Chapter 133: Player's Welfare Time
Do you want me to comb your feathers?
He should not hesitate at all; he should resolutely reject her and warn her not to try to get close to him in this way again.
But... the discomfort of the feathers being turned inside out and the unpleasant smell of burning made Jin hesitate for a moment after hearing the question.
Jin couldn't deny that he was indeed a little...sparkling with attraction.
Birds need to keep their feathers absolutely clean and neat in order to fly smoothly. Although Jin would groom his wings in private, just like a lone bird is never as splendid as its flockmates, it's not only because the surrounding and supportive companions provide psychological help, but also because there are always places on a pair of wings that are impossible for a bird to groom on its own.
What's more... Jhin is currently in a somewhat awkward period of feather bursting.
As a descendant of the Lunaria tribe, King, even after becoming a major figure and gaining Kaido's approval, has been continuously searching for news of his people on the seas with the help of the Beasts Pirates, but to this day, the results remain completely blank.
The genetic memory tells Ember that once the feathers that grow from the quill mature, they must seek out their kind and help each other crush and pluck out the dried quills.
But Jhin can no longer find any of his kind to help him preen each other's feathers.
He didn't trust Queen, who was also a top commander, and he was too embarrassed to bother Governor Kaido with such a small matter—although he also felt that Governor Kaido's personality made him more likely to rip all the feathers out of his quills—so he could only tidy up the outer feathers a little, while the softer feathers buried under the layers of flight feathers were still in terrible condition.
This has caused King to have a persistent itch at the base of his wings lately, making him extremely irritable. This is reflected in the Beast Pirates' perception: they don't know who has angered this expressionless leader this time, and the pirates who already work under him with trepidation dare not even breathe loudly.
Seeing that Jin didn't immediately refuse, Violet knew that the suggestion was likely to succeed, so she pressed on, saying, "I'm very good at combing feathers!"
"And I'm especially good at pinching feathers!"
These are all skills that Violet practiced diligently after seeing Marco's beautiful phoenix form and, still harboring a wicked desire to lure him to R'lyeh.
However, there's no need to tell Jhin about this.
"This is just a trivial matter, no one will come up here, and even if someone did, so what?"
"Who says the head of the signboard has to groom their own feathers? Does Lord Jin wash his own clothes too?"
Jhin had to admit that what Violet said made a lot of sense.
Governor Kaido just caused a huge scene, and no sane pirate would come looking for him at this time. Even if they did see it, given his prestige within the Beasts Pirates over the years, no one would dare to spread the word.
Jin was moved.
He looked down at Vera, his tone carrying a warning: "If you don't comb it well..."
"Then let Lord Jin decide what to do with it."
Jin glanced at Kaido, who had almost exhausted his energy and was now fast asleep after drinking the hangover soup. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to leave but instead walked to a sheltered spot behind Kaido.
He looked around and confirmed that this position allowed him to observe Governor Kaido's condition and also to spot anyone who might foolishly come looking for him.
Jin sat on the ground with an air of authority.
Jhin's imposing height made him more than a head taller than Violet even when he was sitting on the ground. Violet went around behind Jhin and moved some useless old boxes that someone had piled up next to her over to step on.
The feeling of someone standing behind him made Jin a little uncomfortable. He frowned and subconsciously shook his wings, but was grabbed by Violet.
ember:!
His hands, which were resting on his knees, suddenly tightened. He hadn't even noticed it when he was preening his own feathers. Did he really have so many sensory nerves on his wings?
It wasn't that she hadn't broken her feathers before during fights, but that sharp pain was completely different from the feeling of Vera carefully combing her feathers now.
King went to great lengths to calm the drunken Kaido down, as evidenced by his pitiful large wings.
Vera carefully grasped the bent feathers and straightened them back into their original positions before looking at the areas burned by the dragon flames.
The Lunaria race can generate flames on their bodies, and their wings also have extremely strong fire resistance. Even though King was sprayed with Kaido's dragon flames twice, only some scorched marks appeared on the feathers at the edges of his wings.
Violet looked at the brittle, crumbly feathers that crumbled at the touch and felt a headache coming on.
What should we do?
With his back to Violet, Jin seemed to have awakened mind-reading abilities: "Just pull it out and throw it away."
Huh? This...this feather hasn't even fallen off yet, how painful would it be to pluck it out forcibly?
"Actually...it's better to repair it; it's such a waste to pull it out and throw it away."
"What a pity... It's a pity to throw it away, but wouldn't it be a pity to give it to you as a collectible?"
Violet: ?
Violet: !!!
Suddenly remembering the black feather that was still quietly sitting in her backpack, Wilton immediately held her breath guiltily.
"really……"
At that moment, Jin felt something was wrong. He clearly felt a feather had come loose, but when he had time to turn around and look for it, he found nothing.
As Violet racked her brains trying to figure out how to prevent Jhin from taking back her "little collection," she heard Jhin say coldly, "This is the last time."
"This time it's okay, but not again" means "This time it's okay."
That feather has now been accepted by Jin.
"Thank you so much, Lord Jin! Don't worry, I will clean off the charred edges of these feathers for you, and I guarantee that there won't be any problems!"
Hearing Violet's boastful tone, Jin tapped his knee lightly with his fingers, but did not continue to pluck the feathers.
Although the slight pain was nothing to him, it would still take some time for the feather to grow back after it was lost.
Violet happily pulled out the [Razor] to trim Ember's feathers, although this [Razor] was originally used to shave the buffalo next to R'lyeh... but what it was used for before doesn't matter, what matters is that it's sharp and easy to use, and that's enough.
The rustling sound, coupled with the feeling of feathers being gently stroked, made Jin unconsciously squint his eyes.
Not many feathers were singed, and Violet quickly cleaned up Jin's wings, making them look neat and beautiful.
Violet took out the large comb she had prepared long ago.
Even now, Jhin still wanted to struggle a bit, but when the large comb landed at the base of his wing, flipping open the outer feathers and gently stroking the softer, smaller downy feathers on the inside for warmth, Jhin's muscles, which were preparing to stand up, immediately relaxed, and his straight back bent slightly.
He nodded slightly, his voice more relaxed than usual.
"good."
Encouraged by the affirmation, Violet pressed on, reaching towards the base of Ash's wings to find the newly grown feathers encased in grayish-white quills.
She tentatively touched the quills to check their dryness, and only after confirming that they were mature and had no blood supply did she forcefully crush the brittle quills.
The white fragments fell in a rustling sound, and the feathers that had been rolled up were instantly released.
Jhin: "Hmm..."
The unbearable itch disappeared for a moment, but what followed was an even stronger sense of dissatisfaction.
This is just one of the quill tubes.
I want it from other places too.
Ember: "Continue."
rustling, rustling...
The hangover soup brewed by Black Maria's subordinates was quite effective. After drinking it, Kaido fell into a deep sleep and when he woke up again, he was completely free of the effects of being drunk.
But when Kaido turned around at the sound of the rhythmic rustling, he saw King, whose joyful expression was still clearly visible even with his face covered, and Violet standing behind King, reaching out with both hands to the base of his fluffy black wings, seemingly doing something. Kaido couldn't help but wonder if he was still drunk and hadn't sobered up.
Otherwise, why would he see his top lieutenant, Jin, confidently turning his back to others and even raising one of his wings for her to touch?!
Kaido transformed from his blue dragon form into human form and walked towards the two of them.
King originally chose this position because he thought that once Governor Kaido woke up, he could spot him immediately.
But... it felt so good.
What Jin had worried about—that Val wouldn't mess up her feathers while grooming them, or crush her quills before they were fully grown—did not happen at all.
Within the first ten minutes of Violet starting to tidy up, Jhin began to question his life, wondering why he hadn't found someone to serve him sooner, but instead had endured the several wing-bursting periods each year until now.
But putting aside whether anyone other than Violet had the courage to touch him or the skill to make him enjoy himself rather than suffer, just the fact that someone could stand behind him and touch the wings that had undergone countless terrible experiments and represented his secret identity that could never be discovered, Jhin still wonders why he trusted Violet to do such a thing.
Perhaps it was the chance encounter that had led to this, or perhaps it was the pure, unadulterated appreciation on Violet's face when she looked at his wings that made him agree to help her groom his feathers when she boldly and persistently offered to do so.
Then... things spiraled out of control. At first, just the sight of Vera standing behind him made him on high alert and his whole body tense. Eventually, he voluntarily half-opened his wings so that she could touch the base of his wings near the back where he couldn't reach.
King was so comfortable that he lost all sense of vigilance until Kaido stood in front of them, at which point he belatedly realized that the governor had woken up.
It's really inappropriate to show such an indecent attitude in front of the respected Kaido!
King quickly retracted his wings and prepared to get up, but Kaido raised his hand to stop him.
Kaido lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping past King and landing on Violet behind him. His high brow bone cast a shadow in front of his eyes, and the downward corners of his mouth made him look quite fierce.
"Brother Kaido."
It wasn't about pleading for Violet, Jin thought to himself. It had nothing to do with who it was. He simply disdained being the kind of person who, after participating in the entire process, would push everything onto subordinates once they realized something was wrong.
"It's me..."
"I'm grooming Lord Jin's feathers, Governor Kaido."
Violet explained before Jin, then looked at Kaido, who was standing motionless in front of them, tilted her head in confusion, and handed him the special feather comb.
"Does Lord Kaido also want to help?"
ember:"……"
He held his breath nervously. Was Kaido really alright? He was quite satisfied with the condition of the feathers that Violet had arranged for him... No, no, no, if it were Kaido, he wouldn't say a word even if his feathers were plucked off or his wings were broken!
"No, thank you."
Kaido sternly refused the bird's little activity to enhance their relationship. He reached for the gourd that used to hang on his waist but found it empty. He muttered a couple of things, walked past Violet and King, and turned to leave.
"Big brother?"
Kaido waved his hand with his back to them: "No need to follow, King. You've had a hard day."
Let's take a day off tomorrow.
After Kaido left, Violet looked at King.
"Lord Jin, there's still one wing feather that hasn't been groomed... Shall we continue tomorrow?"
"……good."
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Author's note: Watching videos on a certain website about pinching the quills of birds is so therapeutic! [bunny-eared emoji]
Normally, Jhin wouldn't allow others to do this, but it's a perk for players [doge emoji].
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