Captain – Chapter 360 – Island in the Mist

No one knew Caine’s answer.

The sailors on patrol duty could only see—though they had to pretend not to see—the scene of the Captain and First Mate kissing, a kiss in the howling storm that resembled the tearing of beasts.

Just like their first kiss on that stormy night long ago.

Those who witnessed this scene couldn’t understand why these two would forsake the warm, intimate bedroom and instead choose to suffer in this miserable wind and rain.

But what stunned them even more was that this was just the tip of the iceberg of strangeness.

As for what that strangeness was…

“Do you think the Captain and First Mate… have gone mad?” asked a sailor on duty, his eye twitching several times as he couldn’t help glancing in that direction while questioning his companion.

“Go away, what nonsense are you talking about? How can we fathom the thoughts of our superiors? Be careful they don’t overhear you and dock your monthly pay!” The other pirate immediately waved his hand, showing obvious disdain, yet in the end, he too couldn’t help turning his head to look several times.

At the bow of the Mermaid, the young woman and young man sat facing each other on the wet deck, surrounded by bottles—some standing, some fallen, all scattered about—as if they intended to drink their entire supply of rum for this voyage.

Before this, what was referred to as a kiss was actually a general, summarized description. In reality, there were many twists and turns.

For instance, their first kiss of the night was far from passionate, and could even be called a failure. The Captain had barely approached him, their lips had just barely touched, when she was coldly and forcefully pushed away by the First Mate.

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Then came an incredibly fierce argument.

This couple, normally so in tune and affectionate, even engaged to be married, seemed on the verge of a complete breakdown tonight. Though they hadn’t reached the point of drawing swords, they were nearly exchanging blows.

The sailors had never seen such a scene.

Those on patrol and those who heard the commotion from the lower deck were all frightened half to death, uneasy, yet not daring to intervene or even look too long. They could only hurriedly wake the important figures who had already gone to sleep.

But when Ben, Lance, Harriet, and others ran up to the deck with drowsy eyes and disheveled clothing, hoping to resolve this “end of the world” situation, they stopped in silence.

Because what they saw wasn’t a tense standoff between a Captain and First Mate about to part ways, but… the two locked in a passionate embrace.

“In the Eastern Seas, the hardest to fathom is the Golden-Eyed Devil’s mind, but I think from now on, we might need to add the First Mate to that list.”

After Lance left these words, the speechless crowd immediately scattered like birds and beasts. Those who needed to sleep went to sleep, those on patrol continued patrolling, and no one wanted to interfere with these two’s relationship anymore.

Only the sailors still on duty occasionally glanced in that direction, their eyes full of awe when looking at the First Mate.

In the Southern Islands, and perhaps the entire sea region, the only one who could argue with the Golden-Eyed Devil without being at a disadvantage was probably him.

After that long, intense, passionate kiss ended, Caine went to the cabin and had someone bring back dozens of bottles of alcohol. Then the two began opening caps, clinking bottles, drinking together… over and over, drinking until their faces were flushed red and their bodies reeked of alcohol.

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Of course, there was also some drunken madness.

From laughing and talking animatedly, to singing pirate songs, ship songs, love songs… all the way to their current state of arrogant and unrestrained shouting.

Hearing words like “great” and “invincible” faintly coming from the bow, the two pirates looked at each other, then smiled bitterly, returning their attention to their duties, only hoping the Captain and First Mate would go to sleep soon.

The rain curtain didn’t disperse, making day and night difficult to distinguish, so the sense of time was naturally blurred. But at least they could estimate the time by the number of sailor shifts.

After the duty sailors had changed shifts twice, the farce at the bow finally ended.

Except for the bottles that no one cleaned up.

The next day, Roy and Caine’s interaction and behavior style returned to normal, as if upon waking, they had completely forgotten last night’s argument, embrace, and drunken revelry. The young woman’s lips even wore her signature smile.

That smile that had been rarely seen since entering the Ice Sea.

And just like this couple’s relationship, though the sky was still gathered with dark clouds, the wind and rain had gradually lessened, becoming gentle and warm. Even the fog that had long shrouded the sea surface had thinned, improving visibility.

The following days were calm and peaceful.

The Mermaid continued following the light’s guidance. As the weather warmed, more figures appeared on the deck, and occasionally one could hear neat and cheerful ship songs, telling of pirates’ optimism and yearning for freedom.

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All the important figures also had a rare leisure.

Even Isaac, who hadn’t left his room for days, came to the Captain’s quarters once to take the young dragon—who was reluctant and had grown too heavy to carry—back for some research.

Of course, the ship’s doctor was not among those with free time.

Though Roy had only asked him to teach the Siren modern Auran, with no other requirements, she had actually been quite calculating, directly pushing all matters related to the Siren to him.

The ship’s doctor was responsible for teaching the Siren language, naturally becoming her teacher. So when she had questions or curiosities about the current world’s structure or other matters, he couldn’t refuse to teach her, could he?

When she had other requests that needed to be reported to Roy or some department, he had to take responsibility too, right?

Gradually, the ship’s doctor became the sea nymph’s full-time caretaker, with considerable daily mental and physical exhaustion.

Fortunately, the Siren’s learning ability was indeed strong, and her absorption speed of various knowledge and artistic comprehension was astonishing. This made him quite gratified and gave him a sense of achievement. He even decided to properly study pedagogy when he had time.

Such days were naturally beautiful, but unfortunately, the Mermaid’s journey wasn’t for tourism but for a more important mission. So there would inevitably come a moment when the tranquility would be broken.

That moment came not slowly, but so quickly that it left people somewhat unprepared.

It was approximately the fourth day after leaving the whirlpool.

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With the sentinel’s warning sound, the laughter and cheers on the deck immediately disappeared, replaced by hurried footsteps, solemn and grave.

“The front of that mist is only two nautical miles away from us now.”

Standing at the bow, leaning on the railing and gazing into the distance, Roy heard the approaching footsteps and the First Mate’s solemn report. She gently responded with an “Mm” to indicate her understanding.

That strange mist was formed by the Lady’s curse. Since they were approaching it, it naturally indicated that the Death Silence wasn’t far either, and they should prepare for battle.

But her mind wasn’t on this at the moment.

Behind the Mermaid was a thick mist where the true scenery couldn’t be seen, but the direction Roy was looking at… was the same.

That intense golden beam of light extending from the Acherousian Lighthouse across the vast Ice Sea had now dimmed considerably, even becoming somewhat scattered and distorted, like a flame flickering in the cold wind, about to be extinguished at any moment.

And the direction it illuminated had changed from initially straight to gradually slanted, and now it had descended, like cold moonlight spilling onto that similarly eye-obscuring yet ethereal, faint, divine realm-like mist.

Though the scenery within couldn’t be clearly seen, everyone knew…

Within the mist lay Satin Island.