Captain – Chapter 205 – Naren Howard

The war that the crew worried about did not happen. The warship slowly sailed in against the remaining glow of the setting sun, finally stopping at the starboard side of the Mermaid.

The gangplank connecting the two ships’ railings was immediately set up. The soldiers swiftly boarded the deck of the Mermaid and positioned themselves along the railings. They stood perfectly straight, gazing forward without a sideways glance, displaying impeccable military discipline to its fullest.

Even in Auran, where martial prowess was valued and iron will was cultivated, troops with such discipline were rare. Yet under the previous Naval Commander, the Imperial Lion Governor Naren, such discipline was merely a basic principle that every soldier should observe.

In the waters before and behind the two warships, all merchant vessels had stopped sailing. People watched this peculiar scene from a distance, harboring unease and curiosity, speculating about what might unfold next.

Because of Roy’s prior request and the pressure from the vigilant soldiers, the pirates all remained obediently quiet.

So when the soldiers’ footsteps ceased, the entire Mermaid fell silent. One could only hear the gentle murmur of waves slapping against the hull and the slightly suppressed sounds of people breathing.

“Thud.”

Suddenly, a muffled sound broke the silence—the sound of boots stepping onto the gangplank.

Afterward, powerful and steady footsteps arose, one after another, growing increasingly clear and near, as if treading on everyone’s heart. As the person approached, the soldiers all lowered their heads slightly, showing genuine respect.

Finally, the person arrived on the deck of the Mermaid.

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He was a man like iron. The warm red light shone on his face but could hardly soften those hard, knife-carved lines even slightly.

He wore a deep blue tricorn hat and a deep blue coat. Every button on his coat was fastened meticulously, revealing only a small section of white collar at the neckline.

His silver hair was immaculately combed, hanging behind his ears along the brim of his hat. Those eyes, indistinguishable from Caine’s, were as blue as the ocean, yet contained no gentleness or tranquility—only the steadfastness of a mountain unmoved by the wind.

This was Naren Howard, the youngest governor in Auran history, and also Caine’s father.

Walking through the path cleared by the crew, facing the governor’s inscrutable gaze, Caine approached him with a calm expression. After a moment of silence, he softly called out: “Father.”

After their last parting, after an unknown length of time, after countless searches and longings akin to life-and-death separations, this father and son who had written the current glory of the Auran Navy finally reunited on homeland soil with this one word.

Naren examined the young man with scrutinizing eyes, strong and complex emotions surging within them.

It was unclear whether he felt relief at his son’s escape from death, joy and emotion at their reunion, or disappointment and anger at this child—whom he regarded as his only one in this life—for leaving the military to pursue another kind of freedom.

But in the end, all emotions in his eyes subsided, transforming into mild words: “Less than a year after leaving the military, and you’ve already forgotten how to salute me?”

Hearing his father’s somewhat hoarse question, the young man blinked. Under the other’s slightly surprised gaze, he smiled and said: “That’s because I’m no longer part of the military, and neither are you.”

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Looking at Caine’s smiling lips, Naren seemed somewhat dazed. It took him a long while to come back to his senses before he smiled faintly and said: “It seems you’re indeed doing well. You’ve even picked up that long-forgotten sharp tongue of yours. Federo told me you went to become a pirate, so what’s with this attire?”

When mentioning the word “pirate,” the governor’s expression remained unchanged, seemingly unconcerned about the path his child had chosen, or how his subordinates might react upon hearing this identity. Everything seemed as casual as chatting about family matters.

And in fact, that was exactly what was happening.

Glancing at his black formal attire, Caine explained somewhat awkwardly: “We need to disguise ourselves to pass through the Empire. Even if I were present, the military probably wouldn’t be willing to let us enter the inland.”

“Not only that, they would also throw you and everyone on this ship into prison, awaiting His Majesty’s personal judgment.”

Naren shook his head and said coldly: “You dropped your responsibilities, and Federo went mad, insisting on retiring in obscurity. Including His Majesty, the political circle, the military, and even the nobles who dislike you—all that pressure suddenly fell on my shoulders.”

Hearing this, Caine didn’t know how to respond and could only remain silent.

“But fortunately, His Majesty still values this old lion. No matter what tricks those people play, as long as His Majesty doesn’t doubt me, as long as the military still stands behind me, they are all just clowns.”

As if guessing the young man’s reaction, Naren rubbed his temples, showing some weariness on his iron-willed face: “I don’t expect you to lighten my burden, but I hope you won’t make trouble for me like you did as a child. Like this time, openly passing through the Empire’s checkpoints was a very foolish decision.”

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Hearing this, Caine suddenly seemed to remember something and asked with slightly furrowed brows: “By the way, Father, how did you know about my whereabouts? Our disguise…”

“Disguise?”

Naren snorted coldly: “Using a brand-new transit document to pose as something from over a decade ago—you think that counts as a disguise?”

The young man was slightly stunned, then smiled bitterly: “Even so, not many people should know who Federo gave his second document to, right? Arman and the others certainly wouldn’t know.”

“You’re right. Federo only told me, His Majesty, and Robert about your situation. But you must understand that at the peak of a country’s power, each person’s thoughts may change with time. You’ll never know when Robert might become our enemy, nor will you know…”

The governor paused, not continuing. He sighed gently and looked around the deck: “Are you planning to keep standing here talking with me? Let’s wait until we reach Elvet. That’s your destination, isn’t it?”

Soon, a soldier returned to the warship. After conveying the governor’s orders, the gangplank spanning the railings was removed, and the dropped anchor was raised again.

After adjusting their direction, the two warships sailed side by side toward the now-not-distant port of Elvet.

The candelabra on the table was lit, its bright candlelight illuminating the captain’s cabin. Naren sat at the wooden table, looking around this spacious and comfortable room. After a long while, he nodded with satisfaction: “So this is your office?”

Before Caine could explain, a sharp call suddenly came from the right side of the wooden table: “This is the captain’s room! This is the captain’s room!”

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With a swooshing sound, a young dragon covered in pitch-black scales, about the size of a half-grown tiger, darted onto the desk. It bared its teeth at Naren, emitting threatening growls.

“Nidhogg, this is a guest of mine and the captain’s.”

The young dragon was lifted by its waist from the table. After understanding the First Mate’s meaning, its growls changed to slightly high-pitched murmurs, like a small animal whining.

After examining this never-before-seen creature, the governor turned to look at the raven, which had closed its beak and tilted its head as if nothing had happened. Then he shifted his gaze back to Caine: “According to it, this isn’t your room?”

“It… it can be considered as such.” The First Mate put the young dragon on the ground, answering somewhat ambiguously.

Observing the young man’s slightly evasive gaze, Naren’s face showed a thoughtful expression. He lightly tapped the table with his finger and said in a deep voice: “Federo said that the famous Captain Roy killed the mastermind behind that fire, resolving your heart’s knot and making you decide to leave. If that’s the case, aren’t you going to…”

“Bring her to meet me?”

Translator Note

Hello father-in-law