"Hey, girls, want some fish soup?" Captain Jack poked his head into the cabin, cocking the pipe in his mouth. "A lucky fellow just caught a big tailless trout."

"Thank you," Tilly Wimbledon nodded. "We'll be right there."

"Fish soup again," Ashes sighed after the captain left. "What's so good about this bland, fishy stuff?"

"You can add more salt to your bowl," Breeze chuckled. "Pepper too, but that's expensive. I doubt Mr. Jack would give you any."

"Nothing at all, the broth cooked like that is closer to the original flavor, and it also tests the quality of the food itself," Andrea elegantly smoothed her light golden hair. "Tilly, let's go to the captain's cabin."

"Anything hot is fine," the shortest, Sylvie, muttered. "My toes are freezing."

The group went up the stairs from the bottom of the Pretty Lady to the sterncastle. Jack One-Eye was standing by the porthole, watching the white trails rolling and spreading behind the ship.

"This damn weather, how did it suddenly get so cold?" He exhaled a smoke ring. "Three Gods above, it's only mid-autumn."

"Maybe the gods are asleep?" Ashes shrugged.

"Pah, pah, you can't say things like that at sea," Captain Jack grinned. "The Sea God is always watching us." He made a sign of blessing on his chest. "Forget it, let's not think about it, let's have some fish soup to warm our stomachs first."

In order to enjoy warm food in the captain's cabin, he didn't hesitate to open a large hole in the floor, placing a brazier in the center of the hole, filled with sea sand around it to insulate it and prevent the entire ship from catching fire.

A large pot of fish soup was bubbling and simmering on the brazier, making gurgling sounds, and the aroma filled the entire room.

The six of them took off their shoes and sat around the brazier, burying their feet in the warm sand, allowing their cold toes to fully contact the sand and enjoy the warmth brought by the charcoal fire.

Tilly took the fish soup handed over by the captain and gently blew on the steaming soup – unlike the milky white thick soup made from blacktail fish, this bowl of soup was a deep yellow, with oil floating on the surface, reflecting a crystal-clear luster.

Seeing the occasional green and white specks floating in the soup, she knew that the old captain had taken out all his hidden goods – sea voyages often lasted for months, making it difficult for the crew to eat fresh vegetables and fruits. These tender green onions were obviously specially preserved by him with ice nitrate. The aroma of the green onions neutralized the fishy smell of the fish, and with the blend of ginger slices and a little ale, all that remained was a rich and mellow freshness.

Tilly slowly drank the fish soup. Whenever it was about to burn her tongue, she paused for a moment and took a few breaths. With each small sip, she could clearly feel that the soup she drank was like a warm current, flowing down her throat and into her stomach, making her stomach warm.

The cold quickly faded, and she even felt her body slightly warm.

"Try adding some chili," Jack pointed to the earthenware pot containing seasonings beside the brazier. "The taste will be even more special, and it's especially good for dispelling cold. It's more effective than wine."

"Although the original flavor is the essence of food, I have to say that these ingredients are added just right, and the taste is not bad at all," Andrea praised.

"Aren't you drinking?" Tilly looked at Ashes.

The latter waved his hand, "Forget it, I really can't accept the fishy smell of sea fish."

At first, Tilly couldn't accept the fjord people's love of eating fish – any restaurant had a variety of fish, not to mention the conventional roasting, boiling, and frying, but also strange practices such as fish jelly, fish sauce, and caviar… However, after forcing herself to eat it a few times at formal banquets, she found that the taste was actually not bad. Once she became familiar with the fishy smell, it could further bring out the freshness of the food itself. Like dried fish, grilled squid, and even oily fried stinky fish, which had a pungent smell, she could now slowly try them.

"Our Ashes, Miss, has been spoiled by the barbaric cooking methods of Border Town," Andrea covered her mouth and said, "It's a pity that indulging in spices and refined salt has not only made her lose the ability to distinguish delicious food, but now it seems that she has little courage left."

"What did you say?" Ashes glared at the other party.

"What, isn't it like this?" Andrea let out a series of laughter. "Just a little bit of fishy smell makes you flinch, as willful as a little girl, how can you expect you to stand up when Tilly needs you?"

"I see… it seems you really want to provoke me to fight you," Ashes's tone suddenly calmed down. "Give up, Border Town has a terrible weapon, much more powerful than your arrows. Even so, I still won the victory in the competition. So if you want to take Tilly's position as a personal guard from me, you still need to practice for a few more years…" She paused, "Maybe you have to practice for a lifetime."

"You—"

Ashes curled up the corners of her mouth, "In addition, His Royal Highness Roland's invention of delicacies is not just a superposition of spices and refined salt, you will understand when you taste it. But remember not to drip the overflowing saliva on your clothes, Tilly can't afford to lose face."

"Nonsense, that's you!"

Tilly couldn't help but laugh. These two are the top witches in combat power on Sleeping Island, and they often fight fiercely over who is the strongest, but she knows that both Ashes and Andrea are her best subordinates. When danger comes, they will definitely fight side by side without hesitation and build an indestructible wall on Sleeping Island.

The two's argument made the atmosphere in the room lively. Seeing this scene, Tilly couldn't help but think of the five witches sent to Border Town. I wonder if they are doing well in her brother's territory?

At this moment, the Pretty Lady suddenly shook violently without warning.

"Be careful!" Ashes pulled away the Fifth Princess. The iron pot on the brazier was overturned to the ground, the soup extinguished the charcoal fire, and the fish meat fell all over the place.

Then a sharp whistle sounded outside the cabin.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

A sailor rushed into the captain's cabin and shouted in horror, "Captain, mutant sea demons are here! More than one!"

Sea demons… isn't that another name for evil beasts? Tilly was stunned. How did they get to this place?

The group ran out of the sterncastle and saw a dozen or so fish-bodied, crab-legged monsters on the deck, and some were climbing onto the Pretty Lady from both sides of the ship. They moved quickly, and their six legs plowed like a giant cockroach; the humanoid arms waving on both sides of their heads were incredibly strong, and could twist the necks of sailors.

"Since you don't want to fight, then let's have a competition," Andrea snapped her fingers, and a golden light emerged from her fingers, turning into a bow shape, and she held it firmly in her hand. "Whoever kills more monsters is the most powerful."

"Whatever," Ashes drew the uniquely shaped giant sword from behind. "I'm going."