The scheming brother-in-law and brother-in-law-to-be discussed the price for quite a long time.
In the end, Vane very "painfully" gave the Big Mom Pirates a 30% discount and guaranteed that he would never offer anyone else more than a 10% discount.
They weren't just buying weapons to arm themselves—they also wanted to act as middlemen, using the influence of the Big Mom Pirates to make a profit along the way.
"Don't worry. With our current production and the size of your order, we'll be manufacturing your goods exclusively for the next six months. You'll definitely make a tidy profit from this."
You might make a small fortune—I'll be making an absolute killing.
In the arms business—especially with firearms like his that use metal gunpowder bullets—the real money wasn't in the guns themselves, but in the ammunition.
A gun could last for years once purchased. Bullets, however, could never be spared. If they wanted to keep using the guns, they had to keep ordering ammunition. And as long as others lacked the capability to manufacture bullets, they would grow increasingly dependent on Rocket Team's output.
That was why the guns were priced high—they sold in smaller quantities—while bullets, sold in massive amounts, were cheaper.
Even if someone managed to produce them, it would mostly be for personal use or small-scale sales. Against a complete industrial production line, Rocket Team's matching ammunition prices were already extremely low. If others tried to sell at that price, they'd probably be losing money, let alone making a profit.
As for delivery, Vane let them choose. If the Big Mom Pirates came to pick up the goods themselves, it would be cheaper. The other option was to use the Shipping King's freight services.
In any case, Vane had no intention of going to Whole Cake Island.
Sleeping Island wasn't far from Big Mom Pirates' territory, and they had plenty of manpower. So Perospero chose to personally collect the firearms.
Perospero and the others arrived and left on the same day, directly leaving Galette behind.
Morgans, on the other hand, decided to stay on Sleeping Island for a while. He wandered the world anyway, and Sleeping Island seemed fairly safe. The World Government wouldn't come here looking for trouble with him.
That night.
Inside Vane's room, Galette had already changed into her nightgown and was sitting at the corner of the bed. The nightgown was purplish-red—she seemed especially fond of that color.
The hem only reached her knees, leaving her pale calves exposed. The moonlight slanted through the window and just happened to fall across the tops of her feet.
Her round toes were painted the same purplish-red.
Galette stared out the window, lost in thought.
A seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl leaving home for the first time—and so far away at that—half-abandoned by her own family. It was only natural that she couldn't accept it so quickly.
Click—
The sound of the door opening made Galette flinch.
She didn't dare look toward the door. She simply lowered her head, listening to Vane's footsteps pacing back and forth behind her, not knowing what he was busy doing.
So awkward… What is he doing?
He should know this is just a political marriage, right?
What exactly is going to happen tonight…
She had originally planned to speak after Vane did, but he just kept pacing around, the sound of his footsteps making her restless and nervous.
Finally, she couldn't bear it anymore. She suddenly stood up and turned around.
"Captain Vane, you should know…"
Galette froze.
Because she saw numerous blue-white bottles radiating cold mist. Inside each bottle was an ice-sculpted rose.
On the table, on the chairs, on the floor, along the doorframe… It was cold, but undeniably beautiful.
"What should I know?"
A cloud of mist gathered in Vane's palm, and another ice rose formed.
He handed it to Galette, and she accepted it.
Her palm felt cold—but the ice rose was indeed beautiful.
"I did a simple decoration. It's a 'marriage' after all. It can't be too plain… though it's already as plain as can be."
Galette: "You should understand… I'm just a tool. Before this, I'd never even spoken to you. I was chosen by the Charlotte Family. This is a marriage with a purpose."
"I might… I might…"
Might be a spy planted by the Charlotte Family…
There was no need to say it aloud. If Galette didn't have the attributes of a spy, he wouldn't believe it.
"No need to say more. I understand. But none of that matters."
Vane stepped forward directly and grabbed Galette's hand. The ice rose fell to the ground.
Whoever they sent would have spy attributes anyway.
"Don't—"
There was a faint coquettish tone in her voice. That meant he could push a little further.
The gentle words had been said. Now it was time to be more domineering—using a move that might be outdated in the real world but probably hadn't appeared yet in the world of pirates: the "kabedon."
(T/N: Kabedon is a Japanese term for pinning someone against a wall with one's hand, creating a dramatic, often romantic "don" (bang) sound. Popularized in manga and anime)
Galette was already near the wall. With just a slight advance, Vane pressed her against it.
In the tone and cadence of a greasy comedy king, he said,
"You're my woman now. Whatever happened before has nothing to do with you anymore!"
It was incredibly cheesy—but for girls in this world, it worked quite well. After all, domineering-CEO antics only feel greasy after being overused. In this world, it was still something fresh.
Galette was beautiful. And the daughters of the Charlotte Family basically all came with the built-in trait of betraying their maternal family after marriage and becoming hopeless romantics. So Vane decided to try turning Galette into someone who genuinely stood on his side.
With his mind-reading ability, he could always know what she was thinking. He wasn't afraid of being deceived.
"This… you suddenly saying that… I'm not ready yet."
Vane: "Then I'll give you three minutes to prepare."
"Three minutes?"
What could possibly be prepared in three minutes?
Galette's usually icy, unchanging expression revealed a trace of grievance and helplessness.
Vane pressed closer step by step.
"Grievance? Grievance counts as time too."
Galette had nowhere to run. A student encountering a rogue could report to a teacher or the police. She couldn't even turn to her own family. Here with Vane, she was completely isolated and helpless.
And Vane was a man who kept his word. When the three minutes were up, he didn't care whether Galette agreed or not. He scooped her up around the waist and tossed her onto the bed.
"That's not very gentlemanly."
"I don't need that."
He was a hot-blooded male creature. In this world, there weren't many moral constraints between men and women—only strength reigned supreme.
If he had to play ambiguous for hundreds or thousands of chapters and return still a grand mage, he'd rather not.
Either avoid ambiguity entirely and remain alone, or satisfy his desires and not wrong himself.
Being stuck in the middle was the most unbearable of all.