Captain – Chapter 381 – None of My Business

“But let me be clear, if after the Lady leaves, Vivian… and you, fall into eternal sleep due to the dissipation of the divine gift, don’t blame me.”

“That’s only natural.”

Roy and Richi followed the ice stairs downward, occasionally conversing in low voices.

“That’s good, but Richi, there’s something else I don’t understand.”

“Hmm?”

“You arrived too quickly. Starting from the mountain base, logically speaking, no matter how fast you climbed, you shouldn’t have been able to intercept me.”

“The mountain looks high, but it doesn’t actually take long to climb. Perhaps you spent too much time searching for the magical box.”

I didn’t spend that long finding the magical box, Roy thought silently.

To be precise, she had only spent those ten or so minutes going up and down the decks; the rest of the time, the outside world’s time had been suspended.

But this was difficult to explain, so the young woman could only evade the truth.

“It still doesn’t make sense. After boarding the ship, it didn’t take me long to find the magical box—adding it all up, it definitely wasn’t more than twenty minutes.”

As they talked, the platform on the mountainside came into view.

“I’m not sure then. Perhaps it’s time playing tricks?”

Looking at the mountainside that was now close, the captain was somewhat stunned, because it had been only ten minutes since they left the ship.

Hearing Richi’s groundless conjecture, Roy finally understood where the problem lay.

It truly was time playing tricks.

However, it wasn’t the eternally unchanging time on the Satin, but when she stepped onto the stairs, walking toward the endpoint.

At that time, a cold wind suddenly rose on the mountain path, with white fog obscuring everything, ice and snow mixing together. Walking through it felt like experiencing a hundred years.

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That was the time she had lost.

Perhaps even what the Devil had mentioned—a glimpse of the incomplete divine path.

Returning to the broad flat area on the mountainside, before Roy could even call out, the young dragon, hearing footsteps, had already run over.

Nidhogg stared with its brilliant purple eyes, not at the “unidentified” youth, but at the lazy cat.

As if wondering where the captain had picked up a stray cat.

“Meow.”

The Siamese cat also looked at the young dragon, called out with an air of superiority, as if declaring its ownership of the young woman, or explaining.

I’m not some lowly stray cat, I’m much nobler than you.

“Richi, are you really not coming with me?”

Ignoring the cross-species communication between the two small creatures, the captain looked at the youth with his relaxed face, making a final confirmation.

“No, and besides, even if I wanted to go back with you, it couldn’t carry both of us.”

Stepping forward, Richi crouched in front of the young dragon, stroking its head as he spoke.

The young dragon’s size was growing; carrying Roy alone to fly across the sea, even without resting midway, wouldn’t be too strenuous.

Adding a cat would be the same.

But adding another person, even someone as light as Richi, would be somewhat stretching its limits.

“That’s true.”

The captain responded lightly, showing no sorrow of separation on her face.

After all, the little bastard was returning to the Death Silence, and there would inevitably be a battle between the Mermaid and that ghost ship, so their reunion wouldn’t be too far off.

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“Then I’m off, Captain.”

Patting the young dragon’s head lightly, feeling its no-longer-vigilant gaze, Richi smiled slightly, stood up, and said to the young woman.

“Go on.”

Roy nodded slightly, not trying to keep him.

Because she was worried about the Mermaid’s safety and needed to hurry back.

However, after hesitating for a moment, the captain still couldn’t help but add: “Be careful, don’t reveal yourself before the time is right…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not that brazen.”

The youth continued down the ice stairs, waving his hand to interrupt her.

Hearing this, the young woman couldn’t help but laugh lightly.

She knew he was referring to her first return to Yadris, when she impatiently revealed her identity, practically shouting to the heavens that she was “Roy.”

Watching the youth’s figure disappear into the misty distance, the captain finally let out a breath and looked away.

Obtaining the magical box didn’t mean the end, but only the beginning of the most intense, thrilling finale.

Upon returning to the Mermaid, all ghosts hidden in the dark would reveal themselves.

Hope… you’re not one of them, First Mate Isaac.

After placing the Siamese cat on the young dragon’s back, Roy grabbed Nidhogg’s claws and flew away from the iceberg and the “divine realm.”

During this process, the surrounding mist once again became dense and warm like a hot spring, gradually obscuring all perception.

Starlight receded, sounds faded, and finally even the sense of time’s passage blurred.

As if experiencing thousands of years.

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After an unknown period, the thick fog gradually thinned.

The violent sound of rain and howling wind returned to her ears. Raindrops like arrows, wind blades like knives, hit Roy’s face, cold and slightly painful.

And in that storm that occupied the entire sky and sea, cannon fire more deafening than thunder could be faintly heard!

The sea was pitch black, but with the help of cannon fire more intense than lightning, Roy easily found its source.

It was in waters not far from the great fog.

The Mermaid and Death Silence were on opposite sides, rising and falling in the surging waves, pouring out cannonballs like ferocious beasts.

But the bows of the two ships pointed in different directions, not approaching each other, but gradually moving apart, increasing the distance.

As if sounding the retreat.

The scene was incredible, because from the looks of it, the retreating party was the hunter.

The hunter who had crossed the endless icy sea, finally forcing the Mermaid to turn and face it at the end of the road, was now withdrawing.

But Roy wasn’t surprised; this was within her expectations.

If, after knowing the opponent’s weakness and having the Siren’s assistance, the Mermaid still couldn’t suppress the Death Silence, that would be surprising.

It’s worth noting that when a hunter retreats, it’s not out of fear of its prey, but because it doesn’t want to engage in a death struggle with a cornered beast and get injured.

The Death Silence’s withdrawal followed the same logic.

First, Richi was no longer aboard, and those water ghosts, as well as Vivian herself, weren’t skilled in such prolonged battles.

After all, they had never encountered a situation where the ghostly fire was ineffective.

Second, facing the Mermaid’s all-out firing, the Death Silence’s repair capabilities might not keep up.

If the Death Silence were truly crippled, even if it could self-repair, it would give the Mermaid too much opportunity to exploit.

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Thus, it would be unable to approach the magical box, losing influence over the game.

Even if she wasn’t versed in battle tactics or schemes, the Blood Craver would recognize this.

So, even if driving the warship away temporarily showed some weakness, she didn’t hesitate, using this to avoid the Mermaid’s counterattack.

But this was exactly what Roy wanted to see.

Once the distance was widened, the Mermaid would once again become an isolated island, and everything on that island would naturally be determined by its master.

And the victory between deity and devil…

And her, would be determined in an instant.

As if sensing the young woman’s intent, thunder roared fiercely, lightning flashed, illuminating those eyes with a brilliant glow.

Like erupting magma.

And the Siamese cat, lying on the young dragon’s back, uncomfortable from the rough scales and protrusions, suddenly showed profound depth in its eyes.

It stood upright amidst the wind and rain, looking downward, as if it could see through the young dragon to the captain, and directly into the depths of her heart.

Seeing her resolve.

Somewhat surprised and puzzled, the Siamese cat’s blue eyes became increasingly deep, cold, like the lightless deep sea.

But in the end, it did nothing, lay back down, curled into a ball, like a soft gray-white ball of yarn.

“Meow.”

It closed its eyes slightly, calling lazily.

As if saying, none of my business.