Jaehwan didn't get a chance to clear things with Krystal that night: she went to eat with her sister and their two customary dinner mates, and by the time he had finished helping Aron clean the galley, something he was allowed to help with, she still hadn't emerged. And so it was that he went to bed feeling as if he really needed to make things right, but unable to do so. 

He slept fitfully as usual, despite the physical exhertion of sparring earlier in the day and cleaning the pots. He woke twice before mornign finally came, and the movements of the officers woke him a third time. He wisely stayed behind his curtain this time until they left, remembering the previous morning. He even considered staying in bed, remembering how he had just been an extra on the ship, but old habits made him rise. Besides, he needed to find Krystal.

He dressed in his own shirt this time, the soft tan material settling on his skin like an old friend. Maybe his choice of clothing would soothe Joe's animosity toward him, he thought with an inward laugh. He kept the black trousers, though, noting that his own were quite stained from the nearly two weeks of . His boots once again completed his dressing, and he stood to make his way to the galley for breakfast.

 Neither of the sisters were there, same as the previous morning, but Eric once again waved him over to sit with the officers at their table. Jaehwan took a bowl of porridge from a sleepy-eyed Aron, who mumbled a greeting, then made his way to the indicated spot. He caught Joe's baleful look but ignored it, figuring that oh well, it was a lost cause as he took his seat.

"Good morn, Jaehwan," Dara told him cheerfully, then motioned at him with her spoon. "I hear you now know it all, so there's no reason to tread lightly around you." She finished that statement with a smile, though the other woman at the table rolled her eyes with a huff.

"Knowing who our Captain is does not mean he knows everything, Dara," she grouched, and a dark look passed betweeen the women before she turned to Jaehwan. "I am Victoria, the Purser. Clerk," she clarified for his confused look. "Princess Krystal mentioned that you know how to read?"

He wasn't sure where this was heading, given the woman's unsmiling face and Dara's glare, but he nodded nevertheless. "I do, ma'am," he told her politely.

Dara snickered at his use of the term, though, and Victoria's face darkened a bit. Jaehwan thought he might get called out for some unintended slight, but to his surprise the Purser merely continued. "Very well, I can use you today. You do know how to count, right?"

He nodded in affirmation, unsure of what he had said wrong and unwilling to say it again. The barest hint of a smile lifted the corners of Victoria's lips, then she nodded at his bowl. "Eat up, then. We've got a good couple of hours ahead of us."

He ate quickly, taking care to not take any longer than she did, and when she finished he offered to take her bowl as well. She allowed it and turned to face Eric with a challenging look. "You see? This is how a man is supposed to act toward a lady," she began to lecture as Jaehwan walked away. His ears flamed with embarrassment that she was using him as an example in what seemed to be some existing argument, but by the time he returned, it was over. Victoria stood and motioned for him to follow her.

Out onto the main deck, and then down into the hatch underneath it. This was a part of the ship Jaehwan hadn't been in before, and though it had several magical lights, it was still darker than the other decks. He blinked so his eyes could adjust to the gloom, and Victoria noticed and gave a soft laugh. "Ah yes. That is why we wear eyepatches when we engage another ship, you know. The one eye adjusts to the darkness so that we don't have to pause to come below deck: we just switch the patch to the daytime eye."

That tiny bit of information made Jaehwan remember that Krystal had been wearing an eyepatch when she rescued him, and he gave a nod of admiration. "That's clever," he said as he followed the tall woman down another hatch, to a deck below that one.

This deck was cramped, too short for Jaehwan to stand up straight, and darker than even the one above them. Victoria handed him her writing board that she had brought with her. "Write what I call to you," she told him, then moved off in one direction. There were barrels all about, held in place with what looked like bricks; it was at these barrels that Victoria paused and called out names to him. He set to work writing immediately, making sure that his handwriting would be legible and not the chicken scratch that his father often called it.

It was mainly barrels of water stored down in the cramped space, though there were also a couple of barrels salted meats. He made sure to write exactly what she said, tallying up what he guessed was the inventory, and when Victoria came back to his side and took the board from him, he waited to see her reaction. She merely grunted, gave a nod, and then ducked past him to climb back up the hatch into the deck above them.

He followed her, taking a moment when he stepped out to stretch his back out from being bent over in the cramped space. She gave a grimace and a nod as if in agreement. "That's the ballast deck. We put the heaviest things in there to store them, but it also serves to keep the ship from tipping in rough seas. This is the cargo deck." She waved toward the back of the ship. "The crew hang their hammocks down there, and their personal trunks, too. But the