In Which He Woke Up Wrongly

They came in every color imaginable and were scattered all over the place; for instance, there was a white one tucked away in the far corner of the table, a red one on the ceiling, and blues and greens on the walls.

The crew had been working on the ship while wearing the filthiest clothes they could find. As a result, their bodies reeked of perspiration, oil, and everything else they had patched or dragged onboard the ship.

This identical team suddenly stood sparkling in black suits, white ironed shirts, black bows, sleekly combed hair, their hands scrubbed, and bright cheeks. They stood in a linear line, with each and every person being treated as an equal. It seemed as though Hennessy had chosen a strange getup to wear. He wasn't wearing the conventional black suit; rather, he was wearing a dark blue one.

John entered the room carefully while maintaining his royal attitude and smiling in an understated manner.

When everyone looked up and saw John standing at the door, they immediately stopped what they were doing, and Hennessy exclaimed, "Attention!"

John put the other men at ease by telling them, "At easy, comrades."

John praised the efforts of the team, stating, "I have to acknowledge that they have beyond their own expectations." John was referring to the crew's performance. "There is no way in which this could be made any better. Spectacular. And the music, which has a refined taste that deserves praise."

To tell you the truth, he did not appreciate putting himself through the hassle of dealing with things of this type, but his staff was not him. They have worked hard, and it is only right that they reward themselves with some enjoyment now and then.

Throughout the cheerful music, there were a few instances where it sounded like someone was sprinting. As soon as everybody in the dining room heard footsteps approaching, everyone immediately directed their focus intently toward the entryway.

The sound of footsteps faded away, and when it did, there was none other than Lisa herself, clad in a red dress, standing on the threshold of the room.

John greeted Miss Lisa with a warm smile while keeping his gaze firmly set on her face as he turned to face her. Everyone maintained their silence, which gave the appearance that they were analyzing her in great detail from top to bottom.

She whispered "I'm late" under her breath, but she paid no heed to the people who were staring at her. When Lisa finished her sentence, she continued by flashing a big smile and saying, "Thank you very much for having me."

Simply fixing his gaze on Lisa was enough to throw John off balance. She invariably left him with an impression that was hard to adequately describe in words. It was not a bad feeling, but it was unlike anything else I had experienced before.

She looked absolutely stunning in the garment, in spite of the scar that was clearly evident on her face. It was of little consequence because John and the rest of the crew had dealt with circumstances very similar to this one in the past. Even at this late stage, it appeared as though she had made great progress. On top of that, it was probably the first time that anyone on the crew saw her face, especially in such exquisite detail.

Despite this, John was aware that her current physical appearance was not the reason why he was attracted to her. The dragon shifter had an excellent appearance, and Lisa did not compare favorably to the attractiveness of any royal blood female from his clan. The dragon shifter's appearance was far more impressive than Lisa's.

But in spite of this, he was unable to zero in on a particular facet of her personality and describe it in detail. Everyone's mood was brightened and they were filled with joy as a result of it, just as if a beam of sunshine had appeared early in the morning.

John frowned as he contemplated the likelihood of such happening. It was an idea that he did not find at all pleasurable to go over in his thoughts at any point. Because of that, he suddenly found himself harboring animosity toward Lisa, which came as something of a surprise to him.

As soon as Lisa entered the structure, she greeted John with the observation, "Everything seems to be in great shape." John's train of thinking was disrupted as a direct result of her words, which derailed John's train of thought.

At this moment, she was beaming at him while keeping her stare fixed unwaveringly on John throughout the entire exchange.

"Will you just hold on, Miss Lisa?" Suddenly, the sound of a hushed murmur could be picked up. At the entryway, Mona came to an abrupt halt, much like a train would when it reaches its destination station.