But now that he took a good look, the woman was actually quite pretty—probably in her early twenties.
"No, it wasn't me. It was her."
Nathan pointed at Evelyn beside him. If Evelyn hadn't been fishing for Pokémon yesterday, this woman wouldn't have even had a line to grab onto.
"Thank you both so much. If it weren't for you, I might have died out there on the sea,"
the woman said, bowing deeply in gratitude.
"Alright, that's enough. Anyone who saw you like that would have saved you."
Evelyn quickly helped her up as she spoke.
Though she said that, she knew full well that if they had missed their boat, there was no telling when the next one would come along.
The place where they rescued this woman yesterday was already incredibly remote.
Almost no shipping routes passed through there.
"I'm Mary Gordon, a Libertan cuisine chef. How about I cook you a meal this afternoon to thank you?"
Mary looked at them with grateful eyes.
Of course, the name and identity were fake, but she really did know how to cook Libertan food.
After all, she came with a plan—how could she not be capable in some way?
"Really?"
Evelyn asked with pleasant surprise.
They'd only been eating Celestian food on the ship the past couple of days, and she was starting to crave Libertan cuisine.
The chefs on board were all trained in Celestian cooking and knew little about Libertan food.
"Really! Before the accident, I was a Libertan cuisine chef on a ship,"
Mary replied cheerfully.
Since Evelyn had already said so, how could Nathan still refuse?
"Libertan food, huh? Hmm… I think I'll stick to hot pot. Judging by the sky, the weather's about to turn. Hot pot will warm us up."
Nathan looked at the dark clouds rolling in and declined.
Mary almost wanted to slap him right then and there.
I'm trying to repay you here—can't you just go along with it?
I'm a beautiful woman after all. Can't you at least try to act like a gentleman?
"Alright, then I'll just cook for her alone,"
Mary said, pretending to be disappointed.
But Nathan couldn't care less about whether she was disappointed or not.
By noon, rain had started to fall in thick, heavy drops.
Nathan and Captain Burks sat at a table eating hot pot and drinking liquor.
Mary glared hatefully at Nathan eating hot pot. This guy was the ultimate straight man—absolutely unshakable.
But Evelyn, on the other hand, was happily enjoying her meal.
After all, it had been days since she'd had Libertan food.
"Have some fish slices—these are rainbow fish fillets. They go well with hot pot."
Even though Nathan had chosen hot pot, Mary still brought him a plate of fish fillets.
However, these fillets had been seasoned—with something special.
"Whoa! Your knife skills are amazing!"
Captain Burks exclaimed when he saw the fillets, thin as cicada wings.
"Hehe, I'm a Libertan chef. Knife skills are essential,"
Mary replied with a smile.
Just as Nathan was about to try some of the fillets, Captain Burks interrupted him.
"Hold up—I've got something good in the kitchen,"
he said and headed off.
Mary was fuming inside. Nathan had been about to eat the fillets, and this idiot just had to interrupt!
She could have killed Nathan already and been done with it!
Within minutes, Captain Burks returned holding a bag.
"Hot pot just isn't the same without this,"
he announced proudly.
Inside the bag was a chunk of lamb.
"This is my prized stash of lamb. The ship mostly serves pork—this is the only piece of lamb on board. Today's your lucky day!"
Captain Burks grinned as he spoke.
He hadn't originally planned to take it out, since it was in such short supply.
But after seeing Mary's knife skills, he couldn't resist.
Thinly sliced lamb in hot pot—perfect for this dreary weather.
"Not bad, Captain. You're full of surprises,"
Nathan said, licking his lips in anticipation.
Like Romeo and Juliet, or Ultraman and his monsters—hot pot and lamb were a match made in heaven.
"Would you mind slicing it up for us? Just like the fillets. I brought you a knife, too."
Captain Burks said cheerfully, pulling a Libertan-style chef's knife from behind his back.
Unfortunately, Mary's target was Nathan. Otherwise, she would've already exploded and killed Captain Burks on the spot.
Just when everything was going according to plan, this guy shows up with lamb and ruins everything—and even asks her to help!
"Sure~ I'll slice it for you~"
She still smiled, but if you looked closely, you'd see she was gritting her teeth with every word.
…
The nearly two-pound piece of lamb was quickly devoured by Nathan and Captain Burks.
As for the fish fillets Mary brought over—no one even touched them.
Just the lamb alone had stuffed the two of them to the brim—who would have room for fish?
After they were done eating and drinking, Mary quietly took the fish fillets back.
She had come to eliminate Nathan. If someone else ended up eating those poisoned fillets, it would ruin everything.
That night, Nathan returned to his cabin.
He had eaten so much that he couldn't sleep at all.
After lying around for a while, he gave up and considered going to the ship's recreation room for a bit.
"Ugh… I knew it. Eating too much at night is never a good idea."
He muttered to himself, getting out of bed.
But just as he opened his door, he found Mary standing right outside—holding a cup of hot milk.
"You are…?"
Nathan asked, pointing to the milk in her hand.
Was she seriously delivering milk to his door now? This woman was unusually… warm.
In the daytime, she had insisted on cooking for him. When he refused Libertan food, she brought fish fillets instead.
And now, she was outside his door at night with a cup of hot milk?
"I brought you some hot milk,"
Mary said, lowering her head shyly, as if embarrassed.
But in truth, she had already cursed Nathan a thousand times in her heart.
If only he'd gone along with her and eaten the Libertan food, she could've poisoned him and moved on.
"Thanks,"
Nathan said politely, taking the cup and walking toward the recreation room.
But just as he passed by Evelyn's door, it opened.
Seeing Nathan holding the milk, Evelyn smiled.
"Why not give me that milk and go heat another one?"
she said casually.
The moment she spoke, Mary—still nearby—panicked.
If Evelyn drank the milk, how was she supposed to deal with Nathan?
"No, no—I'll go heat one for you instead,"
Mary quickly stepped up beside Nathan and said.
Cursing inwardly once more, Mary couldn't help but wonder: Why is it so damn hard to kill this guy?
Evelyn didn't insist after Mary offered, and let her go.
Meanwhile, Nathan made it to the recreation room.
There were billiards and other forms of entertainment inside.
Captain Burks, who was already there, saw him and waved him over.
"Hey! How about a few rounds?"
he said, pointing at the billiard table.
"Sure. But you better go easy on me,"
Nathan replied with interest.
He'd never really played billiards before—his life was usually all about training Pokémon or exploring secret realms.
Leisure was a rare luxury.
Setting the milk aside, Nathan picked up a cue stick and began to play with Captain Burks.
Time flew by—they played for over an hour.
Once you start something fun, it's easy to lose track of time.
And Mary?
She spent the entire hour staring at that cup of milk.
After heating another cup for Evelyn, she had followed Nathan to the recreation room and kept an eye on him the whole time.
She was terrified someone else might drink the poisoned milk.
"Goddamn it, you $#%@…"
In the hour that Nathan played billiards, Mary had mentally cursed Captain Burks countless times.
Can't you just let Nathan drink the milk first?!
You messed with me at dinner, and now you're messing with me afterward—do all of you have it out for me?!
…
Despite all her internal complaints, all Mary could do was quietly watch and pray that Nathan would hurry up and drink the milk.
(End of Chapter)