The girl had actually spotted Salar earlier, but she hadn't paid him much attention then. All her focus had been on figuring out how to escape, so she'd only given him a cursory glance. Now, up close, she instantly felt her heart utterly captivated. If it weren't for the fact that they were in the middle of a fight, she might very well have dropped her weapon, held out a bouquet of flowers, and confessed right then and there.
She wasn't normally that sort of unreserved woman, but for some reason, the moment she laid eyes on Salar, every ounce of resistance simply evaporated.
"Look at her. The moves and strikes she's using on Salar—all soft and feeble, not a shred of power. Nothing like how she came at you just now."
Yuristine, spectating from the side, remarked to Jora.
"That's a question worth pondering. A handsome face pays off no matter where you are."
Shirakawa chimed in beside Jora, teasing him by implying he wasn't good-looking.
Meanwhile, the girl's father, who was locked in combat with Kurokam, was only of middling strength. It seemed he was a bit stronger than Jora and the others, but not by much—he was no match for Kurokam at all.
Shirakawa came to a realization: during the fight, neither the man nor his daughter gave off even a trace of presence. It was as if they were born assassins. In terms of pure stealth killing, no one on this ship except Kurokam could compare with this father-daughter duo.
Salar, too, sensed the girl's powerless attacks and simply played along with her, his own strikes losing their earlier sharpness.
But from her father's perspective, it looked completely different. He felt like Salar was taking liberties with his daughter, which enraged him. His strength flared up a notch. Using his massive axe, he knocked Kurokam aside with a single swing, then spun around and brought the axe cleaving straight down toward Salar.
Shirakawa and the others were just about to warn Salar to watch his back when someone else beat them to it.
"Stop, Father!" Sure enough, it was the very same female thief fighting Salar who shouted. She had naturally noticed her father charging at them.
Hearing his daughter's command, the father forcibly halted his advance mid-step and stared at his daughter in bafflement, thinking, Why won't you let me cleave that brat who's trying to take advantage of you?
"Alright, let's put an end to this fight here."
The girl had already lost the will to continue, so Shirakawa decided to step in and close out this farce. He had taken quite a liking to the father-daughter pair, and he resolved to invite them aboard his ship.
"I've seen what you're capable of. I think you both know by now that you're not our match. If this keeps up, the only outcome is death. So how about this—if you agree to one thing, I'll let you go. What do you say?"
"Say it," the father replied. Slow on the uptake he might be, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that even if he used every trump card he had, there was no way he could break through this encirclement and get away cleanly with his daughter.
"Join us. Become members of our crew. In return, anything on our ship that doesn't already have an owner, you're free to take whatever you like."
"Sure." "No way."
Two completely opposite answers rang out at the exact same time. The first came from the daughter. The second, naturally, from the father.
"I said yes, so it's yes!" the daughter shouted at her father.
"I said no, so it's no!" The father clung just as stubbornly to his stance. Had it been anything else, he might have agreed, but becoming pirates was absolutely out of the question. Piracy was far too dangerous, and he had to be responsible for his daughter's safety.
"Salar, your turn." Seeing the father and daughter locked in an unending quarrel, Shirakawa gave Salar the cue. As long as Salar stepped up his "attacks" on the daughter, it was bound to strengthen her resolve.
"...Fine." Salar sounded a little helpless. He was originally just the ship's cook doubling as a combatant; now, apparently, he had to moonlight as a male host.
"My lady, I still don't know your name."
Salar's aristocratic act was flawless. If not for knowing his upbringing, Shirakawa and the others might have genuinely believed he'd grown up in a noble estate.
"Ah... my name is Adara." The girl let out a small startled cry, as if she hadn't expected Salar to speak to her, and then shyly murmured her name.
"Adara. Truly a beautiful, enchanting name." Salar flashed his signature smile.
That smile instantly sent Adara swooning all over again.
"Thank you for the compliment." She was overjoyed to hear Salar praise her name.
Her father, meanwhile, was utterly stunned. He had never seen his daughter act so ladylike before. If Adara hadn't been within his line of sight the entire time, he'd have seriously suspected someone had replaced her.
"So, have you considered our captain's proposal? He's taken quite a liking to you both."
"Of course! I've already decided to join you—and to stay by your side forever."
"Absolutely not!" Adara's father shot down her declaration the instant she finished speaking. The courage Adara had painstakingly mustered to say those words evaporated completely the moment her father barked.
"Listen here, boy. Don't you even think about setting your sights on my daughter."
The father shielded his daughter behind him, his face full of wariness as he glared at Salar.
"Alright, alright." Salar struck a helpless pose and retreated behind Shirakawa, leaving the rest to Adara herself.
"As expected, Salar's charm really is something else." Watching the unending father-daughter standoff, Riddle once again sighed in admiration of Salar's looks. If he had a face like that, why would he even bother going out to sea as a pirate—risking his life and putting up with all this hardship? He'd have probably landed himself a wealthy patroness ages ago and spent the rest of his days without a care in the world.
"You tell me—why won't you let me be a pirate?" Adara demanded.
"Being a pirate is dangerous."
"And being a thief isn't dangerous?" In some ways, being a thief was even more dangerous than being a pirate.
"But you have me protecting you."
"Then if I became a pirate, couldn't you still protect me just the same?"
"That... you'll have to ask your mother. If your mother agrees, then I'll agree."
Hearing these exchanges, Shirakawa and the others finally understood. This father was a total henpecked husband. His refusal to become a pirate had nothing to do with any prejudice against pirates—he was simply terrified his wife would disapprove. Shirakawa had initially thought the man harbored some deep grudge against pirates; now it was clear they'd been overthinking it.
"Fine! We'll go ask Mother, then. She'll definitely agree to us becoming pirates." Adara declared with total confidence.
"In that case, we'll come with you," Shirakawa said.
"Great!" Adara couldn't ask for anything better than being able to stay with Salar. Her father didn't raise any objections either, since it worked out well—taking their own little boat back would be slow anyway. It was entirely possible the man still had no idea that his boat had already been destroyed, with only a few scraps of debris left floating on the sea.
Today's my birthday, so to share the joy with everyone, I'll be updating several more chapters today.
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