Louis had watched One Piece in his previous life. His understanding of the world and its famous figures was fundamentally different from that of the locals. As an ordinary transmigrator, he had no idea that the subtle change in his gaze when looking at Nico Robin could be noticed so easily.
At this moment, he was still thinking about how to maximize the captain's disgust toward Robin—how to get her thrown off the ship in one clean move.
After suspecting Louis of harboring ambitions to seize power, Robin began observing him with growing interest.
Whether Louis was a traitor or not didn't actually matter to her. She had no intention of truly joining the Tequila Pirates. All she needed was passage to another island.
The World Government's sweep was drawing closer. She couldn't leave through normal merchant channels.
So she turned her attention to pirates.
Her choice of the Tequila Pirates was simple: the captain was strong, relatively restrained by pirate standards, and—most importantly—not lustful.
As Louis led her toward the captain's quarters, a confident smile already crept across his face.
He was certain one sentence would be enough:
Captain, Nico Robin carries a 79 million Berry bounty. That's far too dangerous for you.
His captain didn't care much for money. Didn't care for women. Rarely indulged in tobacco or alcohol—aside from the occasional glass of tequila.
What he cared about was power.
Louis himself was strong, careful, and capable—yet his bounty was only 8 million Berries.
What difference was there between that and no bounty at all?
Without a high bounty, the foolish pirates below might respect his strength—but they would never follow him in rebellion. In the eyes of those illiterate brutes, bounty numbers meant authority.
High strength, low threat.
If the captain didn't treat him as a confidant, then who would he treat as one?
That was why Louis could request an audience anytime.
But Nico Robin was different.
A 79 million Berry bounty naturally commanded fear and prestige.
Inside the captain's quarters, Captain Medica looked up from his book with irritation. But when he saw it was Louis, the irritation vanished into a warm smile.
"What brings you here, Bardel?" Medica asked gently.
Obedient. Competent. No threat to his authority.
Medica sincerely regarded the capable, battle-hardened yet low-profile Louis as a trusted subordinate. Someone like him was simply too convenient to use.
As for Louis—
He treated piracy like a job.
He didn't like this life. But in this chaotic era, he had discovered something surprising: once you overcame fear, followed the rules, and attached yourself to a reliable captain—
Being a pirate was safer than being a civilian.
In the three years he'd been with the Tequila Pirates, they had lost only twenty-nine members. Of those, seven died for breaking ship rules. Four were lost at sea during a storm.
Back in the barony where Louis once lived, a village of roughly a thousand lost forty to fifty people every year—to starvation and exhaustion. The baron didn't care. In fact, if commoners died out, slaves were cheaper.
What a rotten world.
Robin reflected inwardly.
If I were plotting to betray the captain… what would I do first?
Remove unpredictable variables.
Because accidents ruined plans.
So if he and Medica aren't aligned, his first move should be to attack my weaknesses—to create a negative first impression.
A faintly mature smile flickered at the corner of Robin's lips before she quickly suppressed it, returning to a youthful demeanor.
That maturity didn't match her sixteen-year-old appearance.
It wasn't the version of herself she needed to present.
"Captain, this is Nico Robin. She wishes to join our crew," Louis said, positioning himself at Medica's side.
He lowered his voice—but Robin's sharp hearing caught the rest:
"Captain, her bounty is a full 79 million Berries. With her aboard, our crew can expand again."
Louis watched with satisfaction as Captain Medica's expression remained steady—but a shadow flickered in his eyes.
Heh. The captain's bounty is only 76.3 million. The higher Robin's bounty, the greater the threat. There's no way he'll keep someone more dangerous than himself aboard. He'd rather lose the opportunity than risk his authority.
Louis grinned at Robin.
No matter how cunning you are, you'll still drink my foot-washing water.
Robin's eyes gleamed with understanding.
So he's planting a negative first impression. My suspicion may be correct.
She immediately deduced the captain's taboo.
"Captain… I actually have something difficult to admit," she said softly. "My bounty is high, but my strength is not. In the West Blue, I survive only by hiding. If you expect me to greatly increase your crew's combat power… then I must apologize."
Louis's eyebrows nearly leapt into his hairline.
That's not how this is supposed to go! Shouldn't people advertise their strengths?
Hearing her words, Captain Medica—who had just lost interest in the 79 million Berry woman—suddenly leaned forward.
"You mean you're all reputation and no real strength?" he asked with keen interest.
Now that was useful.
Someone with presence but no real threat. A symbolic powerhouse who increased deterrence without endangering his authority.
To eliminate me as a variable, he'll attack again now, Robin predicted internally, continuing to interpret Louis through the lens of a scheming usurper.
Conspiracies were different from open strategies—they couldn't withstand exposure. A mistake could ruin everything.
A 79 million Berry wildcard wasn't just a mistake.
It was tossing a lit grenade into the latrine of conspiracy.
Louis, of course, couldn't reveal the real reason Robin was dangerous—the World Government's secrets were far too sensitive.
Fortunately—
He could make something up.
"Captain!" Louis cut in quickly. "Doesn't that mean she's here to draw salary for nothing? A big name with no strength will only increase Marine attention. That's bad for our future! What if the Marines deploy forces suitable for two pirates over 70 million? We'd be finished!"
Medica hesitated.
That… wasn't entirely unreasonable.