Kaya glanced over the purchase list. Everything on it could be sourced in Syrup Village, so she handed the list back to Merry and told him to take a few guards and fifty villagers to gather the goods. The rest stayed to keep an eye on Lister's group.
They were pirates, after all. Even if they claimed a bottom line—buying, not robbing—Kaya didn't dare relax. She'd never dealt with pirates before; who knew if they would try something underhanded later.
Lister didn't mind. He knew exactly how people felt about pirates. If he hadn't taken this path himself, he would have looked at pirates like filth too.
Once Merry left with the collection team, Lister finally turned his gaze to the man who'd been playing the brain at Kaya's side—Klahadore.
"You in the gold-rimmed glasses—you look familiar. Have we met somewhere?" Lister asked, smiling faintly.
Kuro's heart dipped. Did this man recognize him? Impossible. He had faked his death three years ago. Anyone who'd known him would think he was long gone and would have forgotten him. And this one looked like a complete stranger, not even worth a bounty—clearly a rookie. How could he have seen Kuro? Bluffing, then. He had to be bluffing.
With only the slightest lift of his brows, Kuro said, "Sir pirate, you must be mistaken. I've been on Syrup Island these past years. Where would you have seen me?"
"On a wanted poster, perhaps. You look a lot like the captain of the Black Cat Pirates—'Kuro of a Hundred Plans,' wanted for sixteen million," Lister said lightly.
"'Kuro of a Hundred Plans,' captain of the Black Cats—sixteen million?" People turned to stare at Kuro. Even Kaya looked at him in surprise. She didn't truly believe he was that Kuro, though.
A flicker of killing intent crossed Kuro's eyes. So the man had guessed his identity? Damn him—his guess had hit the mark. Was a scheme three years in the making about to be exposed? This man had chosen death. Kuro would have to kill him.
Outwardly, he stayed unruffled. "Please don't joke, sir. My name is Klahadore. I'm not that Kuro. If I recall, three years ago there was a newspaper report—a Marine named Camon captured that pirate Kuro, didn't he?"
"Good memory for something that happened three years ago," Lister said with a meaningful smile.
Kaya and the others exchanged looks, doubt sparking in their eyes. A three-year-old story, remembered so clearly? Not impossible, but for it to stick that well, there had to be another reason.
"Damn you…" Kuro ground his teeth. He realized he was being led by the nose. He shut his mouth. The more you said, the more you slipped.
Lister didn't mind his silence. He went on, "I've heard 'Kuro of a Hundred Plans' is the cleverest, most devious pirate in the East Blue. Three years ago he supposedly got tired of piracy, set up a stand-in to die in his place, then had his underling hypnotize a Marine who mistook that corpse for Kuro. That Marine was promoted to colonel and began preying on civilians. The real Kuro vanished after that—no one knows where he's been hiding."
The more Lister spoke, the darker Kuro's eyes grew.
Lister glanced at him and smiled, then asked Kaya, "Miss Kaya, when did this gentleman with the glasses enter your household?"
"Three years ago," Kaya answered without thinking—then realized and shot Kuro a look before glaring at Lister. "Sir pirate, are you saying I should believe Klahadore is the Black Cat's Kuro? Don't try to sow discord here."
"Thank you for your trust, Miss Kaya," Kuro said with feigned gratitude.
Lister only smiled. "By the way, I heard Kuro prefers to 'legally' take over other people's estates. The method goes like this: he finds a wealthy household and 'happens' to meet the master while posing as a ruined man. He shows just enough talent for the rich man to notice, wins a place, and earns trust. Once that trust is solid, the master 'dies'—by accident, or illness. After that, the family is targeted in turn. First the lady of the house. When she is gone, the last heir is next—an unmarried child with no descendants. When the child dies, the estate becomes ownerless. With a forged will, everything left behind transfers easily to the patient 'servant.'"
When Lister finished the tale, the shore fell silent.