One Piece: The Eternal Flame

——The suffering of life does not overwhelm me, the joy in my heart is not my own, I put joy into music, in order to make the world feel happy——

"Hey! Bud, what are you doing, kid?"

"Hahahaha, I bet that kid is definitely thinking about what to eat tonight!"

"Don't be like this, Searle, at least save some face for our kid~"

The small, closed waiting room was noisy, and the surrounding air was a bit fuzzy because there were still people smoking in the space. The smell was not unpleasant, but very chaotic. There were women's perfume, men's sweat, and soapy smell of washed clothes. They mixed together and constituted all the youth in Bud's memory.

There is a small window in the waiting room, which is the only light source. The sunlight is divided into several by the railing, which is a bit dazzling, and the smoke and dust floating in it can be seen.

In addition to the discussions of the people around and the babbling music on the stage outside, Bud knew in his heart that after the song was over, it was time for them to go on stage.

A wandering musician—or a wandering entertainer is more appropriate. He followed his parents to various towns on this island, adding some long-lost fun to the people in the town, and many people would applaud him. Whenever this time, he would take off the slightly larger hat on his head and stretch it out to ask for some money.

The birds outside the window flapped their wings and flew in the air, looking so free. Bud looked back and opened his mouth to say something, but he breathed a mouthful of smoke the next moment.

He coughed violently, and the culprit of all this—the mother who had just breathed smoke at him was laughing, her clothes were a bit loose, and half of her white shoulders and chest were exposed during her movements, and she didn't care about the eyes of the men next to her.

And his father, in order to earn tens of thousands more Baileys, nodded cowardly to the organizers to curry favor.

Does money matter?
Bud doesn't know, he only knows that if there is no money, his parents will be very angry, and they will beat him when they get angry.

"Bud~my boy, I'll ask for more money later, don't be shy to ask."

Before going on stage, the woman rubbed Bud's head with tenderness in her brows, and only then could Bud feel what the so-called "love" is.

When the parents walked up to the stage, Bud listened from the audience, and when someone cheered, he stepped forward and said in a very low volume that could be overwhelmed by the cheers: "First, sir, if you like this performance, please, please."

He couldn't say the rest of the words, but he just stretched out the hand holding the hat, maybe the man was looking at it vigorously, and threw a few Baileys into it without thinking much.

Bud breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately went to the next person.

At the end of the performance, after the income was settled, the woman was very dissatisfied, "I said, Bud, I saw you when I was on stage, and you didn't take money seriously at all!"

Her long fingernails dug into the boy's arm, which hurt so much that he dared not make a sound.

The man sighed, but still stopped the woman's violence. He waved at Bud, "How is the violin learning? Will you play yesterday's score?"

"Yes." Bud nodded vigorously. Only in this way will men and women be satisfied.

He is very talented in music. No matter what musical instrument, he can learn it by reading books without teaching it.

The man nodded in satisfaction, and the woman stopped complaining.

After several performances, he finally had the chance to perform on stage.

His mother told him that as long as he plays well this time, he will get a lot of money, enough for his family to buy a small house and live a good life.

Bud doesn't understand what show can make so much money, but he has wanted a small house for a long time, and having a "home" to stay is better than anything else.

The performance stage this time was more luxurious than ever before. He held the violin and listened to other people's conversations. Only then did he know that the stage was prepared for the arrival of the kingdom's nobles, so the bonus was generous.

Bud was a little nervous, and he took down all the other people's conversations without saying a word.

"I heard that even the king will come this time."

"No way, His Excellency is coming too?"

"That's all I heard. If the king is coming, it will be a big deal."

"If you don't perform well, you will die."

The king of the Lubni Kingdom is an out-and-out fool. Everyone evaluates him that way. There are groups of wives and concubines in the palace, and they decide the life and death of others at will according to their mood.

This kingdom located in the North Sea is not big, and the only thing known to the world is the man called "Rolando the Liar" more than 350 years ago. He lied about going to the golden city of Shandora, but the king of the kingdom finally got permission from the world government, but the golden city mysteriously disappeared.

The king was furious and executed Rolando, and this story became a joke in Beihai.

Bud clenched the violin tightly, took a few deep breaths nervously, and then walked quickly to the stage when the host called his name.

Underneath are the luxuriously dressed spectators. There are only a few seats at the front, and they are the highest-status people present.

Bud bowed and began to play the tune he knew by heart.

Soon after the song ended, the audience burst into applause. Amidst the applause, a girl sitting at the front stood up and pointed at his nose aggressively, "I want to buy him, my lord father!"

Not only Bud was stunned, but everyone present was stunned.

No one would have thought that the noble princess would suddenly want to buy a busker.

Bud subconsciously looked at the parents waiting behind the curtain. They were also surprised, and then they were ecstatic. It seemed that it was a very happy thing to sell the child at the price.

"I don't want to be sold." Bard stood on the stage and said to the princess, "I have family members, so I can't sell them to you."

As if the princess hadn't heard of it, she kept asking the guards to take out the money, and a lot of Baileys fell on the stage, and also fell on Bud's hair and face.

"I'm a princess! I can do whatever I want."

The parents rushed to the stage, one of them knelt down and picked up all the money, while the other pushed Bud to take it to the princess, "Princess, my lord princess, this child is ours, here it is! You spend the money, and it's yours."

He followed the princess back to the palace, began to learn more systematic and comprehensive music teaching, and played songs for her as a vassal of the princess.

After a long time, he also grew up, fell in love with the maid who served the princess, and they had many topics in common, and also had the same experience of being sold.

He thought that if the princess agreed, maybe they could really be together.

However, the princess was furious after hearing his request, and executed the maid in front of him. Bud couldn't figure it out. Before, he had a good time with the princess.

He couldn't play music anymore, his heart was dead, and he couldn't play anything as before. The disappointed princess sold him out.

Bard passed through the hands of many people one after another, and among them, he ate a devil fruit that pleased the nobles.

It is not unlucky for him to be alive in the hands of so many buyers. Finally, he came to the Chambord Islands.

Hearing the prayers of the people around him, he sat against the wall and closed his eyes, completely refusing to believe that the so-called gods would favor them.

However, God really came, even though he brought a thick black flame of hell, it couldn't block the incomparably bright sunshine behind him.