idea,” Bailey shook his head.

Maud swallowed a piece of steak and said calmly, “Because you’ve gotten fat.”

Bailey was puzzled. “Doesn’t being fatter mean you can eat more?”

“Who told you that?” Maud replied sternly. “If you just lie around all day doing nothing, your digestion slows down. The slower you digest, the less you can eat.”

“I don’t just lie around all day… You’re the one who left all the cleaning for me to do…” Bailey muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Maud looked at him with a slight smile.

“N-nothing! Oh, I was just saying, this meat is really delicious,” Bailey hurriedly held up a steaming piece of meat, trying to prove his innocence.

Maud snorted, then returned to the main point. “Let’s put it this way: Do you see me eating a lot?”

“A ton!”

“Jealous?”

“Very!”

“Wish you could be like me?”

“I do!”

“Then start training.”

“?”

…………

The next day.

Sunny slid back the bolt on the shop’s front door, opened it a crack, and returned to the counter to read the day’s newspaper.

The moment she picked it up, she saw Bailey—now plump and round—lying on his back on the floor, holding a small piece of black metal in his tiny hands, actually doing bench presses.

Seeing this, Sunny’s expression changed. She set the newspaper aside, walked quickly over to Bailey, and snatched the black metal from his hands.

Bailey was momentarily stunned, looking at Sunny in confusion.

Sunny frowned. “What’s wrong? Do you have a fever?” As she spoke, she placed the piece of black metal on the floor and reached out to press her hand against Bailey’s forehead.

Bailey thought she was mocking him, but soon realized he was mistaken. Sunny was dead serious.

This was absurd. Wasn’t she supposed to be the tough one…?

Bailey gingerly brushed Sunny’s hand away and said, “I’m not sick. I just wanted to train a little, that’s all.”

“Train?” Sunny’s frown deepened as she suddenly reached out and pinched Bailey’s chubby cheeks.

“Bailey, you don’t need to train. Just eat as much as you want. If you’re ever still hungry, tell me and I’ll make you more.”

“Boss lady…!” Bailey was moved almost to tears. He declared earnestly, “Let me explain—I’m training because I want to be like the boss, able to eat a lot every meal!”

“Oh, I see,” Sunny said, enlightened.

Bailey glanced hesitantly at the two small black weights. “Boss lady, um, could you pass me the weights? I can’t reach them…”

“Sure.” Sunny picked them up and handed them to Bailey.

“Train hard, and try to eat a little more every meal.”

“Okay, boss lady!” With Sunny’s encouragement, Bailey felt a surge of strength.

Sunny left him to his training and returned to sit behind the counter. Above her head, an image formed in her mind: [Training = bigger appetite = more weight = higher potential selling price.]

Resuming his bench presses, Bailey glanced at Sunny, lost in thought behind the counter, and couldn’t help but feel moved.

“Boss lady and the boss—deep down, they’re actually really good people. Why did I ever think they were demons? How foolish I was.”

With that realization, Bailey resolved to train even harder so as not to disappoint her expectations.

Maud, now weighted down with training gear, entered the shop and saw Bailey exercising. He nodded in satisfaction, then began his own daily routine.

By the afternoon, Maud finished his training ahead of schedule. After removing his weights and resting for a while, he gathered his equipment and headed out in search of his next prey.

Time flew by.

Five days later, Saul returned to the weapon shop, his arms full of fine liquor.