Chapter 630 - 866 – A Common Topic

"You two seem to be getting along pretty well."

At the Galley-La Company shipyard in Water 7, Mayor Iceburg watched Raki and Kalifa walking toward him side by side and spoke with some curiosity.

Could Raki really be that good at spending money? Had even Kalifa, a trained agent, fallen for her lavish spending?

"There's nothing strange about it, Mayor Iceburg. Beautiful women always have plenty to talk about with each other."

Kalifa pushed up her glasses as she spoke.

"I suppose we qualify as beautiful women, don't we?"

Raki smiled.

Strictly speaking, Raki already considered herself a married woman.

And Kalifa was much the same. After all, she had just had quite the battle with Arton not long ago.

Kalifa caught the meaningful look Raki was giving her and naturally understood what she meant.

With a shrug, she corrected herself. "Let me rephrase that. Beautiful women always have plenty to talk about."

Although she could no longer call herself a young maiden, Kalifa rather enjoyed the feeling of being a beautiful young wife.

After all, it emphasized the connection between her and Arton.

Raki smiled and nodded at Kalifa's words.

Iceburg watched their reactions, becoming increasingly puzzled.

If he didn't know Kalifa and Raki's true identities, he might have believed Kalifa's explanation and assumed they had simply bonded out of mutual appreciation as beautiful women.

Unfortunately, Iceburg knew exactly who both of them were.

Under those circumstances, Kalifa's words sounded as strange as they possibly could.

Still, given his current situation, Iceburg couldn't exactly voice his thoughts.

Rob Lucci and Kaku were still watching from behind him.

If he accidentally said something that made Lucci, Kalifa, and Kaku realize he already knew their identities, Iceburg might have a hard time explaining himself to Arton.

That was the last thing he wanted.

Fortunately, Iceburg wasn't the only one who found the situation suspicious. Lucci and Kaku were just as puzzled.

If anything, they were even more suspicious than Iceburg.

In their minds, Kalifa was an extremely calm and rational person.

When dealing with someone like Raki—powerful and of unknown background—Kalifa should have been even more cautious.

Although Kalifa was acting very friendly toward her, perhaps that friendliness itself was simply another form of caution.

But Lucci and Kaku had known Kalifa for many years.

They could both tell that the friendliness she was showing Raki right now was completely genuine.

That only made her behavior even stranger.

"You two really seem close. Did something happen?"

Kaku finally couldn't restrain his curiosity and stepped forward.

Lucci followed closely behind him. Although he said nothing, both Kalifa and Kaku knew he was wondering the same thing.

"Nothing happened. We just discovered that we have a lot in common after talking for a while."

Kalifa shrugged with a smile.

"A lot in common?"

Kaku scratched his head, genuinely puzzled by her answer.

...

"What kind of common topic could possibly make the two of you grow this close so quickly?"

Kaku was genuinely curious about how their relationship had changed so much.

"It's rare to hear you speak up on your own, Lucci."

Iceburg glanced back at Rob Lucci.

He had a rough idea why Lucci had suddenly spoken, but given the circumstances, Iceburg felt he should still ask.

That way, Lucci, Kaku, and Kalifa wouldn't start suspecting him.

Of course, Kalifa already knew exactly what was going on, so there was no need to fool her.

Still, Kalifa had to admit that watching these people, who knew nothing, perform right in front of her was rather amusing.

"My pigeon is sick, so I can't speak for the time being."

"I can't keep silent either."

Lucci didn't want Iceburg becoming suspicious of him, so he quickly offered an explanation.

"I see."

Iceburg knew that the more he said, the greater the chance of making a mistake.

So he had no intention of pressing Lucci any further.

Since Lucci had already given him an explanation, Iceburg decided to leave it at that.

"Since you're here, let's talk business."

Iceburg turned toward Raki. "The ship's design plans are finished."

"Of course they are. Please go ahead."

Iceburg took out one of the design drawings and laid it out in front of Raki.

Just as he was about to explain the details, Raki shook her head.

"I don't know anything about shipbuilding, Mayor Iceburg. Since you've already finished the plans, just start building it."

"I trust your skills completely."

After all, Raki was a Shandia warrior. She knew next to nothing about shipbuilding.

Having her stare at a set of blueprints she couldn't understand would only make things difficult for her.

Besides, Arton had already said that Iceburg's designs could be trusted completely.

Under those circumstances, Raki had no intention of wasting time studying the plans or listening to Iceburg explain them.

She only needed to remain there and make sure construction proceeded smoothly.

And, of course, to prevent Rob Lucci and Kaku from deliberately causing any problems while building the ship.

The last thing Raki wanted was for something to go wrong with a ship that would accompany them for a very long time.

If her own negligence caused the ship to develop problems during their future voyages, she felt she would never be able to forgive herself.

"All right. I'm honored to have your trust."

Iceburg nodded without insisting.

Just as Raki knew Arton trusted his shipbuilding skills, Iceburg knew Arton trusted him as a shipwright.

Besides, Iceburg had no intention of cutting corners. He truly planned to use the finest materials and techniques available to build Arton a nearly perfect ship.

Under those circumstances, Iceburg saw no problem with Raki skipping the blueprints entirely.

...

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