Captain – Chapter 14 – The Purple Copper Lion Badge

“What are you doing?”

Just as Roy was smiling while bullying this honest and timid captain, a familiar voice came from not far behind.

Caine, about two or three minutes after her, had also climbed over the ship’s railing with the help of the old sailor and arrived on the deck.

He had three smoke-preserved mackerels tied to his body with thin thread, looking not like an officer, but rather like a cook accompanying a nobleman.

This was the pirate’s request. Even with the opportunity to leave this barren island by merchant ship, she couldn’t bear to part with those three pieces of hand-smoked delicacies. It’s worth noting that during the period when Caine’s injuries hadn’t healed, all nutritious food had to be prioritized for the injured, leaving her often with nothing to eat, making her fearful of hunger.

“Oh, you’re up. Not fast enough, though. If this prey hadn’t been so easy to deal with, I wouldn’t have been confident in taking them down so effortlessly.”

Roy turned around, wiping away the water droplets that kept flowing down along her forehead strands.

Prey, take down—these weren’t pleasant terms. Caine untied the thin thread, holding the mackerels in his hand, and frowned as he approached, looking at the woeful-faced Eda: “You’re the captain?”

“Yes, sir, this humble one is the captain.”

Unlike with Roy, Caine’s seemingly innate elegance and solemnity put great pressure on Eda. Through that somewhat yellowed uniform, he seemed to see this young man’s arrogant and imperious demeanor.

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In his stereotype, officers of the Auran Empire were just like that.

Eda had dealt with the Auran Empire’s navy quite a bit, so he could recognize the style of that heavily faded uniform at a glance. He quickly realized that the young man before him was a survivor of the recent disaster, making him even more anxious, fearing that the young man might vent his anger towards fate on him.

Seeing Eda constantly wiping away non-existent sweat, Caine’s brow relaxed considerably.

Like Eda, the well-informed Caine identified the other as a Pronora traveling merchant in just a moment. As long as the other wasn’t trafficking in certain prohibited drugs or weapons, the Auran Empire had always been extremely welcoming to foreign traveling merchants.

“You need not fear. The Auran Empire never makes things difficult for legitimate traveling merchants. I just want to know, what did she tell you just now?” Caine reassured him with a few gentle words. He seemed to possess a certain convincing quality, quickly enabling Eda to escape from his panic.

“This… this…”

The officer’s calm and composed demeanor made the captain feel much more at ease, but thinking of the dangerous pirate still eyeing him fiercely from the side, he still showed a troubled expression.

Eda glanced at Roy somewhat intentionally, but was met with a threatening glare, which immediately scared him into trembling. He hurriedly said: “No, no, this lady didn’t say anything to me.”

Just as Roy was looking smugly at Caine, planning to thoroughly discuss whether pirates were more feared or naval officers more respected in these merchants’ eyes, an aged voice drifted over from afar, completely upending her well-laid plans.

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“This pirate friend of yours is hijacking the ship, Auran navy boy.”

The old sailor folded his arms, watching this strange combination of pirate and naval officer with interest, curious about how things would develop next.

“Hijacking?”

Caine repeated these two words, his face slightly darkening. He handed the mackerels to the captain beside him, then grabbed the wrist of the exasperated Roy, pulling her toward the other side of the deck: “Come with me for a moment.”

Though the naval officer didn’t use much force, and Roy could have easily broken free, seeing the gloomy expression on his face and recalling the hellish lectures on the island, she didn’t assert herself as strongly as usual due to a guilty conscience.

She lowered her head slightly, constantly muttering to herself: “Don’t talk back, don’t talk back, otherwise I’ll endure another long lecture.”

Walking to the far side where the sailors could no longer hear their conversation, Caine released his hand and looked expressionlessly at this captain whom he had only known for a short while, asking: “Have you lost your mind?”

“I have not.” Roy defiantly retorted, instantly throwing her previous self-persuasion far behind.

“We are castaways, still relying on this ship for rescue. It would be good enough if they don’t ask us for payment, yet you’re plundering their cargo? Aren’t you afraid they’ll give you a blackjack at night and then throw you into the sea?”

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Roy obviously missed the point. She picked at the error in Caine’s words and counterattacked: “Not plundering cargo, hijacking the ship. Moreover, you underestimate this captain too much. Not only whether those frail fellows dare to hit me with a blackjack, even if they truly had the courage, I would wake up before they came within three steps of me.”

The pirate’s words made Caine realize that his judgment of her extreme actions was still flawed. However, this retort, full of defiance, only made the situation between them more tense without much other effect.

“Yes, yes, yes, our great Captain Roy is invincible throughout the Eastern Seas. You might not fear being hit with a blackjack, but aren’t you afraid they might tamper with your food or water? The nearest island from here to the imperial coast is at least a month away. You can be vigilant day and night, but there will be a time when you slip up.”

The young woman clearly hadn’t considered this layer.

For Roy, problems that could be solved with force and charm weren’t problems. As for these small matters, they had always been handled by her former first mate—Richi. Under the daily protection of that first mate well-versed in strange tactics, she had indeed overlooked many dangers from minor details.

“Uh… I hadn’t considered that. What should we do then? Pretend to go along with them, and then kick them all off the ship once we dock?”

Understanding the current situation, Roy’s momentum suddenly weakened. She smiled apologetically at Caine, and the meaning contained in that cautious smile couldn’t be clearer.

“I’ll talk to them. Don’t worry about the rest.”

Seeing that Roy still hadn’t abandoned her plans to hijack the ship, Caine sighed with a headache, then walked toward Eda, who was eagerly watching them, without looking back.

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At this moment, Alfie fluttered down from the sky, landing on Roy’s right shoulder. Person and bird exchanged a glance. Roy’s eyes contained a slight bewilderment, while the raven looked at its master with a rather strange gaze, wondering if she had truly been bewitched by that “Mola.”

Captain’s cabin.

Although this double-masted merchant ship didn’t look impressive, in this small and exquisite captain’s cabin, Caine still felt the wealth of a Federation merchant.

Hanging on the black oak wall was a goddess portrait from a famous Imperial artist, as well as premium wines that even high nobility in Auran would rarely have the opportunity to taste. All these symbolized Eda’s enormous wealth.

“I guess the captain doesn’t want to waste too much time either. Let’s get straight to the point.”

Seated at the desk, Caine wasn’t much interested in appreciating Eda’s collections. Instead, he pulled out a purple copper badge from a hidden pocket in his bosom and handed it to the nervous-faced captain: “This is my family’s identity badge. I thought it might help you understand and trust me more.”

Eda carefully examined the badge, looking at that purple copper lion badge memorized by heart by any imperial commoner—no, even by Pronora citizens. Even the hand holding it couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

Combining the badge with the young man before him who was barely twenty years old, he swallowed and said, almost like a moan: “You are the Empire’s…”

Caine placed his index finger vertically against his lips, calmly interrupting him: “Confidential, Captain. Now, let’s discuss our upcoming voyage.”