Pirate: Crew of Desire and Bonds

Garrick exchanged a brief glance with Barbara before stepping forward slightly.

"There is..." he said in a low voice. "...Something abnormal happened on the ship last night and this morning."

Vivian’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Explain."

After listening carefully to the full summary, Vivian remained silent for a while.

Her elegant fingers lightly tapped against the surface of the desk as a thoughtful expression settled on her face.

"...A presence that imitates a familiar voice, leaves no physical form under the door..." she murmured.

After a moment, she slowly shook her head.

"I don’t believe in ghosts."

Her voice was calm, but firm.

"There is always a cause behind these kinds of incidents. If something can knock, speak, and take a living person without leaving a trace... then it has to be a creature. One with special abilities."

She lifted her gaze and looked at the three of them.

"The real question is what kind of creature can do this, and why it has started acting now."

The cabin fell into a heavier silence.

Jake quietly agreed with her reasoning.

Whether it was a spirit or not, treating it as something that could be understood and countered was far better than drowning in superstition.

Vivian leaned back slightly in her chair, her eyes turning sharper.

"From now on, no one is to move alone at night. Especially not near the lower decks or isolated corridors."

She turned her calm gaze toward Barbara.

"Barbara. You’ve sailed longer than most people on this ship. Have you ever heard of a creature like this?"

Barbara let out a short, wry laugh and scratched the side of her head while still holding her cigar.

"...Sorry. Maybe my old age is finally catching up to me."

She exhaled a thin stream of smoke and shook her head.

"I’ve heard plenty of strange stories over the years... but nothing that matches this exactly. A voice without a body that can somehow walk onto the deck... I’ve got nothing solid."

Vivian simply nodded, showing neither disappointment nor irritation.

"I see."

There was no blame in her tone, only quiet acceptance.

She then leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on the desk as her presence naturally filled the room.

Even without raising her voice, the weight of her composure made the cabin feel more ordered, more controlled.

"Then we treat this as an unknown threat for now," she said clearly.

"Increase night patrols, and no one moves alone after dark. Any report of strange voices or knocking is to be brought to me or Garrick immediately."

Her words were firm, precise, and left no room for confusion.

Jake watched her quietly from the side.

Even in the face of something completely unknown... something that had already claimed a life yet Madam Vivian remained composed.

There was no panic, no reckless orders, only steady judgment and clear leadership.

’...As expected of her.’

For a moment, Jake couldn’t help but feel a quiet sense of admiration.

This was the kind of presence that kept a ship from falling into chaos.

Garrick gave a firm nod.

"I’ll go alert the crew and increase the night security right away."

Barbara tapped the ash from her cigar and straightened up as well.

"I’ll go with him. Better to make sure those hot-headed adventurers actually follow orders."

With that, the two of them left the cabin, closing the door behind them and leaving the room much quieter than before.

Jake was just about to turn and leave with Grace when Vivian’s soft voice stopped him.

"Jake, please wait a moment."

He paused and looked back.

Vivian was smiling lightly, the earlier seriousness on her face softening into something more elegant and curious.

One of her slender fingers gently tapped the solved cube still resting on the desk.

"Could you stay for a while?" she asked. "I’d like you to teach me."

Jake blinked slightly in surprise.

"...Teach you?"

Vivian’s smile deepened just a little as she picked the cube back up and turned it slowly in her hand.

"Yes. Teach me how to properly solve this. If it’s truly meant to become a children’s toy... then I should understand the method myself, shouldn’t I?"

Grace quietly stood beside Jake, glancing between the two of them but saying nothing.

Jake smiled and gave a small nod.

"It would be my pleasure."

After receiving such a large amount of gold from her before, he truly didn’t mind helping with something like this. Teaching her how to solve the cube was a small matter in comparison.

Besides...

’It’s genuinely easy once you understand the method.’

In his previous world, it had only taken him six days of practice to fully learn a basic solving method.

Compared to many other things, a cube wasn’t particularly difficult... it just looked complicated from the outside.

Jake stepped closer to the desk and picked up the cube again.

"The key isn’t memorizing every single pattern," he explained calmly. "It’s about learning a set of fixed sequences. Once you understand those sequences, you can always return it to the original state, no matter how scrambled it becomes."

He began slowly turning the cube, deliberately slowing down his movements so Vivian could clearly see each step.

"First, we start with the white cross..."

Vivian rested her chin lightly on one hand, her elegant eyes focused intently on his hands as a quiet, genuine interest appeared on her face.

Grace stood quietly to the side, watching the scene with a soft expression as she also looked over curiously at this otherworldly toy, silently listening to how it could be solved.

_

_

_

After some time,

Jake continued explaining the steps at a steady pace, his fingers moving the cube slowly so Vivian could follow each sequence clearly.

"After forming the white cross, the next step is to place the white corner pieces correctly..."

As he spoke, Vivian leaned slightly forward over the desk to get a better look at the cube in his hands.

The movement caused the soft fabric of her tight shirt to shift, drawing attention to the full, mature curves of her chest as they pressed lightly against the edge of the table.

Jake’s explanation briefly faltered.

His gaze, almost without thinking, drifted downward for a moment.

Those massive, well-shaped breasts rose and fell gently with her breathing, the deep cleavage framed by the cut of her clothing.

Combined with her mature beauty and composed demeanor, the sight was far more distracting than it should have been.

"..."

Jake quickly forced his eyes back up to the cube, maintaining a calm expression on the surface.

But from the side, Grace noticed.

Her golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly as a small pout formed on her lips.

She didn’t say anything, yet the soft pressure of her presence beside him grew just a little heavier, as if quietly reminding him where his attention should be.

Vivian, seemingly focused on the cube, remained unaware as she continued watching his hands with genuine curiosity.

"I see... so the sequence is fixed, and the rest is just repetition?" she asked softly.

Jake cleared his throat lightly and nodded.

"Yes. Once you remember the basic algorithms, the rest becomes much simpler."

After spending some time carefully teaching Vivian the basic solving sequences, Jake finally set the completed cube back on the desk.

"That’s the core method," he said. "Once you practice those steps a few times, the rest becomes much easier."

Vivian gave a soft, elegant smile as she picked the cube up again, turning it slowly between her fingers.

"Thank you. This was more interesting than I expected."

They exchanged a few more polite words before Jake and Grace took their leave.

After a simple farewell, the two of them stepped out of the cabin and closed the door behind them.

The corridor outside was quieter.

The moment they were alone, Grace stopped walking.

She crossed her arms under her large breasts, pushing them up slightly as she puffed out her cheeks in a clear pout.

Jake noticed immediately and gave a wry smile.

’...She saw it.’

He had been careful, but apparently not careful enough.

The way Vivian had leaned forward earlier had drawn his eyes for just a moment too long, and Grace had caught it.

But he wasn’t at fault! Those massive breasts had basically been right in front of him the entire time, so it was hard not to look...

Just as he opened his mouth to apologize, Grace suddenly reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.

Her voice came out soft and a little muffled, almost like she was murmuring to herself.

"...I don’t mind if you have more women."

Jake blinked.

Grace’s golden eyes glanced up at him for a second before quickly looking away again, her cheeks faintly pink.

"But... I have to remain your number one."

The quiet corridor seemed to grow even quieter.

Jake paused, caught completely off guard by the unexpected green light for more women.

He had expected jealousy or a scolding, not this kind of soft, serious condition.

After a short silence, he nodded frantically.

"Of course. Of course you will always be my number one!"

Grace’s pout softened just a little at his immediate response.

She still kept her arms crossed under her chest, but the tension in her shoulders eased slightly as she continued holding onto his sleeve.

"...Good," she whispered.

Jake let out a quiet breath of relief.

But then Grace leaned in a little closer, still holding onto his sleeve.

Her voice dropped into a soft, almost shy whisper.

"...Then as a reward... do you want a quickie?"

Jake’s face immediately turned a faint red.

The sudden offer caught him completely off guard.

For a brief moment, the image of finding a quiet corner on the ship flashed through his mind, and the residual tension from earlier only made the suggestion more tempting.

Just as he was about to respond—

Footsteps approached from the other end of the corridor.

Garrick rounded the corner with a serious expression on his face.

The moment he saw the two of them standing there, he slowed his pace and gave a short nod.

"Oh. Good timing. I was just about to look for you two."

Jake quickly composed himself and turned toward him.

"S-Sir Garrick, what’s wrong?"

Garrick’s gaze was steady, his tone heavier than usual.

"Prepare yourselves. Tonight, we’re going to hunt that unknown creature."

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