Chapter 166: To the East!(6)

"Let's just... Clean this..."

Nash let out a sigh.

"You're too forgiving, Dad."

"..."

"Haa, I'll clean it up."

Nash then waved his paws, and light blue mana began to envelop the entire room, and in a flash of light, the room was instantly spotless clean. Luke nodded in satisfaction as he looks at this. He then walked over to the broken bed and just stood there staring at it. He then heard Nash speak.

"Wait a minute, I'll find a material that can repair-"

"There's no need; I'll do it myself."

Luke then raised his hand and activated his wood power on the plant on the window. The plant then began to shake and grow continuously. The plant grew so large that it broke its pot, and the branches began to slither towards the bed. The branches slithered up like a snake and wrapped around the bed's broken leg. Luke controlled the branches and stopped when the bed is on balance footing once again. Luke simply sighed and approached the bed when he was finished.

"This is good, but now the problem is..."

Luke fixed his gaze on the soiled mattress on the bed. Luke frowns in frustration as he notices the blanket on the bed hasn't been washed in weeks and has multiple holes in it.

"Brother..."

Luke flinched and turned his head slowly. He then noticed Liam emerge from the shadows, looking at him seriously.

"Why are you here, Liam?"

"I'm here to protect you while you sleep."

"Protect me? Why do you think it's necessary to protect me?"

"I heard that pirates are cunning savages and might ambush you in your sleep, so I'll keep an eye on you."

"...Where did you hear that?"

"From Marina."

Luke was silent while looking at Liam who looks dead serious about protecting him. Then Luke sighed.

"All right, do whatever you want."

Liam nodded and began to scan the room. Liam then frowned deeply.

"How come your room is like this?"

"Believe me, it looks a lot worse than it did before we cleaned it."

Liam then clenched his fists and gripped his sword's hilt with murderous intent.

"I'm going to kill them... They dare to treat you this way..."

"Hey, it's all right. I'm used to it because I've had rooms far worse than this in the past. For me, this is like a trip down memory lane."

"Brother..."

Luke ignored Liam and just focused on the blanket and sheets, while doing so, Nash approached Liam.

"Uncle, you're wasting your time talking to Dad like that. Dad is far too kind and forgiving."

Liam agreed with a nod.

"You're right, he's far too nice. Those wretched pirates simply took advantage of his generosity..."

After that, Liam and Nash's eyes became cold. They really wanted to rip the ship to shreds, but they couldn't do it unless Luke gave them the go signal. They can only watch Luke do chores and get pushed around by pirates for the time being.

"Now... What should I do with these sheets?"

Luke frowned as he examined the mattress and sheets. And as if his prayers were heard, a light suddenly appeared in the center of the room. Nash approached Luke and told him what was going on.

"Someone is coming, dad."

Luke remained silent as he observed the light that was forming in the center of the room. The light faded away after a few seconds, revealing Lance's princely face. Luke looked at him, puzzled.

"Your highness? What are you doing here? "

Lance spoke while taking a look around.

"I asked for the coordinates from Snow."

"No, I mean, why are you here? What's gotten into you to suddenly teleport here?"

Lance remained silent as he examined the state of Luke's room. Lance then frowned.

"Is this where you're going to sleep? And that's what you call a bed?"

Lance pointed at Luke's old bed and frowned in annoyance. Luke just stared at Lance for a few seconds before smiling. He then walked over to the bed and sat on it. As he sat down, the bed creaked, and he looked at Lance, who was staring at him in disbelief.

"Ahh, your highness, this is fine; I'm used to it."

"Used to this? This? Are you serious? "

"Yes, why are you surprised?"

"So you are going to sleep on that? And why are you using that blanket that appears to be thinner than paper and has holes in it?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders and caresses the bedsheets.

"What are you so worked up about? This is something we plebeians are accustomed to. In fact, having a standing bed like this is already regarded as a luxury for us."

Lance frowned as he gazed at Luke. Luke just smiled and laid down on the bed. He tried to make himself look comfortable as possible even when he isn't.

"Why don't you try sleeping here as well? Try being a plebe for a day, your highness."

"No thanks, I've slept in worse places than that before... Like sleeping in the middle of work with your back arching forward."

"But have you ever slept in a bed like this?"

"No."

"Then give it a shot."

"No."

"Boo."

"Shut up. Haa, I'll be right back. We'll talk when I get back."

Luke frowned; he was too exhausted to move an inch right now, and Lance wanted to talk to him?

'At this point, you might as well stab me in the heart.'

Lance then teleported away, leaving Luke, Liam, and Nash alone in the room. Luke chuckled, breaking the silence. Liam looked at him, perplexed.

"What are you laughing for, brother?"

Luke sighs and shakes his head.

"Nothing. By the way, if Lance comes back and sees me with my eyes closed, tell him I'm sleeping."

"Alright? I'm not sure why, but I'll do what you say."

Luke nodded and tucked himself into a thin blanket, closing his eyes. A bright light appeared shortly after that, and Lance's face was seen, but this time Lance was carrying a thick pure-white mattress and blanket in his arms. Liam paused for a moment before noticing Lance scowling.

"I told him I'd return, and he slept, what a disrespectful bastard."

Lance then sighed and passed the blankets to Liam, who simply accepted his with a puzzled expression on his face. Lance then went over to Luke, who was 'sleeping' on the bed.

"Liam, please assist me. I'll carry this moron, and you'll lay the bed sheets."

"Oh, okay."

Liam nodded and walked over to the bed. Lance then began to carry Luke's body in his arms, and Liam immediately began to work. Lance frowned as he looked at Luke, who was peacefully sleeping in his arms while waiting for Liam to properly place the bedsheets.

"He is too light, is he even eating?"

Liam flinched and turned around to face Lance.

"...Your highness, Brother has always been that light."

"Really? It's as if I'm carrying a chicken feather rather than a human body."

"We tried to give him a lot of food, but he always ends up feeding it to Nash."

"Haa, I wouldn't be surprised if this guy died again from a single horse kick."

While listening to the two's conversation, Luke restrained himself from twitching his brows and frowned internally.

'Am I am really that light? That is completely absurd! They are just too strong, that's why!'

Luke clenched his fist slightly but soon felt himself being placed on a soft cloud-like surface. He was so relaxed that he considered he might fall asleep at any moment.

"There we go."

Lance sighed and looked at Luke, who was lying on soft, thick bed sheets. He then turned to face Liam.

"How about you, Liam? Are you going to sleep as well? "

Liam sighs and shakes his head.

"No, I'm going to protect him."

"You're going to stay up all night?"

"That is correct; I slept for a few hours before coming here, so I don't feel sleepy at all, nor do I expect to."

"Ah, I see. Well then, I'll get going now, take care of that bastard, or else he might fall and die. We can't risk wasting his life for stupid things, you know."

Liam agreed and watched Lance teleport back to the palace. When Lance returned, he was greeted by his royal room that is far different than where Luke is sleeping. Lance then sighed and unbuttoned his shirt while calling for a maid.

"Someone, bring me new bedsheets."

Three maids entered, their eyes widening in surprise when they saw that his freshly washed bedsheets, which they had just placed on the bed earlier that morning, had vanished. One of the maids then pointed to it and looked at Lance, puzzled.

"Your highness, where did your bedsheets go?"

Lance was deafeningly quiet after releasing his buttons. He is trying to come up with explanations for why his bed sheets were missing, but he forgets that he is too tired to think of anything.

"It was taken by a silver cat."

The maids looked at Lance with puzzled expressions.

"Pardon? A silver cat?"

'How did a silver cat find its way in here? Let alone stealing an entire set of bed sheets?!'

Lance just scratched his head and sighed.

"Just get me a new one."

"As you wish, your highness."

Lance nodded and stood there watching the maids leave his room to change his bedsheets.

—————

Luke sat up on the bed, slowly opening his eyes. He then yawns and blinks a few times to adjust his vision.

"Dad, good morning."

When Luke looked over at the side of the bed, he noticed Nash rubbing his eyes with his paws. Luke just stared at him for a few moments before patting his head and standing up to stretch in the morning. When Luke's consciousness fully awakened, he frowned at the sight of his room.

'Oh, I forgot, I'm still on the ship,'

Luke frowned and sighed, then looked to the side and saw Liam standing quietly by the door, staring at him. Luke looked at him in disbelief.

"So you really did watch over me all night... Don't you feel sleepy?"

Liam smiled and shook his head. Dos scoffed in Liam's mind as Luke looked at him strangely.

• Don't lie, kid, I know you haven't gotten a wink of sleep since yesterday. Don't even try to hide it; your face says it all.

Liam ignored Dos, who was talking to him and just smiled at Luke. When Liam heard Luke speak in a commanding tone, he flinched.

"Liam... As soon as you get back to Mira's territory, go to sleep."

"B-but-"

"It is a command."

Liam made a glum expression, while Dos burst out laughing. Liam's face quickly flushed with embarrassment.

"All right... I'm going to sleep."

"Good, good. Take this with you, by the way."

Luke then gave Liam the bedsheets that Lance had given him the night before. Liam looked perplexed at this. Luke became aware of it and explained.

"Valerie or one of the crew members could come here at any time; if they see such luxurious bed sheets here, they will be suspicious."

Liam nodded as if he got it, but then he tilted his head and asked Luke a question.

"What am I going to do with these, brother?"

Luke paused before responding to Liam with a blank stare.

"You decide what you're going to do with it. Throw it away, burn it, or do whatever you want with it. I'm sure Lance just pulled those bedsheets from an abandoned closet, so I don't think he'll mind if we throw them away."

Liam opened and closed his mouth several times as if he is unsure what to say. Luke eventually noticed it and motioned for him to speak up. Liam then took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"These bedsheets... They have the Royal Tailor's logo on them..."

Bam!

Luke froze in place, dropping the shoe he was holding and staring at Liam with wide eyes. Liam just stared at him nervously and flinched when he saw Luke charging at him.

"Give me that."

Luke then snatched the sheets from Liam and began inspecting each side and corner of the sheets. Luke then focused his attention on a tag stitched into the fabric. Luke's eyes widened when he noticed the Royal Tailor's logo on it.

Liam approached Luke, who was staring intently at the logo, with a nervous smile.

"I saw that logo while putting it in the bed, so-"

"Are we able to sell this?"

"Excuse me?"

Liam looked at Luke, who was staring at the bedsheets with wide eyes. He soon noticed Luke shaking his head.

"Never mind, I'll keep this. I can now have a luxurious royal brand."

Nash then took off and butted in. He then spoke in a cheerful tone.

"Snow and I already have luxurious royal brands! It was given to us by Papa!"

Luke then gave a sly smile.

"Your Godfather is a very generous man. He may give you more luxuries, so cherish those royal brands because they are of very high quality."

Nash nodded vigorously.

"Of course!"

Luke had a sly grin on his face, while Liam just sighed and stared at them. When Liam sensed footsteps approaching, he became alert and grabbed the sheets from Luke, confusing him.

"Brother, she's here."

"Oh, I see."