Incertitude [Liseran/Jack]

"Hmm?"

Pipi tilted her head as Jack made a motion to go.

"Going already?" she asked. "That's a shame. And we were just enjoying breakfast. But I suppose you have people to go to. Thank you for spending time with me, though! I hope I didn't scare you with that tale. Hihi..."

The other woman glanced at him but said nothing. Pipi took a sip of her drink.

"I suppose I'll see you around then," Pipi said. She then turned to the other woman. "So, you offered drinks?"

Vivianne smiled.

"Do you have something you want in particular?"

Pipi gasped in excitement.

"Oh! A mint julep if they have it!" she said. "Don't you think that would be nice for a hot day such as this? The crushed mint, the iciness..."

Seemed like Pipi was going to go on a tangent again. Whatever the case, Jack was free to leave. Considering the time, Liseran and Remi would probably be done with breakfast by now.

If he did leave, then he'd find Liseran and Remi heading back towards their quarters. Remi seemed to be enjoying a glass with some fruit sherbet. Liseran, meanwhile, was holding a saucer with a shortcake on it.

"Oh, there you are!" Liseran said. "We went back to see if you had changed your mind about eating, but you weren't there."

She swallowed a piece of her cake.

"Have you been touring the ship?"

"Something like that," Jack stated wryly. "Did you girls enjoy breakfast?'

Remi bobbed her head.

"Mhm!" she said. "It's a shame you missed it. But we got you food, too!"

Remi raised a basket up with a bunch of cut sandwiches.

"Don't worry," she said. "It doesn't have any meat it in. Lise ate all of the ham."

Liseran's face flushed.

"H-heh!? N-no, I didn't!" she said. "That was you!"

She then looked to the side, pursing her lips.

"I just ate all the bacon..."

She huffed.

"Whatever the case, we're free to do what we want until dinner," she said. "Oh, that reminds me. There's an odd show that's going to be happening later. I guess it's part of the dinner and whatnot."

Lise pulled three vouchers from her pocket.

"It seems to be a magic show of sorts," she mentioned. "I personally don't like them, but they handed it out for free and there's not much to do on the ship aside from walk around in circles."

"There's also free prizes, right Lise?" Remi said excitedly.

Liseran scowled.

"More like free reasons to scam us more," she said. "They're like those people who were at the booth the other day. They claim to have magical artifacts, but they all seem like toys to me."

"Aww, don't be like that, Lise," Remi said. "Hey, Mister. Maybe we can try and win at something again!"

"Eh? No meat? Why'd you go out of the way to do that?" Jack asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Anyway, it's good you girls enjoyed yourself. Make sure to keep close moving forward, alright? So there's a show you'd like to catch?"

"Don't you not eat meat?" Liseran asked. "You didn't touch any of it during dinner and..."

She flushed.

"I'm sorry, I suppose I shouldn't have assumed," she said. "As for the show, it's just something to do. Remi seems quite eager, though, so I'll go along with it. I'd say though we should all stick together, however. Even on a ship like this, it's not wise to stay alone. We--"



"Darling, I can't believe you'd say that!"

"I'm only saying the truth! If it weren't for your pestering, I could have sealed that business deal like that!"

"Business, huh? From what I saw, the only 'business' you were interested in was that woman's chest!"

"Eh!? You're the one who was making eyes at the captain earlier!"

"Oh, REALLY!?"

The voices were escalating pretty much to shouting at this point. Just a little ahead of them, there was a couple bickering. One was a stout man with a bushy mustache and the other a tall woman dressed in a form-fitting white dress and a wide hat. It seemed to be a lover's quarrel. Liseran furrowed her brows.

"Wow, they sure are loud," Liseran said. "There's no way I'll get any reading done with that shouting."

"Maybe we can tell them to stop?" Remi asked.

When the couple noticed the others looking at them, the woman gasped and then glared at the man.

"Oh, now look what you've done, darling!" she said. "We're making a scene! Do accept my apology, children! Was my frivolous husband being noisy?"

"Frivolous!?" he asked.

"Oh, is that what you thought?" Jack asked, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Well I have reservations about beef but otherwise I love meat. I stuck to the vegetables last night because..."

Jack placed his hand on Remi's head and rustled her hair.

"-of this one," Jack stated. "I grew up on a farm with my mom. We didn't always do well but we managed one way or another. On the few times we could afford meat, mom would give most of it to me. Growing kids need to eat lots, y'know."

It was then that some couple's arguing interrupted things.

"We should just leave them be and go on our way," Jack quietly said to Liseran and Remi, but the arguing pair had noticed them already.

Jack pulled the left side of his cloak tighter as if specifically his left side was colder.

"Well, I don't know what's wrong, but you two should get along," Jack said awkwardly.

The woman seemed to take Jack's words as an invitation to elaborate even further. She crossed her arms and huffed.

"WELL, if you must know, my husband's had the nerve to be unfaithful right in front of my very eyes," she said.

"I did no such thing!" the man said, glaring. "You're imagining things, woman! You love to attack me with these accusations. Would an unfaithful man decide to bring his wife on a scenic trip across the countryside? Tell me, maam, would I?"

The man stared at Liseran who instantly flinched.

"O-oh! W-well, I mean, when you put it like that--"

"Pah, scenic trip, as if!" the woman said. "I practically had to pester you to bring me and you keep focusing on work instead of me."

A bead of sweat trailed down Liseran's temple.

"A-ah...I see...mmm...I'm sorry you two have had some difficulties," she said. "That said, we should probably get going, right, Jack? Remi?"

"See, Maude, you're scaring them away," the man said.

The woman frowned.

"No, you are! I bet that girl is going away because you were ogling her!"

"HEH!?"

"Ah! Th-that's not it!" Liseran squeaked. "I didn't think anything like that! It's just that it seems you two have private things you'd like to deal with without interference."

At this, the woman smiled.

"Oh, of course not," she said. "After all, my husband and I are quite open about displaying are affections."

...you call that affection!? Liseran thought.

"Anyways, where are my manners? My name is Maude Caspren," she said. "And this is my husband, Giuseppe. It's odd seeing children as young as yourselves traveling like this. Are you here with your parents?"

"Y-young?" Liseran asked.

"Well, I mean, judging by your appearance, you must be around fifteen right?" Maude asked, particularly giving Liseran an up and down.

At this, Liseran puffed her cheeks.

"I'm actually eighteen, madame," she said, barely avoiding sounding irritated. "A-and he's also an adult. And our companion here, Remi, is under our care."

Maude looked at Liseran hard.

"I see," she said. "My mistake."

She glanced down a little below Liseran's face.

"Curious..."

"E-eh?"

Giuseppe pulled his wife aside.

"Please forgive her," he said. "She's a little kooky in the head. What we were trying to say is it's a pleasure to meet you all. We haven't really met people who bothered to approach us, so it's nice that you three are so polite."

I'm pretty sure everyone wanted to avoid the fighting... Liseran thought.

"Anyhow, we have business up in Stahlmin," he said. "And you?"

"Traveling to meet family," Liseran said quickly. "We have relatives in Hofsten."

"Holfsten, eh?" the man smirked. "I hear they have lovely springs there. Honey, we should go there sometime don't you think?"

"So you can ogle at other girls?" the woman said huffily.

"Wh-what? No! It'll be a nice little getaway for us! One without business, I promise!"

Hearing the latter part, the woman's eyebrow arched. She looked at her husband and instantly flushed before hugging him tightly.

"Oh, darling, you always know what I want~" she said. "Please, let it be soon?"

"But of course, my dearest treasure! The sooner the better! Why, I'll phone Marcus right now and..."

The two started walking off, completely ignoring the three spectators. Liseran blinked.

"That...was the quickest 360 I've ever seen," Liseran remarked. She shook her head. "At least that's over with. Erm, maybe we should stay inside our cabin until later. I'd hate to run into any more weirdos."

"I thought they were nice," Remi said candidly. "Those two remind me of you and Valen."

Liseran's face flashed red.

"H-hey, we're nothing like that at all! If anything, Valen's horrible!" she retorted.

***

The three returned to the cabin. Upon Liseran's suggestion, they had lunch inside instead. Time passed with Liseran brushing up on her reading, Remi playing with her dolls, and the occasional nap. Before long, it was dusk. As Liseran prepared their evening wear, she turned to Jack.

"Oh, Jack, would you like to shower first?" she asked. "The water should be warmest now. I don't mind a colder shower at night. It keeps me awake."

"Are all city couple this weird?" Jack muttered under his breath as he followed the girls.

Back in the room, Jack settled himself down and took a bite of one of the sandwiches they brought for him. It reminded him of times when the crops were dry and they couldn't afford meat. Liseran asked him if he'd like to take a shower in which he responded "What's a shower?"

Liseran stared at Jack hard.

"You're...not serious, are you?" she asked.

She knew there were people in the boonies that didn't have as many facilities, but a shower sounded like a bit of stretch. Surely he was pulling on her leg.

And then, actually looking worried, "You're joking, right?"

Jack just had a completely ignorant look as he munched his veggie sandwiches.