*CRASH*

"Pasta!"

"No Alice, that wasn't me. It sounds like thunder."

"But can't Master…"

"That was something like a magic trick. This sounded like the real deal though. Come on, let's get dressed and check it out."

Another strike of lightning illuminates the room for a moment. Thick streaks of rain silhouette the glass pane of the window.

I reach the stairway to the deck after the fourth loud crack of thunder. The others were there as well. Rou looked at the clouds with concerned eyes while the rest of the crew lightly yawned while peeking out the doorway.

"Ok. Shielding is up." Triff says stepping up the stairs behind us. "Now the storm won't be an issue."

Sure enough, the heavy rain that once poured from the door frame instead began pummeling a thin invisible skin wrapping the exterior of the boat. Even the heavy wind that once ripped across the deck now slid past the teardrop shaped shield.

Mirna, once the deck was safe, ran out towards the command deck to check on Yi, Bu, and La. They had taken shelter under their birdhouses, so they seem fine.

Although technically in my menu the small wooden houses were labeled as [Dog house], I feel like mentioning that around them is a bad idea though.

Mirna lightly pats the birds who nuzzle their long beaks against her extended hand.

This is the first time we have ran into a storm this strong. A small drizzle is one thing, but would this kind of weather cause us problems?

"Rou, report?"

"Well I don't know what to tell you, seems like our luck finally ran out. We should be able to weather something like this though. We should just continue as we are, try and get through as fast as possible."

What happened to Aquarou's protection?

"I see. Triff any issue with increasing speed? The faster we can cut through this thing the better I suppose. "

"Yes, there is an issue. With the magical output needed to project the barrier our output is already maxed." The dwarf wipes her brow with an exhausted sigh. It seems she has been working on the very issue. "However maintaining the current speed will be no issue. I agree with Rou."

*Crack*

"Ngyuh!" A tiny voice squeaks leaping a couple feet at the sudden sound of nearby lightning.

"Don't like storms Coya?" I ask the jumpy rabbit with drooping ears.

"No. And I've never been on a boat before either, so this is…" Coya says again leaping from the crack of thunder.

"Have you always lived in Yellow Sands?"

"Mhm, it doesn't rain much there. And it's nice and hot."

"Not a fan of rain?"

"No. Makes my ears heavy." She says shaking her head roughly ridding her ears of invisible rain. "But a rain barrier on a ship… That's something else."

"Well, we have to protect the tree after all." El pipes in after assuring that the Love sprout was still healthy.

It's barely a sprout anymore though. It's more of a stick with a few leaves erupting from a pot. We may even need to transplant it soon.

"Master, are we really going to just sail through the storm?"

"Mhm. Why not?"

"Isn't it dangerous?" Alice asks cringing at a flash of lightning beside Coya.

"Triff can this barrier withstand lightning?"

"It should." She shrugs. "Try it and see. We have spare cores."

"That's true. Alright."

A few of the girls give me odd looks while I find the sword I fought Aqua with.

[Aquarou's Blade] drops onto my palm and I grip it in my right hand. I raise it up to the sky as the girls look at me with widening eyes.

*Crack*

A bright flash blinds the deck emitting a rainbow of colors.

"Woah!" Triff says giggling to herself. "Cool."

"Seems like it should be fine Alice," I say returning the blade to storage.

"How did you do that?!" Coya asks running up to me and gripping the arm that held the blade moments ago.

"Do what? The storage? Or the lightning?"

"Both. No, all three."

"Hmm?"

"How do you constantly smell like a peppery baby!?"

"That's…"

That feels like an insult. But I have a theory, no better time than the present I suppose.

"Coya." I begin, speaking over the pitter patter of rain on the barrier. "Do you want to become stronger?"

"Not particularly."

"Do you want to become renowned?"

"Eh, that kind of attention isn't really my kind of thing." She says hesitantly brushing her fingers through her ears.

"Do you want to become rich?"

"Only so much that I can survive. But I have reached that already."

Then I can see only one other reason she would show up in gray on my [Harem] menu.

"Do you love me?"

"Your's is a smell I want to breathe for the rest of my life."

The girls around who were listening-in gasp at the line.

I actually understood that reference.

This is a line from a famous book here, a taboo love story between an elf and a human. It ends tragically but it's a good story. I am glad I have read some of the literature of this world. Pop culture references exist here too after all.

"No fair, I wanted to say that line. It definitely fits my character better." El says stamping her feet and growling at Coya.

"I was worried you had already," Coya says emitting a grin at the good news.

"But it's an elf in the story! So surely it should be…"

"No, no, no. It's definitely a rabbit-kin. I have the book, would you like to see?"

"That is utter lies. I too have the book. Shall we compare?"

"Gladly!"

I think we got distracted from the point of the conversation. But I don't mind, I am not entirely sure how this will go over. It's always a hard topic to broach.

Typically I had some kind of assistance.

El and Coya had raced off to search their possessions so I figured it was a fine excuse to drop the conversation for now.

"Are you going to tell Coya?" Clove asked in a half whisper towards me.

"Yeah, probably. I think she could be helpful. Not to mention I think she's a dangerous opponent. Seems like she can smell demons if others catch wind of the ability we would be in trouble."

"But do you think you can trust her?"

"I'm curious about that actually. I think being honest from the start will help build a bit of trust." Not to mention the fact that she is in my [Harem] menu seems to indicate she is trustworthy. I tend to doubt my menu would lead me astray. "What kind of person was she as an adventurer?"

"She was a part of my camp. From what I heard she lead her party well. I believe she helped clear the most recent level clearing. If I remember right she was in the vanguard."

"So she is strong?"

"Fast, and capable of detecting enemies before others, even faster than those of her own kind."

Coya, opening the door with her copy of 'Tabo', smirks lightly.

Had she heard all of that? How did I forget those ears? Although it would make things easier.

"If you are so curious about me you can ask me yourself, you don't have to rely on the princess' rumors."

"My apologies. I was indeed curious."

"Well, it's only natural for young lovers to be curious about each other," Coya says fluttering her lashes at me.

"You are not lovers yet!" Rou says stamping a foot and eying Coya carefully.

"Mhm sister is right." Aqua agrees with a nod. "But you have to wait your turn. Tonight is still Alice's turn and tomorrow it's me and Rou."

"Ah. That's right. Master, we are wasting my turn. Let's hurry back, they have this storm under control." Alice says grabbing at my shirt and tugging.

Almost as if hearing her words a heavy wave crashes into our boat knocking Mirna and Alice over. I feel like sleeping, or what we were doing a half hour ago, would be difficult with these conditions.

The boat again strikes the water heavily. The more trained of the crew jump at the appropriate time but the rest tumble like bowling pins.

Will this shield keep people in as well as keeping water out? I sure hope so.

"Let's go to the galley for now. We will have an early breakfast. Unfortunately, Alice, I think bedtime is over."

"Muhhh, you are indeed right Master." She says rubbing a fresh bruise from her earlier fall. "Although this motion could make things even more interesting."

I was somehow able to convince Alice otherwise. Slowly the group that had assembled on the deck to watch the storm meandered back to the interior. Triff said the Excalibur's magic tool could handle the storm so let's leave it to it.

Let's try something a bit different for breakfast. I have plenty of time. Hell, it doesn't even seem like the sun has risen yet, not that I could tell with how dark the clouds are.

A crack of lightning startles a few of the seated crew, the others, however, are more invested in the egg I just cracked.

"Whatcha making Captain?" Mirna asks stepping onto a stool to get a better look at the pot of water spinning on the stovetop.

"This is a technique to poach eggs," I say indicating to the egg spinning in the center of the pot of boiling water. "It's vitally necessary for making the most delicious breakfast of all time."

"Oh?"

"Eggs Benedict."

"Who's Benedict?"

"Egg's," I say with a smirk. "Joking aside, the rumor is he was a stockbroker who wanted a hangover cure. He ordered a random list of foods and the concoction was so good the maitre d' named it after him."

"What's a stalkbroker?"

"No, what's a maytra dee?"

"Hmm… Well, that's…"

"It should be called the Eggs Cole. Why name it after someone who doesn't even exist?"

"Ah. I suppose that is true. Oh damn it, I got distracted. This egg is a bust. Let's try again." I scoop the egg out and drop it onto a nearby plate. Sure enough, the yolk is far too cooked. A bit of runniness but not nearly enough to call it a properly poached egg.

"What's wrong with it? Looks good."

"Good? That looks raw in the middle that's gross."

"What, gross? It should be much gooier than that. Ideally, it will be almost entirely liquid." I say dropping another egg into the spinning pot of water.

I pay close attention this time, tuning out all distraction. Yes, I even ignored the bickering over proper gooeyness of cookies, despite the fact that I have a very solid stance on the matter. It seems Coya surprisingly had an opinion on the cookie debate as well. She shared my opinion. Perhaps there is something we can bond over.

"Muy Bueno," I say dropping the egg onto a nearby, pre-hammed, English muffin.

I suppose it's not called an English muffin here either. Would it be a Marrish muffin? Calistorian muffin?

I drop the mental conversation and carefully spoon hollandaise sauce over the bald Benedict.

"Perfecto."

"Captain is speaking in tongues?"

"I suppose it's not too bizarre thinking about it."

"Ah, lo siento, hablando español." I say smirking to the girls and using the utmost of my 'Spanish 2'. "It's a language from where I'm from, sorry. But enough about that, Mirna try a bite."

"What's the yellow stuff?" She asks poking it with a fork.

"It's made with butter and eggs."

"It's…"

"Good right?"

"Amazing. Lemme try, lemme try." Mirna says jumping back onto her stool and beginning to assemble one of her own.

The rest of my audience, Aqua, Alice, and Clove, each take a small forkful from the open faced sandwich before emitting similar reactions to Mirnas. Except without the desire to experiment with the recipe.

Within fifteen minutes the rest of the group is making similar comments. Coya's reaction was particularly good.

I can now confirm easter. Rabbits do in fact love eggs.

But really Mirna is an impeccable chef. This is a dozen times better than the rendition I presented moments ago. The sauce is smooth and silky, a complete change from my broken sauce.

"With a bit of sour fruit juice, it works better," Mirna says with a smirk at my reaction to the sauce. "Good right?"

"Mhm. Mirna, you definitely will make a good wife."

"Wah!" She says nearly falling back in her chair. "You mean it?"

"Of course. You are an expert chef. I couldn't ask for a better…" I begin before realizing my words, and the fact that my other 'wives' were watching the conversation. "Ahem. Well yeah, you definitely will."

"Captain, what were you about to say?"

"Mhm, I'm curious too. Please continue what you were saying."

"No, no. It was really nothing."

I must avoid playing favorites. That seems like a logical decision.

"It smells like we are nearly passed through the storm," Coya says perking up her nose and twisting her ears in the air. "No thunder for awhile."

Oh, I had nearly forgotten the storm. No wonder I feel so tired. Have I even slept?