Captain – Chapter 353 – The Mermaid and the Mermaid

Though day and night were indistinguishable in the storm, Roy knew from her groggy head and the dark circles—rarely seen on her sleep-loving face—that she definitely hadn’t slept through the night.

“What’s all this noise about? Can’t a person get any sleep around here!”

Yawning, the young woman reluctantly got up, sat on the edge of the bed and began arranging her clothes, while cursing with an unpleasant expression.

“Something must have happened.”

Caine had risen earlier than Roy and had already changed into his outfit. He was now standing by the bird perch teasing the raven, looking much more alert than her.

Though he said this, his tone wasn’t particularly tense.

First, he and the young woman had already calculated approximately how long it would take the Death Silence to catch up with them.

Although the Lady’s divine gift didn’t necessarily give the Mermaid much breathing room, it certainly couldn’t have been just one night.

Second, the shouting coming from outside seemed more filled with amazement and astonishment. Rather than terror at seeing the ghost ship and Water Ghosts, it sounded more like…

Excitement at seeing a beauty? Just without the whistling.

“Makes no sense…”

Roy put on her boots, grumbling as she stood up. She didn’t forget to flip the blanket to cover the still-sleeping young dragon before going to the coat rack. In the time it took to turn around, she had already donned her captain’s uniform and tricorn hat.

With this transformation, the sleepy young woman became the Golden-Eyed Devil.

Ignoring the raven’s resistance to the cold world, Roy passed by the bird perch and grabbed the raven that was playing with the First Mate, casually tossing it onto her shoulder. With a fierce expression, she headed for the door, her irritation at being awakened still evident.

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This was understandable.

Anyone who had been out struggling and fighting for their life all day, only to have their sleep disturbed after returning home, would likely be somewhat upset.

“Perhaps… it’s because of that guest Admiral Isaac mentioned?”

Seeing this situation and knowing the young woman was about to unleash her temper, Caine couldn’t help but smile wryly as he hurried to follow, while guessing the reason for the crew’s commotion.

Hearing this, Roy paused briefly, thought for a moment, and then nodded approvingly: “That’s certainly possible.”

This visitor who could extinguish ghostly fire was obviously extraordinary. It would be normal for sailors on duty to discover them, raise the alarm, and for the crew to gather around in astonishment. However…

Who exactly was this visitor?

Who had such great appeal that they could make these pirates linger, with no one coming to report even now?

Or perhaps she had completely misunderstood the situation?

With these thoughts in mind, Roy pushed open the wooden door, adjusted to the raindrops coming at her face, and saw Ben hurrying toward her, seemingly coming to report but turning his head back every few steps, his face full of reluctance and amazement.

“What’s going on?”

Looking at the approaching Bosun and at the crew members gathered at the bow and starboard side, eagerly craning their necks to look at the sea, Roy furrowed her brow slightly and walked toward the gathering crowd, questioning Ben beside her.

“Report, Captain, we’ve discovered a…”

He paused, as if even now he couldn’t believe what he had seen, and said with a strange and uneasy expression: “There’s a mermaid following alongside the starboard of the Mermaid.”

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The vast majority of people in the world had heard the story of the Little Mermaid and had fantasized about meeting and falling in love with such a beautiful creature, just like in fairy tales.

Even if no story could unfold, it would be wonderful just to see one with their own eyes.

There were naturally such people among pirates.

But because of the many bizarre and even terrifying legends circulating in the Southern Islands, a large portion of pirates believed that mermaids were not as charming as in fairy tales, but rather monsters craving blood and human flesh.

Therefore, while the Bosun showed surprise and reluctance to leave, he also revealed some uneasiness.

And not all crew members were exclaiming in admiration. Some had remained silent from the beginning, nervously gripping the ship’s railing… or even weapons.

In those terrifying stories about mermaids fabricated by some unknown troubadour, these creatures always traveled in groups. And if their seduction failed, they would overturn ships, causing everyone on board to fall into the sea for a hearty meal.

Although the Mermaid was stable enough that it wouldn’t likely be overturned, who knew whether these creatures might climb aboard to hunt?

A mermaid accompanying the Mermaid ship sounded poetic, but was actually quite dangerous.

These were the thoughts of those crew members.

A… mermaid?

Roy blinked, then quickly recalled what Isaac had said during his persuasion on the deck not long ago.

He had said that in all the circulating legends, those so-called mermaids, sirens, and harpies were actually all the same type of creature—Sirens.

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The Siren at the Acherousian Lighthouse.

The only remaining Siren.

Realizing that the mermaid following alongside the Mermaid was the Siren she had seen before, in just a moment, the Captain understood many things, including why the ghostly fire had been extinguished and the real reason Isaac was willing to trust her.

So you are my guest.

Thinking about Isaac’s longing and protection toward Sirens when mentioning them, and his pain and sorrow over the devil’s crimes, the young woman seemed to understand why he had chosen her. Was it because she had made…

A choice different from the devil’s?

Or perhaps, for the first time, she had deviated from his will.

Someone shouted, and the crew members noticed the arrival of the Captain and First Mate, promptly stepping aside to make way for them.

Arriving at the railing and looking down, Roy immediately saw the Siren’s figure and understood why the crew members could discover her following alongside in the dim daylight and black sea surface.

It was a dreamlike scene.

The first thing to catch the eye was a silver-white chain of light. However, what composed this chain of light, emitting a crystalline radiance, was not the shadow formed by a deity’s will, but a large group of very real sea fish, sometimes clustering together, sometimes dispersing, as if expressing joy in their hearts.

To the right of the light chain, slightly further from the Mermaid, black shadows continuously leaped out of the sea surface before plunging back in, agile as dancers. They could be identified as porpoises of various sizes and colors, and excited, joyful calls could be heard.

These scenes were naturally magical and beautiful, but what truly caught the eye and held attention was just a small point in this splendid grand performance.

The Siren gracefully swimming among the school of fish.

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She looked different from when she was at the lighthouse.

The gauze dress, thin as cicada wings and pale blue as the sea, was no longer visible. Her pearl-white body now had many similarly azure scales that reflected seven-colored light. Her legs had transformed into a fish tail that moved gently, looking magical and charming.

She was identical to the mermaid figurehead at the bow of the ship.

“This hardly looks like someone coming to visit; it’s more like someone coming to collect on a debt of passion.”

Looking at the incredibly grand, almost scene-stealing display, Roy smiled bitterly and shook her head, then looked at the pirates gathered around and decisively ordered: “Go reduce some sails to slow down, then lower a small boat to bring her aboard.”

“But Captain…”

The pirates looked at each other, with countless questions in their hearts.

They didn’t know the stories related to Sirens and would naturally be wary of such legendary creatures, but more people were just concerned about whether a mermaid could leave the water.

“Hurry up!”

Roy didn’t explain anything, just spoke calmly. Coupled with the captain’s uniform she rarely wore, this immediately generated an undeniable authority, at least sending Lance and other old hands into respectful action.

Seeing this, the rest understood as well.

But except for Caine and the raven, no one knew why the usually lazy and casual Captain had suddenly become so stern, frightening even the Gunner Chief into running off.

It was all because of her morning grumpiness.