Chapter 99: Calling Wright
Thals Wright, male, unmarried.
Birthplace: West Sea
Originally, he was a scholar on Ohara Island who studied ancient texts. Several years ago, while riding a research vessel to conduct field research at a certain place in the Grand Line, he encountered a pirate attack and was saved by the passing Foll Pirate Crew, after which he joined their pirate crew as the logistics team captain.
On the ship at that time, he was mainly responsible for supplies procurement, warehouse records, spoils of war inventory, and other clerical work.
In short, Wright was different from others; he became a pirate not for money or fame or anything like that, but to ride a pirate ship to places he couldn’t reach before.
After all, as a scholar with no martial prowess, even if he could apply to ride a World Government research vessel, it wasn’t much safer on this chaotic sea.
Moreover, every time he submitted an application to the World Government for archaeological expeditions, the government officials’ faces looked as sour as if they had eaten G before unfolding, and nine and a half out of his ten applications were rejected.
In contrast, joining Foll’s pirate crew not only allowed him to repay the favor of saving his life, but also gave him a form of protection on this vast sea.
Foll’s strength was very strong; following him was much safer than following an ordinary research vessel or merchant ship.
Besides, Wright could travel with the pirate crew through the Grand Line and even the ‘New World’—places he could hardly reach alone.
He had already studied most of the ancient texts and inscribed ruins in the Four Seas quite thoroughly, but he had little knowledge of the many historically rich islands and kingdoms on the Grand Line.
Especially the legendary ‘New World,’ about which he knew almost nothing.
In summary, he became a pirate for his own dream: to compile a complete world language compendium so that language would no longer be a barrier to communication between civilizations.
However, dreams are always too distant from reality.
This is not only because people’s dreams are often as unattainable as the moon in the sky, but also because various things always hinder progress on the path to pursuing dreams.
Just like how Foll stopped sailing after joining John, Wright’s pursuit of his dream also came to a halt due to Foll’s stagnation.
“Mr. Thals Wright, right?”
“Yes, that’s me. May I ask who you are?”
Wright had long noticed La standing beside Mister Skipgate. Hearing her voice now, he confirmed she was the helper from the Beasts Pirates that was mentioned earlier on the Den Den Mushi.
“My name is La. I’m an executive of the Beasts Pirates.”
『Executive?!』
Wright was surprised inwardly that such a young child was actually an executive of the Beasts Pirates.
But he didn’t show it on his face, just responding politely.
“Miss La, hello. I’m Thals Wright, former first mate of the Foll Pirate Crew.”
“Mm, I know.”
“Those documents and materials in the archive room on Fenrir Island were all organized by you, right? Very professional; it saved us a lot of time.”
These words sounded a bit sarcastic, but Wright didn’t mind psychologically and sighed:
“As expected, Fenrir Island has already been taken over by you Beasts Pirates.”
When Mister Skipgate contacted Foll back then, he was actually right beside him and naturally heard the news that the Beasts Pirates were attacking Fenrir Island.
Not long ago, Mister Skipgate said he was bringing someone from the Beasts Pirates to help, and at that time he had already vaguely guessed that the island had changed hands.
Now, getting confirmation from her mouth, he felt neither regret nor relief in his heart.
Seemingly ignoring the bitterness on Wright’s face, La continued:
“So I hope that after you join the Beasts Pirates, you can continue to handle this work. As for logistics supplies and…”
“?”
“Wait, wait! Hold on a moment, Miss La. I didn’t say I was joining the Beasts Pirates!”
Wright interrupted in a panic before she could finish, no longer in the mood for sentimentality.
After this incident was over and he had survived by luck, Wright had already planned to return to his home in the West Sea to quietly organize his research from these years and no longer be a pirate.
Now hearing that she wanted him to join the Beasts Pirates again, he suddenly felt at a loss.
“Mister Skipgate will explain this matter to you in detail shortly.”
“As payment for the Beasts Pirates’ assistance in killing John, you and all the remaining pirates here will join the Beasts Pirates.” La stated matter-of-factly.
“But…”
“That’s right, this was what I agreed with the Beasts Pirates before coming.”
Before Wright could say anything more, Mister Skipgate stepped forward first to confirm.
“Wright, this time, if it weren’t for Miss La, you, me, and these brothers’ lives would probably all be left here, and Boss Foll’s revenge might not even be taken. So Miss La is practically our Foll Pirate Crew’s benefactor.”
“Yeah, we owe Miss La big time this time.”
Dante, who had returned at some point, chimed in timidly from the side.
Looking at the two whose attitudes clearly favored La, Wright found it hard to speak up again.
『So now, to repay the life-saving favor, I’ve ended up owing another life-saving favor. What is this, life-saving payment transfer? Or a favor repayment loop?』
Seeing her like this, Mister Skipgate knew there was a chance and continued to persuade:
“Now that Boss Foll and John are both dead, with our current strength, it’s hard to survive independently in the New World.
Plus, we know the Beasts Pirates inside and out, so joining them is a good option.”
“…”
“Sigh~”
Hearing Mister Skipgate’s earnest voice and thinking of the companions he had spent so many years with, Wright ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say the words about leaving.
Looking at La, who had at some point become engrossed in John’s relics, Wright finally asked:
“Did Miss La really kill John?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
…
John still had relics left; although his body had been obliterated under La’s attack, some personal accessories, gold coins, and those two sabers that still gleamed with cold light remained intact.
【Divine Strike】’s attack is actually only targeted at living beings; things like metal and gems aren’t affected much.
Bending down to pick up an accessory that looked like an armband, La held it up to the sun and examined it closely.
The armband had a very peculiar shape, like a glass sphere cut in half into two adjacent hemispheres and strung together side by side.
To be honest, compared to the other gold and gems left by John, this thing had a bit of a cheap roadside stall feel.
But La always felt like she had seen this thing somewhere before…
However, before she could study it further, Mister Skipgate’s voice came again.
“Miss La, I’ve convinced Wright.”
“Mm.”
Hearing this, La put the armband back in her hand, stood up, and said to them:
“Since the issues are resolved, let’s prepare to head back.
Remember to handle these relics of John’s; we can’t let others know yet that his death is connected to us.”
“Uh… Miss La, you don’t want these things? Not to mention anything else, those two sabers of John’s are famous swords.”
“No need. I’m not interested in blades.” La shook her head.
“You all can divide these things as souvenirs, or later put them together in the Beasts Pirates’ treasure vault.
As for those blades, if any of you want to use them, have the Beasts Pirates’ artisans modify them first so they don’t reveal they’re John’s things.”
“Alright.”
Mister Skipgate and the others nodded, but they didn’t actually follow La’s words and divide up the items.
They planned to hand these over to Kaido after arriving at the Beasts Pirates, since strictly speaking, these were the Beasts Pirates’ spoils of war, and who knows what he might think of them.
As new recruits to the pirate crew, they had to learn some rules.
PS: Someone guessed that the glass sphere on John’s armband is actually an eternal pose split in half from the middle; I think that’s quite possible.
