Chapter 84: Roland Gale's Strange Encounter
In Ian's impression, there was only one person who could turn eating and ditching the bill into an art form, a style, a signature move: Ace!
So the moment he heard the diners' chatter, even though they hadn't described this "dine-and-dash maniac" in detail, Ian's mind inevitably conjured up Ace's image.
It had to be him, no doubt about it. There was no one else!
Ian felt a pang of melancholy. He had thought that since Ace had entered the Grand Line a month earlier than him, it would be hard to run into him again. But who would have guessed that the same situation from before would repeat itself?
Back then, right after accepting Garp's commission, he thought it wouldn't be easy to encounter Ace, only to bump into him in Loguetown. Now it was the same—just when he thought he wouldn't meet Ace, he heard news of him again.
Was this really some kind of cursed fate!?
Was the bond tied to this card of his really that freckled guy Ace?
No way. He was a straight man through and through. If there was going to be any cursed fate, it should be with a long-haired, long-legged, sexy older sister, not wasted on a freckle-faced guy like Ace!
"I didn't hear anything... I didn't hear anything..." Ian muttered to himself, burying his head in the sand like an ostrich, pretending to be hard of hearing.
To be honest, he really didn't want to run into Ace again. Not for any other reason—if he did, should he continue carrying out Garp's commission and capture Ace?
If he did, it meant Ian would have to find a way to drag Ace to Marine Headquarters to see Garp. That was too troublesome. They were in the Grand Line now, and he'd have to hop from island to island with Ace.
But if he didn't, it felt like he was betraying someone's trust. Ian had plenty of flaws, but he still valued keeping his word...
Caught in this contradiction, Ian decided to just pretend he hadn't heard anything about Ace.
Still, deep down, he was curious. Why had Ace stayed on Bebeco Island for so long? The Log Pose on Bebeco Island only took three days to store up magnetic energy...
This flicker of curiosity passed in an instant, and Ian didn't dare dwell on it. Even though he was already full, he quickly grabbed another skewer of grilled fish, using the food to distract himself.
………………………………
While Ian and Bill were enjoying their meal, they had no idea that something was happening at the docks.
The merchant crew's goods had mostly been sold off. Roland Gale, wearing a flashy monocle, was on the ship checking the accounts.
After unloading the cargo and collecting their wages, most of the sailors had already run off. It wasn't every day they got to visit Bebeco Island—why not treat themselves to a big meal?
At this point, aside from a few crew members staying behind, only Roland Gale was left on the merchant ship. And because of his earlier rough treatment of the maid, those staying behind didn't want anything to do with him, all hiding in the cabins.
This left Roland Gale feeling especially lonely.
As Ian had said, this wasn't the Goa Kingdom, and the people around him weren't the nobles he was used to. The sense of rejection was palpable, even for someone as dense as Roland Gale.
He gritted his teeth in frustration but was helpless. He didn't dare take his anger out on the remaining crew, because Ian was still on the island. He was afraid that if they got too riled up, they'd run to Ian and complain. That pirate hunter kid didn't care about his noble status at all and might come back to teach him another lesson.
Roland Gale hadn't even thought about settling scores later. In fact, he had already decided not to return to the Goa Kingdom!
Yes, ever since he learned that the Eternal Pointer passed down from his ancestors really pointed to the Alabasta Kingdom, Roland Gale had started to have ideas.
If the pointer was real, then his claim of being a branch of the Alabasta royal family must also be true. As long as he could get to Alabasta and prove his identity, he would surely become a noble there.
A branch of the royal family—that was a major noble status! Then he wouldn't have to grovel to other nobles like in the Goa Kingdom, flattering them. Instead, others would flatter him!
On one hand, there was a minor, insignificant noble from a small country in the East Blue. On the other, there was a member of the royal family from an ancient kingdom on the Grand Line. Anyone with half a brain could see which was the better choice.
Roland Gale had already conceived the idea of heading to Alabasta, and it was unstoppable. This merchant trip to Bebeco Island had earned a good profit. With his share, he could recruit some people, get a ship, and set off for Alabasta to chase his dream of being a great noble.
With this thought, Roland Gale decided not to bother with the lowlifes on the ship. After working so hard, he was hungry. The aroma of meat wafting over the entire island made him swallow his saliva. He decided to go ashore and find a high-class restaurant to enjoy some Grand Line cuisine.
Standing up, he straightened his formal attire, adjusted his top hat, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and grabbed his civilized cane, intending to go ashore alone.
However, just as he stepped onto the gangplank connecting the ship to the dock, the corner of his eye caught something emerging from the water.
Turning to look, he found he wasn't seeing things. It was an orange-red, round object that seemed to have suddenly floated up from beneath the water, right next to his ship.
Roland Gale looked around, hoping to find someone to help him fish it out, but there was no one. So he had to go to the dock and do it himself.
Fortunately, he had his cane. The strange object was right by the ship's side. Roland Gale lay down on the dock, straining to extend the curved end of his cane to hook the thing over.
As a noble, he was used to maintaining his appearance and elegant movements. He had never done such strenuous work before, so by the time he got the object, he was panting heavily.
But when he saw what he had picked up, Roland Gale was immediately disappointed.
In his hand was something that looked like a fruit, but it was very strange. Not only was it orange-red, but its surface was covered in scale-like segments with spiral patterns, and the scales resembled burning flames.
"So... so disgusting!" was Roland Gale's first reaction. Among the fruits he usually ate, he had never seen anything so bizarre.
"Could this be a local specialty fruit from this island?" Roland Gale turned the fruit over in his hands, muttering to himself, "Can you eat this? Is it poisonous? I've heard that the more colorful something is, the more careful you should be, like poisonous mushrooms!"
This was the Grand Line, and Roland Gale knew nothing about it. Out of caution and his noble demeanor, he had no intention of eating something he had picked up. So he didn't even think about tasting the strange fruit.
Still, he found it quite novel and thought it would make a good collectible. So he took off his backpack and stuffed the strange fruit inside.
The fruit was quite large; someone with smaller hands might not even be able to hold it. Roland Gale's backpack was also the small, elegant type favored by nobles, so it took him a while to cram the fruit in.
After finishing, Roland Gale patted his backpack with satisfaction, stood up, and headed toward Bebeco Island.
However, what he didn't know was that just because no one was near the dock didn't mean no one had noticed his actions. In fact, a noble-looking gentleman lying on the dock to fish something out of the water was enough to attract attention.
Especially from those with ulterior motives!
Two ugly, pirate-looking men with sailor swords at their waists had noticed this from a distance. They exchanged glances, huddled together to whisper for a while, then turned and left.
In that brief moment, the tattoos on their arms flashed by.
It was a skull pattern with sharp spikes.
If Bill or Ian had seen that skull pattern, they would have recognized it immediately. It was the pirate flag of the Pike Pirates, the same ones they had encountered on Reverse Mountain...