Chương 637: The Captain’s Maid

Charlie was carrying a basket piled high with dirty laundry. Things had calmed down out on the ocean, and she was on her free time. She walked down the corridor and stepped into a room where clothes were hanging everywhere. She added soap and started washing the bed sheets she and Luke used, then her own clothes, and finally she picked up Luke's. She stared at one of his shirts for a moment, then lifted it and brought it to her nose.

"Master Luke's scent..." She inhaled again. The door opened suddenly. Charlie jumped and dropped the shirt.

"There you are," Evangeline said.

"I-I'm just washing clothes. That's all," Charlie said quickly.

"That part is pretty obvious," Evangeline replied with a laugh. How embarrassing. Did she see that? There was no way Evangeline had seen, right? I got so distracted I forgot to focus on my super hearing.

"I finished your outfit. It took a bit of work," Evangeline said. Charlie stood up at once.

"Can I try it on?"

"Of course." The two of them headed to another room. Eleanor was already there. They called it the workshop. By now it had turned into a room full of objects and equipment the girls used to practice their Profession skills and earn experience, the same way Master Luke had his laboratory and greenhouse. Eleanor was bent over a table, a monocle fitted to one eye, carefully working on what looked like a tooth from one of the giant monster fish.

She was pressing it against a piece of wood with a tool, sweating as she worked. She was using mana in the process, apparently.

"Oh, you're here. I didn't even notice," Eleanor said, turning around. Evangeline was adjusting the outfit on Charlie.

"A maid uniform?" Eleanor asked.

"I had one before, but I left it at my house in Camlann," Charlie said.

"In exchange for agreeing to be my model while I experimented with clothes, I paid her with this dress," Evangeline said.

"It took work. I wanted to make something pretty, something close to Anne's uniform. And having a bigger chest helped. I wanted the shape to show better." Evangeline tugged the dress lightly into place.

"There. Perfect."

"Do you think Master Luke will like it?" Charlie asked.

"Like it? It's just a maid uniform," Eleanor said. Then she paused.

"But yes. You look very pretty. As... always." After that, Eleanor gave Charlie a few tips on how to carry herself.

"You walk like a soldier when you're out of combat."

"And what does walking like a soldier mean?" Charlie asked, confused.

"You give off a very clear vibe," Eleanor said.

"Come near me without permission and I'll draw a sword and cut your head off."

"But that is what I think when I walk."

"Well, let's change that. Make it much more feminine. I'll teach you properly once we get out of this cursed city."

"Hey, Stephen," Luke said as he opened the cabin door. That was where Jack and his father were staying.

"Jack's on his watch shift, talking with the doll woman," Stephen said, taking another drink. Luke sat down at the table.

"So how did... Jack end up becoming... Jack?" If there was one thing Luke was curious about besides Hollywood gossip and behind-the-scenes secrets, it was that.

"I failed as a father. That's what happened. At his age, I'd already dated more prostitutes than I have fingers. When he got arrested, I was proud of him. I was even planning his comeback. He could've been the next Robert Downey Jr. But then prison introduced him to the worst thing that could've happened." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Men ravenous for the body of a young man, like in some dark romance?" Artemis asked.

"No. Worse. Love. And then he turned into this."

"He told me part of that story. Said he met members of the Church of Kindness in prison. A woman."

"A priestess," Stephen said.

"He's in love. That religion thinks marriage is the answer to the world's problems. Can you believe that nonsense? If they'd met my ex-wife, they wouldn't believe in it anymore." Luke raised a hand toward Stephen.

"Thanks for the conversation," he said, getting to his feet.

"No problem, Luke. And take my advice, don't get married."

"If I even dared think about that, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead by tomorrow," Luke said as he stepped out and closed the door behind him. Walking down the corridor, he looked at the notification waiting for him. [Do you wish to absorb the Alchemist Profession Path?] Dawn was close. Only one day remained before Phase 3 ended. They were approaching another Beacon. I think we're going to have to split off from the ships. I can't keep wasting time helping other people.

"I did it!" Layla shouted, surfacing with her head dripping wet.

"Your potion worked. I breathed underwater."

"Congratulations. It was that or turn into a fish," Luke said. Layla was holding a flask filled with dark green liquid.

"Now I don't have to be terrified of falling in and drowning." Luke stepped out of the cabin when he felt the ship slow to a stop. They were surrounded by toppled buildings, with thick algae hanging between them like natural curtains across the flooded streets.

"Another Beacon," he said, studying the scene. Triss stood at the bow of her ship.

"I think after this, we should part ways."

"That's exactly what I was going to say," Luke replied.

"We're slowing you down," she said. But as the group in the rowboat began approaching the Beacon, someone stepped out of one of the structures connected to it.

"I can't allow that," the man said. The rowboat stopped rowing.

"We didn't know someone had already claimed this Beacon," Marten called from his ship. The man's hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist. Luke narrowed his eyes.

"My friends and I already deposited a few artifacts into this Beacon. I hope you understand," the man said.

"We do," Triss replied.

"We'll go to another one." The man smiled.

"But who said I'd allow that?" He raised a hand. A massive sand hand formed above the rowboat and slammed down, sinking it along with the people inside. A cannon fired. Then another. Then many more in rapid succession. When Luke turned, he saw five ships emerging from inside the buildings. They had been magically camouflaged.

"Ambush!" Triss shouted. Cannonballs slammed into the ship. Luke turned to throw his kukri at the man, but he had already bolted into one of the buildings.

"Pirate attack," Marten barked. Anne spun the wheel.

"Get us out of their cannon line," Luke said. Evangeline burst out of the cabin.

"What the hell was that?" Then she saw the ships. Eleanor came up with her bow already in hand.

"We're boxed between Triss's ship and Marten's," she said. Even so, Anne kept turning the wheel.

"Raise... the... pennants," she said. Luke ran for the speed pennants. They had kept them inactive so they would not outpace their allied ships. Eleanor kept firing arrows, but the enemy ships were shielded. They pulled away from the Beacon and into the street. Luke's ship and Triss's were side by side, but little by little, his ship began pulling ahead.

"Why do these people even want to kill us?" Jack asked.

"They're pirates. They'll loot the ship, and you know what they'll do to the women," Stephen said.

"Or they just want to kill us for points," Eleanor said. One enemy ship was moving fast along the parallel street. Luke jumped to a nearby building and started sprinting across the rooftops. One pirate was hanging from a rope and hurled something that looked like a Molotov at their ship. Luke launched himself from the building, struck the pirate midair with a kukri, and caught the rope. The pirate dropped dead into the water. Now Luke was hanging off the enemy ship.

"There's a bastard over here!" [Acid Blood Arrow activated] He let go of the rope and fired with his bow. The arrow landed on the enemy deck, and a cloud of acid erupted. As he hit the water, he summoned his Spectral Beast. Men on the enemy ship were screaming now, scrambling for the railing. Luke hurled a knife and detonated it. Another enemy ship was closing in on his own.

"Faster," he told the beast, angling back toward his ship. He jumped and threw a wired knife that yanked him back aboard. Triss's ship had just been rammed. Pirates were swarming onto it. The same thing happened to his.

"Kill the one at the helm!" one of the pirates shouted. Jack and his father were crouched inside a dome of mana, shielding themselves. Charlie cut down several pirates with her sword.

"Well hello there, pretty girl," one pirate said, charging her with a sword glowing with power. Charlie punched him so hard he went flying. Eleanor was above them, firing arrows from the upper deck. Luke launched Shadow Balls into the enemy ship. Pirates died in the blasts.

"There are two streets ahead!" Evangeline shouted.

"Which one are we taking?" Two paths. Completely different directions.

"Super... current," Anne said. And she turned the helm toward that street.