Chapter 412 - 2. Second Officer

Chapter 412: 2. Second OfficerAlagina took in the entire situation on the deck, and only when Fisher rubbed his wrists and walked towards her did she kindly remind him,

"That girl doesn’t look ordinary, she must be one of the Saint Nali nobles, but given her level of weakness, she’s probably not from the side that lost in the coup, nor does she have a clear and firm goal... who is she, exactly?"

Fisher didn’t answer the question but said,

"Once she leaves Saint Nali, she is nothing, and that is even more so on your ship. Therefore, there’s no need to indulge her, which would be bad for her."

"I’m just worried that if she trains with my crew, the pressure on her will be immense. Correction is a good thing, but if done too forcefully, it might ruin a good material..."

Fisher shook his head after hearing this and looked towards the back of Isabella as she endured the gazes of the crew while walking down the deck, then said,

"Don’t worry, there’s not a single normal person in her family, and she is no exception."

"Hehe, the drinks are here!"

"Squeeze in over there!"

As evening approached, the Iceberg Queen was bustling with activity once again.

The crew brought all the usable wooden tables from inside up to the deck, forming a big circle, and everyone was busy preparing a rich dinner on the deck.

People from the Northern Realm liked to hold banquets in the three months before the onset of winter; many festivals fell during this time because the winter in the Northern Realm was too cold. In ancient times, people rarely went out during the winter, so they had to finish whatever they wanted to do before winter came or wait until early spring of the next year.

Now it was deep autumn, October, and today happened to be the traditional Northern Realm festival "Family Day."

The general idea of this festival in Sardinia Female Country was a day to visit relatives. Even though the crew on the ship no longer had family to visit, it was still necessary to go through the motions and have a big meal.

Old Jack was wearing a black robe and brought up a large bucket of drinks onto the deck, though if a breeze had blown at that moment, you’d have realized he was barely wearing anything under his robe.

Before, Fisher didn’t want to wear Alagina’s coat, so he joined in when a drunken Old Jack was gambling with the crew, and well, he ended up winning Old Jack’s white shirt, which is why Fisher had a shirt to wear now.

As for the coat Old Jack was wearing now, it was given to him by the Chief Officer Pahetz; he looked like an oversized black spinning top when walking, and it was a sight hard to bear.

Although the garments were comfortable, as soon as Old Jack sobered up the next day, he kept a sour face towards Fisher and most of the time preferred to squeeze into the kitchen.

For him, wearing that was even worse than wearing nothing, but after all, this was on a ship from the Sardinia Female Country, and if he didn’t wear it and something went wrong, Old Jack’s good reputation would be at risk.

The preparations for the banquet were almost complete, and all the crew members took their seats.

Isabella, who had just finished washing up, sat with her head down on Fisher’s left. Fisher’s reminder had been useful; after washing up in the afternoon, she didn’t go back to her room but stayed on the deck. However, she was very unaccustomed to the rough Sardinia Female Country environment, which is why she unconsciously sat to the left of Fisher during the meal.

And to the right of Fisher, all the crew members tacitly avoided sitting there as if it had been reserved by someone.

Before long, Alagina, dressed in more casual clothing, gently took her seat beside Fisher.

The women in Sardinia Female Country didn’t wear dresses, but they liked to wear tighter pants and enjoyed designing some decorative elements onto their upper garments, such as scarves and brooches. Like now, Alagina had a small metal flower ornament on her chest.

At this moment, her white hair was also not tied into a ponytail as usual but left naturally loose. This hairstyle gave her some semblance to ladies from other countries, but then Fisher couldn’t see her often-pink earlobes.

She sat down calmly, glanced at Fisher beside her for a second, and belatedly reached out for a wine cup on the table, raising it towards Fisher,

"Happy Family Day, Fisher."

"Happy holiday."

Fisher raised his glass and clinked it with Alagina’s, but after the light touch, Alagina didn’t retract her hand to drink. Instead, she continued to look at Fisher, which puzzled him.

"What is it, could there be some Northern Realm festival tradition I’m unaware of?"

Alagina, coming back to her senses, simply shook her head lightly and took a sip of the beer in her glass, saying,

"No, I just think you’re very beautiful... um, being from Nali, should I be praising your handsomeness instead?"

"So it is. After all, the festival customs of the Northern Realm are far different from those in Nali. I thought there might be something I didn’t know... Regardless, you’re also very beautiful. Or should I say, in Northern terms, that you’re very handsome too?"

She exhaled a breath warmed by the alcohol, her mouth curving into a faint smile as she looked at the lively atmosphere around them,

"You can say whatever you like, I don’t mind."

By this time, the sumptuous dishes on the table had all been served, and even the three Mouse Ladies who had gone off to chase after the elusive book Emhardt were lured back by the aroma of the food.

Emhardt followed behind them dejectedly, clearly having been tormented quite a bit. As soon as he returned, he automatically took refuge in Fisher’s pocket,

"It’s dinner time~"

"Grandpa, Grandpa!"

"I’m exhausted, the great Emhardt is. Compared to those three little brats, you’re somewhat more tolerable..."

Emhardt’s quacking voice sounded weary. Even for a sentient relic, his energy couldn’t match that of the three Mouse Human Species who were like perpetual motion machines.

The reason Karma and the others sought Emhardt in the afternoon instead of continuing to play with Steel Blade was because Steel Blade had been called up the mast by Ossie and hadn’t come down ever since.

With the enemy known as Steel Blade Demon King gone, Karma and her companions simply concocted another adversary out of thin air— the innocent Emhardt.

"Food... Food..."

At that moment, the colorful parrot, Steel Blade, was hopping around on the table, pecking at a small bucket and persistently calling out to the surrounding crew, who seemed to have grown used to this spectacle. They filled the bucket with a variety of dishes while sipping their beer.

Once the bucket was filled to a reasonable amount, a crew member brought over a small cup, poured some wine into the bucket and said,

"There you go, off you go."

"Thank you... Thank you..."

After the crew member finished speaking, Steel Blade grabbed the small bucket with its beak and, with some effort, flapped its wings and flew towards the top of the mast. Up there, the Second Officer, Ossie, remained seated, her back against all those below. Steel Blade made a laborious flight to her side and handed her the bucket of food.

After receiving the food, her figure wrapped in a heavy cloak began to quiver slightly, obviously enjoying the bucket of treats.

However, since she was always facing away from Fisher, he couldn’t see her face clearly. He was a little puzzled, so he turned to Alagina beside him,

"Isn’t your Second Officer coming down to enjoy dinner?"

Alagina, who was cutting meat with a knife, turned her head to take a glance at Ossie bundled up above, hesitating slightly before responding,

"She usually dines alone up there, the other crew members are also used to it. She has been this way ever since she joined my side... She doesn’t like such a lively atmosphere, but at other times, she is extremely reliable."

"Is that so..."

As Fisher looked up to examine Ossie, Steel Blade the parrot was still perched on her shoulder, preening its feathers with its beak before cocking its head to look down at Fisher, meeting his gaze.

When Fisher turned his head back around, the cock-headed Steel Blade immediately hopped in place on Ossie’s shoulder and turned around, giving a little nod to its master. Then, the movement of Ossie, who had been enjoying her dinner, suddenly ceased.

She silently turned her half-obscured face under the black cloak toward Fisher below.