Chapter 621 - 848 – It’s Hard to Deal With Bandits

"I am indeed from a Sky Island. Is there something you wanted to ask, Mr. Zephyr?"

Raki quickly came back to her senses and smiled at Zephyr.

As far as Zephyr knew, she had nothing to do with Arton. Under those circumstances, Raki had no reason to be nervous around him, so she was quite relaxed.

"Nothing in particular. I was just thinking that it's been a long time since I last saw someone from a Sky Island. I didn't expect to run into one here in Water 7."

Zephyr paused before continuing, "Still, since you're having a commercial ship built that's as large as a warship, I imagine you must be quite wealthy."

"You should be careful. Water 7 may be relatively peaceful, but there are still pirates and troublemakers around."

"If they see you building such a huge ship, they might decide you're rich and try to squeeze some money out of you. That could cause you some trouble."

As soon as he finished, Kalifa immediately spoke up. "Mr. Zephyr, don't you trust the security provided by our shipbuilding company?"

Although Kalifa no longer cared much about the shipyard and intended to leave this place behind in the future, she was still one of its employees for now.

Under the circumstances, she felt obligated to defend the shipyard's reputation.

That way, Zephyr wouldn't become suspicious of her.

"Mr. Zephyr is simply concerned."

Raki smiled and patted Kalifa on the shoulder. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fairly confident in my own strength. Even if someone causes trouble, I should be able to handle it."

"You certainly look like a capable warrior."

Zephyr nodded appreciatively.

As someone who had trained countless people, he could naturally tell whether someone had undergone proper training.

Someone like Kalifa, who hadn't spent years building up much muscle, would still undergo physical changes from training once she obtained a mold.

Simply put, if the mold belonged to a character with a great deal of muscle, the person training with it would be more likely to develop a muscular physique as well.

If the mold belonged to a character who wasn't particularly muscular but instead possessed a highly flexible physique, then even with continued training, the user probably wouldn't develop much visible muscle.

That was why even though some of Arton's companions now took their training very seriously, they still had relatively little visible muscle, making it seem as though they hadn't trained properly.

Raki, on the other hand, looked like someone who had genuinely trained hard.

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Zephyr."

Raki smiled.

Zephyr's praise might not mean much to her, but basic courtesy still called for a proper response.

After all, she respected Zephyr, and Zephyr was also Ain's teacher.

"You seem quite confident, but what I'm saying is that there are still many dangerous people on these seas. Relying on your own strength alone might not be enough to protect what you want to protect."

"If you're building a ship that large, you might attract troublesome people."

Zephyr looked at her seriously.

"So?" Raki tilted her head. "What exactly are you trying to say, Mr. Zephyr?"

"If you run into any trouble, try contacting the Marines."

Zephyr smiled and patted his chest. "I'll be staying here for a while. If troublesome people come looking for you, you can come find me. I'll find a way to arrest them."

Raki couldn't help sighing. "You really are a Marine who takes his responsibilities seriously."

Kalifa felt the same way. Zephyr was a Marine destined to become a tragic figure.

Fortunately, Ain's presence meant that Zephyr might not actually die when that fateful moment arrived.

At the very least, Ain would still be able to give Zephyr the option of staying alive.

"Thank you. If I need help, I'll come find you."

"Though I think the shipyard and I should be able to handle any bandits who try to cause trouble."

Raki smiled confidently.

...

"You really are a confident young woman. If only my student could be as confident as you."

Zephyr looked at Raki and sighed.

Raki's confidence came naturally from within. It wasn't the kind of false bravado someone put on despite lacking the strength to back it up.

Zephyr thought of his student Ain. She clearly possessed respectable strength among people her age, yet she lacked confidence in herself.

Zephyr had reminded Ain about it many times, but she always responded with a troubled expression.

Although Ain would promise to become more confident, Zephyr knew she had never truly followed through.

He had originally planned to properly encourage her later, only for the decision to capture Arton to cause Ain to fall into his hands.

Although Ain seemed safe for the moment, how could Zephyr possibly feel at ease knowing his student had fallen into the hands of a pirate?

Ain was a beautiful young woman, while Arton was a pirate famous for his fondness for beautiful women.

What if Arton does something to Ain? What will happen to her innocence?

The thought made Zephyr even angrier with Arton.

What Zephyr didn't know was that Ain had joined Arton's crew of her own free will.

She had even already given her virginity to him.

Ain's lack of confidence was also related to Arton.

Through her voyage diary copy, Ain had learned from Arton about the miserable future awaiting Zephyr.

Ain respected Zephyr immensely. After learning about that future, how could she possibly calm down and become as confident as Zephyr wanted?

"I'm sure your student will become more confident."

Raki spoke earnestly.

She knew the student Zephyr was referring to was Ain.

From Raki's perspective, Ain had already become more confident.

That wasn't surprising. Ain had successfully joined Arton's crew and had also obtained a powerful mold from him.

With the power to change Zephyr's tragic future, it was only natural for Ain to become more confident.

Unfortunately, Zephyr knew none of that. He still believed Ain was suffering at Arton's hands.

"Yeah. I hope so. But my top priority right now is rescuing her from that man."

"The man you mean is Arton, right?"

Kalifa pushed up her glasses.

"How did you know?"

Zephyr was slightly surprised.

"You came all the way to Water 7 because you're waiting for Arton's pirate ship to arrive. I'm not an idiot. I can more or less figure it out."

Kalifa paused briefly before adding, "There are a lot of rumors about Arton on the seas. I'm curious what you think of him, Mr. Zephyr."

"He's a pirate. Naturally, he's someone who should be arrested."

Zephyr answered without hesitation.

"I see."

Raki nodded thoughtfully.

"There are rumors that he's dealt with Celestial Dragons before. What do you think about that?"

"If those people are pirates, then of course they should be arrested."

Zephyr fell silent for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.

"Still... if only there were no Celestial Dragons."

Truthfully, Zephyr rather admired Arton.

When Celestial Dragons harmed him, Arton dared to retaliate against them.

Sometimes Zephyr wondered what would have happened if there had been no Celestial Dragons when his own student was attacked.

Would Arton have become a righteous man instead?

If Arton had used his strength to become a Marine, he surely could have become one of the pillars of the organization.

Although Zephyr resented Arton to some extent, he could clearly see the man's strength.

Just thinking about how Arton had trained his crewmates into powerful companions made Zephyr curious about exactly how he had done it.