Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 8
Three people—accurately speaking, two humans and one AI—were walking on the way to the cafeteria. Leonard was leading the way, introducing things as they walked. “This path leads to the maintenance bay.” “The branch to the right goes to the repair bay.” “Don’t take this corridor because the toilets are broken.” “If you get lost, the best solution is to shout ‘Leo, save me’ at the ceiling, and I’ll light up some guiding markers for you. Don’t be embarrassed; except for the captain and the dog, everyone calls for help once or twice a day.”
Alois was following behind, obviously distracted, pretending to look around curiously while actually sneaking glances at Joshua from the corner of his eye. The assassin, however, listened attentively, occasionally asking questions about the Lady of the Night, looking every bit like someone who had joined the crew and cared about his new organization. Sometimes, he would suddenly stop talking and glance at Alois, who would immediately avert his gaze, staring at the floor and pretending he hadn’t been caught looking at Joshua.
Leo got more animated with his introduction and started gesturing wildly, moving a bit ahead of the other two. Joshua suddenly leaned close to Alois’s ear and asked, “Why do you keep looking at me?”
“You’re good-looking…” Alois blurted out, then froze, wishing he could go back in time to sew his mouth shut. “Who… who’s looking at you?!”
The assassin lowered his voice. “You should see my house on Olympus. There’s a whole cabinet of eyes preserved in formaldehyde…” He paused, seeming to relish Alois’s shocked expression. “From those who kept staring at me.”
“You’re… you’re joking, right?” Alois was really worried he might wake up tomorrow with only two empty eye sockets left.
Joshua shrugged. “You actually believed it.”
Alois began to regret not striking first back on Hecate and getting rid of this troublesome assassin!
Passing through a gate, he realized that since Joshua was joking with him, it might mean he was no longer angry with him.
The cafeteria on the Lady of the Night was slightly smaller than the one in Hecate prison because there were fewer crew members than prisoners, but the environment was much better. The most notable difference was that the one serving food wasn’t a robot that would yell at you but a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes. When Alois, holding his tray, walked up to her, she smiled sweetly and gave him a big spoonful of beef. Alois was too touched to speak. Then, the girl picked a piece of meat from his tray and threw it to the ground, still smiling sweetly. Alois clearly saw Pavlov standing by her feet, wagging his tail, and eating the beef that originally belonged to him.
“The captain doesn’t allow us to feed it from our meals, saying the dog would get fat. But…” The girl looked a bit embarrassed, “Consider it charity.” Then she added a grilled fish to his tray. “For your cat.” She winked.
Alois winked back in acknowledgment. He finally understood why Pavlov had gained so much weight after Joanna’s few weeks’ absence.
He found a less crowded corner to sit down, and Joshua, carrying his tray, came over and sat across from him.
“I love this place,” the assassin said. “Finally, no one’s forcing me to eat onions and broccoli.” He took a bite of the pork chop on his plate. “God, I’d be willing to work here for life!”
“Glad to hear that,” the red-haired female captain said, walking over gracefully with a tray in one hand and a dog leash in the other. She sat beside Alois and tied the dog to the leg of the bench. Pavlov glanced longingly at the delicious meat on the table, then lay down and pretended not to see anything.
A group of young crew members, chatting and laughing, sat around Joanna. “Captain, that’s animal abuse!” a freckled young man laughed.
“I’m doing it for his health. If you keep feeding him like this, Pavlov will become a fat dog one day.” Joanna stopped Joshua with a glance from giving extra meat to the dog. “Do it again, and you’ll only get broccoli to eat!” Joshua quickly stuffed the meat intended for the dog into his own mouth.
“Captain, you’re so mean.” The freckled young man said, “We used to eat Pavlov’s dog food, and he didn’t mind. Now we should make it up to him.”
Alois was curious. “Why did you eat dog food?”
“Ah… well.” The freckled young man had a nostalgic expression. “We were escaping from the Federal army. The ship got hit, and the food storage was destroyed. The only food left was the dog food in the captain’s room. We survived on it for a week.”
…What a tragic memory to be nostalgic about! And for it to feed the whole crew for a week… Joanna, how much dog food did you store? You’re the one feeding the dog the most, aren’t you!
The female pirate seemed to realize this as well and awkwardly changed the topic. “Speaking of which, since we have new members, let’s prepare a welcome party in a couple of days.”
The crew nodded in agreement, ignoring the dog food issue as per the captain’s intention.
A young girl said, “I never thought the Mourner would join us.” She turned to Alois. “Are you related to the Mourner? Are you brothers?”
“No,” Joshua denied.
The girl tilted her head in confusion. “So he is…”
Joshua continued, “His name is Alois Lagrange, and he’s my kept man.”
His voice was soft, but everyone in the cafeteria heard it. Instantly, all conversations stopped. The clinking of cutlery ceased, and all eyes focused on Joshua and Alois.
In the silence, Alois, mortified, threw down his fork and stood up. “Who’s a kept man?!”
“I thought someone who doesn’t work but has food and drink was a ‘kept man’. Does the meaning change in different regions?”
“By your definition, Schrödinger is also a kept man!” …Wait, no, Schrödinger should be a “kept cat*”.
*Clarity: There’s a pun here. The term “kept man/gigolo/boy toy” is little white face (小白脸). Alois changed the term to little black face (小黑脸) since Schrödinger is a black cat.
Joshua smirked. “Can you be the same as a cat?”
“Ahem…” Joanna intervened to smooth things over. “Mourner, that’s not right. If someone can support themselves, they’re not a kept man.” She gestured for Alois to sit down. “How about this, I’ll find you a job on the ship, and you’ll get a regular salary. Then you won’t be a kept… pfft.” She turned her head, covering her mouth, trying hard to stifle her laughter, but Alois clearly saw her eyes tearing up from laughing.
“No need, Captain,” Joshua said lazily, taking the opportunity to throw a piece of meat to Pavlov. “I can afford to keep him.”
“Who needs you to keep me!” Alois turned to Joanna, shaking her. “Captain! Please give me a job! I’ll do anything, really!”
“That’s right, Captain.” Leo suddenly appeared in the seat opposite Joanna. “I even gave him a communication terminal. And aren’t we short of a mechanic?”
The female pirate wiped her tears. “Is anyone fit to be a mechanic? I’d rather leave the position vacant than let an idiot bungle it.”
“Who’s bungling it?!” Alois stood up again. “I graduated from military school with all A+ grades!”
“School and the battlefield are different.” Joanna narrowed her eyes.
Leo instantly disappeared and then reappeared behind her. “Captain, let him try.”
Joanna pondered for a moment.
“Alright.” She stretched lazily. “Meet me at the combat simulation room at 2 PM today. One-on-one. If you can beat me, the mechanic’s position is yours. I won’t go all out.”
“Afraid of you?” Alois raised his chin slightly.
Joanna turned to Leo. “Where does his confidence come from?”
“Humans are so complicated. How could I understand!” Leo clutched his chest.
If the AI had a physical form, Alois would have already pounded him into the ground.
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