“Lala~ My princess~ Wake up!”
“Oh…”
When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar rough face.
“Dad, your face looks strange.”
Before I passed out, I was sitting by the window, but somehow, I had been laid on the bed. It seemed Nereus had moved me after I had fallen asleep in the cool night breeze.
‘Well, it is Nereus’ room, after all.’
“My princess still has sleep in her eyes. Let’s clean that up, have breakfast, and get ready to go out.”
Without my consent, Nereus picked me up and swung me around.
“Dad, I feel nauseous…”
“Hahaha! How is it? Feels like you’re on a ship, right? You’ll need to get used to it since we’re setting sail again soon~”
“What nonsense is that?”
“Oh, my Lala. So sharp. Let’s have breakfast and then go get some cake~”
“Cake.”
“Look at how your eyes lit up.”
Even though I didn’t really react to the mention of cake, Nereus burst into laughter and quickly changed me into a dress before carrying me under his arm and heading to the dining table.
“Let’s eat a light breakfast~”
‘L-light?’
On the table were soft bread, roasted to a delicious golden-brown, mashed potato salad, fried eggs cooked in oil, thick ham, sausages, colorful boiled beans, three kinds of cheese, fresh fruits that had been washed clean, and a salad drizzled with tangy dressing.
…stacked like a tower.
Beside them, there was a half-empty pot of cream soup and jugs filled with various drinks.
‘Is this what he calls light?’
The mass was heavy, very heavy.
“Once we set sail, we won’t be able to eat like this, so eat as much as you can~”
“Ugh…”
Nereus quickly served me a portion of the food and placed it in front of me.
It’s true that we couldn’t eat like this on the ship. Even though magical advancements allowed us to store fresh ingredients for longer, we had to ration during the voyage since we didn’t know when we’d reach the next island.
“It’s too much…”
But the amount Nereus served me was overwhelming. The bread was huge, and on top of it was a fried egg with an incredibly thick slice of ham. There was a whole ladle of beans, and all the types of cheese were placed on my plate.
“Eat your salad, too.”
“Ugh.”
Chewing slowly, I remembered how I used to be picky as a child, but I had fixed that habit during my time in the navy.
In the navy, we went through a process of consuming a small amount of ‘Prallet.’
‘Prallet is a dangerous, paralyzing poison, but if consumed in small quantities, it doesn’t kill you and can help you stop being picky, so they said it was fine.’
When consumed in small amounts, Prallet numbs your taste buds. You can eat anything, and it prevents you from indulging in gourmet desires.
Originally, we trained with poison to prepare for situations where we might be taken hostage and tortured, so consuming Prallet didn’t put my life at risk.
In conclusion…
“It’s tasteless.”
“Oh, don’t be picky with your food. I know you didn’t eat well on the ship either, didn’t you?”
Every flavor felt extremely vivid. My tongue, especially sensitive as a child’s, sharply detected every taste. Sweetness and other flavors were fine, but bitterness was particularly hard to bear.
So, this wasn’t about being picky; I had a valid reason. To others, it might look like I was being a fussy child, though.
When I pushed the salad plate away with a grimace, Nereus chuckled and stuffed a forkful of vegetables into my mouth.
“Oh, you have to eat well. If you finish everything, I’ll buy you a present. Deal?”
This cunning pirate kept pushing the bitter green stuff into my mouth and now wanted to make a deal with me.
‘I’ll give in.’
In the end, I decided to give in, as it was easier for me to do so. How did I end up with someone like this—like a thug from the backstreets—as a father?
‘Well, he is a pirate, after all.’
Quietly, I continued to eat the food Nereus had prepared for me, feeling my face tighten as I did so.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m tying my daughter’s hair~ Isn’t it the dad’s job to do this?”
“Oh, where did you hear that?”
“Hmm? It was in a book called ‘100 Ways to Be a Great Father Who Raises a Wonderful Daughter.’”
I almost spit out my orange juice. Nereus was saying it so seriously while pulling my hair so hard it felt like it was being yanked out. My poor hair was being sacrificed under his rough hands.
“Just wait a bit. Dad will tie it up so prettily.”
“Mm.”
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. Even Gilbert, who had the best hands on the ship, had once tied my hair so messily that I ended up with a ponytail that drooped from the top of my head. It had taken so long to undo it that I just said I’d stick with the ponytail.
With bread in my mouth, I sat there as Nereus clumsily tugged at my hair. He finally smiled with satisfaction.
“Alright, done.”
To be honest, my hair was a disaster.
The two pigtails were uneven, with strands sticking out at odd angles around the hair ties.
No matter how much I looked at it, the tension in the ties was different, and so was the height. It was more of a mess than anything else.
When Nereus held up a mirror for me, I turned my head to look and let out a small sigh.
“It’s not too bad.”
“Right?”
“It’ll get better with practice.”
“Haha, what a cheeky little thing.”
Even though anyone could tell it was an impudent comment, Nereus just laughed at it. Then, after giving my head a few taps, he said he was going to get ready and headed for his room.
“What about Ner?”
After finishing breakfast and sitting on the large sofa by myself, Gilbert approached me.
“Dad said he’s getting ready to leave.”
“That lazybones is late, even today….”
Blinking, I looked at Gilbert, who shrugged and then picked me up.
“We’re going together. I can’t let just you and Nereus go alone—I’d be too worried.”
“When the captain’s not around, isn’t the first mate supposed to be in charge?”
“When both the captain and first mate are gone, there are two others who can handle things, so it’s fine.”
The two Gilbert was referring to were Isaac and Ethan. Isaac assisted Nereus with various tasks, and Ethan, being older and a good man, was respected by many.
“Also, there are still things I didn’t get to buy yesterday due to the chaos, so I should go.”
“Mm.”
“There’s a lot to think about when preparing for a voyage.”
‘That’s true.’
You never know what could happen, so it was essential to stock up on enough supplies. Otherwise, if something went wrong, you wouldn’t be able to deal with it.
‘I don’t remember much from when I was too young on the ship.’
I avoided thinking about Caelum as much as possible, so I hardly remembered anything. The lessons I learned about Caelum during my navy days felt more like real memories than my actual childhood ones.
‘But at least I remember the details and illness from when Nancy collapsed. That was a close call.’
So what would happen next?
‘I can’t do anything to stop the war on Odlo Island.’
Of course, it would be great if I could stop it, but pirates weren’t heroes or the navy. No matter how much my family in Caelum loved and cherished me, the chances of them agreeing to help stop the war on Odlo Island just because I asked were slim to none.
“Hey, you fool—!”
“Huh?”
Before I knew it, we were standing outside the lodging. A neatly dressed man was rushing over, angrily yelling from the direction of the lodging.
‘Huh? What’s this?’
Upon closer inspection, he looked familiar. But the head of our household, Nereus Caelum, wasn’t usually this well-dressed.
I stood there, mouth agape, blinking like a fool.
His usually messy, unkempt hair was neatly tied up, and his coarse beard had been cleanly shaved.
Even his eyepatch was removed, revealing his pale eyes and burn scars. Despite the scars, his neat appearance made him look less like a rough pirate and more like a knight with a story to tell.
‘So he could look like this, but just chooses not to?’
If he walked down the street like this, I bet nobody would recognize him, even if wanted posters with his face were everywhere.
“Tsk, it’s your fault we’re late.”
“What did I do? You didn’t even need to tag along, but you did. Huh? Are you jealous that I’m going on a date with my little princess?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Ha, you’re not denying it—?”
Nereus reached out both hands toward Gilbert, as if asking him to hand me over, but Gilbert ignored the gesture and walked off.
‘But wait, this direction…’
Although I wasn’t sure, it didn’t seem like we were heading towards a place that sold cakes or other desserts. I kept quiet, observing the situation.
Soon, I regretted my decision.
‘Th-this place….’
The sleek, refined exterior design and the extravagant aura emanating from the sign made me shudder.
“Oh~ Lunatic? Isn’t this the most famous place around here?”
“Yeah, I asked while I was shopping yesterday. It’s definitely the best.”
“We should also get some winter coats made and buy a few dresses for our girl… Sigh, she’s growing so fast, so we should get her some bigger clothes, too.”
“………”
“She grew a lot this time, didn’t she?”
To be honest, I didn’t think I had grown even a centimeter during this voyage, but that wasn’t the important part.
‘L-Lunatic, Branch No. 5.’
I immediately recognized the sign that read Lunatic—an upscale clothing shop. I knew this shop.
Lunatic had started in the Kingdom of Centrum, which served as the central hub of the western continent. It rapidly expanded its business, opening branches in many territories. Rumor had it that not only nobles, but even some members of the prestigious 6th Families favored this shop, which spoke volumes about its status.
‘Will they even let us in?’
Moreover, it was rumored that the closer the branch number of Lunatic was to 1, the more arrogant their attitude was. Since this was the 5th branch, I could expect a level of arrogance ranked 5th among them.
However, since I had heard this rumor in my twenties, I held a small hope that things might be different now.
“This place looks expensive.”
“Polaris, you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Exactly, it’s too early for a child to be concerned about such things. Come back after you’ve lived at least 20 more years.”
‘Basically, my soul is 26.’
One dress here would cost a fortune. I had heard that even the simplest piece came with an outrageous price tag. I stared up at the store, dumbfounded, but Gilbert simply patted my head and muttered, ‘Is it a bit cold today?’
It’s not cold, you fool.
“Alright, let’s go inside~”
As Nereus grinned and tried to open the door, the glass, polished to a shine, opened before his hand could even touch it.
A refined and smooth voice welcomed the three of us.
“Welcome. This is Lunatic.”
“Welcome, dear customer. May I assist you with your membership card?”
“…….….”
One of the reasons this dress shop became famous was because of its membership system. Non-members had to make a reservation in advance and could only visit on the designated date and time, while members could visit anytime without an appointment.
Obtaining a membership card also required meeting certain conditions set by the shop, which ironically made the customers who wore Lunatic clothing feel a sense of pride.
It was even rumored that members received better treatment than non-members. In my previous life, I’d heard stories of young ladies using their membership cards to look down on others.
‘Of course, that was in a later time than now, so the system might have changed a bit by this point.’
There was no way Nereus had a membership card.
‘And they probably don’t even have clothes that fit me here.’
I looked around nervously. They would likely kick us out in less than five minutes, and I was worried about how Nereus would react to that.
‘But he’s still the captain, so he wouldn’t cause a scene, right?’
We hadn’t finished restocking supplies or repairing the ship yet. Since we still needed to be on land for a while, I was confident Nereus wouldn’t throw a fit over being turned away.
And he surely knew there was a navy branch stationed right in this town.
“A membership card? I don’t have one. Gil, do you have one?”
“Do you think I’d have one? None of us do. Clara doesn’t have one either.”
Despite their rough and impolite tone, the staff member continued to smile kindly, though I could see cracks forming in that expression.
“…I’m sorry, dear customers. At Lunatic, reservations are mandatory for non-members. The soonest available date is four days from now….”
Clink, clink―
The staff member couldn’t continue speaking after seeing what Nereus was pulling out of his coat. Every time he moved, gold coins and jewels poured out.
“With this amount of money, can’t we buy some clothes today?”
“Well, um… We already have customers for today….”
Clink.
Nereus dropped even more gold and silver coins.
‘How on earth did he carry all that?’
“Answer.”
“…Well, you see…”
Thud.
The sound of a gold bar being placed on top.
I couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to carry so much money while dressed like that.
“That’s not the answer I want to hear…~”
The staff member, now pale, stammered for a moment before nodding vigorously.
“I-I’ll contact the owner immediately.”
It was, in the end, a victory for wealth.
