In the Pirate Kingdom, the night.
While moving through the darkness, Galahad arrived at the yard of a house that was on outskirts of the city. The house was dark and silent.
He silently opened the window and sneaked inside.
It was as if he knew this place; he perfectly moved through the living room until he arrived at a cabinet in the corner of the room.
It seemed to be in the way as he lifted it up and moved it to the side.
With his right fist, he punched through the floorboard, and took out a pouch of gold coins.
'It's still here, good!' Galahad messily put the broken floorboard pieces inside the hidden compartment and covered it up with a rug.
He then placed the cabinet back there, and headed towards the window.
However, before he could reach it, the light came back up, and as Galahad turned around, he saw an elderly woman sitting on a reclining chair.
It looked like she had been there the entire night, sitting in the darkness.
"Galahad…" Beatrix said in a cold and distant tone.
She had gray hair falling messily over her shoulders, and she was holding a walking cane in her left hand. She was quite short with wrinkles filling her face, but her eyes still held the same fire from years past, as if she had never aged a day.
"Mother…" Galahad said. "You've been waiting for me?"
"I heard that my worthless son had returned." Beatrix said with an aged look. "I expected you to come back for your wealth."
"So, you've found these." Galahad showed the pouch. "Why didn't you take it for yourself?"
"Haha…" Beatrix laughed. "As if I need it for anything. I am old."
"Yeah, but you're still a pirate, aren't you, mother?"
"Hmph." Beatrix touched the burned mark on her neck and covered it with her shirt.
"I don't have time to chitchat, so…" Galahd moved to the window, about to climb out.
At that moment, a different voice from Beatrix sounded. The voice froze Galahad entirely.
Galahad panicked and turned around, just to see the smile-masked man standing in the shadow of the room, his arms crossed.
"I am hurt, Galahad, I truly am!" Emperor Happy walked to Beatrix and fondly touched her shoulder. "Your mother contacted me about your little stash here. Then, I thought, what if you came here not to become a pirate but just to retrieve the rest of your wealth?
"Crazy thought, right?"
"Mother?" Galahad looked at her mother with a look of betrayal. "You told him?"
"Yes…" Beatrix said. "Why wouldn't I? My own son betrayed the pirates. What a disappointment. If your father was still alive, he would've died from a shock!"
"I know Faelan and the rest are waiting for you in the harbor." Emperor Happy said. "You're planning to have a quick exit, aren't you? Unfortunately, your friends are already dead."
"Well…" Galahad dropped the pouch of money. "I guess you caught me."
When those words left his mouth, he turned around and jumped towards his mother with a look of anger.
At that moment, a hand pierced through Galahad's heart and stopped him from moving any further.
"You were one of my favorites, Galahad." Emperor Happy said with a cold tone and pulled his arm out of Galahad's body.
Galahad dropped to the ground with a blank look. He was dead!
"…" Beatrix looked at her dead son, but then turned away, uninterested.
"Thank you for telling me; you're a real pirate." Emperor Happy kissed her on the forehead. "Your family, Mariner, will be greatly rewarded for being a true pirate family."
"I appreciate it, my emperor." Beatrix bowed. "If you don't mind, please take my son's corpse away. I can't bear to look at him any longer."
Emperor Happy tossed Galahad's corpse over his shoulder as if he was nothing but sack of potatoes, and then left the house.
The following morning.
The silver-sailed ship glided gracefully across the glistening sea.
The storm had passed, but the waves were still tall and mighty, but the powerful ship continued on its journey with ease.
Within the ship kitchen, a smoky aroma filled the air as the crew prepared a hearty meal for the pirates.
"Hurry up, chop those carrots!" The chef shouted above the sound of the roaring waves.
Within the kitchen, the sharp sound of a knife slicing through the carrot could be heard. The knife went through the carrot, landed with a satisfying thud on the cutting board, and it continued to chop through the rest of the vegetables.
"Done!" Kiernan called out.
"Drop them into the steaming pot of soup!" The chef shouted.
The pot of soup was bubbling on a stove over an open flame, filling the kitchen with a rich aroma.
As Kiernan dropped the vegetables in, the water almost boiled over, but then the chef started stirring, and the heat slightly decreased.
"Whew…" Kiernan wiped the sweat off his forehead.
It was pretty warm in the kitchen because of a lack of proper ventilation, and the steam that was rising from the pots was making it even hotter.
Outside the kitchen, Julian dipped his floor scrubbing brush in a bucket of water and started scrubbing off the grime from the wooden floor.
It was barely working, and he had to scrub the same spot relentlessly until the dirt finally started to lift.
"Shit!" Julian gritted his teeth.
"Get out of my way, Cabin Boy!" A pirate pushed him aside and knocked down the bucket of water.
The water spilled over the floor.
"Argh!" Julian felt like snapping the floor scrubbing brush in half.
"Hey, wipe the water off!" The chef shouted. "Do you want us to slip and break our necks?!"
'Yes, I actually do!' Julian let out a frustrated sigh, grabbed a sponge, and got to work wiping the water off the floor.
As the ship suddenly wobbled to the side, Kiernan slid across the floor and almost collided into a metal table.
"You should learn Sea Steps, brat!" The chef shouted. "You will only get yourself hurt if you don't!"
"Yes, chef…" Kiernan replied with a sigh. "I'll start practicing tonight!"
With Sea Steps, the pirates were almost rooted to the ground. They didn't move no matter how much the ship wobbled.