Chapter 9: The Pirate Captain

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Pirate Captain

Daniel cleared his throat, getting into character. He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a dramatic tone.

"Yeah, I defeated a pirate captain. The reason being..."

He paused for effect.

"Me and my group were coming back after defeating a bunch of strong beasts."

Lyra raised an eyebrow. "What type?"

Daniel waved a hand dismissively. "Eh, strong ones."

"I said what type," Lyra pressed.

"Okay, right. Giant lizard-like creatures."

Lyra nodded slowly, a knowing smirk on her face. "Okay. Sure. Giant lizards. Keep going."

Daniel narrowed his eyes at her but continued. "Thank you. Now, we had so much meat that if we kept it to ourselves, it would spoil. So we decided to give it to the villagers. It probably would have lasted them a whole year."

Lyra’s smirk widened. "You guys must be strong to carry that much."

Daniel puffed out his chest. "Yep. We were really strong."

He continued, his voice growing more animated. "We went to the village, but it was being attacked by pirates. So I dropped the lizards, and the ground shook. All the pirates and villagers stared at me. And in all the destruction, I looked awesome."

Lyra snorted but didn’t interrupt.

"Then the villagers started shouting, ’Oh, we are saved! It’s the strongest person in the universe!’ That was my title, by the way. Or Soul Crusher. Omega Swordsman. Man of All Power." He paused, a grin spreading across his face. "Handsome Devil was my favorite."

Lyra let out a laugh. "Handsome Devil? Really? That’s what you could come up with?"

Daniel shrugged. "What? It’s a good title."

"Now that I think about it," Lyra said, still chuckling, "you haven’t told me your name."

"Oh. It’s Daniel Black."

Lyra tilted her head. "Hmm. Sounds boring. How about you use the name Handsome Devil from now on? It will fit you very well."

Daniel rolled his eyes, even though she couldn’t see it. "You know what? Sure. But that would be a code name that I will never use. Ever."

Lyra laughed again, a bright, genuine sound that filled the carriage. Daniel found himself smiling.

"Alright," he said, getting back into the story. "The villagers were rejoicing. ’Wooo! We are saved!’ But for the pirates, they were shaking. Some were crying. ’Oh no, mommy! Captain, save us!’"

He paused, building up to the big reveal. "Then a classic-looking pirate captain stepped forward."

Lyra raised an eyebrow. "What would that look like?"

"Well, left eye patch. Hook hand. Parrot on his shoulder. Mean look. Scar. And a weird-looking sword."

"Of course," Lyra said dryly.

Daniel ignored her and continued. "The captain steps forward and says..." He stopped, frowning.

He cleared his throat and tried again, his voice rough and gravelly.

"Arr! If it isn’t Handsome Devil himself! Come to save this village, eh? Well, I ain’t letting that happen!" He paused, then added, "But since I am a trillion times weaker than you, we will have to battle with our hands in a good old game of rock, paper, scissors!"

He leaned forward, his eyes locked on Lyra’s face.

"Are you too cowardly to accept?"

Lyra was silent for a moment. Then she shook her head, a disbelieving smile on her lips.

Daniel grinned. "I accept."