Captain – Chapter 553 – Council

“Tell me what happened during this time.”

Even these powerful figures found it difficult to breathe due to Roy’s silence, when she suddenly spoke again. Her cold voice instantly dispelled the oppressive atmosphere.

Looking at the young woman who had raised her eyes again, her expression calm as usual, showing no trace of anger or sorrow, the complex emotions of everyone present suddenly settled.

Especially the important figures of the Mermaid, particularly Lance who had always followed her.

At this moment, the gunner chief stared at her in a daze, looking at that indifferent face beneath slightly obscuring hair strands, feeling as if time had flowed backward, returning to that old era.

The person before him had become that Golden-Eyed Devil once again.

Cold, powerful… yet lonely.

Alfie flew back at the right moment, landing on her shoulder, shrilly repeating her command.

After a brief moment of eye contact and exchanged glances, Wyatt stepped forward and began reporting from the Ghost Scythe’s perspective about the shocking changes that had occurred on the seas during her absence.

Ben, standing beside him, occasionally added a few words, adding color to each perilous scene.

Omitting the monotonous sailing and waiting, as well as the somewhat redundant dialogue and psychological conflicts, this story wasn’t very long, so the young woman soon learned the full picture.

At least, the full picture from the crew’s perspective.

The spectral creature named “Hydra” had emerged, three warships scattered in defeat, leading to the Taranhof and Ghost Scythe forming a defensive line to forcibly block the giant serpent’s pursuit.

The sequence of events wasn’t complicated.

Furthermore, Roy confirmed a fact from everyone’s fragmentary words.

That before the confrontation between “human” and “god,” the reason the spectral creature had suddenly changed direction and switched targets was probably because it had discovered her returning to the present world.

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Perhaps due to bloodline, or the threat she harbored, it had wanted to eliminate her.

Similarly, Enzo’s choice to stay behind and play that song of night intertwined with fire…

Was also because of her.

No secrets, no mysteries—everything was simple and clear, yet all the more sorrowful.

“Where did you find me?”

After understanding the general situation, Roy immediately spoke up, frowning slightly as she asked. Though she had some guesses about this, she still felt it was somewhat too absurd.

Before heaven collapsed, that ancestor—no, that “record”—had promised to protect her, so she hadn’t fallen like a bird with broken wings, smashed to pieces.

But there was no reason she should have leisurely fallen back onto the Mermaid’s deck, was there?

“Reporting, Captain, it was Alfie who discovered you. At that time, you were aboard an old wooden boat beside the Mermaid… moving forward at the same speed.”

Though the bosun had witnessed that scene with his own eyes, when explaining the final part, he couldn’t help but pause, feeling this matter was truly extraordinarily strange.

An old wooden boat…

Roy didn’t investigate this matter further, merely nodding slightly after hearing it to indicate she understood.

That old wooden boat was presumably the one she and her first mate had taken when heading to the great waterfall.

As for why it had appeared, and why she hadn’t fallen but returned aboard it instead—these couldn’t be explained and could only be attributed to that gentleman’s mysterious methods.

But why should she care? It was good enough that she had returned.

“Alright, I know everything now.”

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Speaking a concluding statement, Roy’s gaze swept over everyone as she naturally gave orders: “Everyone disperse. I need some time and a quiet environment to sort through this entire matter, then decide on our next course.”

“As for ship affairs during this time, I’ll temporarily entrust them to you. Ben and Lance will assist you. No problems with that, Mr. Wyatt?”

Her confidants naturally had no objections to the young woman’s orders, and Wyatt understood the heavy trust contained within, but after agreeing he still couldn’t help saying:

“No problem, Captain Roy, but there’s something I still must say upfront.”

“My crew members…”

Knowing she must harbor intentions of revenge against that spectral creature, Wyatt felt the same, but he was more aware that the Ghost Scythe’s people had lost their will to fight.

Due to fear, and also due to the collapse of faith brought by losing that person.

But these words were too difficult to speak aloud, and this first mate had no confidence in being able to persuade the young woman or handle the massive conflicts that might arise.

But what he hadn’t expected was that just as he found it difficult to continue, Roy took over:

“Don’t worry, I understand everything.”

Letting out a light breath, the captain looked at him and said seriously: “Revenge is a necessary matter, but I won’t be foolish enough to equate it with suicide.”

“So the general direction of the Mermaid’s next voyage will be to escape the great triangle. I’ll formulate a route as soon as possible. Until then, I’ll trouble you with much.”

Seeing that she hadn’t been blinded by rage, Wyatt’s doubts finally dispersed.

He nodded silently, his resolve clearly evident.

With the plan settled, everyone left one after another, and the captain’s cabin soon returned to quiet.

After the last person departed and the wooden door closed, Roy fell backward onto the bed, raised her arm to cover her gradually closing eyes, and remained motionless for a long time.

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Faint command voices passed through the wooden door into the somewhat cold room, followed by footsteps that were still somewhat chaotic but obviously much more forceful.

It seemed the pirates, though unaware of the conversation’s details, had seen the calm expressions of the important figures and felt somewhat more at peace inside, feeling they had a backbone again.

The Golden-Eyed Devil’s return was indeed the strongest tonic the crew needed at this time.

The powerful figures felt the same way.

But they were more aware of what intense, irrepressible emotional undercurrents hid beneath her calm expression in the face of losing her two closest people.

She needed time and space—to formulate routes, but also to process emotions.

In this matter, even someone as close as Lance couldn’t help her much. Everyone could only hope this pillar of the Mermaid could emerge from this as soon as possible.

But this hope, after nearly a day and night of waiting, was also approaching collapse.

The Mermaid’s conference room.

After waiting bitterly through the night, the important figures who were once again worried, even anxious, gathered together again, wanting to discuss a solution to this matter.

Only now, everyone’s gazes were focused on one person.

“I, I say, why is everyone looking at me?”

Anderson, who had been hiding in his room since experiencing the terror brought by the spectral creature, only learning of Roy’s return when dragged to this meeting, twitched slightly at the corner of his eye, not understanding why everyone was staring at him.

And those looks were like wolves that had been hungry for days staring at a plump white rabbit.

“We’ve already discussed and reached a conclusion earlier—this matter… will be handled by you.”

Hearing Ben’s unquestionable words, the ship’s doctor immediately felt something was very wrong. He took a light breath of cold air and asked carefully: “What exactly is this matter?”

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He had been brought here later and didn’t know what these people had been discussing behind his back.

“No, no, no, forgive my bluntness, but I’m really not good at comforting people…”

After hearing the bosun’s explanation, the ship’s doctor didn’t hesitate to try declining, but facing these thugs’ “man-eating” gazes, his voice grew less and less confident.

Finally, he sighed in resignation: “Fine, but I don’t understand why it’s me. You all know my relationship with those two wasn’t particularly good.”

Yes, the task he’d received was euphemistically called providing psychological counseling for their dear captain, to help her emerge from that shadow as soon as possible.

But Anderson felt that provoking that monster at this time was absolutely suicidal behavior.

Perhaps after it ended, he would be the one needing psychological counseling.

“Doctor, you must understand that strictly speaking, everyone on the ship is subordinate to the captain and first mate. Only you could perhaps be considered their friend.”

“At least that’s how we see it.”

Hearing Lance’s explanation, the ship’s doctor pursed his lips, thinking silently that it was hardly the case…

Well, barely, perhaps.

Thinking of that first mate who had always been at odds with him and whom he might never see again, Anderson quietly sighed and acknowledged this viewpoint.

Recalling those still vivid figures from just days ago, even he couldn’t help feeling melancholy.

“Alright, everyone, I can try.”

“But I can’t guarantee success.”