“What the f…”

It was definitely a curse word, but whether he held back because of his captain’s rank or because he was conscious of Aira staring at the sardine like she might fall in love with it, was unclear.

Either way, Schaefer swallowed the curse and boldly pushed through the mountain of papers to shake Jens, who was sleeping under the desk.

“Wake up, sir. Didn’t you call for us to come here? Captain!”

“Mmm…”

Jens, half-hidden in the shadow under the desk, curled up into a ball and turned his back, clearly bothered.

A vein throbbed at Schaefer’s temple.

“Really.”

Schaefer stood up, her leg twitching with the apparent urge to kick him. After contemplating for a moment, she rose with a determined expression.

She reached into the small fishbowl on the desk and grabbed the sardine without hesitation.

Isn’t that his pet fish?

But ignoring Aira’s concerns, Schaefer threw the sardine right at Jens’s face.

“Argh!”

With a scream, Jens tried to get up, but—

THUD!

“Ugh…”

“That must hurt…”

Aira muttered involuntarily. Having risen too quickly and hit his head on the underside of the desk, Jens clutched his head and rolled on the floor. Meanwhile, Schaefer meticulously wiped her hands with a handkerchief, looking disgusted.

“Captain. Lieutenant Schaefer reporting.”

“Schaefer! Didn’t I tell you not to use such barbaric methods?”

“This is the most effective of the 572 methods I’ve tried to wake you up. I’m sure even you can’t deny its effectiveness, Captain.”

“Ugh.”

Jens, rubbing his aching head, showed little reaction to Schaefer’s disrespectful words, but quickly picked up the flapping sardine and put it back in the fishbowl.

The sardine, fortunately sturdy enough, soon flicked its tail toward Jens.

After confirming the fish was unharmed, Jens stood up and stretched, making the ceiling suddenly seem lower.

Aira stared at him blankly.

As tall as he was, he looked slender compared to the burly crew members, but there was nothing small about him.

His tousled black hair, however, lacked any sense of dignity.

Unlike the other crew members whose skin had darkened from working on deck, his was still pale—perhaps naturally so—which reinforced the casual impression she’d just witnessed.

His height and face were exactly the same as four years ago, but something had changed.

It was like he had thrown off a mask he’d been wearing.

No, more like a screw had come loose.

Her perspective had changed, and while she had struggled to adapt to a new country, he seemed frozen at sixteen.

Aira took a deep breath.

What did it matter? She had finally reached him.

She straightened her posture, bringing her heels together.

Schaefer tucked away her handkerchief and held up the documents she had brought. As a new arrival, she needed to report to the captain.

But regardless of their formal postures, Jens casually leaned against his neatly organized desk and roughly wiped his face with his sleeve.

“Captain, I’d like to introduce—”

“A new ensign?”

Jens abruptly cut off Schaefer as she tried to initiate the salute.

Another vein popped at Schaefer’s temple at Jens’s complete disregard for formality and procedure.

Aira rolled her eyes. Apparently, Jens still hadn’t noticed her.

After wiping his face with his sleeve, Jens pulled out a large rolled-up paper and spread it wide in front of his face, like reading a newspaper.

From what was visible behind it, it appeared to be a ship’s blueprint, wrinkled from frequent use.

Whatever it was, it now obscured everything except his legs.

“Yes. The ensign newly assigned to the Paul Nor…”

“What strings did they pull? Or did their strings get cut, so they ended up here?”

Jens spoke offhandedly, completely absorbed in the blueprint he had unfolded.

“Captain. I’d like to report first.”

“Why subject a newcomer to such an ordeal right away? Consider it done. Lieutenant, just assign them wherever appropriate.”

“Cap—”

“Dismissed, and Lieutenant, come back later…”

BOOM!

“What was that?!”

With a tremendous noise, the ship tilted.

The mountains of paper in the captain’s quarters exploded like a collapsing building. The precariously stacked papers rustled against each other, making a sound like wind.

The captain’s quarters, already lacking foot space, became buried in paper, resembling a space where someone had dumped countless documents.

The tilt of the ship wasn’t severe, but the sound and sight of collapsing papers was dramatic.

Soon, an acrid smell of something burning began to waft through the air.

“Damn it. The No. 3 steam pipe burst after all. Coming all the way here was pointless.”

“Wouldn’t Oculer still be better for finding parts?”

“Where? The Oculer Museum? We both know it needs to be custom-made anyway. Damn, let’s go check. We need to salvage whatever pipes are left.”

Jens, seemingly accustomed to such incidents, skillfully made his way through the paper piles and left.

Schaefer had already slipped out when the paper mountains collapsed.

Unlike these experienced officers, Aira floundered, half-buried in the paper pile, looking around in confusion.

Just before leaving the captain’s quarters, Jens turned back, suddenly remembering something.

His gaze slid across the desk, checking the intact fishbowl, then moved to the new ensign whose cap peak was barely visible through the papers.

“Hey, rookie. As you can see, the ship is falling apart, so we’ll be docked for another 20 days. You haven’t been assigned yet, so come back in 20 days.”

“…What?”

“Consider it a vacation.”

Aira tried to make her way out through the paper pile, but she must have disturbed another paper column because it collapsed with a crash, burying even the peak of her cap that had been sticking out.

Jens clicked his tongue at the sight but quickly ran out of the captain’s quarters, prioritizing the emergency.

Schaefer grabbed Aira by the scruff of her neck like a chick and pulled her up. Then, with a complicated expression, she set Aira upright and said:

“You heard the schedule. March 22nd, Dock 49. We’ll do the reporting and introductions then.”

“I’d like to help too.”

“No need. We don’t have time to teach you while working.”

Having finished her business, Schaefer gestured for her to leave and followed after the captain who had already disappeared.

After four years, their reunion ended without even seeing each other’s faces properly or exchanging a single word.

The reality of her situation hit her anew—she was a newly commissioned ensign who couldn’t even be of help, serving under him as captain.

“…Still.”

The captain’s quarters were submerged in a sea of papers. It looked like it had suffered flood damage.

No matter what, this was the space of the captain she would serve under. She couldn’t bear to leave it in such a state.

Besides, if he had to face this mess after dealing with the ship’s problem, he wouldn’t be able to rest properly.

Aira sighed softly and began stacking the piles of paper.

* * *

“Maybe we really need to replace the ship.”

“Captain, why don’t you clean your face first?”

The No. 3 steam engine had already been precarious since they were in Lüet.

They had managed to keep repairing it for use, but it seemed to have finally reached its limit.

After spending several days and nights resolving the accident, Jens returned and rubbed his tired face.

But seeing passing crew members turning away, clearly disturbed by something unbearable, it seemed the oil on his hands had smeared all over his face again.

Even Schaefer, walking beside him, kept nagging.

Damn it. To reach the bathroom in his quarters, he’d have to navigate through that sea of papers, which would be an expedition in itself.

Yet it felt inappropriate for someone with the rank of captain to use the communal bathroom. He personally didn’t mind, but how uncomfortable would it be for his subordinates?

What absolute power did a captain have? He was practically confined to his room.

“Schaefer, how long are you going to follow me? Go get some rest.”

“Even so, you need to review the new ensign’s documents.”

“Forget it. You investigate—if they’re a spy, kick them out. Even if they’re a genuine but clumsy ensign, kick them out. What’s the point of having them here?”

Jens shook his head and opened the door to his quarters.

Click.

“Huh?”

Returning to his quarters, Jens stared blankly and rubbed his eyes.

Schaefer, watching from the side, was alarmed at how even his eyelids were now smeared black, but Jens was too preoccupied to care about his face. He stepped back to look at the door of his quarters.

The unnecessarily expensive door was still the same, but why was the content so different?

Of course, all those materials couldn’t have been thrown away.

But the chaotically piled documents were now neatly arranged in rows, creating space.

The materials that had occupied even the bed had been moved aside, and the bed was now covered with crisply made bedding, ready for comfortable rest.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen that bed.

Jens scratched his head again and examined the documents at the top of the paper mountain.

Looking at the adjacent stack and briefly checking the middle, everything was perfect.

The documents were organized by category, suggesting someone had checked the content of each one.

“Fearless. I’m not sure whether to scold them or not.”