The ship did not celebrate loudly.
It celebrated thoroughly.
Lanterns were hung across the lower concourse beneath the hull, their warm light reflecting off polished metal and slow-moving water beyond the reinforced glass. Long tables were arranged in uneven rows, already crowded with crew members, retainers, craftsmen, and guards who had shed armor and rank alike.
Music drifted through the corridors—simple instruments, off-key singing, laughter that grew bolder with every passing cup.
Raizen stood near the edge of the gathering, watching.
Aoi had vanished somewhere into the crowd earlier. Senji, unsurprisingly, had already embedded himself among a group of engineers, laughing too loudly while gesturing with a cup far stronger than anything he usually drank.
"This is… excessive," Raizen muttered.
A retainer shoved a wooden cup into his hand.
"Drink," the man said cheerfully. "You survived the sea. That earns at least one."
Raizen hesitated.
Then shrugged.
One wouldn't hurt.
⸻
Things Begin to Go Wrong
Senji was the first to fall.
Not physically—mentally.
"I'm telling you," he slurred, arm thrown around a confused navigator, "if you reroute the pressure seals before adjusting the ballast, the whole thing stops screaming at you."
The navigator blinked. "The… ship?"
"Yes!" Senji stabbed the air with his finger. "The ship screams. You just can't hear it because you're emotionally untrained."
Across the table, Wei Jun laughed so hard he nearly fell backward.
Kawahara Ren had climbed onto a bench and was dramatically reenacting Raizen's fight from Chapter 21—with wildly incorrect sword angles.
"And then Ashen—uh—RAIZEN did this!" Ren shouted, nearly decapitating a lantern with a wooden practice blade.
Takemori Jiro crossed his arms. "That's not how it happened."
Ren squinted at him. "You weren't watching properly."
"I was unconscious," Jiro replied flatly.
Laughter exploded around them.
⸻
Raizen's Mistake
Raizen tried to leave.
He truly did.
But someone refilled his cup.
Then someone else did.
Then Senji appeared at his side, eyes glassy, grin dangerous.
"You know," Senji said, leaning far too close, "you're actually very bad at pretending you're not tired."
Raizen blinked. "I'm fine."
"You're terrible," Senji declared. "Drink."
Before Raizen could protest, the cup was tipped.
He coughed once.
Then laughed.
"…That's stronger than I expected."
That was the moment everything went downhill.
⸻
Aoi's Instructor Arrives
Aoi sat near the edge of the gathering, sipping water, posture straight despite the noise. Her eyes tracked movement automatically, habit ingrained too deeply to relax fully.
"You're not drinking."
The voice was smooth. Amused.
Aoi looked up.
Her instructor stood there, arms folded, expression knowing.
She was tall, broad-shouldered, her black hair tied back simply. A thin scar ran along her jawline—not hidden, not flaunted. Her presence carried the quiet authority of someone who had survived far worse than training halls and moving decks.
"Lin Xue," Aoi said. "I thought you avoided gatherings like this."
Lin Xue smiled faintly. "I avoid incompetence. This is celebration."
She set a cup down in front of Aoi.
Aoi eyed it. "No."
Lin Xue raised an eyebrow. "You worked harder than anyone today."
Aoi pushed the cup back. "Not this time again."
Lin Xue leaned forward, voice dropping. "You always say that."
Then—without warning—she tipped the cup.
Aoi choked.
"Lin—!"
"Drink," Lin Xue said calmly. "That's an order."
Aoi swallowed.
Once.
Twice.
Then her face flushed.
"…That's illegal," she muttered.
Lin Xue laughed.
⸻
The Descent into Chaos
It didn't take long.
Aoi's posture loosened. Her shoulders relaxed. Her eyes softened, unfocused.
She laughed.
Actually laughed.
"This ship is moving," she said seriously, poking the table. "Did you know that?"
Lin Xue grinned. "Astounding insight."
Across the concourse, Raizen had begun telling a story.
It made no sense.
"And then," he said, gesturing vaguely, "the plan worked because I didn't have one."
The retainers stared.
"That's… not encouraging," Shen Rui said.
Raizen laughed. "You did great."
Wei Jun nodded solemnly. "I did."
Senji suddenly appeared between them, holding two cups.
"Toast!" he announced. "To names that will never be written correctly in reports!"
No one understood.
They drank anyway.
⸻
Blurred Vision
Aoi stood.
The world swayed.
She blinked hard.
Across the lantern-lit concourse, Raizen laughed—really laughed—head tilted back slightly, eyes half-lidded, unguarded.
Her vision blurred.
"…Raizen," she murmured.
Lin Xue followed her gaze, then looked back at Aoi.
"Oh," she said softly. "That look."
Aoi frowned. "What look?"
"The one that gets people killed," Lin Xue replied gently.
Aoi swayed.
"I have to tell him," she said suddenly.
Lin Xue stilled. "Tell him what?"
Aoi's eyes locked onto Raizen's silhouette, edges glowing, indistinct.
"I have to tell him today," she whispered. "I must."
She took a step forward.
The lanterns flickered.
The sea rolled on.