For nearly half a month, Maude diligently and honestly performed his duties.
He always did more than what was required, never less. He didn’t even entertain the thought of doing what shouldn’t be done.
By perfectly demonstrating his value as a laborer, he gradually integrated into the circle of the weapon shop.
Although Thor often expressed satisfaction with him, Maude didn’t take it as a cue to slack off. He remained cautious and restrained, avoiding any actions or words that might be out of line.
He knew well that Thor’s easygoing nature was genuine; when he took Maude in, he didn’t care about his past identity but only valued what he could demonstrate now.
But if he failed to show his value or displeased Thor, the situation could change in an instant.
So, in his interactions with Thor, Maude remained highly attentive.
As for Sunny, after understanding her personality, he quickly became familiar with her in just over ten days.
When Maude identified his second target, the biggest challenge wasn’t how to take down the target but Thor’s attitude.
“Sunny, if I take out that guy next door, do you think Thor would have an issue with it?” Maude leaned against the half-open shop door, peeking through the crack to observe the alley.
Sunny looked at Maude’s profile and said calmly, “Which guy?”
“That Albur Red guy. The information you gave me says that’s his name. It’s not fake, right?”
“Are you doubting my intelligence abilities?” Sunny raised an eyebrow, her gaze piercing Maude like needles.
Maude thought to himself, “You can spend hours reading a single newspaper…”
But he didn’t dare show it, replying seriously, “I would never doubt your abilities. Every time I see the detailed information you gather on our neighbors, I can’t help but marvel at how professional you must be.”
When Maude first received Sunny’s information about his neighbor, the level of detail shocked Him, making him wonder how unlucky he had to be to have Sunny as a neighbor.
Hearing Maude’s flattering words, Sunny wasn’t impressed and snorted, “Many people in town use fake names, so I can’t guarantee the accuracy of all the information. But if it’s about the neighbors, I can assure you.”
Maude cautiously asked, “Did they offend you?”
“No.”
“Then why did you investigate them so thoroughly?”
“Because they live next door to us.”
Sunny looked at Maude with a “You’re weird” expression.
“…”
Maude was speechless, silently shifting the topic back, “You haven’t answered my question. If I take out Red, will Thor be upset?”
“How would I know that?”
“Okay.”
“Red has nothing to do with you. Why do you want to kill him?”
“He’s too loud.”
Maude casually gave a motive.
In truth, he noticed Red because a few times, Red passed by the shop drunk, shouting his drunken tales in the alley.
His words usually boasted about how many people he killed during pirate raids on merchant ships and how he tortured the stubborn ones.
But what impressed Maude the most wasn’t these drunken boasts but Red’s ugly face when he used them as bragging rights.
Thanks to Red’s loud voice, Maude realized there were plenty of suitable targets nearby, so there was no need to look far.
Hearing Maude’s given motive, Sunny said, “Yeah, that guy is really loud.”
“You believe that?”
“?”
Everything was ready except for Thor’s attitude.
After serious consideration, Maude decided it was necessary to probe Thor’s attitude first.
If Thor didn’t mind, he would immediately take up the gun to ambush Red.
But if Thor disapproved, he would abandon the idea.
If there were silencers, he wouldn’t have to worry so much. He could find an opportunity to quietly shoot Red.
But the main reason was that he was too weak now.
If he were strong enough, dealing with a target he had set his eyes on wouldn’t require worrying about consequences.
That evening.
After dinner, Maude approached Thor.
After stating his intention, Thor smoked a cigarette, looking at him sideways.
“Why do you want to kill Red?”
Like Sunny, Thor wanted to know Maude’s motive.
This time, Maude certainly wouldn’t use the excuse of Red being too loud.
“Practice.”
This was the answer Maude had prepared in advance.
Simple and straightforward, without much explanation.
Thor was a bit surprised, looking closely at Maude’s expression.
In the world of pirates, using others’ lives for practice was quite common.
Just like when Thor had Maude kill Watt to sever his ties with the past.
But he hadn’t expected Maude to suggest it himself. He had planned to give Maude more time to adjust.
Since it was something that would happen eventually, Thor didn’t object but gave Maude a reminder.
“At your own risk.”
Concise words are both a warning and a tacit agreement.
As for Red’s life, it was less important to Thor than what was for dinner that night.
“Understood.”
Maude was delighted.
With Thor’s tacit approval, he could proceed with the plan.
As for any consequences of killing Red, he was mentally prepared when he got the information from Sunny.
The worst-case scenario was Red’s pirate crew coming for revenge.
But if done cleanly, there would be no need to worry about such consequences.
Three days later, on a moonless and windy night.
Maude hid in the shadows atop a building, setting up “Usopp” while silently observing the alley’s end in the dim light.
From the end of the alley to his hiding spot was about a hundred meters.
Ensuring accuracy, the smoothbore musket’s range was just within a hundred meters. Considering its wear and tear, Maude planned to shoot when Red was within sixty meters.
Eight hours had passed since watching Red leave the alley at dusk.
At dusk, too many people were in the alley, making it hard to find a suitable time to shoot.
But now, with the night deep and few people around, there were fewer concerns.
As soon as Red returned, Maude would decisively pull the trigger.
Time passed slowly as the moon hid behind dark clouds.
The alley was barely visible; without the few lamps, it would have been pitch black.
Maude waited patiently.
Minutes later, Red had not appeared, but his voice reached first.
Maude tensed, focusing on the alley’s end.
Seconds later, two figures walked into the alley side by side.
“Two…!”
Maude cursed inwardly.
A smoothbore musket only had one shot, and reloading took time.
This meant even if he successfully killed Red, the other person would have time to find cover and locate the sniper based on the gunshot and blood splatter.
Should he give up?
Sunny mentioned Red’s pirate crew would set sail at noon tomorrow, and Maude couldn’t act during the day without the cover of night.
Missing this chance meant waiting for an uncertain next opportunity.
Maude frowned.
As the two approached, his time to decide dwindled.
Hesitating, Maude failed to notice a hidden gaze fixed on him.
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