SWNOVELXO Chapter 34: C34
With Ace gone, the already sparsely manned Chris felt even emptier, and conversations grew fewer. Kadun, being twenty-five years old, had no time to waste if he wanted to succeed in life—so his days were filled with intense training, leaving him no time for idle chatter.
Jack was naturally a cold and aloof type. Aboard the ship, he had only three activities: training, eating, and cleaning his gun. He only spoke when Weiss asked a question, and expecting him to start a conversation on his own was wishful thinking.
Weiss, having lived two lives, knew how to lighten the mood—but surrounded by two driven, no-nonsense people, he couldn't help but feel a little useless.
Bang!
No need to guess—Jack was shooting at floating debris in the sea again. Weiss had once tried to compete with him, but after seeing Weiss slice open the sea with a single sword strike, he rolled his eyes and gave up. Since then, he just let Jack play by himself.
"Captain, the air currents ahead are acting strange. Seems like a small-scale storm is forming. If we change course now, we can avoid the center of it."
"Then adjust our heading."
"Yes, Captain!"
At first, Weiss thought Kadun was boasting when he claimed to be the best navigator in the East Sea. But after nearly twenty days of smooth sailing, he was starting to believe it.
They had managed to avoid every major storm—if not perfectly, then at least better than expected. And every time Kadun issued a warning, he'd been right.
…
…
Turns out geniuses really are everywhere—you just need to notice them. Sure, Kadun was a bit timid and not the strongest, but definitely not useless.
Weiss looked at the weather. The area around the Chris was still clear and sunny, but the distant sea was already shrouded in dark clouds, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling.
The sky gradually turned gloomy. Weiss took shelter under a parasol as the rain began to pour down in steady sheets. They skimmed past the storm's edge, and aside from the ship rocking a bit, there wasn't any real danger.
Others, however, weren't so lucky.
In the center of the storm, a pirate ship was on the verge of breaking apart. The captain, a greasy, sleazy man, stood at the bow, shouting furiously: "Where the hell is the navigator?! Tell him to find us a way out!"
A terrified crewmate clung to a railing and called out, "Captain! The navigator got chopped down by you when the ship sailed into the storm!"
"What? That damn bastard! Who gave him permission to die?!"
The crewmate mumbled to himself, "What a psycho…"
"You!" the captain barked, pointing his blade at the same crewmate. "You're our new navigator. Find a way out—now!"
Looking dazed and confused, the crewmate stared at the sword pointed at him. "Yes sir, right away!" He darted below deck—not to navigate, but to hide.
Inside, a young woman in a tight outfit with long purple hair was hauling a chest and muttering to herself, "A bounty of Five Million Berries, and this is all they've got? Pathetic."
She didn't seem concerned about the storm—her only focus was the treasure chest. Sneaking up to the deck, she glanced at the panicking crew and felt somewhat reassured. In chaos like this, it was the perfect time for a thief to make her move.
She stashed the chest into a lifeboat and climbed in herself, carefully lowering the boat into the sea.
In such a storm, a small lifeboat was pitifully insignificant. One wrong move and it could be swallowed by the waves. One big wave and it would be the end of her.
But she had no choice. While searching for treasure, she'd discovered that the ship's keel had cracked. If she didn't leave now, the whole ship would be wrecked soon. Once that happened, the lifeboat would be the only intact vessel left—and if someone else took it, she'd be doomed.
Once in the water, she didn't bother paddling. With the storm raging, oars were useless. She could only let the currents take her wherever they may.
Not long after she left, the pirate ship broke in two, its keel finally giving way. The remaining crew scrambled to find the lifeboat—but no matter how hard they searched, it was gone.
After the storm passed, the Chris cruised calmly across the sea. If not for the water still on the deck, it would've seemed as though they'd never gone through a storm at all.
"Captain," Kadun said, "don't you think we should get a female crew member? I mean, ever since I met you, I haven't seen more than a couple women."
Hearing that, even Jack paused mid-cleaning. Maybe having a woman on board wouldn't be a bad idea—it was getting a little dull.
"Tsk tsk. You two pretend to be all noble and proper, but your thoughts are the same as any guy's," Weiss said, sipping some coconut water they'd picked up on a deserted island.
"Jack, don't think I didn't notice. You act all cool and aloof, but deep down, you're just a repressed perv."
"How could you slander my name like this, Captain? I'm not that kind of person!" Jack's poker face turned beet red.
"Oh really? Then why is your face red like a baboon's ass?" Weiss raised a brow.
"Exactly!" Kadun grinned wickedly, putting an arm around Jack's shoulder and waving his other hand in front of his face. "So, Jack… you're twenty now. Don't tell me you've never even held a girl's hand. Want me to tell you what it feels like?"
"How dare you! I've touched plenty of females. I've hunted countless female animals. That counts, right?"
…
…
Cough cough cough! Weiss choked on his coconut water.
Kadun's eyes went wide like he'd seen a ghost. He scrambled back a few steps and even wiped his hand on the deck, as if Jack had touched something filthy.
Seeing their expressions, Jack realized they'd completely misunderstood. "I meant I slung them over my shoulder after hunting! What are you two imagining?!"
"I get it, I get it," Kadun muttered. "Repressed guy like you won't even let animals off the hook."
"Kadun, say that again and I'll kill you!" Jack shouted, pouncing and grabbing Kaden by the neck as he screamed for help.
Weiss knew they were just messing around. At twenty, Jack still hadn't even held a girl's hand. If he were on his previous life, he wouldn't have even entered society yet. Hard to believe, especially with so many pretty women around.
"I surrender, I surrender! Oh great Jack, legendary marksman, I admit defeat!" Kadun gave up quickly—he knew he couldn't win against Jack in a scuffle.
"Hmph, weakling!" Jack scoffed, then leapt up to the lookout post, scanning the horizon for pirates or islands. Sure enough, he spotted something.
"Captain! Southeast direction—there's an overturned canoe. Looks like someone's lying on top of it!"
"Oh? Are we finally getting our first guest on this ship?" Weiss jumped up to look. "How rare."
"Rescue ship," Weiss muttered. That was the Chris's unofficial business out at sea: as long as you had money, they'd rescue just about anyone.
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Currently at chapter 265 on Ko-Fi
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