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This time, the voice came from the other side of the living room. Ed looked irritably at the interrupting man that appeared. Jarles made his way through the living room and beckoned to Lil, completely ignoring Ed’s stares.

“Lil, the discussion is over. Come on in.”

Lil, who was still sitting like a soulless person, suddenly shook her whole body and answered neatly.

“Sure.”

She got up and accompanied Jarles to the kitchen. Ed tried to follow, but he was stopped by Jarles’ stern look. 

‘Judging from the fact that he called Liloa by her first name, he also seems to be a Captain. They’re probably heading to some kind of meeting.’ 

In the end, he had no choice but to sit tight and grind his teeth as he watched Lil vanish.

“Lil. Are you drunk?”

“No.”

She answered resolutely, but in the meantime, she had a hard time trying to correct her swaying steps. She had clearly been sitting on the sofa just now, but when she came back to her senses, she was already entering the kitchen. 

Anunchio stood solemnly at the far end of the table. Slapping her cheek, Lil stood behind the chair she had previously sat on. Her legs trembled, either due to the tension or drunkenness. In the hopes to regain her balance, Lil applied some more strength to her toes.

Eventually, Anunchio bowed his head and opened his mouth.

“We’ve unanimously decided to acknowledge the injustice of the Black Whale. On behalf of the League, I apologise.”

All of the seated captains lifted their hats and gave a light salute. Lil, who was about to cheer for the long-awaited answer, managed to regain her cool just in time and instead responded with a big smile. As Anunchio left the table and began approaching, she did the same and met him halfway. They shook hands, hugged briefly, and acknowledged their decision by looking around the seated captains. After they made eye contact with each and every one of them, they returned to their seats.

“One-tenth of the promised amount is on the Bell Rock, so we need to take the rest from the Marchand bank.”

“…”

The gold Lil brought wasn’t intended for this purpose, but she thought it was fortunate to use it for this.

“I’ll turn this certificate into gold.”

Lil reached into her arms for the gold certificate and waved it around. In truth, it was a genuine gold deposit certificate with no traces of forgery. She and Cesar agreed to trade gold in exchange for their safe exit from the League. 

When Lil left Sesbron, she converted some of the jewels she had taken with her into gold, then she and Cesar opened an account at the bank. As a result, there was no reason for the bank’s gold conversion to fail.

Due to safety reasons, the League preferred cash over anything else. However, because they were unable to use the Imperial Bank owing to their looks and accent, they were forced to obtain gold.

Anunchio nodded.

“You’d better not go west, Black Whale. There’s news that the naval fleet is moving.”

“What? When did you hear the news?”

“Today at noon.”

“Where are they?”

“It was said that four days ago, half of the fleet remained in the Amiaeng, the other half began to depart.”

“Was there a battle?”

“No. I was told they were only anchored in the middle of the sea.”

“Then we’ll go to the Serlio Islands.”

For a long time, the Serlio Islands have been an imperial outpost. It existed independently because it was too far northeast to be connected to the southern islands, but it has a bank. She reasoned that Cesar would approve of their route there.

“If you lend me your crew, we’ll set sail straight away and come back with the gold.”

“Good.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll depart as soon as we are ready.”

Anunchio smiled kindly.

“We’ll do the retirement ceremony and other formalities after that. So, let’s just finish this last task. You’re still the Captain.”

“Of course.”

Lil tapped her hat lightly, when she heard the mumbles from Jarles next to her.

“…I really couldn’t help it, it was out of my control, so good luck…” 

Lil shook hands with Jarles and left the kitchen. The living room was still noisy, and a few of the men were now running around in chaos. Witnessing such a mess quickly eased her tension. 

‘Anyway, I’m glad it ended as expected without any major problems. Cesar was in the position that he didn’t mind disappearing at any time, but I don’t want that. I always respected them, and they have always respected me, so I want to resign formally.’ 

Lil stuttered and headed back to the couch.

“…I’m dizzy…”

As she forcibly lifted her trembling eyelids, she saw six people attached to the railing of the stairs. Lil’s blurry vision witnessed Marenzio and Ed arguing. She then saw Marenzio making a scene and shouted.

“What are you all doing?!”

They were at each other’s throats but turned to Lil at the same time. Lil frowned her brows and approached them. As Joe and Jericho reached out to support her, Alain clicked his tongue.

“You’re drunk! The Captain’s drunk!”

“So noisy.”

Lil massaged her temples and sat down on the sofa. When she beckoned weakly, six men descended the stairs and surrounded her. Lil rested her neck on the backrest of the couch because looking up herself made her dizzy. When she adjusted her head a bit, about four or five people entered her line of vision.

“We’re going to sail tomorrow.”

“…What?..”

“…What? How?…”

“Jarles and Valtano will lend us their crew. The League is directly involved, it’s not about looting Garni ships, but about procuring other supplies. The destination is confidential, however a safe route will be guaranteed.”

“…So why exactly are we going?..”

“There’s of course a reason for that.”

“…”

Despite her evasive response, they quickly agreed. There was no point in doubting her because of the benefits they get under Lil’s captaincy. With Lil being from the Empire, they could, for example, land safely in Marchand, which pays a fair price for their cargo. As a result, the Bell Rock has a higher income than any other ship. 

Lil’s eyes moved to Marenzio’s arm.

“Marenzio, go get some rest!”

“No need, Captain!”

As to prove it, Marenzio rotated the shoulder of his bandaged arm. Ed, who was standing next to him, was irritated by his irresponsible behaviour and uttered a few words out of annoyance. But Marenzio ignored them all.

“…What if we run into a ship on the way?..”

“What ship?”

“…We can take on any ship!..”

He swung his arm again. Marenzio loved the gunner position since it suited his abilities and character. He even made sure that no one would take his spot, by sticking to his position on every voyage, and unexpectedly, by training on a daily basis. He may not have a talent for using his head, but he’s remarkably good at finding a potential gunner protégé. For example, Courant’s excellent aim was discovered by Marenzio.

“Oh, okay. Suit yourselves.”

“…It’s gonna be a ride, Captain…”

“All right.”

“…A fun ride…”

“Yeah, sure.”

Her head was killing her. So when she said what she wanted to say, she waved with her hand, signalling everyone to leave. 

‘Only the captains know that I’ll be retiring at the end of this voyage. The election of a new captain can be done after. It would only raise a commotion if I informed the crew ahead of time.’

With a sigh, Lil closed her eyes, listening to the sound of their footsteps fading away one by one. She began to feel stuffy and disoriented as if she was finally getting drunk.

Then somewhere in her subdued conscious mind, a sly voice was heard.

“You’re finally left alone.”

Lil replied with a sigh.

“Phew… Aye…”

Seeing her drooping head, Ed smiled broadly. 

‘When I decided to wait until the meeting ended, I was a bit worried that she would only come out at dawn. According to Liloa, they would depart tomorrow. Meaning Cesar will be sticking to her side again…’ 

Ed didn’t want to blow this golden opportunity. Even Lil’s vigilance, which was a bigger obstacle than dealing with Cesar, started to vanish like snow melting in spring. And this spring will only last for a while. 

“Don’t you want to go out? It’s stuffy here, right?”

Lil, who appeared to be sleeping, scratched the back of her neck without saying anything. It was the dull touch of a drunken man, which was a great response for Ed. It was now important to act swiftly before another hindrance, in either the form of a captain, the crew, or Cesar, appeared. Ed quickly looked around and slung Lil’s arm over his shoulder. As he pulled her arm, her droopy body touched his back without any resistance. Ed carefully took both her wrist in his one hand and stood up slowly so as not to strain his wound. And even if he would get hurt later, he was so pleased with the situation that it didn’t matter.

Finally, when she was fully carried up, the seemingly calm Lil began to kick. Ed was still immersed in a thrilling sense of accomplishment and was just in time to grab Lil, whose body began slipping. He did, however, miss one of her sliding legs and left the building with only holding one leg properly.