I woke up to the sound of running water the next morning and I found myself alone on the bed.

It took me a few moments to remember where I was as I was initially confused why my bedroom looked different than I remembered.

I groaned and picked up my Codex, slipping it onto my wrist before activating the screen to show me the time.

The numbers zero, eight, three, four stared back at me and I wondered where did Lea and Amber go so early in the morning?

We barely even slept six hours and they're already up and about so early?

We don't even have anything planned and last I remembered, the checkout time for this place was late afternoon.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before I trudged over to the bathroom where the door was left ajar and the source of the running water noises came from within.

"Amber? Lea?" I called out, shuffling to the entrance of the room. "What are the two of you doing up so early?"

I reached the door and pushed it open, only to see Amber naked in the shower and washing herself.

She half turned away from me and covered her chest with her hands before letting out the most fake "Kyaaaa~" I've ever heard.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Ahhhh~ I'm going to be raped~ Tera's coming into the shower to pound me from behind while I'm all weak and vulnerable! I can't wait-- I mean… Oh noooo~"

I rolled my eyes before gesturing towards the rest of the bathroom, "I can't believe you actually wanted to take a shower here… This place is filthy… I think you'd need another shower the moment you stepped out of it and I don't even know whether the water is clean."

She giggled, "I'll take another one when we get back to your ship, Tera~ I just felt a little grimy so I'm washing it off. I'm not even washing my hair now."

Yeah I can see that… But I still wouldn't wash myself in such a rundown bathroom like this. I mean… Did you even see the state of the floor? It's just downright disgusting…

Look, I can even see blood stains here and there, including in the shower cubicle you're in right now, Amber. The water that's being drained is literally stained red with the blood being washed away from the wall and floor.

I'm definitely going to need her to do a thorough clean when we get back to the ship later.

"Where's Lea?" I asked, deciding to change the topic instead.

My lover went back to scrubbing herself, "Outside I believe. She got up earlier and said she needed some air."

"Mmm… I guess I'll wait for you outside then. Hopefully that guy isn't there anymore and we can get back inside our ship."

"Oh you don't need to worry about that."

I paused in getting out of the bathroom before turning back to her, "Eh? Why?"

"Hmm? Oh… Ah! I mean… For someone like him, there's no way he would be that persistent right? Surely he will be gone by now!"

I raised an eyebrow, "I dunno Amber… He seemed pretty persistent to me… Even Lea said that he's like this because he never got rejected before so he's being desperate for our attention or something."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Well… I guess we'll only know for sure when we get there."

I groaned, "What if he's still there?"

"Then we can always just find a better hotel somewhere and stay there until he leaves! Oh… Now that I think about it… That actually sounds like a better idea… Drat…"

I'm not sure why she suddenly sounds disappointed at the end but I guess her idea was not a bad one.

Besides, I still need to find someone with a Decoder or something that can read the data chip I received from Saulo before I can transfer it into my Codex and combine the files with the other two to see whether that revealed anything more.

I left the bathroom to find Lea and just as Amber had told me, the Alv was standing outside and leaning against the railing that looked out to the streets below outside our room.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked as I approached her.

Lea turned her head in my direction, "Oh, you're awake Captain. Awfully early too."

"I could say the same to you. What are both you and Amber doing up already? She's even using that disgusting shower."

"You saw her in the shower, Captain?"

"Yes? I mean… The sound of the water was actually what woke me up in the first place."

"Oh… And what are your thoughts?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Thoughts? About Amber showering there? I guess I'd preferred if she used my ship's shower instead? Though I guess that would not be possible if that idiot was still there. Why?"

"Ah… No, I thought… Hmm… I thought Captain might jump in and have sex with her in the shower."

I chuckled, "Is that why you came out here?"

"It might be."

I looked out to the streets below where a few Mercs were already setting off towards the hangar for their businesses, a few of them walking alone while others were clearly in the same crew.

"So you never told me what you were thinking about earlier," I reminded her.

"Hmm? Ah. I suppose I did not. I suppose I was simply evaluating my life so far."

"You mean as a slave?"

"Fufufu~ That's right, Captain."

"Are you perhaps having second thoughts about what we discussed yesterday?"

She shook her head, "That's not it, Captain. It's because of that that I'm thinking about how I should earn my worth as your slave. Because after spending a night thinking about it, I realised that it was impossible for me to do so."

I blinked, "Eh? What do you mean by that? You're working as my crewmate and you just followed us on that escort job right? We ended up getting thirty thousand Credits each for that one job didn't we? You basically already earned thirty thousand Credits from that. I mean… Sure, that's not a lot compared to the six million but it's still something?"

She chuckled, "Yes, but when I factor in the food that Captain is feeding me… I don't really know what price to put on it. What I have eaten so far would definitely be worth more than the thirty thousand Credits the hustle had earned me so I would actually fall further into debt."

I waved my hand at her, "Oh please, you're overselling it. I'm literally just mixing together cheap synthfood so they aren't even worth that much in the first place. Besides, making sure my crew members are well fed and in perfect form is something that is expected of me as the Captain isn't it? I don't think the crew members need to have their salaries cut for the food they eat."

Lea opened her mouth to say something but an arm wrapped around my shoulder at that precise moment.

"Ohhhh~ What are you two doing out here? Having a secret meeting without me?"

I turned back to see Amber grinning at me dressed in nothing but a bath towel wrapped around her torso.

I scowled at her, "Why aren't you dressed properly?"

"I came out and saw that you weren't in the room so I got worried~"

"I told you I was waiting for you outside, didn't I?"

"Oh, I thought you meant outside the bathroom, not outside our actual room."

I shooed her back inside, "Well go back and change before others see you and think you're an exhibitionist."

"Awww~ Are you worried that someone else might take an interest in me?"

Oh, no you don't.

I leaned in and reached my hand behind her to grab her by the back of her neck to pull her close to me.

"Yes. You are mine. Remember that."

Without waiting for her to respond, I leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

I felt her shudder in my embrace and held her there for a few more moments before releasing her.

She tried to chase after me with her lips but I held her back and looked her in the eyes.

"Go and dress yourself."

"Oh Gods, you make me so hot, Tera~" She moaned before quickly disappearing inside the room to do as I ordered.

I sighed and leaned against the railing before realising Lea was giving me a knowing smile.

"What?" I asked.

"I just find the dynamics between the two of you interesting, Captain. I don't believe I told Captain what happened to the pirate and the Alv who got together, didn't I?"

"You said the pirate ended up being enslaved to the Alv right?"

"Yes, but that's not the end. It turns out the pirate was a massive masochist and the Alv awoke his sadistic side because of it. Sometimes when people pass by their room, they can hear their moans through the doors and I will say that our doors are quite thick."

Her smile got a little wider and I wondered why she told me about that.

Oh well… I just hope that blonde guy isn't at my ship anymore.