Lucas's Justice

Eos, captain's quarters.

Gion lay facedown on the bed, with Baccarat beside her. Their faces were turned in opposite directions, their bare backs exposed beneath the light, each smooth expanse of skin marred by a horrifying scar.

A mass of blood hovered above their backs. Like a living palm, it covered both wounds under Lucas's mental control.

The pure Life Energy contained within the blood seeped, little by little, through the blood as a medium—into their skin, into ruptured capillaries, into damaged muscle fibers. Fine wisps of white smoke rose from the wounds as flesh healed at a visible rate.

Baccarat found one of Lucas's outfits to put on temporarily. After fixing her hair in the porthole's reflection, she thoughtfully made up an excuse about "checking the Submarine's power" and slipped out, closing the door behind her.

Gion climbed off the bed and walked to the full-length mirror set into the wall. Turning her head, she examined her back in the mirror.

The bloody line kicked out by the Rankyaku had vanished completely, replaced by a fresh mark a shade lighter than the surrounding skin. She poked the newly grown skin with a finger. It did not hurt. It was elastic, even smoother than the skin around it.

Though amazed, she also felt an indescribable grievance building in her heart.

She had clearly met him first. She had clearly been the first to fall for him. Why should someone else get there before her?

The more she thought about it, the less she could accept it. She turned to look at Lucas, her eyes tinged with resentment.

Tonight, she would reclaim what should have been hers, principal and interest included.

With that thought, she pounced straight at him like a tiger starved for days.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the porthole and painted a slanted rectangle of light across the floor.

Gion sat by the bed, lowering her head to inspect her arm. Her skin was fairer and softer than before, with the texture of freshly polished silk. She admired it to her heart's content for quite a while, then happily began getting dressed.

When she reached the door, her steps suddenly stopped. Her fingers hovered over the handle as she stood with her back to Lucas and brought up a subject she had deliberately avoided for the past few days.

"Lucas, what do you think justice is?"

Lucas, who was rubbing his own waist, froze. His fingers stopped on his aching lower-back muscles. The room fell quiet for several seconds before he thought it over carefully and answered,

"Justice is letting everyone live in peace, no matter who they are."

"It means not having to worry about getting shot or stabbed to death for no reason while walking down the street. It means everyone has food to eat and will not starve to death.

"It means no one has to fear being kidnapped, sold, and turned into a slave while walking down the road."

In his previous life, he had only been an ordinary person. He had never been a soldier or a police officer, and in this life, he had never worn a cloak of justice for even a single day. In his view, if he had to use something as a reference for justice, the way people lived in his old homeland in his previous life was the most fitting standard.

After he finished speaking, the cabin remained quiet for a long time.

With her back to him, Gion's shoulders trembled slightly. Something she had always held onto in her heart seemed to shatter at that moment.

She clenched her fist, her knuckles rising beneath the skin on the back of her hand like two small hills. Then she loosened it, clenched it again, and loosened it once more, as if she had finally made up her mind.

"I think I know what I should do."

"I won't ask you to become a Marine anymore. Forget what I said before. When I'm not around, take care of yourself."

Without waiting for Lucas's response, she strode away on her long legs, pushed open the captain's quarters door, and left.

The captain's quarters stayed quiet for about half a minute. Then the aroma of food drifted in from the corridor, growing stronger and stronger.

Robin entered carrying a plate of seafood risotto.

Each grain of rice was distinct, with shrimp and squid rings arranged neatly on top. The sauce had reduced to perfection, and a small sprinkling of chopped parsley covered the surface.

She had carefully selected the seafood herself, and it had excellent nourishing properties.

"I think you could become a good Marine."

The spoon in Lucas's hand stopped in midair. A spoonful of risotto hovered before his mouth, steam brushing against his chin. He answered instinctively,

"When did I ever say I wanted to become—"

Halfway through his words, he suddenly realized. Every word of his conversation with Gion had probably been overheard intact by a pair of ears hidden somewhere nearby.

He set down his spoon, turned his head, and shot Robin an annoyed look.

"You were the one who said partners should have private space too. Eavesdropping isn't exactly polite behavior, is it?"

Robin did not answer. She calmly walked out, and as the door shut, she gave a soft snort inwardly.

You can use Telepathy to pry into other people's minds, but I can't use my ability to listen at the door? How domineering. I should've added two more spoonfuls of laxative.

Having heard her thoughts perfectly clearly through Telepathy, Lucas calmly scooped up a large spoonful of risotto and stuffed it into his mouth in a few quick bites.

The moment he swallowed the last mouthful, his expression abruptly changed. Clutching his stomach, he hissed and staggered past Robin, hurrying toward the restroom in a panic.

Robin leaned against the corridor wall and watched his fleeing figure, her eyes curving into crescents.

Her smile was as radiant as the sunlight outside the window. The faint sense of crisis she had felt ever since Gion arrived vanished in an instant.

How could she not know Lucas could read minds? In theory, no prank could possibly succeed in front of him.

Even if it did, with his monstrous constitution, the laxative would have been neutralized the moment it entered his stomach. Even so, he had still pretended to have fallen for it.

This man looked cold and sharp-tongued, but his heart was softer than anyone's.

At the other end of the corridor, beyond a corner, Lucas leaned against the cold metal wall.

The instant he left Robin's line of sight, his expression returned to normal. His brow relaxed, his back straightened, and there was no sign of stomach pain whatsoever.

He took a Den Den Mushi from his pocket and dialed Lafitte's number.

The Den Den Mushi connected quickly, its pale face taking on Lafitte's features.

"Move a fleet to stand by near the Jewel Ice Bed."

"Have enough hands ready for transport. There is a batch of treasure to move."

"Yes, sir."

To be continued