"Hi~ I am indeed one of Tesoro-sama's subordinates."
Baccarat smiled and bowed to show her respect.
"Alright, I've seen you. Take me to Tesoro."
Aeridar said directly to Baccarat, then waved to the people behind him. "You guys can do what you want. Go play if you want, or follow me if you prefer."
"Tesoro must have some good wine," Oliver said, perking up and his eyes lighting up.
"Hmph, since he's the owner of this ship, the steak and wine can't be bad," Betilla said, haughtily raising her head and sticking out her tongue to lick her luscious lips, which made the people around her stare blankly for a moment.
"My, Betilla-san is truly beautiful!" Baccarat said with a sincere compliment.
"As for the rest of you, you're dismissed. Mosa and Rean, keep an eye on them. Everyone gets a spending limit of one million Berries, put it on my tab. Is that alright?" Aeridar asked Baccarat in the last sentence.
"Of course, esteemed Aeridar-sama. You have a tab here," Baccarat replied, nodding.
"Thank you, Captain!"
The disembarking crew members cheered excitedly.
"Then, gentlemen, ladies, please follow me," Baccarat said, gesturing with her hand.
Doo, doo, doo, doo...
A low horn sounded. An unmanned white car with golden edges drove over.
"Turtle, turtle, turtle..." a cheer could be heard from the unmanned car.
"There will be people to guide your subordinates, so please, get in," Baccarat said, making a welcoming gesture.
"So this is the transportation on Gran Tesoro," Aeridar said with an amused expression, looking at the two turtles with red helmets on either side of the car's hood and another turtle with a white hat and red tie in the front.
"That's right. We call them turtle cars, and they are the main mode of transportation here," Baccarat said, nodding.
"How interesting. To use turtles as power," Oliver said, also looking at the car with curiosity. The Clifford Kingdom also had similar vehicles, which were purely mechanically powered cars. They had a precise, safe, and non-polluting design. The only drawback was that they were slow; their top speed wasn't even as fast as a bicycle.
"That's right. This car is equipped with ten rare muscle turtles," Baccarat said proudly.
"Turtle~"
The ten muscle turtles in two rows flexed their biceps. The leading turtle then jumped off the front of the car, walked to the door, and opened it with a jump.
"Now, please, get in," Baccarat said with a smile.
Aeridar nodded and got into the luxurious turtle car with Oliver and Betilla.
"Let's go!"
Baccarat sat in the driver's seat, inserted a golden key, and with her command, the ten muscle turtles started moving frantically.
"Turtle, turtle, turtle..."
Doo, doo, doo, doo...
She shifted gears and hit the gas. Baccarat drove like an expert.
"Not bad. It's quite comfortable to ride in," Aeridar commented on the car.
"That's right. This Turto-Royce is a high-class turtle car powered by elite turtles. It's the most high-end car on Gran Tesoro," Baccarat explained. The car drove across a bridge and arrived at the town, where a huge neon sign read "WELCOME".
"Please, gentlemen and lady, what you are seeing now is the commercial district," Baccarat said, one hand on the steering wheel, introducing the area like a seasoned tour guide.
Indeed, with the exception of trees and dirt, almost every building, including the streetlights, was made of gold. It was even more luxurious than the City of Gold in Skypiea. There were neon lights, dancers, and tourists everywhere. The streets were lined with steak houses that used wild cattle, casinos, promotional stores, and more. It was incredibly bustling, and they saw many stores with the logos of major merchant guilds.
"This is really something... Tesoro, that guy, has quite a way of doing things," Oliver said, feeling dazzled by all the gold.
"No, no. This is just the ordinary area," Baccarat said, putting on her sunglasses. "The total length of this ship is about ten kilometers long."
"Ten kilometers!!!" Betilla exclaimed in shock.
"That's right. We not only have a hotel and a shopping center but also an amusement park, a swimming pool, an aquarium, and a theater. We even have a golf course. Everything is here. To show off the prosperity during the official opening, Tesoro-sama has invited royalty and nobles from over a hundred countries, as well as people from dozens of major merchant guilds. Furthermore, Tesoro-sama's ambition is to make this place a self-governing global independent nation," Baccarat said, revealing Tesoro's ambition. "The front of the ship is pulled by two giant sea turtles, so it is not affected by ocean currents or wind direction and can reach any sea area in the world."
Hearing Baccarat's words, Oliver and Betilla were astonished, while Aeridar narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.
"Alright, we are now entering the high-class area."
The turtle car drove non-stop into what Baccarat called the high-class area. The buildings there were indeed more luxurious than those in the ordinary area, and they were also much taller. Soon, the car arrived in front of an extremely tall golden building.
In Aeridar's eyes, this building was probably the tallest structure on the entire Gran Tesoro, even taller than the Central Tower of his own Palace Entertainment City. It was probably Tesoro's main headquarters. The car stopped in front of the tallest golden building, and everyone got out.
"This is Gran Tesoro's pride and joy, a place that rivals your Central Tower: the world's only other eight-star hotel—the Golden Emperor Hotel!!!" Baccarat said, pointing at the towering golden building and introducing it proudly. "It's built with pure gold and is super luxurious!"
That's right, before this, Aeridar's Central Tower in the Palace Entertainment City was the only eight-star hotel in the world. He hadn't expected there to be another one now.
Aeridar's Central Tower was known for its beautiful environment and luxurious layout, with various precious gold, silver, diamonds, gems, antiques, and paintings used for decoration, and furniture made from rare wood everywhere.
The Golden Emperor Hotel, on the other hand, was probably known for its height and luxury, as it was built with pure gold.
"Tesoro's up there, isn't he? The Golden Emperor Hotel... that's so his style."
Aeridar resisted the urge to blast the golden building to rubble. With a disgruntled expression, he now had second thoughts. He was even considering taking out Tesoro right then and there.
"Yes, Aeridar-sama. Doflamingo-sama has also arrived. I'll take you up now," Baccarat said, taking a few steps forward and making a gesture of invitation.
"Let's go."
Aeridar, along with Oliver and Betilla, entered the Golden Emperor Hotel with Baccarat's guidance.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanFiction [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are over 100 advance chapters available for you!