One good thing though, the dogs didn't mind being bathed. In fact, they seemed to really like it.

I got sprayed with water quite a number of times with how their tails were wagging while I was washing them too.

Amber was watching me bathe them which she thoroughly enjoyed since I had to be naked to do that, though I could tell that there was a bit of jealousy in there as well.

Come on, Amber… They're dogs. Also, they're girls too.

Still, Amber insisted I took another shower with her after that and I saw no reason to reject her.

After a round of sex inside the shower that led to us having one more round in bed, I left the room to check that we were still on course to our destination.

Entering the cockpit, I found a rather peculiar sight.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

Ries jumped at the sound of my voice and looked up from where she was seated on the ground with a bunch of stuff laid around her.

There were some mechanical parts and even weapon parts that I recognised belonged to the rifle the pirates were carrying. More specifically, the one that was broken by the beagle during the fight.

Ries relaxed when she realised it was just me, "Oh, hello Boss. Just doing some tinkering here. I thought you wouldn't want the broken parts the pirates left behind so I'm making use of them. Umm… You don't mind, right?"

I shook my head, "Oh, not at all, go ahead. I'm more curious about what you're tinkering though?"

She shifted her gaze back towards the parts on the ground, "Well… I didn't really have any plans in mind for this. I just like to keep my hands occupied when I'm not doing anything or I would feel restless."

Right, she did mention she likes to work with stuff.

Right now she's on duty keeping the ship on course which was why she's here in the first place. Otherwise, she would most likely be in the engine room instead and probably geeking out over the engines.

"So what do you need, Boss? I thought Lea would be after me according to the schedule we made?" She asked.

"Just coming in to check on our route. Make sure we're still on course, you know?"

She turned to look at the console, "I don't think we've strayed though? We're not near anything that might cause the ship to change course."

"Doesn't hurt to be sure. Sometimes other ships flying past us might cause the navigation computer to redirect our course unnecessarily."

I went over to the pilot seat and tapped on the console to bring up the map.

Thankfully, it looks like Ries is right and there was no need to change anything.

I shut off the map and turned back to Ries, the cat girl practically staring at the pilot console with bloodshot eyes.

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Do you wanna sit here instead?"

She gasped, "Oh no! I wouldn't dare!"

"Why not?"

"That… Because that would be disrespectful to you, Boss?"

"Err… Is it? I'm not very sure… Is that some kind of custom or something?"

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

She blinked at me before her eyes widened, "Oh! I forgot about the anomaly thing! Ermm… Yeah… Most ship captains would not like other people flying their ship unless they are close to them or trust them… It's pretty rude to sit on the captain's seat without their permission."

"Wait… But we're planning to have a big ship anyway, right? You would be the one piloting it if I wasn't, weren't you?"

"Eh? Umm… Boss gave me permission to do that, didn't you?"

"Oh… I guess I did. Huh… Interesting…"

She tilted her head at me, "Is that not the case for your universe as well?"

I scratched my chin with a finger, "Well… It's not exactly the case… I guess we're less particular about ships but we would be more particular about other things."

I mean… I kind of see the reasoning behind this.

Like I would definitely be quite offended if someone were to just go and sit in the driver's seat of my car without asking me for permission. But I guess since the ships I'm used to flying are all inside a game… I'm less particular about someone just sitting in it since they aren't actual, physical objects to me at that point.

Then again, I guess it might just be because I already trust Ries not to mess up since she sees this ship as something more important to her than her own life.

Also, we're currently in travel mode anyway and I wasn't going to let her drive the ship, I was just going to let her sit in the seat and nothing else.

Especially since it was supposedly the ship of her dreams so she would definitely have wanted to sit in the cockpit at least once in her life, right?

I shrugged at her, "It's fine, I don't mind you sitting in it if you want. As long as you don't mess with it of course. Besides, why else would you be in here to watch over it while we're on autopilot?"

"Eh? I thought it was just so that I could go and call you if needed?"

"What? No? That would be terribly inefficient. What if the ship was headed towards an asteroid and the autopilot wasn't altering the course? Would you still run and find me?"

"Umm… Boss didn't really give me permission to fly the ship on your behalf so… And I don't really think I am suitable for flying a Verlandi of all things…"

Hmm… The novelty of it will wear off eventually, I'm sure. But I guess she's still too starstruck by it to even consider it for now.

I decided to change the topic, "So what exactly are you working on with that broken gun? If you need parts, I can give some to you. Heck, you could take the guns in perfect condition too if you want."

She shook her head, "That's alright, Boss. I only needed some parts from it which I could salvage from the broken gun anyway. As for the answer to your question… I actually don't know yet."

I blinked at her, "You're… Gathering materials… To make something that you don't even know? Did someone else ask you to make this or something?"

Her tail swished idly behind her while she giggled, "Oh, that's not it Boss… I guess saying that I don't know is not exactly accurate. I do know what I'm making now is a spring loaded mechanism that you can use to push something. But I have not decided what exactly I'm making at the moment."

"And… How is that even possible?"

"Umm… I guess it would be easier if I just told you directly… I make stuff with what I find and sell them when I can. Sometimes they're just little trinkets that you can use to decorate your place. Sometimes they're improvised explosive devices that you can use to blow up something. It just all depends on what parts I find that I could use to bang them together."

…

…

I'm sorry, what? I didn't hear her incorrectly, did I? Did she really just go from making small decorative trinkets to literally saying that she made a bomb using scraps?!

I looked at her, "Are you able to make power armour with a bunch of scraps in a junkyard?"

"Well… I could… Depending on what type of junkyard it is I guess?"

"You've done it before?"

She nodded, "Yeah, for a school's science project actually. I could even say that was what got me to my valedictorian status."

I was only joking but she really did it huh?

I then nodded at the parts she was holding, "So… I'm guessing you just take things apart and assemble them together… Then depending on what you find, you'll adapt to whatever you have and make it?"

She nodded, "Pretty much."

"And that thing about making explosives… Isn't that illegal?"

"Oh, most definitely. That's why I sell them on the black market."

Ah right, I actually forgot that I pretty much found her in a black market in the first place so she's no stranger to those places anyway.

I thought about it for a while before turning to her, "That new ship we're getting… Would we have enough room for other stuff? Like… Having a workroom of some sort?"

She nodded, "Sure. The Broadsword was designed to be a long haul freighter so it could support itself while away from any station for long periods of time. While there's a few variations to its design models, most of them do come with a workshop that we could use. Wait… Are you… Is Boss saying that you would give me a dedicated workroom on your ship?"

"Isn't it obvious? Do you think I was going to just let you work off scraps on the floor? Especially if I was going to let you be a permanent member of my crew?"

She actually rushed up to hug me, "Wahhhh!! Thank you, thank you, Boss!! I won't let you down!! I promiseeeeee!!"

Oh wow, her ears are actually twitching… I so wanted to pat her right there…

Mnnngghh!! No, no… Control myself… I don't want to scare her away…

But she's soooo cute…

Guess I'll go pat the dogs after this…