PBP 17

chapter 17

“Hic.”

Hearing Nereus spout nonsense, Hyperion hiccupped, his face turning red.

See? Just how absurd did that nonsense have to be for him to get that flustered?

“Dad.”

“Yes?”

“I also think he’s really cute, but I’m not thinking about dating. That’s way too early for me.”

“Hic, hic! Hic!”

About— oh, a hundred years too early. If you date, you have to consider marriage, and if you get married, you have to resign from naval duty, right? I could never accept that.

I’d been forced to part from Caelum in my previous life; this time, I’d stay here until the Jolly Roger rotted away.

“And he’s only eight years old. I don’t feel anything romantic toward a kid.”

“……”

What sane person would get fluttery over a little kid? That would make them a lunatic.

“Hey, Lala. How old are you again?”

“Huh? Uh…”

I was at a loss for words at Nereus’s question. Oh, right. I’m six years old right now.

“I like older guys.”

“He’s eight.”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re six, so… he is older than you, isn’t he?”

“……”

Why is Nereus so annoyingly sharp today?

“Ugh, whatever. Six-year-olds don’t know about complicated stuff!”

What’s even the point of this stupid conversation? I don’t like Hyperion, Hyperion doesn’t like me, and that’s how it’ll stay forever.

‘Even the pre-regression Hyperion wouldn’t have liked me anyway, so nothing changes.’

For the navy, romance was a luxury. Emotions only got in the way of serving justice, so trainees were explicitly told not to form romantic ties.

Meaning, Hyperion—who would return to the navy—was never going to fall for me.

If anything, I’d have to work hard just to make sure he didn’t hate me after finding out I’m a pirate. I had no time to indulge Nereus’s nonsense.

Holding Hyperion’s hand, I led him to the dining table. Unlike a moment ago, everyone was seated and quietly eating, though the food was still piled up like mountains.

Apparently, no one on Caelum thought mountains of food were strange.

There was a neatly empty seat I didn’t even have to search for.

“Sit here.”

I examined the enormous piles of food stacked on every plate, picked out a few things I knew he liked, and set them in front of Hyperion.

“…!”

He examined the dish carefully, took a bite, and his eyes widened as his cheeks twitched.

Of course he’d react like that. I remembered everything Hyperion liked to eat. He rarely showed clear preferences, so it was easy to memorize the few he had.

“Tastes good, right? Gilbert Dad’s cooking is the best in the world.”

“Of course, of course. Once you eat Gil’s food, you get addicted. I thought he put illegal drugs in it! Haha! There’s a reason our crew doesn’t mess with drugs.”

“You threatened to throw us overboard if we touched even a little, though!”

“Right, right!”

“Shut up, you brats—! Better drown in rum than touch drugs!”

Nereus dragged a chair over and sat between me and Hyperion, throwing out a terrible pirate joke.

“You eat too, would you? People will think I starve you. Look at you, all skin and bones.”

More than enough food for two grown men was piled in front of me.

“Dad. I can’t eat like this.”

“Huh? What do you mean? If I could’ve eaten like this even once at your age, I would’ve had no regrets.”

“You and I are not the same.”

I said sharply, not bothering to hide my incredulity. Nereus looked somewhat sulky as he began eating off my plate.

“Our princess is picky…”

“You’re just too laid-back!”

As I kept pushing away the omelet he tried to force into my mouth, I felt a chilling gaze from afar.

Gilbert was staring burning holes into the back of Nereus’s head through the half-open kitchen door.

‘Wow, he looks like he could murder someone with his eyes alone.’

“What are you looking at— oh damn.”

Realizing where my gaze was directed, Nereus turned around and sighed deeply. A rare sight— a pirate captain intimidated by his first mate.

“Lala, Dad’s going to the kitchen for a moment.”

Nereus headed to the kitchen, and a crisp, metallic THWACK echoed—like his head had been smacked with an iron pan.

“Oof.”

“Oof…”

“This time the captain deserved it. Anyone would be mad.”

“Of course.”

“Well, to be fair, it’s almost always the captain’s fault. And the first mate gets mad no matter what.”

Despite the loud crash, everyone remained unfazed—except Hyperion, who was frozen in shock.

“Hyperion, what’s wrong?”

“H-he got hit, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, but Dad getting scolded by Gilbert is nothing new.”

“S-scolded…?”

“Well, um… it’s not the first time he gets told off like that.”

“T-told off…? That didn’t look like… telling off…”

Why was he so shocked? You see worse in the navy. And no matter how much Gilbert scolded Nereus, it had never been an actual issue among us.

It looked like the first mate overpowering the captain, but everyone aboard knew Gilbert had no intention of mutiny.

Everything he did came from trust and affection.

“Dad is tougher than most, so don’t worry. Stuff like that won’t kill him.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But if you see this kind of thing somewhere else, don’t assume it’s the same situation. It probably won’t be.”

“…O-okay.”

I knew it—this kid grew up abused at home. If he saw Gilbert’s behavior toward Nereus, he might misinterpret all his past mistreatment as affection.

Sigh.

I let out a breath.

Imagine me, at this age, having to look after kids and adults both. Still… better than when I had no family at all. I handed Hyperion a cranberry juice and headed for the kitchen.

“Dad.”

Gilbert was holding a huge pasta pot in one hand and Nereus by the collar in the other.

“……”

“L-Lala, you’re here?”

“Polaris, if it’s unpleasant to see, go sit down and eat.”

“First Mate, please put Dad down.”

I purposely spoke politely—Gilbert responded better to that. His face soured anyway, while the dangling Nereus grinned mischievously.

‘Wow, he’s so punchable.’

KLANG! Gilbert smacked Nereus’s head with the pot.

“You said it’s bad for a kid to see this!”

“…Early education.”

Coming from Gilbert—the perpetually cold and violent one in my memory—those words were strange. I used to think he and Nereus were total opposites, but now I saw they had similar streaks.

Were they friends even before becoming pirates?

“It’s mealtime, not lesson time. Why are you scolding Dad so much? He can’t even eat.”

Gilbert didn’t answer. He just stared at me with that icy gaze. I remembered how terrifying I found him as a child. Unlike Nereus—whose reason for scaring me I couldn’t remember—Gilbert’s was clear.

Yes. That cold stare. He was thin as winter branches, but the most violent man on our ship.

Since I was a kid Nereus picked up somewhere, the first mate probably never liked me.

Nereus caused chaos, Gilbert cleaned it up—always. So in my past life, the burdensome me probably annoyed him to no end.

Or so I thought…

“Why don’t you call me Dad?”

…until he said that.

“Uh?”

“Pff—! Hahahaha!”

Honestly, I couldn’t help but react stupidly to Gilbert’s question. Dangling like a rag, Nereus burst out laughing.

“First Mate also… wants to be called Dad?”

“I’m the only one you’re distant with. It doesn’t sit well.”

Even as an adult mentally, this was hard to handle calmly. More shocking than discovering Isaac was a secretly clingy adult.

“G-Gilbert… Dad?”

“Hm.”

Being called Dad made Gilbert pause for a moment before he threw Nereus into a kitchen corner. CRASH! BANG! CLATTER!

“Owwww…”

“Nereus is just ‘Dad,’ and I’m ‘Gilbert Dad.’ Not ideal, but acceptable.”

I finally accepted it.

The Caelum pirates were all a bunch of childish idiots.

“S-so, Gilbert Dad. Why were you so angry?”

“He brought home a kid again without permission. Like picking up a stray dog.”

“But he could’ve died if we didn’t…”

“Then he should’ve dropped him off at the guard post or the navy branch. Instead he brought him home. And not just any kid— a Parus kid.”

Oh right— Hyperion had just joined the navy. Now I understood why Gilbert was upset.

Even at eight, a naval cadet is still navy. And the Caelum pirates were growing infamous.

“But Dad didn’t know at first.”

“Fair. He might not have. But after finding out? He should’ve reported it to me. Instead he just sat there smiling and eating.”

“…Yeah.”

He wasn’t wrong, so I nodded.

“So you want to kick him out? Right now?”

But at that, even Gilbert looked displeased. Even if Hyperion was from Parus, even if he was navy—he was still a mistreated kid.

Gilbert had clearly heard about Hyperion’s circumstances. If they threw him out now, he’d just suffer more outside.

“…So about that—”

I decided to drop a small bait.

“As the daughter of both my dads, Lala has an idea.”