Captain – Chapter 346 – Simply Love

“But… there’s still one problem.”

Having figured out her path forward, all worries and difficulties should have vanished, yet after thoroughly cursing her convenient ancestor, the young woman quietly added this sentence.

“What problem?”

Having heard the Captain’s “strike” declaration, Caine had already recovered from his earlier astonishment and was curious about this suddenly emerging question.

What could be so important that it needed to be discussed after such a momentous decision?

“This… well…”

Releasing the First Mate’s clothes, Roy somewhat awkwardly twirled a strand of hair around her finger, showing an unusual nervousness.

It seemed that even she was reluctant to face this question.

As if guessing the reason for the young woman’s difficulty, the light in Caine’s sea-blue eyes dimmed slightly. After a moment of silence, he smiled gently: “I thought it would take much longer, at least a few years, perhaps even a decade or more. I never expected it would come so quickly.”

Yes, who would have thought it would come so quickly.

Compared to the First Mate’s calmness and ease, the Captain felt an inexplicable dejection. She lowered her head slightly, silently repeating those words in her heart.

From their meeting and acquaintance on that lonely island to the present, the two had experienced much together—that promise, the engagement ceremony with all its complications, and the wedding rings they had never removed since putting them on… yet this brilliant journey had actually lasted just over half a year.

They hadn’t even experienced Auran’s annual festival, the birthday of the Auran Goddess.

But it seemed they were already approaching the end.

An end that came early because of her choice.

After her earlier declaration, the Mermaid’s purpose in sailing to Satin Island had changed. It was no longer to contend with Lady Annisdora, no longer to fight for that ancestor, but for herself, or to put it more righteously…

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For humanity, for all living beings in the world.

They wanted the siren’s tragic song and the desolation spanning hundreds of miles to never appear again.

They wanted the world to no longer see ghosts and deities.

They wanted to destroy the Box.

When that happened, the great powers would return, and everything would end.

The deity would depart, the devil would cease to exist, and the fog surrounding the Cursed Sea, the ghost ships and spirits wandering in that unknown sea region, as well as all curses associated with the Lady and Edward, would vanish with the wind.

Of course, that included the curse she bore.

They had made a promise before.

If, after experiencing danger and hardship, they could finally reach Devil’s Island, and she could win the bet with her ancestor, then after the curse was lifted, what he would see—her final form—would be the ultimate answer to their feelings.

But this promise… seemed impossible to keep now.

Whether turning against the devil or destroying the Box, both symbolized that Roy would lose the opportunity of choice. In the end, there would only be two outcomes.

Either she wins, the Box is destroyed, the curse vanishes, and he returns to his original self.

Or she loses, either the devil escapes or the deity returns, and they fall into the abyss forever.

These two outcomes only concerned life and death.

Roy’s own, the Mermaid’s crew’s, the legendary descendants in the Southern Islands, and many more living beings in the world. But because the outcome was uncertain, and they might not necessarily lose, there was still hope.

But for this brief yet particularly profound relationship, it seemed only tragedy remained.

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Even if they could win in the end and she transformed back into the true Golden-Eyed Devil, would he still be willing to follow her? How would their feelings be reconciled…

There were too many questions without answers.

The Captain’s quarters fell silent, somewhat oppressive.

The raven and the young dragon had long shed their lazy appearance, both casting their gaze upon the two. Though each had their own thoughts, they remained obediently silent, making no sound or movement.

Because they knew this was a matter between the two humans, and no one else could have a say.

“What will we do then?” Roy asked with feigned casualness after an unknown length of time.

“I don’t know.”

Caine rarely gave such a negative answer, and one could even hear a hint of uncertainty.

But soon, he recalled the answer Roy had given after her long period of distress, and asked with a smile: “Why not take it one step at a time?”

But intuition wouldn’t help this time, and the blind cat wouldn’t stumble upon a dead rat again.

Silently sighing, Roy immediately shed her dejection, returning to her frivolous demeanor, smiling as she moved closer.

Watching the young woman draw nearer until their foreheads nearly touched, Caine knew she was up to something again and said with a wry smile: “Again?”

“What, you don’t want to?”

Feeling the young man’s warm breath, the Captain lowered her long eyelashes slightly and said softly: “If you miss this chance, there might… truly not be another opportunity.”

“But you haven’t given me an answer. What’s the point if I accept?”

Looking into those dark golden pupils showing emotions soft as rippling water that no one else had ever seen, the young man’s tone also became somewhat melancholic.

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What exactly is love?

Is it offering purity to another, a spiritual entanglement and intertwining, a companionship lasting forever, until death do us part…

Or is it something material, ideological, or even deeper—something that cannot be explained with words or expressed through philosophy?

From ancient times until now, no one has been able to provide an answer.

Because it’s like the ocean, yet more mysterious and profound than the ocean, boundlessly vast, so that even deities cannot see through it completely.

Also because everyone has their own interpretation.

For the young man, love was simple and pure.

Perhaps just watching the young woman, accompanying her through countless days, whether mundane or brilliant, was already beautiful enough. And if he could receive her more passionate response, or shield her from wind and rain, drive away shadows, that would be even better.

Compared to a moment’s brilliance, perhaps he preferred the simple companionship?

Companionship forever.

“Must everything have meaning?”

Roy pouted, seemingly a bit displeased.

During their time together and the changes they’d undergone, at her request, Caine seemed to have broken his “bad habit” of expounding principles and giving verbose teachings.

But now it seemed the naval officer was still that naval officer.

Stubborn to the point of rigidity in certain aspects.

“Not about meaning, but Captain, since it’s love, shouldn’t it be willing, mutually delightful, isn’t that so?”

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“No one can force me to do what I don’t want to do.”

Hearing his meaning, the Captain was quiet for a moment, then said plainly.

The Golden-Eyed Devil never submitted to threats or manipulation, and those who tried were all dead.

“I know.”

His fingers traced through the young woman’s soft hair, finally resting gently on the back of her neck. The First Mate’s sea-blue eyes still contained only gentleness: “Your intentions, your plans, all your considerations—I know them all.”

“Not just your love, even your hatred, your disgust—I could accept them calmly. But there’s one thing I absolutely cannot accept.”

“What… is it?”

Although she already knew the answer, Roy still asked softly.

“Guilt.”

Still looking into those dark golden eyes, watching the wind stirring and waves rising within them, the First Mate slowly lowered his head, his words brushing past the Captain’s ear like a warm breeze.

“Why would you feel guilty? Where does this guilt come from? Between us… how could we need such an emotion to exist?”

“You’re overthinking things, my dear Captain.”

His words passed like the wind, his lips touched hers like a leaf meeting water.

It turned out there had never been a blind cat or a dead rat.

Just love.