Chapter 407 We Bought the Good Bed Before the Next Crime

I decided we were rich enough to sleep somewhere that didn’t ask us to share the bathroom with a bucket labeled for structural leaks.

This was an important stage in my growth as a powerful monster. I could brace against hostile currents, kill armored predators, and now afford a pillow that hadn’t witnessed several unrelated crimes.

We returned the diving equipment before lunch, received our three-hundred-credit deposit back, and paid the salvage diver another two hundred for inspecting the sealed pearl cases. She helped us confirm the markings before we took a portion to a licensed buyer, which cost less than finding out afterward that we had sold priceless treasure for sandwich money.

The buyer tested the pearls in front of us and paid eighteen thousand credits for the first case. We kept the remaining cases sealed, along with the records and incomplete key.

[System: Eighteen grand for shiny fish gravel, mate. Give me ten minutes and a sack of driveway stones and we can retire twice.]

Start by explaining where you plan to hide eighteen thousand credits in that filthy vest, then we can discuss your gravel business.

Lukas photographed the sale record while I hired a mechanic to repair Wet Regret. We got a new table, stronger mooring cleats, an engine service, and a fixed locker. I asked whether the table came with a warranty against cylinder-related incidents.

The mechanic charged twenty-four hundred and said no. I admired a man who could recognize a problem before meeting it properly.

The mechanic explained the new cleats were bolted through reinforcement plates, then demonstrated their safe load. Lukas listened carefully and asked about the steering response with extra weight forward.

Lukas asked three questions about riding loads before I interrupted to ask why the boat needed to know what happened in his personal life.

Our upgraded room cost nine hundred credits for three nights, including meals and a locked storage cage on the terrace. It had a private washroom, a solid door, two beds, and a balcony overlooking the dry upper terrace rather than an open sewer.

Lukas bounced once on his mattress, stared at the ceiling, and announced he could feel his standards rising.

"Try not to let them interfere with your social life, because you’ve built a strong brand around accepting whatever happens."

"That’s adventure," he said, putting his bag beside the bed. "Besides, I saw the way you looked at that replacement table."

"That table will be there for me in the morning," I told him. "You could learn something from a relationship where breakfast stays where I put it."

Old Mate claimed my pillow and wiped his beer on the cover. [System: Reckon the table could do better, mate. At least buy it flowers before you put another bomb on it.]

I used my internal phone to call home while Lukas went downstairs to collect our meals. Lyra answered first, asked whether I had eaten, then demanded a clear explanation of what had tried to bite me this time.

"There was one fish, and it was rude enough for the entire building. We got the treasure, and I bought a better table because apparently being rich means replacing things I personally ruined."

Cherry asked whether the fish had left a review. Bridget cut in to ask if the treasure was secure, and Cherry told her that was a much better question than checking whether I had frightened the furniture.

I described our new locker, the room’s storage cage, and the incomplete key. When I mentioned the old shipping route led toward Ami, Bridget stopped teasing and asked me to read the marks again.

Bridget asked me to keep the shipping records flat and avoid forcing the mechanism until we understood it. Cherry suggested that instruction should probably be printed on my forehead.

Lyra wanted to know whether my brace had helped against the fish. I admitted it had hurt, and she told Cherry to stop eyeing the breakfast table. Apparently sharing my abilities had created a household problem I couldn’t blame entirely on myself.

[System: Tell them the table owes you money, mate. They’ll either leave it alone or have it folded into a confession before breakfast.]

I want the table intact. Stop giving the furniture a criminal record before Cherry starts asking it for a confession.

Bridget laughed when Cherry repeated the table warning in a very serious voice. The sound warmed me more than the sale notification had, and I found myself wanting to be there instead of merely telling them things from another room in another town.

When Lyra went to check dinner and Cherry followed with a joke about supervising the furniture, I asked Bridget to stay on the call.

"We’re safely stopped for a couple of nights, and the home-visit skill’s available. I’d like an evening with you if you want one, just us without me turning it into a meeting."

She was quiet briefly, then asked whether Lukas would be left with a real room and a sensible plan.

"He has a proper room and more money than sense, so I expect him to be very happy until somebody asks what he spent it on."

"I would like that," she said. "I don’t need a grand arrival, Matt, and I certainly don’t need you stealing dinner on the way."

"I’ll behave," I promised, while Old Mate laughed into my pillow where only I could see him. I ignored the private heckling and kept my attention on Bridget.

She admitted she had missed having me close, then laughed at herself for making the confession sound like something she should have scheduled in advance.

"You can miss me however you like, sapphire. I’d still rather hear it than have you decide you’re supposed to wait politely until there’s room."

"There is room," she said, more firmly this time. "And I can make dinner."

A moment later, I selected her through Missus Express and sent the simple request, keeping the destination at our established home.

Her acceptance appeared immediately, and for once the best thing waiting on my screen wasn’t a reward total.