After chatting with the boy a while longer and calming his mood, Aiden left the cabin and went to the cockpit, then told Dutch and the others about the boy's identity and situation.
"Heir to the Lovelace family, one of South America's thirteen mafia families?" Dutch's expression grew serious, "He really said that?"
Aiden nodded, "The pride in his voice when talking about his family didn't sound like a lie."
"If that's true, this just got tricky." Dutch said gravely, "Looks like my earlier decision to transfer through Roanapur was the right one. We still have time to add some insurance."
After thinking for a moment, Dutch continued, "Before we deliver the cargo, let's find Balalaika and get some intel."
"By the way, ask her about someone named Manisarera Cartel. That kid said he might be the one behind this." Aiden added.
Dutch nodded, then activated the radio to contact Balalaika.
"Balalaika, this is Dutch. I need a favor."
"That's rare, Dutch needing a favor from me." Balalaika held her phone between her cheek and shoulder, clipping a cigar with a cigar cutter.
"Ran into a bit of trouble." Dutch said, "Help me check into the details between Manisarera Cartel and the Lovelace family. Can you find anything?"
"That's not hard." Balalaika lit her cigar. "But funny enough, we recently took a job involving Manisarera. Perfect timing, Dutch."
"Just wanted to add some insurance, that's all," Dutch said. "Please give me your support."
"Sure," Balalaika exhaled a mouthful of smoke. "Shall I reply to your office?"
"No, let's stick to the usual place. Let's go to the Yellow Flag Bar," Dutch said. "We can talk while we drink."
"Alright," Balalaika nodded.
After hanging up the radio, Dutch turned his head to look at Aiden, "Before that, Aiden, can you tell us something about the Lovelace family? Or, is it really like that little boy said, that they would send a mercenary squad to rescue him?"
"They probably won't," it was Rock who interjected. "As far as I know, the Lovelace family has already declined, and their financial situation isn't great. To the point where they can only afford one servant."
"A servant? What kind?" Dutch, always cautious, asked.
"A regular housemaid." Rock, not knowing where he got this from, answered with certainty.
"A maid?" Revy yawned and teased, "Miss Maid braving dragons' dens and tigers' caves to rescue the young master? Now that would be interesting."
"That really is quite interesting, Revy. Maybe it's really as you say. The maid transforms into a Valkyrie and comes to rescue her young master." Aiden chimed in from the side.
"If that really happens, I'd look forward to seeing it." Revy said coldly.
———
[Roanapur Port.]
Under the setting sun, a young woman dressed as a maid, wearing round-frame glasses, stepped off a cargo ship. She placed her suitcase by her feet, gripped an umbrella tightly in both hands, and expressionlessly looked left and right.
"So this is Roanapur, the land of sin, huh."
Coldly spitting out this line, she picked up her suitcase and walked into the city with the setting sun behind her.
Every time the maid passed a street, she would stop and ask the passersby, "Hello, I come from South America. I am a maid all alone, with no one to rely on. May I ask, where can I find the gathering place of my fellow countrymen?"
But most people were too lazy to respond. The few who did usually gave useless answers.
As night fell, the maid finally made her way deeper into Roanapur. Here, she got a useful reply.
"Miss Maid, if you want to know information about your fellow countrymen, you should go to that place."
"Where?"
"Yellow Flag Bar."
———
"Ah, my beloved Mother Earth, once again I return to your embrace."
Stepping off the torpedo speedboat, Aiden spread his arms and shouted loudly. Compared to life at sea, he clearly preferred the feeling of having his feet on solid ground.
"Hurry up, brat."
Behind him, Revy gave a shove to the dawdling little boy, Garcia.
The little boy glared at her with resentment, but after another push from Revy, he could only puff out his cheeks and run to Aiden's side.
"Revy, that's not how an adult should act," Dutch couldn't stand it and frowned. "You were once a kid too, you know."
"Then why don't you get him a nanny?" Revy said irritably.
Aiden shielded the boy behind him and raised his hand, "Aren't I right here?"
"Hmph, even you're getting all soft now? Or are you thinking of working as a butler for the Lovelace family?" Revy got even more annoyed.
"No way." Aiden shook his head. "I just don't think it's necessary to treat a kid like that."
"So what if he's a kid? Is he that precious?" Revy's eyes darkened a bit.
Aiden knew that Revy's childhood wasn't pleasant, growing up in the slums, suffering abuse, so he thought for a moment and didn't say more.
After waiting at the pier for a while, Benny drove the car over.
"Coming with us, Aiden?" Seeing Aiden stuff Garcia into the back seat but not getting in himself, Dutch asked.
"Going to the bar for a drink on the way."
"Of course, but I need to drive my own car." Aiden shook the car keys in his hand.
At that moment, Garcia suddenly jumped out of the car.
"I want to ride in his car." He pointed at Aiden.
"No way, kid. You're our cargo." Revy objected immediately.
But Dutch thought for a moment and nodded, "Let him ride with Aiden."
Revy curled her lips but didn't say anything, turning to get in the car.
Soon, the two vehicles headed for Roanapur's most famous bar, the Yellow Flag.
In the car, Aiden observed Garcia through the rearview mirror. The little boy hadn't said a word since getting in, sitting with his head down, lost in thought.
"By the way, Garcia, on the boat I heard you mention someone named Roberta. Is she the housemaid that Rock mentioned?" Aiden asked.
Garcia nodded, "Yes, but even though she's a maid, her housekeeping skills are awful."
"But she has a great temper, way better than that tattooed woman called Revy." He added.
"Actually, if Revy had a happy childhood, she'd be someone with a great temper too," Aiden said slowly.
Garcia looked up at him, surprised, "Was her childhood really that tragic?"
Aiden nodded, "You know the slums, right? That's where she grew up. Not enough to eat, not enough to wear, and often abused. Anyone would turn out with a bad personality under those circumstances."
"To be honest, she's just unhappy with how we're treating you. To her, it doesn't matter if someone is male or female, young or old. She treats everyone the same."
"So that's how it is," little Garcia said with a look of realization. "No wonder she always looks annoyed at me."
'Still just a kid. So easy to fool.'
Aiden glanced at the rearview mirror and secretly smiled to himself. While it was true that Revy's rough childhood might've made her resent Garcia, more than that, it was just her nature, she never went easy on people she didn't respect.
Just like with Benny and Rock, even though they were comrades, their words held no sway over Revy. Aiden's did, because he had the strength she acknowledged.
While talking, the two cars had already driven into the heart of the city, reaching the street where the Yellow Flag Bar was located, the most chaotic part of town.
Even though it was a dark place, the dazzling lights were strangely pleasing to the eye.
Garcia leaned against the window, staring at sights he'd never seen before.
"Are those the so-called streetwalkers of the red-light district?"
Garcia asked with a flushed face, pointing out the window.
Aiden quickly turned to look, sure enough, many scantily-clad women were standing around.
"Yeah," Aiden said deliberately. "Wanna try it? I'll even pay out of pocket to find you a mature big sister to help you become a man."
"N-no thanks," Garcia quickly waved his hands, then sat upright and stopped looking outside.
Soon, they arrived at their destination.
Yellow Flag Bar.
Getting out of the car, Aiden casually drew his pistol, chambered a round, and then slid it back into the quick-draw holster at his waist.
Garcia noticed Aiden's action and looked at him in confusion.
"Just in case. This place has a high frequency of gunfights," Aiden explained, glancing at the bar's neon sign.
"Then why do we have to come here?" Garcia asked.
"Because it's exciting enough, kid." At that moment, Revy, who had just gotten out of the car, walked over and said. She drew her pistol and spun it expertly on her finger, "I really hope there's some fun tonight. My Beretta hasn't killed in a while."
Then she looked at Garcia, "If that maid of yours shows up, I wouldn't mind using her for a warm-up."
Garcia immediately forgot Revy's tragic past and glared at her with rage.
"Alright, just joking," Revy holstered her pistol under her arm and shrugged, "I wouldn't do anything to some country bumpkin maid..."
Saying that, she walked toward the Yellow Flag Bar and pushed the door open forcefully.
However, just as the door opened, a gunshot rang out, and a figure flew through the air, landing right in front of Revy.
"Just stepped in, and a gunfight's already broken out?" Dutch walked in and looked at the body on the ground.
Revy, however, was staring straight at a woman by the bar in a black-and-white maid outfit, murmuring, "That explosion was pretty flashy."
"Indeed. Cool beyond words," Aiden nodded as he looked at the maid holding a suitcase in one hand and what looked like an umbrella in the other—but was actually a shotgun. "But that maid outfit doesn't suit this place. She should be in a military uniform."
"Maid outfit?" Garcia, who had been hiding behind Aiden since entering, perked up at that word, peeked into the bar, and immediately shouted in surprise, "Roberta!"
Immediately, aside from Aiden, the rest of the Black Lagoon crew all turned to look at him in surprise.
"This woman… she wouldn't happen to be the housemaid you were talking about, right?" Rock asked with wide eyes.
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