"Arton, is it really okay to just let Morgans leave like that? This guy will use any excuse to dodge even the Marines and the World Government when it comes to getting a story."
Ain walked over to Arton's side, worry written all over her face as she watched Morgans fly farther and farther away.
Morgans might have wanted to stay with the Flameblade Pirates, but in the end he couldn't win against Arton and had no choice but to leave.
Precisely because of that, Ain was worried he might write things into his reports that Arton didn't want exposed.
"I can't just let that guy stay on the ship." Arton spread his hands as he spoke. "With him around, the free atmosphere on board would definitely take a hit."
"Captain's worried that if he's here, you won't be able to enjoy the service of cute girls anytime, anywhere, right?" Carina covered her mouth and giggled.
"I won't deny that part." Arton shrugged.
He lowered his head, saw that Ain's face was still tense with worry, and patted her on the shoulder.
"Relax, Morgans is a smart man. There are still a ton of unknowns around me. I'm sure he can figure out that there are plenty more big scoops to dig up from me."
"If I were him, I wouldn't expose the things I don't want him exposing."
"Because if he did, any idea of interviewing me again in the future would just be empty talk."
"I don't think he'd pull that kind of kill-the-goose-for-the-eggs stunt."
Hearing this, Ain nodded. "If even you say so, Captain, then… alright."
"Um, calling you Captain is… okay, right?" Ain asked, a little nervously.
"Of course. You're already a trainee crewmember now, after all." Arton said with a smile.
Hearing that, Ain finally let out a big breath of relief.
"Congratulations, Miss Ain. I'm looking forward to the day you officially become one of us." Carina said gently to Ain.
"Yes, Miss Carina." Ain put her legs together and gave Carina a formal bow.
"Haha, no need to be like that. That makes me feel like I'm your Marine superior officer." Carina laughed. "Don't forget, you're already a trainee of the Flameblade Pirates now—you're a pirate, you know."
"Y–Yes, ma'am!" Ain jumped a little and hurried to answer.
She wanted to relax her body and act more like a pirate should but for the moment, she had no idea what kind of posture or attitude would count as "right."
Fortunately, Carina had already shifted her gaze back to Arton, so Ain could finally breathe a little easier.
"Captain, are we continuing toward the objective we set earlier?" Carina asked.
"Mm, of course." Arton nodded.
"In that case, I'll get back to work. What are you planning to do, Captain?"
"Well… maybe it's because I had a bit of a fight just now but I'm feeling a little tired. I'm thinking of going back to my room to rest for a bit."
"Feeling tired, huh? In that case, you definitely need a crewmember to give you a massage~!"
The smile on Carina's face grew even brighter. There was no way she was letting Arton head back to his room alone.
Who knew if Arton might suddenly open the diary system and leak their next destination.
"Th–Then, I know a little bit of massage." Ain raised her hand and spoke up weakly. "How about I go back with Captain?"
"Oh?" Carina lowered her head and looked at Ain with great interest.
Just as Ain was starting to panic over how to face Carina's gaze, Arton's voice came from the side.
"Sure. I happen to have a few things I want to talk over with Ain anyway. Let's go, Ain."
With that, Arton headed toward the cabin.
"Ahh…" Carina watched him go and sighed.
Then she looked at Ain and said seriously, "Go on. Since you're already a trainee crewmember, you definitely know what you're supposed to do, right?"
Ain nodded again and again.
Of course she understood what Carina meant. The things she's supposed to do were making sure Arton didn't reveal any information in the diary that would be bad for the Flameblade Pirates.
On that point, Ain was already resolved.
Chapter 454 – Ain Takes Action
Flameblade Pirates.
Captain's cabin.
"Captain, p-please… please lie down."
The moment Ain stepped into the room, her cheeks were already flushed as she spoke to Arton in front of her.
"Lie down?"
Arton, who had been stretching, turned around with a strange look on his face and glanced back at Ain.
"Y-You said earlier that you were planning to rest for a bit. I thought you wanted to lie down on the bed for a while."
Ain pointed at the large bed deeper inside the captain's cabin, then lowered both hands to either side of her chest.
The instant her fingers touched the skin over her chest, Ain felt her heartbeat suddenly speed up by a beat.
She lowered her head and looked at the rounded area in front of her.
There clearly wasn't anything there—but when she thought of certain scenes from the doujins in her diary copy, Ain couldn't help feeling like there should be something right in the center of what she was looking at.
She adjusted the position of her fingers and, eyes flickering just a little, snuck a glance at Arton.
"It's the middle of the day. I'm not about to lie down yet. When I said I was going to rest, I just meant I wanted to sit in a chair for a while."
As Arton walked toward the desk set up in the corner of the room, he continued speaking to Ain. "Ain, you're already a trainee crewmember on my ship. There's no need to be so stiff but if you really want to help me, then just pour me a glass of water."
Hearing that, Ain hurriedly answered, "Yes, Captain!"
The situation in front of her was a little different from what Ain had imagined but she quickly found a cup and poured Arton a glass of water.
However, as she carried the water toward Arton, who was now seated at the desk, those lewd scenes popped into her mind again for no reason.
This time it was the scene of herself dressed as a maid, carrying water over to Arton—only to accidentally spill the glass on Arton's pants.
In that scene, she had been desperately trying to wipe the water off for Arton…
And things had escalated into something enough to make anyone's face burn and heart race.
'Sh-Should I… do something like that?'
Thinking of how naturally things had progressed in the doujin, Ain's heart was both a little tempted and a little nervous.
She had decided to throw everything away if it meant she could protect Teacher Zephyr.
Earlier, because she'd been competing with Robin, she had already opened her mouth but now that she was alone with him, the idea of completely opening herself up to Arton still made Ain nervous.
And beyond all that, just the act of purposely spilling the water on Arton in the first place was enough to make her tense up.
'Let's say that if I pour the water on Arton, things will really play out like in the doujin… maybe even jump straight to the final step.'
'But if I really do pour water on him, is he really not going to get angry? Will he think I'm useless, that I can't even carry a glass of water properly?'
The more Ain thought about it, the more nervous she became. If Arton really came to dislike her for that reason, everything she'd done up to now might go up in smoke.
Just imagining that possibility made Ain's hands start to shake.
And at that moment, Ain suddenly felt herself bump into something.
Her body jolted, and she looked up in surprise—only to freeze on the spot.
While she'd been lost in thought, she had already walked right up behind Arton.
What she'd bumped into was Arton's shoulder.
And to make matters worse, the glass in her hand tipped quite naturally along the line of Arton's shoulder, spilling down toward the front of his body.
....
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