Why do I keep attracting Villainesses?

Chapter 103: THIRD POV.

Even when the final load consisted of several heavy barrels of gunpowder, a large iron chest filled to the brim with silver coins, and various other valuable trading items, to him it felt undeniably light.

His physical strength in his human form was already far beyond a normal man’s, so moving a few hundred pounds of treasure was nothing more than a light workout.

He took a quiet moment to admire the contents of the cargo hold, looking at the neat rows of supplies and riches.

All of these were things he’d gotten from the three pirate ships over the last hour. There were sacks of exotic spices that had survived the fire, fine fabrics stolen from the original merchant ship, weapons that were still in good condition, and enough gold and silver to buy a very comfortable house on land, perhaps even a mansion.

"Honestly didn’t expect it all to fit in here," he commented to himself, shaking his head in mild surprise.

The First Hornet was a medium vessel, but whoever had built it had designed the lower storage area perfectly, making use of every single inch of space beneath the deck.

It was packed tight, but everything was secure and wouldn’t roll around when the ship started to tilt on the waves.

Once he was done admiring the sight and feeling a small sense of pride in his hard work, he stepped out of the room and closed the heavy wooden cargo hold door behind him, locking it tight with a thick iron latch.

He then turned around to walk down the narrow wooden hallway, ready to check on the survivors and see if they needed any food or clean water.

"Umm, can I help you with something?" Jacob blinked his eyes in surprise when he saw the young guy he’d saved standing at the very end of the corridor, staring at him the moment he shifted his focus from the door. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The hallway was dimly lit by a single lantern swinging from the ceiling, throwing long shadows against the wooden walls.

The young man was leaning against the side of the ship, his arms crossed over his chest.

The rough cloth Jacob had given him was wrapped tightly around his waist, showing a dark stain where his blood was finally starting to dry.

He didn’t look scared anymore; instead, his black eyes were fixed on Jacob with a strange, deep intensity that felt very heavy for someone his age.

The young man said nothing. He didn’t answer Jacob’s question, nor did he explain why he was lurking around the cargo area in the middle of the day.

He simply lowered his gaze, turned around on his heel, and walked off into the darkness of the cabin area without making a single sound.

"Strange fella...." Jacob frowned a bit and said, staring at the empty space where the guy had just been standing.

The dudes silent behavior and intense eyes were a bit off-putting, especially after everything they had just been through together in the water.

He stood there for a few seconds, the quiet creaking of the ship’s wood filling the silence around him.

He didn’t think much of it at first, dismissing it as him merely being cautious, maybe curious.

But for some reason, as he started walking down the hallway himself, he couldn’t help finding that lad incredibly familiar again.

"Must be my imagination..." he mumbled beneath his breath before walking down the corridor to rejoin the rest of the passengers.

He shook his head to clear the weird feeling, telling himself that he was just tired from all the swimming and heavy lifting.

There was no way he could know a random guy in the middle of the vast Blueberry Sea.

Jacob went upstairs afterwards. He left the quiet, dimly lit lower corridor of the ship behind and climbed up the wooden steps leading back toward the main deck and the captain’s private living quarters.

The fresh sea air hit his face as he reached the top, was quite refreshing after being down below.

He walked across the deck, his boots making a steady sound on the planks until he stood right in front of the heavy wooden door to the captain’s room.

He knocked on Priscilla’s door before walking in. He didn’t wait for a loud shout or a formal invitation, knowing her well enough by now to know she didn’t care much for fancy manners anyway.

"Looking good as ever, Captain," Jacob said, when he saw Priscilla in the process of drying her hair with a towel.

She was standing near the center of the room, her white hair and the soft fur on her ears still damp from her recent jump into the ocean.

The dark, terrifying blood that had completely covered her after the battle was entirely gone.

Her luscious fur was bright, clean, and white once again, looking as fluffy as a summer cloud.

He was incredibly glad she’d taken his suggestion to wash herself rather than scaring the little girl with her bloody look.

If she had walked into the lower cabins looking like a monster covered in red stains, the poor silver-haired child would have probably passed out from terror.

This clean appearance was much better for everyone’s sanity.

"And why are you here? Shouldn’t you be manning the wheel?" she said, curious.

She stopped rubbing her head for a second, letting the towel rest over her broad shoulders, and turned her large golden eyes toward him with a raised eyebrow.

"I’ve already set everything in motion," Jacob explained calmly, leaning his back against the sturdy wooden doorframe.

"The wind is steady, the sails are tied perfectly, and I’ve locked the steering wheel into a position that matches the route I gave to old man Dinklehimer. As long as the weather doesn’t suddenly turn into a storm, our ship will meet up with the warship before the sun goes down. You don’t have to worry about a thing."

He took a step into the room, his expression turning a bit more serious as he looked at her. "As for why I’m here, don’t tell me you had no intentions of questioning your guests."

Priscilla blinked, her ears twitching slightly. "Questioning them? Why would I do that? We saved them, we’re taking them to land, end of story."