Captain – Chapter 518

The plan was set, and action should naturally begin.

Escorted by the other two warships, the Mermaid controlled its speed as it slowly moved forward, finally stopping just a few feet away from the old wooden boat that Roy had mentioned.

Ropes were lowered, and the two destined ones chosen by the mastermind behind the scenes descended one after another, landing on the wooden boat. In the eyes of those who watched this scene without blinking, the young man and woman vanished inexplicably into the fog.

As if swallowed by the deep, abyssal sea beyond the water mist, they could no longer be seen, and only the faint sound of the old wooden boat’s bow cutting through the water could be heard.

The sound of oars grew lighter and more distant, as if it might disappear at any moment.

But just as the invisible boat was about to be completely swallowed by the increasingly thick water mist and embark on that unknown path, the young dragon, who had been leaning against the ship’s rail looking down like the other crew members, suddenly let out a low roar and spread its wings to fly up.

Amid the low exclamations of the pirates and the raven’s displeased “playful” cries, the young dragon circled several times above the deck. After confirming something, it called out joyfully, then transformed into a black shadow and plunged headfirst into the fog.

“What’s going on?”

Richi and Vivian, who had been preparing to return to their ship, were attracted by this situation. Vivian stopped at the side rail, looking toward the direction where the young dragon had disappeared, asking with slightly furrowed brows.

While they had been discussing the upcoming arrangements, the little creature had remained quietly well-behaved like Alfie, so much so that they had inadvertently overlooked it.

Because everyone had assumed one thing by default.

That besides Roy and her companion, there was no one else who could see that wooden boat.

“Perhaps none of us thought that on this ship, besides Captain Roy and her first mate, there was a third… destined one who could see the wooden boat.”

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“Oh no, I should say dragon.”

Withdrawing his gaze from the thick fog, Richi shrugged, easily reaching this conclusion, then said “Let’s go” to the girl and was the first to leap onto the ship’s rail.

The young dragon’s departure was just a minor incident. After speculating that it could probably see the wooden boat and had gone to chase after Roy and her companion, the pirates stopped worrying too much about it.

After all, with an additional dragon, the captain and first mate’s safety would have one more guarantee.

Who cared whether it was motivated by playfulness or not?

Richi and Vivian left, and Enzo also stepped onto the ship’s rail, gripping the swinging rope to return to the Ghost Scythe to take command of the overall situation. However, before leaving, he left orders.

“Maintain distance from the Death Silence, we’re turning around to withdraw from this sea area…”

“Stay away from this fog, the farther the better.”

At some point, people suddenly realized that since the faint sound of oars had faded away, the water mist ahead, which had previously shown signs of dispersing, had once again enveloped them, becoming increasingly thick and obscuring, with only retreat ensuring some visibility.

But… in this fog-covered great triangle where terrain and direction could change at any time, who could guarantee that you were retreating rather than heading deeper?

The sound of rain gradually diminished until it was gone.

Unlike the conditions outside, since entering the water mist, the torrential rain falling from the sky had been continuously weakening until it completely died down after some time.

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The surroundings became utterly quiet, with only the sound of oars and the breathing of the two people in the boat.

After a long while, someone finally couldn’t help but break the silence.

“Still angry?”

Hearing the seemingly calm, probing question that actually made no attempt to hide its “reconciliation” intent, Roy gently shook her head, indicating that wasn’t the case.

She turned her face slightly, looking at the sea surface that, though shrouded in fog, had become much clearer due to the proximity, and said softly: “I have no reason to be angry with you. I just don’t want… don’t want to drag you into this messy chaos.”

“Just like I said before, if someday I go to hell, don’t die for love because of me. That would be meaningless, because this was my own business to begin with.”

“But your choice to come with me, this is different from…”

She didn’t finish, but the girl believed the other party could guess her meaning and knew what he would say, so she changed direction: “I know what you’re thinking, but this is two different things. You doing this will only put more pressure on me.”

“Think about it, if you were in my position, having to keep an appointment that you knew was a trap, but the person you care about insists on coming with you no matter what, how would you feel? Would you feel joy or…”

Her voice cut off abruptly.

Knowing she had spoken somewhat harshly, Roy pressed her lips together and added in a low voice: “Sorry, I’m not blaming you for anything, it’s just that my heart is a bit chaotic.”

“I know.”

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The young man, who had been listening silently all along, spoke with the same calm tone. The captain understood his thoughts, and he likewise knew her feelings. But knowing was one thing, and how to act was another matter entirely. This was very difficult to explain clearly.

She knew she would face the devil directly and didn’t want to drag him down with her, even hoping that if there came such a day when she would ultimately face “judgment,” he could live on.

The first mate understood this way of thinking and could comprehend it, but…

He would not accept it.

Whether it was the promises he had made or this relationship that was difficult to abandon, neither would allow him to accept a conclusion where he could only watch helplessly as she sank into the sea.

At least when that moment came, he had to be by her side.

What happened after that could follow her wishes. If he were lucky enough to survive, then perhaps he would seek revenge, perhaps he would let go, but he would definitely not die for love.

But before that, things had to go according to his wishes.

Knowing this topic couldn’t be discussed openly, that no matter how much more they said, neither could convince the other, the two fell into silence—a rare, somewhat bitter silence.

However, the quiet was soon broken.

The sound of powerful wingbeats reached their ears, and strong wind currents carried moist water mist that hit them in the face. Before the two could become alert and respond, a black shadow “whooshed” down and pounced into the girl’s arms.

That force nearly capsized the entire wooden boat.

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When Roy came to her senses and looked down, she discovered it was Nidhogg—naturally, the one that belonged to them—and then raised her eyebrows with some bewilderment: “How did you get here? No, I should ask how you can see us?”

Logically speaking, if this boat could only be seen by the destined ones, then they, having boarded the wooden boat, would naturally disappear from everyone’s sight, including Nidhogg’s.

Unless…

Thinking of the same possibility and making eye contact with the captain, Caine said thoughtfully: “Unless it can also see this boat, but that makes even less sense.”

He could see the wooden boat, which could still be explained by his bearing the devil’s curse, but the young dragon… well, he could rack his brains and still find no reason.

“If there’s no sense to it, then there’s no sense to it. Are there few senseless things we’ve encountered?”

Gently stroking the little creature’s head, the captain shook her head and smiled with inexplicable emotion, then released her hand, allowing the curious young dragon to occupy the bow.

After being disturbed like this and receiving such a shock of surprise, the oppressive atmosphere that had been lingering between the two of them also lightened considerably. And the sentence the girl had said, seemingly referring to Nidhogg, could just as well have been about them.

Her wanting to bear everything alone, his disregarding safety to accompany her—weren’t both quite senseless?

Then let it be. Senseless was senseless. Who told that unreasonable fate…

To bind them together like this.