Entering the room, the girl stood behind the Captain and looked at Bill with curiosity.
Bill guessed she was about eight years old, but he was never good at determining the age of children.
Deciding to break the silence, he looked at her and said, "Sorry to scare you, miss. I think I had a nightmare."
Upon hearing that, the girl quickly and sharply responded, "I wasn't scared! I'm going to become a Marine when I grow up! And Marines aren't afraid!"
Then, after a slight stutter, she concluded, "A... and Marines shouldn't be having nightmares! You need to work on that!"
As the Captain began to chide his daughter, Bill laughed and said, "Alright, I'll try to work on that!"
Afterward, Bill became more open with Ryudo, and the three of them talked for a while until footsteps were heard outside.
Captain Ryudo must have heard them too because he quickly excused himself and left. Yoko remained in the room alone with Bill.
After her father left, she sat in the chair he had been sitting in and continued to speak, "I heard you beat up a bunch of pirates!"
Bill answered diligently, and the girl continued to chatter, as little children do.
Unfortunately for her, Ryudo soon returned, followed by Captain Hina, Marron, Jerry, and the ship's surgeon.
Marron instantly rushed to hug him, Jerry stood nearby, and the girl's father led her out of the room.
Protesting as she was ushered out, Bill waved a hand and promised the girl they would talk later.
Then, left in the room with only five people, Bill stood up by order of Jerry and the surgeon. Doing as he was told, Bill didn't immediately notice, but he felt fantastic. Not just fantastic, he realized he felt better than he had ever before.
Standing there, surrounded by his companions, the captain asked Bill to tell her about the previous day's events. He recounted everything that had happened and how the last thing he remembered was moving into the woods after being injured.
Hearing this, Hina ordered Jerry and Marron to leave the room, then instructed Bill to remove the robe he was wearing. Although this seemed strange, Bill didn't think much of it and complied with the order. While the surgeon conducted a routine exam, the two officers watched him with questions in their eyes.
Bill: "What?"
Following this, he placed a hand on his chest and...
"Hmm...?"
Looking at the spot where there used to be a half-dollar-sized hole, he saw only smooth, flawless skin.
"Wait... no... everything's right... "Why would there be a wound?"
Stopping mid-sentence, Bill didn't notice how his perception had shifted. Yes, he had been shot. Yes, the bullet had penetrated deeply into his chest. No, that didn't mean he had to have a wound.
It just... made sense?
Seeing his confusion, Captain Hina dismissed the surgeon and instructed Bill to rest while food was being prepared.
Left alone in the room, Bill approached the dresser where scissors lay, undoubtedly used to cut his bloodied clothes the day before.
Taking the scissors in his right hand, he sliced his left palm from the index finger to the wrist.
As expected, he thought.
There was no cut.
He didn't lose a drop of blood.
Whatever emerged just gathered like jelly before he willed it back into his body, absorbing through the skin.
This effect did not cause him fear or panic.
Bill knew he controlled his body, and that was fine.
His body obeyed his will. He would bleed only when he wanted to.
Standing by the bed for a moment, Bill dressed in the uniform Marron had brought and decided to leave the room.
He concluded that although he wanted to eat, he felt too good to continue resting. Moreover, he wanted to see the situation on the island.
Of course, Captain Hina must have already restrained the pirates, but their crew barely numbered sixty combatants, and it was hard to imagine how they could hold two hundred pirates unless Captain Hina planned never to sleep.
Leaving the room with this thought, the first thing Bill discovered was that the house he was in was very simple.
It wasn't small, but its style resembled an 18th-century manor. Candelabras hung on the walls, there was a fireplace, wooden furniture, and he didn't find a single bathroom.
One of the things Bill could never get used to was the technological inconsistencies he encountered in this world.
Looking around the house, he thought it looked splendid but could be in a museum on Earth.
It was hard to grasp that the same culture capable of creating cyborgs and lasers also made most of its population live with the technologies of the age of sail.
It didn't take long to inspect the house and step outside.
The house had a beautiful porch, but it didn't wrap around all sides. From the doorway, Bill could see the island's stunning natural harbor.
Squinting, he could make out four vessels, and the first thing he noticed was the bustling activity and terrible damage to Captain Hina's ship.
Even from this distance, the ship's damage was obvious. It seemed that while he was in the thick of things, he hadn't had the chance to assess just how severely the vessel had been affected.
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