Even If I'm Reborn as a Cute Dragon Girl, I Will Still Make a Harem-Chapter 44Book 6: : Sunlight
“Captain! The storm’s closing in—we need to lower the sails!” a sailor shouted from behind.
Graybert stared at the stubborn girl in front of him for a while before gritting his teeth.
“We’re not doing that! Let’s go full speed ahead!” he yelled.
“Huhh?” The sailor was stunned. He couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his captain’s mind. Was he still drunk from last night? Wasn’t he afraid the ship would be capsized by the storm?
“What are you standing around for? Get back to your post! If you’re afraid of dying, find a rope and tie yourself to the mast!” Graybert bellowed at the stunned sailor.
Though still rattled, the sailor obeyed and relayed the order to others, spurred into action by Graybert’s long-established authority.
And so, in the jaws of the storm, the SS Behemoth charged forward like a lone leaf tossed on a raging tide.
Waves surged higher, crashing against the ship and drenching the deck. Graybert clung to the railing, soaked, desperately to keep himself from being swept into the sea.
He turned to look at Lilith, who stood calmly beside him, completely dry.
He gulped and nervously asked, “I-I can trust you, right, Miss?”
Lilith met his gaze with a calm, indifferent expression.
“Aren’t you already trusting me?”
Then she took a single step forward, and Graybert froze. The moment the blonde girl moved, the roaring storm fell silent, as if obeying the command of a sovereign. The howling wind died down instantly.
The raging sea within several miles of the SS Behemoth fell completely still, its surface smooth as a mirror. There was not a wave or even a ripple.
For the first time, Graybert saw his reflection in the water so clearly that even each strand of his beard was perfectly distinct.
The SS Behemoth now glided forward as if sailing across a polished mirror.
Lilith slowly raised her hand again and pointed toward the eye of the storm, a thousand miles away. Her pupils were as deep as the abyss. At the heart of the tempest—where thunder roared and wind howled—a flickering black flame suddenly appeared.
Amidst serpent-like lightning and a storm fierce enough to stir tsunamis, the flame looked small and fragile. It swayed like a lone candle in wintry wind, on the verge of being extinguished at any moment.
Yet the moment Lilith gently closed her eyes, the black flame responded—as if it had received a command from its supreme leader.
In an instant, it bared its terrifying fangs at the monstrous natural forces surrounding it. The flame began to spiral inward, compressing into an orb no larger than a clenched fist.
And then, a terrifying suction force came from its core. Like a blackhole birthed from a dying star, it began greedily consuming everything in its path. Winds, dark clouds, and lightning—everything around it was swallowed in an instant. Not a single trace remained.
When Lilith opened her azure eyes once more, starlight spilled across her fair, delicate face. Above her, the sky stretched clear and vast, like a dome of sapphire lit with countless stars. It looked like Lilith’s beautiful eyes too.
The blonde girl raised her hand and waved. The black orb in the distance flickered in response. In the blink of an eye, it vanished and reappeared in Lilith’s palm.
There, it shifted and took on a form more familiar to Lilith. But it was no longer a fist-sized flame—it had grown to nearly the size of a human head.
“So… it can grow by devouring stuff, huh?” Lilith murmured.
The more she used it, the more terrifying it became. With a simple wave of her hand, the black flame returned into her body through the pores on her skin.
Her body felt no difference. It seemed like whatever the flame devoured would not affect her. Lilith let out a soft sigh of relief. She had been concerned that devouring too much might gradually erode her sanity. But it seemed like she had worried for nothing.
She looked up at Graybert, who stood frozen in place like a statue. Reaching out, she gave his shoulder a firm shake.
“Hey, Captain. Wake up. Rise and shine!”
“Ah… huh?” Graybert snapped out of it. But when he looked down at Lilith, a flicker of raw fear flashed through his eyes. Like a startled rabbit, he leapt back several steps and kept his distance.
“What’s with you?” Lilith tilted her head, blinking up at him with wide, innocent eyes. “Did you have a nightmare?”
Graybert very nearly shouted, *Where did you come from, demon… ghost, no… monster?! How dare you try to pull the wool over a seaman’s eyes!*
But then he remembered—it was impossible for anyone to make a storm disappear completely in this world.
He forced a stiff grin as he tried to suppress the fear creeping onto his face.
“N-No…! How could I have a nightmare in the middle of the day? I just… zoned out for a second. Yeah, just zoned out…”
“Is that so? But it’s night now,” Lilith said.
Seeing Graybert’s reaction stirred the playfulness in her heart that had been dormant for so long. She took two slow steps toward him, looking up with a teasing smile.
“You’re not… scared of me, are you? You don’t think I’m some kind of monster, right?”
“N-no! Of course not!” Graybert tried to look as innocent as possible as he continued, “How can such an adorable lady like you be a monster?”
“Really? You’re sure you don’t think someone who can wipe out a natural disaster with a wave of her hand might be, oh, just a little bit monstrous?”
“Of course not! I, Graybert, have been sailing for years and seen all sorts of things on the sea. Dispersing a storm with a wave of the hand is-…”
*Gulp.*
Lilith heard that—clear as day.
But Graybert forced himself to keep going, puffing up with shaky bravado as he declared, “…It’s nothing special to me!”
“That’s good, then.” Lilith gave his arm a light pat, visibly relieved. “After all, we’re still in a working relationship. It wouldn’t be good to have any awkwardness between us because of this.”
“Right, right, right, we’re in a working relationship…”
As he repeated her words, Graybert suddenly paled, as if he’d just realized something important. Without any delay, he dropped to his knees.
Lilith was startled by him.
Before she could say a word, he began hitting his forehead on the deck.
“I’m sorry! I was wrong! I was blinded by greed! I should never have taken your payment!” he wailed.
“Huh?”
“It’s an honor for everyone on SS Behemoth to serve you, my lady! How could I dare to charge you for it?” Graybert cried.
Apparently deciding even that wasn’t enough, he started slapping himself.
“I told you not to be greedy! I told you not to be tempted by those gold coins! Little Mary had warned you that your love for money would be your downfall! But no, you never listen, you never change! And now look at you, trying to scam someone like this lady! You’re really courting death!” he scolded himself.
Lilith looked at him speechlessly, wondering if he was doing all this just because he thought she was angry about having to pay.
When she saw him ordering everyone to hand over every last coin they had, she burst out laughing.
Maybe she had gone a little too far this time. It had been a while since she’d teased someone like this. She even felt slightly guilty.
Bullying people might be wrong, but right now, she was in a much better mood.
Like the storm that had just dispersed, the haze in her heart had lifted too, letting just a sliver of sunlight shine through.
*So warm…*
Lilith looked up at the starry sky.
*The sky will be clear tomorrow too, right?*
