Captain – Chapter 407 – Reason to Celebrate

That declaration fell lightly, yet carried immovable determination, though the high spirits hidden within lasted only for a moment.

“However, the path to pursuing what one wants is never smooth sailing.”

Roy slightly raised her hand, her slender fingers splitting the blazing sun into two parts.

She narrowed her eyes, feeling the clear sunlight coming through the gaps between her fingers, and said softly: “People will come, people will go, there will be partings in life and separations by death. I understood this principle since childhood.”

“But… perhaps I was too selfish deep down, so I never really looked at it, never took it to heart.”

“I led those who believed in me, drifting along seeking, not caring about their feelings, thoughts, or even their lives.”

“This should be…”

Roy withdrew her hand, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, rare remorse appearing in her eyes: “The reason why Cassius and the others betrayed me.”

After quietly listening to the captain’s explanation, Caine understood her thoughts and gently comforted her: “But things are different now, aren’t they? Everyone…”

“How is it different?”

The girl turned to face those gentle sea-like eyes, with an ambiguous smile, and said: “Caine, are you suggesting that because I treat the crew better, they’ll support me more?”

The First Mate responded with silence, tacitly agreeing.

“Hmm… perhaps you’ve misunderstood something. In the past, although I treated crew members as pawns, I never neglected the use of both reward and punishment.”

“Not to mention that boy Richi, the people on the Mermaid in the past would have been even more in awe of me than the current crew, even worshipping me.”

“They viewed me as a king, as a beacon breaking through the darkness ahead, and had other miscellaneous, strange descriptions.”

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“But… so what?”

Roy’s smile faded as she tilted her head slightly, like a cat questioning its “servant,” while calmly adding: “You should know, First Mate, that all of that was based on the premise of having something to gain.”

“They followed me because there was money, wine, and women, without having to face too much risk. That’s the most fundamental reason.”

“So tell me, how are the people now any different?”

The powerful seek power and profit, the pirate sailors seek a living, Anderson seeks fun, and that boy Daniel may have some other dependencies, but essentially, there’s not much difference.

Of course, among these people, he had to be excluded—this… officer blinded by love? Anyway, he was an anomaly.

Who would board a pirate ship to pursue a pirate captain?

Looking into those dark golden eyes, sensing the somewhat cold rationality within them, Caine couldn’t find words and could only continue his silence.

“Let me be clear, I’m not criticizing anyone. These are very normal things; everyone who lives has to consider themselves.”

After waiting a while, knowing the young man wouldn’t speak, the captain straightened her head, lazily leaned against the railing, and raised her hand to clarify her stance.

“In the past, before meeting you all and going through so much, I might not have even considered this factor.”

“I would have continued the journey with the Mermaid and these people.”

At this point, the girl paused, a smile of indeterminate emotion appearing at the corner of her mouth: “And then, would it be a replay of that betrayal?”

With these words falling, the bow fell into a brief silence.

“Captain, are you trying to drive us away?”

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After remaining silent until the end, the First Mate finally couldn’t help but ask with a slight frown.

“Nonsense, if you all leave, who will sail my ship?”

Given an eye roll by the captain, Caine showed no sign of happiness; instead, his brow furrowed even more: “But what you just said, isn’t it…”

“No, no, no, driving people away and letting crew members choose whether to stay or leave are not the same thing.”

Roy raised her finger and waved it, smiling as she interrupted the First Mate’s questioning.

“As you said, although the purposes of these people following me have no essential difference, I have changed somewhat.”

“Perhaps it could be called an awakening of conscience?”

The girl joked as if asking herself, then explained: “I don’t want the past to repeat itself, so after meeting the Lady, I will tell all the crew members the truth about the devil and our journey.”

“I’ll tell them what kind of enemies and dangers they’ll face by continuing to follow me. After that, those who are willing to stay will stay, and for those who aren’t, I’ll find a port and let them disembark.”

“And we should also replenish supplies, especially the rum that’s in short supply.”

Perhaps to lighten the atmosphere, the captain added this remark.

Seeing that the First Mate’s expression was still not looking good, the girl knew her words weren’t having the desired effect, so she added: “Don’t worry, after all, they’ve followed me, I won’t withhold their wages.”

When a pirate ship sails at sea, the crew’s monthly salary is generally kept by the accountant and not settled until returning to port.

Of course, if crew members lost their lives along the way, there would be some unscrupulous captains who would keep the money for themselves, because as everyone knew, pirates who licked blood off knife edges every day generally didn’t start families.

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Some would even use underhanded methods to drive people away in order to collect money.

Roy considered herself to have a conscience and wouldn’t set her sights on this money.

“As for where they go after leaving, I will definitely support them, whether they want to return to their hometown or seek employment in Yadris.”

Looking toward the deck, seeing sailors looking her way, the captain smiled and waved at them, while asking: “You should be satisfied with this, right?”

Understanding the captain’s intentions, the First Mate’s expression finally softened somewhat. He sighed lightly and asked: “But what if… no one stays?”

Being enemies with the devil was extremely dangerous, even a matter of life and death, and the journey to seek that lonely island would likely be torturous.

No one could guarantee how many people would stay after knowing everything.

“Don’t be so pessimistic.”

Hearing this, Roy smiled and said: “This captain still has some charm, doesn’t she? And besides, even if there’s really no one left…”

“At worst, I’ll go find it myself.”

Even the Golden-Eyed Devil couldn’t sail the Mermaid alone, so this statement didn’t carry much persuasive power.

It sounded more like a rascal’s rhetoric.

At worst I’ll go myself, and you can’t possibly not follow or not help, right? You can’t possibly watch me row a small boat to find the devil?

So with your status, getting a ship and some people wouldn’t be difficult?

“That’s not fair, Captain.”

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Being treated as a backup resource, the First Mate’s eye twitched, and he said somewhat helplessly.

“Please, I didn’t ask you to follow me.”

Hearing this, Roy smiled even more brightly, and before the First Mate could say more, she turned and climbed onto the railing, grabbing a swinging rope to steady herself.

“Gentlemen, everyone stop for a moment!”

Seeing that the captain seemed about to announce something, the sailors on the deck temporarily stopped their work and all turned their gaze toward the girl.

“Tonight, the Mermaid will hold a feast to celebrate, uh…”

The girl thought with some distress, and after a long time without coming up with anything, she shook her head, stopped thinking, and directly said: “Let’s celebrate that we’re all still alive!”

Although for the crew members, this reason did sound somewhat perfunctory, the thought of celebration still made them cheer spontaneously.

Not having to work, not having to mind regulations, and freely enjoying food and drink—these were good things for any pirate.

The commotion on the Mermaid was so great that it could be heard even from the Taranhof.

The young man and woman standing at the bow of the warship turned at the sound, following the long-lasting cheers to look toward the ship behind them.

“What are they so happy about?”

Hearing Vivian’s puzzled question, Richi shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently: “Who knows? Maybe they’re going to have a celebration feast?”

“Anyway, she can always find some reason to throw a party.”