Chapter 1767 - 152: Home (4)
"Zzzzzz!"
A constant welding tool sound came from inside. Fisher looked up and saw a massive ship docked in the shipyard. Nearby, many small cardinals were responsible for constructing the sci-fi-styled ironclad warship.
This ship wasn’t large, at most a third the size of the original Iceberg Queen ironclad warship, but it appeared far more dangerous than that steamship.
At this moment, the ship was merely a semi-finished product, with cardinals buzzing around busily welding the exterior.
"This is..."
"The new Iceberg Queen, would you like to come up and take a look, Fisher?"
Alagina turned around with a smile and then stepped back, placing her hand on her chest in a rather "gentlemanly" manner, as if inviting a Sardinia Female Country companion out for a date.
"Ugh!"
Fisher sighed, then suddenly stepped forward and lifted her up by the waist. Alagina’s gentlemanly demeanor lasted less than a second before being unbalanced by his irresistible force, causing her to panic and instinctively clasp her arms around his neck.
Her face flushed slightly, her eyes blinking at Fisher as if still unaware of what happened, making Fisher unable to resist kissing her cool lips before "politely" accepting her invitation,
"At your service, Miss Alagina."
"...You...put me down first, Fisher..."
"Why, didn’t you invite me up?"
"No...not like this...I’m a woman...you..."
"So is it to board the ship or..."
Alagina, rather embarrassed, stopped him from saying the next word, knowing Fisher wouldn’t easily let her down, so she tightened her grip around his neck.
Her long legs, tightly wrapped in black trousers, bent within his arms, swaying slightly.
After all, it’s just the two of them here...
"Then...let’s board the ship first, I’ll show you the internal structure."
"Alright."
Fisher easily leaped aboard with Alagina, the dozens of meters’ height reached in an instant, landing lightly on the partially laid deck, revealing all the mechanical components inside.
Even here, Fisher didn’t set her down from his embrace but curiously looked at the cardinal structures below, not seeing a crew room or anything of the sort.
He looked up at the Captain’s Room overhead and found it pitifully small, not seeming to accommodate many crew members.
"No need for a crew room, or is it unfinished?"
"...It’s nearly done here."
Fisher withdrew his gaze, recalling her conversation with Pahetz before entering the room.
At this moment, Alagina in his arms looked quite calm, gazing at the captain’s room on the deck still open-topped, and suddenly smiled,
"This ship, later, will have no other crew. It can operate alone with David and me; weapon systems and engine systems are all cardinal controlled, highly intelligent."
"Alagina, your crew..."
"My crew has been accompanying me on the seas since I came of age, nearly ten years now. Through many hardships, honestly, I’ve always felt unable to repay their total dedication. Even if I shared the bounty from every mission with them as much as possible, it’s still far from enough."
Alagina opened her mouth, a hint of loneliness in her smile,
"Because ultimately, there are things in a person’s heart more important than money. I think that it’s family, it’s stability. When Black Chief ambushed us, we had lived in Pirate Harbor for about three or four years, and many crew members had settled and established families there, only to have everything destroyed overnight...
"During the betrayal, many sisters tried their best to return to Pirate Harbor to fetch their families back on board, but never returned. I feel deep guilt towards them, hoping to provide them a stable environment. So I’ve decided, when this is all over, to leave all cardinal technology to Pahetz and my sisters, and then leave alone with this ship."
Fisher furrowed his brow, looking at her profile, unable to understand why she would do this,
"...You’re leaving your sisters who have been with you for so many years? Why?"
"I must first avenge myself against Black Chief, make him pay for his betrayal. My revenge requires no more than me and my cardinals; there’s no need for my sisters to risk their lives... Even if one sister, even one death, I can no longer bear; secondly, David has helped me so much lately, without him I couldn’t even establish myself here, so I want to help him too..."
Alagina looked down at the warship below, spoke proudly,
"This battleship can navigate in Spirit Realm; maybe I can help David find the whereabouts of his lost parents."
Fisher didn’t refute her naïve notion, nor did he mention how dangerous Spirit Realm really was, merely watched her and suddenly asked,
"Besides these two, there are other reasons, right?"
"..."
Alagina opened her mouth, the faint smile on her face disappearing without a trace.
She seemed embarrassed, performing actions unfit for a Sardinia Female Country woman; she lowered her face, like a shy man timidly hiding,
"I...don’t know...I just feel...a little scared..."
"Scared?"
"Yes...whether it’s Pahetz or other crew members, even if not all of them have formed families with others, I know what they truly want, but I... I don’t know what I want... I just feel, I can’t keep staying in Valentina’s Wutong Tree..."
Alagina opened her mouth, a while later, finally saying the word like a knife cut,
"This place...is not my home, Fisher...it isn’t."