Magician

That night, while Abner was simulating another Sequence 5 ability in the Learning Space, he suddenly sensed someone touch the Wall of Spirituality he had set up outside. He returned his awareness to reality, lifted the barrier, and opened the door.

As he expected, Captain Miss Gwen stood outside.

After that "duel," she had spent the entire afternoon and half the night collecting spoils and dealing with the aftermath. Only now had she found time to visit Abner, thank him, and... divide the loot!

Of course, "dividing the loot" sounded rather crude. Abner preferred to call it "sharing the profits"... Even if he had used underhanded means to get Madman Lim killed, Lim had been asking for it, hadn't he?

As his thoughts wandered, Abner glanced back at Mr. Gaston, fast asleep in the adjoining cabin. After a moment's thought, he said quietly to Miss Gwen, "Let's talk on deck."

"All right." Miss Gwen readily agreed, looking faintly relieved. Visiting a gentleman's cabin this late at night went against the etiquette she had learned growing up... though she had stopped caring about such things the moment she ran away from home.

Far from industrial pollution, the red moon hung silently over the sea, a little more than half full, mysterious and dreamlike.

Abner and Miss Gwen leaned against a railing by the ship's side, talking as they admired the sea.

"Mr. Brain, we didn't have enough people to take three warships or guard so many prisoners. After removing the cannons from the other two ships, I let the pirates pool their money, buy those ships back, and leave. Lydia and Tran took some sailors to take over Lim's flagship, the Great Shark...

"The pirates scraped together 987 pounds and more than a hundred gold coins from various countries.

"I also