"Now you owe me three lives~"
"Think about how you're going to repay me."
After saying that half in jest, Lorne turned and headed deeper into the cabin. His figure cast a long shadow in the dim light, and his footsteps echoed across the wooden deck.
How to repay him... how to repay him... Perhaps her head was still muddled from only just waking up, or perhaps the joy of surviving had gone to her head... Tracy actually began thinking seriously about Lorne's joke.
Save him three times? she considered. No, I might end up owing him even more... Remembering that world-shattering catastrophe, she shuddered involuntarily. I'd better never run into anything like that again...
"Mother..." For some reason, she suddenly thought of her mother. Part of her resented her mother for still not coming to find her, yet she also felt strangely relieved.
If her mother had arrived in time, things probably would not have turned out this way.
At the same time, she unwittingly recalled her mother's past teachings... certain teachings she had once dismissed with contempt.
As her thoughts wandered further and further, the tips of her ears gradually reddened. A bead of sweat slid down her smooth forehead, passed over her flushed cheek, and finally disappeared beneath her collar.
"At worst, I could have three children for you..."
In a voice only she could hear, she said something that frightened even herself.
"Come have something to eat." While Tracy's imagination ran wild, Lorne came over carrying a steaming bowl.
Inside was hard bread softened in fresh water, mixed with canned meat and seaweed. Though simple, it counted as a nutritious meal with appealing color, aroma, and flavor out at sea.
"Thank you." Tracy reached out to take it.
"Careful, it's hot," Lorne reminded her instinctively.
"Mm...