Chapter 655: SFDI - 655
Recently, Fairy Tail had become a hot topic across the sea.
The Marineford War was decided by just two people, yet they influenced the entire course of the battle—first defeating the Seven Warlords, then defeating a Marine Admiral, making a huge splash.
Disappearing for over a year and then reappearing again, they caused another big news story. They fully engaged in a battle with the Sea Emperor BIG MOM’s crew, but in the end, neither side could really overpower the other.
Now, who dares to underestimate this group of people on the ocean!
So, after Reimei landed in the open space of Gild Tesoro, Tesoro’s subordinate, Baccarat, immediately came forward.
"Welcome, Fairy Tail members, to Gild Tesoro! Nice to meet you for the first time. I’m Baccarat, your VIP exclusive host here."
Natsu jumped in place, confirming that this "ship" had long surpassed the concept of a mere transportation tool, then relaxed and asked innocently, "Do you know us? VIPs? We’ve never been to this place before!"
Baccarat smiled and took out a notebook. "You guys are underestimating your own fame. We’ve long admired you!
The World Government, high-ranking officials of the Marines, famous pirates, and notable figures like yourselves are all on our VIP list."
Looking at the list Baccarat opened, everyone saw the photos of all the people, including even the youngest members. It didn’t look like they were added just because of their arrival — the list seemed quite official.
Erza wasn’t surprised. After all, Tesoro was a major figure in the underground world, so having such intelligence capabilities was expected.
Baccarat closed the list and said, "Now, let me take you on a tour of Gild Tesoro!"
Everyone, originally here just for fun, naturally had no objections.
Since Reimei landed right in the heart of Gild Tesoro, there was no need to ride the special turtle car; they simply walked to the famous Golden King Hotel, the largest entertainment city in the world, which also served as a casino and was recognized as an independent country and a non-military zone. Even the Navy couldn’t make moves there — it was an absolute sanctuary.
Drake took out a large stack of money from his ring and handed it to Baccarat to exchange for chips. Then, under Baccarat’s arrangements, everyone changed into formal attire.
Drake unbuttoned the first button of his red shirt under his suit, then turned to look at everyone in their matching suits and dresses.
Sure enough, even in formal wear, they still had that gangster vibe, but the uniform style wasn’t bad.
Everyone was equally excited, forming groups and heading to the casino entrance.
While Baccarat was flattering everyone, a group of children ran over.
"Buy a flower!"
"Please!"
...
Each of those children held a rose and tried to sell it to the group. One girl held up her flower, looking like she was about to cry.
Drake squatted down, gently patting her head to calm her down. The girl hurriedly said, "Big brother, buy a flower, or else we...!"
At that moment, Baccarat came over and said, "Hey! What are you doing to the distinguished VIPs? This isn’t a place for kids like you. Go home quickly!"
As he spoke, Baccarat lowered his sunglasses, revealing a stern, cold gaze.
But then he saw Drake turn around, and in that instant, his heart seemed to be clenched tightly.
"Can you be quiet for a moment?"
Baccarat didn’t even have the courage to wipe the sweat from his forehead, only stiffly nodding and saying, "My apologies, please do as you wish!"
Drake turned back and showed a gentle smile. "Alright then! Little girl, I want all your flowers."
He took out a big stack of banknotes and directly stuffed it into her basket. Then he took her flower and tucked it into his pocket on his chest.
The others also smiled and approached, taking the children’s flowers and pinning them to their chests, just like Drake.
After taking the last flower, Drake patted the little girl’s head again and said, "Go home quickly!"
"Thank you, big brother!"
The little girl, tears in her eyes, bowed deeply to Drake, then ran away with the other children.
Drake stood up, thoughtfully pinning her flower to Stella’s chest.
Stella, sensing their closeness, spoke up: "Hey, Drake, I feel something’s off!"
Drake nodded. He knew what Stella meant.
Gild Tesoro was indeed a prosperous and magnificent place, looking like a paradise filled with decadence and luxury.
But this was a city of gambling, and gambling meant wins and losses. The glamorous winners contrasted sharply with the tragic losers, who always outnumbered the winners.
And in this place, the tragedy wasn’t only among the "deserving" gamblers. Those who lost everything were imprisoned in Tesoro’s Golden Prison, and their families worked here to pay off debts.
But that Golden Prison had no food or water, and the prisoners could only die there in misery.
Their families would work for a lifetime, enslaved to Tesoro, to pay off what was an astronomical debt.
Those children just now were like that — living at the bottom of this country, constantly oppressed and exploited.
Although Drake hadn’t seen these conditions firsthand, Stella could sense the darkness lurking in this place from these children.
Drake shook his head and said nothing. He wouldn’t be swayed by so-called justice or morality, nor would he bother with acts of kindness.
In his view, heroes were either lunatics or fools. Unless someone openly showed their resolve to oppose Tesoro, or Tesoro himself committed something against him, Drake wouldn’t bother with unnecessary trouble.
After this small episode, everyone took their chips and headed into the spacious casino.
"One, two!"
Wendy, Vinnie, and Sherria pushed the lever of the slot machine together. After the reels spun, the jackpot symbol "777" appeared!
Amidst flashing lights and music, a large amount of gold coins spilled from the jackpot.
The roulette ball moved around, stopping on the number they bet on amid cheers from Natsu and Habi.
At the card table, Lucy confidently revealed her hole cards. After the dealer announced the results, she pushed a pile of chips toward him.
Meanwhile, Erza and Gray joined the turtle car racing event, and Julia almost bit through her handkerchief out of nervousness!
Erza was unexpectedly wild in some aspects, especially when it came to driving.
Seeing other contestants use methods like crashing, bombs, oil, and nails, Gray also let loose.
The icy track caused others to slide off the course, and creating obstacles to hinder others was quite skilled.
In the end, only the two of them crossed the finish line, taking the prize money.
Drake casually tossed his chips onto a section of the betting table. When he opened the dice cup, sure enough, he had won!
Drake was well aware of his luck, but he didn’t get carried away by the thrill of winning so smoothly; it all felt a bit unreal.
He turned his head and looked at Baccarat, who was wearing a mysterious smile. So, was it her doing?
Baccarat was a user of the Luck Fruit, capable of transferring the luck of anyone she touched onto herself, making her unlucky opponents or herself luckier.
This was already a cheat-level ability; interfering with fate was no small matter in any world.
’Is this a trap, winning first then setting a trap, and finally turning everything against us?!’
Drake quickly figured out Baccarat’s plan, and of course, it was Tesoro’s doing.
He fingered a chip in his hand, smiling knowingly.
’This is something you brought on yourself!’
In the highest floor of the Golden King Hotel, Tesoro held a tall glass, swirling the drink inside.
"People who couldn’t be defeated by the Four Emperors are really interesting!"
Tesoro himself might not have seen it, but a big red character flickered above his head.
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