The Pleasure Lord

When Alex asked, Hank answered, "Alex, that girl is a prostitu... I mean she works in a pleasure house operating on a street that is adjacent to the slum area. You know, we sometimes visit that place, um, to... you know, enjoy."

Hank changed his wording in between since Tom usually doesn't like him calling those girls whore or a prostitute.

Understandably so since his own mother was forced to do such type work so she can fill her's and her son's stomach.

Alex indeed knew that they sometimes visit such types of establishments at least two days a week.

He knew that because his puppets would always be around them to provide protection and also because the pleasure house that they visit now is owned by him.

They were previously used to be operated by the three gangs but now they had been disbanded since their existence was no longer needed.

So now all the pleasure houses and the gambling houses inside the city or situated anywhere else on the whole island, for example, the various villages are now officially being operated by men/puppets appointed under him publically.

Alex could already guess the whole story ahead but he still waited for hank to explain it all.

"There, I would usually enjoy the company of different girls each time we go there but Tom would always choose the same girl he met on the first day. At first, I thought he just liked her but I had no idea he would even think of marrying her. Now only you can put some sense into his head." Hank sighed as said the last sentence.

"Alex, please don't try to dissuade me or anything. I really like this girl... I hope you understand my feelings for her." Tom said before Alex could even open his mouth. But then he saw that Alex didn't try to persuade him instead he saw him rubbing his forehead as if having a headache or something.

Exactly, Alex was indeed having a headache thinking about how he would solve this problem. Don't get him wrong, Alex would definitely not mind Tom marrying a girl with a profession that of a prostitute, even he wouldn't mind marrying one himself if he ever falls in genuine love with one in the future. But this time he cannot let Tom marry that girl no matter what.

When Hank was narrating the story before, Alex also contacted his puppet operating that particular pleasure house whichTom and Hank usually visited.

He told him to find everything about the girl that Tom is in love with. Alex did so just because he needed to be sure that the girl wouldn't harm his brother, a simple background check so as to say. The puppet actually knew who that girl was so he immediately gave her name and her identity too.

'Fuck... now, how do I tell Tom that the girl he's in love with is actually not a real human but a female puppet? Why did you have to fall in love with a puppet, dammit?' Alex was really perplexed on how to solve this matter.

...

At the same time someplace elsewhere.

The largest pirate group known as the Lion shark pirate fleet was right now gathering on a small island located some few hundred kilometers west off to the coast of the Sea-Shell Island.

This small island was only some thirty-nine acres in area, but this place was infamously renowned across the region as it was the main headquarters of the Lion-Shark Pirate group.

Today, this gathering has been summoned by the Commander of the Lion Shark pirate fleet, also infamously known as Captain Torrento.

A castle-like manor lied in the middle of that small island. The castle seems to have been built just in the past recent years.

This manor was where the meeting was going to take place between all the pirate's holding important positions inside the Lion Shark Pirate group while also having at least one ship under their personal command.

There was heated discussion going on inside the castle's main hall. A group of people was sitting on chairs placed along the two sides of the long table in between them.

Each one of them had at least one or a number of ships under their command while having different regions assigned to them for carrying out the orders from their boss and also to do the act of piracy.

The fellows continued in a heated discussion about who was responsible for letting a big fat prey slip through their hands and under their nose recently.

They were talking about the Yandell family that had some days ago escaped their well planned and organized ambush placed around the sea route usually taken by ships traveling to and fro from the Belmont subcontinent and the nearby islands.

As per their intel, Willy Yandel was also going to take this route as well while taking all his family and wealth with him to immigrate to the Belmont subcontinent.

But on that day, even when waiting for a whole night in ambush their target never appeared in front of their sights.

It was only later in the day, word reached to them that the ships onboard with the Yandell family had actually taken the longer route going around the group of islands while bypassing their place of ambush completely.

This matter had even angered their boss, Captain Torrento and so in anger, he thrashed his subordinates responsible for gathering such a basic piece of intelligence.

For some days, no one dared to appear in front of him for fear of being the victim on whom their chief would take out his anger on since things like this had happened many times in the past.

While the fellow pirates were discussing that event, some of them were also guessing the reason for which they have been called today.

"Everyone, stand up. Captain Torrento has arrived." one person entered the hall before announcing them to get ready so that they can greet their Boss.

Suddenly the sounds of their discussions halted in between as the pirates stood up in their place immediately.

Before Captain Torrento even entered the hall, the sound of his heavy footsteps reached into the ears of everyone present in that hall.

"Captain." greeted all the pirates in unison.

A caucasian middle-aged man with a full beard entered the hall while taking slow puffs from his smoking pipe. A black-white captain's hat decorated with some kind of demon beast feather was squarely tucked on his head while onto the left side of his hip, a sheathed broadsword could be seen.

The look of his attire was that of a typical pirate captain similar to the ones back on the earth. At his side, a slim, tall man could be seen following him two-step behind. This person had a very different air about him that somewhat put him out of place from all the pirates present here in the hall.

"Sit down," Captain Torrento said as he sat on his seat while still taking small puffs from his smoking pipe.

The tall man also followed him to sit down on the seat left empty to his right side.

Just after that, all the pirates also took their seats while each one of them waited for Captain Torrento to speak first.