"I see."
Arton nodded, then looked at Tashigi and said, "By the way... aren't you sucking a little too aggressively, Tashigi?"
After thinking it over for a moment, Arton finally understood why he hadn't been able to keep watch through the second half of the night.
Clearly, the fatigue he'd built up over the course of the previous day had been worse than he realized.
And with both Ain and Tashigi beside him, he'd felt safe enough that he'd naturally drifted off sometime in the latter half of the night.
Since all that exhaustion from yesterday clearly hadn't fully worn off yet, Arton was worried he might not have completely recovered today either.
So, honestly, Tashigi doing this right now left him in a difficult spot.
If possible, he didn't want to keep serving as everyone's practice target for the moment. He wanted a little time to recover properly first.
That said, after hearing Arton say that, Tashigi didn't answer.
Instead, her reaction only grew fiercer.
Seeing that, Arton could only sigh helplessly.
Tashigi had helped him stand watch last night, so at a time like this, he really couldn't bring himself to shove her aside and refuse to go along with her "practice."
Ain, however, clearly had some opinions about Tashigi hogging everything for herself.
Puffing out her cheeks, she looked at Tashigi with a wronged expression and said, "Tashigi, shouldn't it be my turn by now? You should really spend some time talking with Captain."
Only then did Tashigi finally lift her head, looking embarrassed.
"Sorry, Ain. I thought I'd be done quickly, but this turned out to be more complicated than I expected."
Ain wasn't the type to genuinely get angry with Tashigi.
And besides, there was still something important to be doing right now, so she didn't have time to complain.
The moment Ain started "working" again, Tashigi turned her attention to Arton.
"Captain, what would you like for breakfast? I can go prepare it for you in the kitchen."
"Just make whatever's there. You know I'm not picky."
Arton smiled.
"All right. Then I'll go get it ready."
Tashigi nodded and started to leave the lookout.
But just then, Arton reached out and caught her by the arm.
"Captain?"
Tashigi turned back, confused.
"There's no need to rush off and make breakfast right now. Let's wait until Ain finishes her training, then we can all go eat together. Breakfast feels a lot nicer when everyone shares it, doesn't it?"
Smiling, Arton looked over at Ain.
"What do you think, Ain?"
At Arton's question, Ain let out a muffled little sound and blinked rapidly several times to show she agreed.
"I-If that's the case... then I'll stay with Miss Ain too."
Tashigi licked her lips and started to move toward Ain's side.
But again, Arton reached out and caught her arm.
"Ain's working hard on her training right now, so let's not interrupt her. If you don't mind... could you give me something to lean on? You can see it yourself—keeping myself propped up against the floor like this is getting pretty tiring."
"I understand, Captain."
Tashigi nodded. After knowing Arton this long, there was no way she wouldn't understand what he meant.
She moved behind him and let him relax back against her body.
Breathing in Tashigi's scent, Arton's face softened into an easy, relaxed smile.
Then, almost on instinct, he bit into the steamed bun Tashigi offered up right in front of him.
Chapter 654: Ain — Sorry, I Got Too Excited
Time passed, and before he knew it, another day had gone by.
"Captain, you're awake."
Ain noticed Arton open his eyes on the bed and smiled as she spoke.
Then, lying down at his crotch, she lowered her head again.
"So it's you again, Ain." Arton propped himself up and rubbed his head, sighing. "Your way of waking me up is as... consistent as ever. I don't even know whether to call it delightful or exhausting."
"But you never reject it, Captain, so that should mean you're happy, right?"
Ain smiled faintly and stole a moment to answer him.
"Happy or not, you really don't have to get up this early every single morning just to come curry favor with me. I already told you I'd save you a template, and if I said I would, then I will."
"I admit that part of why I'm doing this is because I want a template from you. After all, there's no telling when something might happen to Teacher Zephyr. I need to get stronger as fast as possible so that when he's in danger, I'll be able to help."
Ain looked at Arton with completely sincere eyes.
"But that's not the only reason. On top of wanting a template, I also genuinely want to practice with you, Captain."
Compared to the "her" in all those derivative works, Ain had realized she was still painfully inexperienced.
If nothing else, when it came to savoring a good meal, she still had a lot of practicing to do.
"You..." Arton sucked in a breath, then gave up. "Forget it. Do whatever you want."
Ain was already here. It wasn't like he could just tell her to get out.
At that point, he might as well let her wake his body up completely.
Arton closed his eyes and quietly felt out Ain's progress.
Only after Ain finally got what she wanted did Arton open his eyes again.
Watching her throat move as she swallowed, Arton suddenly felt himself getting in the mood all over again.
No, no. Now's not the time.
He muttered that to himself and forcibly suppressed the thought that had suddenly flared up in his mind.
Lowering his head, he shifted his attention to his Sailing Diary, hoping the diary system would help drag his focus away from the dangerously tempting Ain in front of him.
"Huh?!"
Arton suddenly blurted it out, his eyes widening on their own.
"What's wrong, Captain?"
Hearing him, Ain looked over in confusion.
"How do I put this... It feels like I can craft a template now."
Arton sat up straight as he said it.
"A... a template?"
Ain was so shocked that the clothes she'd just picked up for Arton slipped straight out of her hands and onto the floor.
Could it be... was she finally about to get her own template?
The very thought made her heart pound uncontrollably.
"Ahem. Don't get too excited yet. I haven't actually finished crafting it." Arton stood up and patted her on the shoulder. "And you know as well as I do that the templates I craft have a certain randomness to them. I can't guarantee the one I make will actually suit you."
"You're... you're right, Captain. Sorry. I got too excited."
Ain took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
Only after steadying her emotions did she gently help Arton get dressed in his usual clothes.
...
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