Captain – Chapter 520

“When the time comes, let Nidhogg go with you.”

Hearing the captain’s whisper, Caine fell silent for a while, wanting to say something, but she cut him off: “Don’t bargain, at least not about this.”

Because of the young man’s sufficiently rational judgment and his meticulous analysis of the devil’s intentions, she had accepted his proposal, hoping to disrupt that person’s layout. However, this didn’t mean she would agree to let him shoulder all the dangers.

Whether in terms of combat power or, more importantly, the escape capability that flight provided, having the young dragon accompany him would undoubtedly be a huge guarantee when approaching the abyss.

It might even completely reverse the situation, just like at the Acherousian Lighthouse.

Knowing the captain would absolutely not yield on this matter, Caine could only nod with a bitter smile, no longer insisting. In fact, being able to get her to give up the path to hell was already enough satisfaction for him—he had thought the hope was slim.

This was already very good.

The negotiation about splitting paths came to an end here.

Whether each had their own concerns or not, both fell into silence after finishing their discussion.

“Captain.”

It wasn’t until the first mate had struggled internally for a long time, finally unable to suppress his impulse and after carefully choosing his words, that the quiet on the old wooden boat was finally broken.

Hearing the young man’s call, Roy, who had been slightly lowering her head with an unfocused gaze and unclear emotions, was startled, then looked up at him: “I’m listening. What is it?”

“It’s nothing major, I just wanted to ask…”

Even though he had made up his mind, when the question reached his lips, Caine still felt somewhat unnatural. After pausing for a long time, he took a deep breath, looked directly into her eyes, and asked: “If—I mean if—we ultimately fail…”

“Would you still persist in continuing forward?”

Hearing this, the girl blinked, then her gaze flickered, not speaking for a long time.

She hadn’t expected him to ask such a question.

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Fail…ure?

What did failure mean? Was it not being able to obtain that divine artifact, never again having hope of entering the Cursed Sea, or was it that they—or one of them—couldn’t return?

The situations were complex, with too many possible endings. This question simply couldn’t be defined.

Then from another angle, what answer did the person asking this question… want to hear?

Thinking silently, Roy’s somewhat evasive gaze involuntarily turned back again, falling on that slightly unnatural face that revealed no intentions.

What answer do you want, Caine?

“You don’t need to consider my thoughts, Captain.”

As if guessing what the girl was thinking, the first mate gently shook his head, saying quite seriously: “You know that whatever your choice is, I will support it.”

“I just… simply want to know.”

Anyone could hear that these words were too deliberate. In fact, they were—this wasn’t the young man’s true thoughts, but one of the few lies he had ever told her.

Interestingly, the captain, who was extremely skilled at acting and lying, failed to pay much attention to this due to her chaotic emotions, and thus didn’t detect it.

So she thought seriously.

She imagined every possible scenario: trapped in the maze with no return, or the more tragic situation of only one person remaining, even considering whether the path to the Cursed Sea was cut off or not, and whether she herself would awaken.

After organizing her thoughts and having a general direction, she lowered her head slightly, looking at the decayed old wood in front of her boots, and said in a low voice: “If that really is the ending, and I couldn’t… awaken before the desperate situation, then I think…”

“I think…”

As she spoke, the girl’s hands, which had just relaxed not long ago, tightened again, even turning slightly white from the force, as if for her, saying that word was more difficult than facing danger or mysterious creatures.

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But in the end, she still raised her head, looking into those blue eyes as she spoke her heart.

Like a wild cat whose courage remained undiminished after suffering hardship.

“I think I would give up.”

Watching the girl’s faint smile of unclear emotion at the corners of her lips when she said “give up,” Caine didn’t know how to react. This was clearly the answer he wanted, but hearing the always strong-willed captain say such words…

He only felt heavy, and somewhat heartbroken.

“Really.”

Seeing the first mate had no reaction, thinking he didn’t believe her, Roy added quietly.

“Why?”

Knowing this question should best stop here, yet somehow, Caine still wanted to know what thoughts had led her to make this decision.

“Why… it’s actually not complicated.”

As if putting something down, Roy let out a light breath, her expression appearing much more relaxed. She lowered her eyelids slightly, smiling as she said: “Because if I reach that point and still can’t awaken myself, then everything becomes meaningless.”

“Just as the Lady and many others have said, if I can’t awaken, then facing that devil, forget about having a chance of victory—I couldn’t even pose the slightest threat.”

“If I can’t even win this opening battle, then what’s the point of talking about taking Devil’s Island directly?”

“To put it more bluntly, I might as well admit defeat.”

Reality was always heavy, and might even be much more cruel than what the captain described.

Because not everything gets a second chance.

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Like the ice sea journey, the dream voyage, and this adventure before them—all were literally gambling with their lives. Once defeated, there was little chance of survival.

Much less retreating safely with warships and crew, regrouping to try again.

So when it came to that point, she would wisely give up.

And never think about these things again.

Whether it was because the sea wind blowing from the depths of the great triangle was too cold, so much so that even the relatively thick captain’s uniform couldn’t quite ward it off, the girl moved to the other side of the wooden boat with cat-like agility.

She even rarely nestled into the first mate’s embrace.

Just like returning to the isolated island where they first met, back to that dark and cold stormy night, except this time it wasn’t the young man who had a high fever needing her embrace, but rather she herself who wanted some comfort.

Because of what? Perhaps the unknown path ahead, or perhaps her own weakness?

At least in her view, that was weakness.

“Sorry.”

After body warmth had dispelled some of the cold and they had embraced for a long time, the young man whispered.

“What do you have to be sorry for, just because you asked that question?”

The girl’s face was buried in his chest, so Caine couldn’t see her expression, only hearing some laughter in her voice—self-mocking laughter.

“Don’t blame yourself. I’m not a child. I can accept the cruelty and darkness of reality, it’s just… Caine, don’t you think I’ve become much weaker?”

“Compared to when we first met.”

Recalling their first meeting and the time they spent together, the first mate found that judging from appearances alone, it was indeed so. At that time, the Golden-Eyed Devil, no matter what kind of important figures she faced, always had that casual, indifferent manner, never yielding an inch.

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Strikingly domineering, seemingly invincibly powerful.

But since the ice sea journey, she seemed to have truly changed a great deal.

Devils, deities, Commander Isaac, and even Vivian with her dual identity as Blood Craver and Death-Fearer—when facing these beings from beyond the mortal world, she also had moments of feeling powerless, not to mention that the devil’s great power still existed then.

And now… she even needed his protection.

“Perhaps it’s because of those things.”

Due to the bond between them and that curse, in their current closeness, Roy could vaguely hear the first mate’s thoughts and gave a corresponding response.

But after responding, she immediately changed her words: “You might not believe it, but my having these troublesome emotions might just be because…”

“I became a woman?”

“Of course, it might also be that I care about too many people and things, too heavily, so much so that I can no longer be as carefree and unrestrained as in the past.”

“I need to consider more, not just myself.”

“Don’t mind my rambling, first mate…”

Chuckling softly, the captain looked up from the young man’s embrace.

Contrary to Caine’s expectations, that face, as captivating as when they first met, showed none of the weakness she spoke of, nor the melancholy of a girl lamenting autumn, but only held a faint smile with a faintly visible, indestructible persistence.

As if the previous performance and words were all just a deliberately acted drama.

But the young man knew it wasn’t like that.

“I’m just afraid that in the future, there won’t be a chance to say it.”