Chapter 619 - 844 – That Makes Sense

According to Arton, Iceburg was a highly skilled shipwright.

With someone like him building the ship, all they needed to do was tell him their basic requirements.

The rest could simply be left to Iceburg to figure out.

Raki trusted Arton completely, so when Iceburg suggested that she review the plans, she immediately declined.

"All right. Since you trust me that much, we'll leave it at that. I'll deliver the finished ship directly to you when it's done."

Iceburg rose and patted his chest confidently.

"I'm sure you can handle it. Then we'll be going."

Raki smiled slightly and led Kalifa out of the room.

"Strange."

Iceburg watched them leave, unable to shake the feeling that something had happened between Kalifa and Raki.

But logically, that shouldn't have been possible.

Just yesterday, Kalifa had probably only been knocked unconscious by Conis.

Although Iceburg had left afterward, he had assumed that once Kalifa woke up, she would simply go home and get some proper rest.

Under those circumstances, how could anything have happened between Kalifa and Raki?

"Whatever."

Iceburg shook his head and sat back down to study the blueprints, summoning the other shipwrights as well.

Building the ship was the most important thing for him right now.

Since that was the case, he could leave Kalifa and Raki to their own affairs.

Raki was Arton's companion and possessed considerable strength.

There was no point in Iceburg worrying about her unnecessarily.

He might as well focus on doing his own job properly.

...

Outside the office, Raki smiled. "Looks like Iceburg is a little suspicious about us."

Although she was a Shandia warrior, Raki was extremely perceptive.

And after joining the Flame Blade Pirates, her senses had grown even sharper as her strength increased through the mold.

Naturally, she had noticed the change in Iceburg's demeanor.

"He probably thought I seemed a little too happy earlier, so he got suspicious."

Kalifa pushed up her glasses. "But it doesn't matter. I have no intention of continuing with the mission Spandam assigned me anyway."

If she wanted to keep carrying out her previous mission, she would have to continue playing the role of the perfect secretary.

And since acting in ways that would arouse Iceburg's suspicions could eventually turn those suspicions into outright distrust, completing the mission would become extremely difficult.

Fortunately, Kalifa no longer had to carry out a mission she disliked in the first place.

That meant she had no intention of continuing to pretend to be the perfect secretary in front of Iceburg.

Compared to that, she would much rather go back with Raki and have a proper talk with Arton.

Of course, she meant the kind of talk that involved a passionate battle.

"I know what you're thinking, but I hope you can keep a lower profile for now. At least until our ship is finished."

"You'll be sailing on that ship in the future too, after all."

Raki looked at her.

"You're right."

Kalifa nodded. "And it seems I'll need to keep a closer eye on Rob Lucci and the others while they're building the ship."

...

Just as Raki had said, the ship Iceburg was about to build would also be the ship Kalifa herself sailed on in the future.

As a perfectionist, Kalifa naturally wanted a very comfortable living environment.

So no matter what, she didn't want Rob Lucci, Kaku, and the others slacking off while building it.

If they did, Kalifa herself might end up paying the price.

"That's not something Kalifa wants to see."

"You're right, Raki. I'll make sure to keep a close eye on Rob Lucci and the others while they're building the ship."

Kalifa clenched her fist.

"Then I'll leave that to you. You can supervise them with me."

Raki's eyes lit up with excitement when she saw how serious Kalifa was.

It was obvious that Kalifa already regarded the Flame Blade Pirates as her future home.

Knowing that naturally made Raki feel even more at ease with her.

"Still, like Iceburg said, he needs to draw up the plans and gather the shipwrights first."

"I don't think we need to rush over and supervise Rob Lucci and the others just yet."

"How about we go shopping somewhere and buy some clothes while we're at it?"

Raki suggested.

"Of course."

Kalifa nodded firmly. "Perfect. I also want to buy some special outfits to deal with Arton."

Raki immediately understood what she meant.

Kalifa's tone might have been perfectly calm, but the blush covering her face made it obvious that she wasn't talking about ordinary clothes.

Raki knew that whatever Kalifa had in mind was meant to keep Arton's attention firmly on her while they battled.

And her guess was exactly right.

Kalifa really did want to buy some particularly enticing outfits.

She had seen such clothes in clothing stores before and had considered buying them.

After all, if she joined Arton's Flame Blade Pirates, she would most likely end up forming an intimate relationship with him.

If that happened, those clothes would definitely come in handy.

Kalifa wanted to try wearing them and, if possible, have Arton take a few pictures or record some videos of her.

That way, she could earn more points and use them to quickly become stronger.

However, Kalifa hadn't known when Arton would actually come to Water 7.

Buying those clothes too early might have been a waste.

So in the end, she had never gotten around to purchasing them.

Now that Arton had already arrived, Kalifa felt there was no reason to keep waiting.

Perhaps she could buy them now and go straight to Arton afterward to try them out.

She didn't have to work today anyway, so she might as well spend the time having some proper fun with him.

"Special outfits? Sure. I'd also like to see what Water 7 has that's worth buying."

Raki smiled.

As someone who likewise wanted to make Arton happy, she naturally had no intention of missing the opportunity to shop for useful gear.

And with Kalifa leading the way, Raki felt that if she passed up this chance, she might regret not following along once she saw Kalifa actually wearing whatever she bought.