Chapter 615: Mobile Docking (1/2)
Zero spent more time cooling the engine room than healing the injured. Pepper and Ottley returned to the pink of health quicker than the engine room could return to normal. The sea otters were already scurrying about, gathering materials of all kinds and trying to repair broken tools.
”What are they doing?” Zero couldn't withhold his curiosity and asked Ottley, who was still nursing his massive headache. It was a rather bad concussion, and Zero was surprised his skull wasn't cracked.
The captain groaned when someone passed them by to get to the workshop below the engine room and bumped into him. Zero regretted not bringing the injured to the doctor's clinic, but he couldn't leave the engine room either. How inconvenient.
”They are preparing to remodel the ship,” Ottley replied. Pepper was almost healed, and the sea otter captain wondered why he wasn't healed yet.
”Patience,” Zero advised. ”If you don't want to incur more injuries from trying to escape my healing zone, you should stay still.”
The threat was effective, and Pepper chuckled at Ottley's stiffness. The sea otter looked like a misbehaving child getting scolded by his mother.
Fifteen minutes later, Pepper was sent away to salvage the mess in his cartographer's office. Ottley remained the only one still not fully healed, so Zero decided to do a direct treatment. It was more effective and mana conserving.
The busy crew members had to pause when they heard hysterical laughter from the engine room's direction and felt chills down their spine. Ottley was laughing?! Whatever medical treatment Zero was giving their captain, nobody wanted to know. Ignorance was bliss. Even the devil would agree.
Laughter was sometimes the best medicine, but in this case, Zero wondered if it was madness. Normally, healing magic worked like a soothing balm or a gentle sun. It shouldn't hurt a person too much unless they were in a life-threatening condition. However, Zero never came across a patient who would laugh as if he was getting tickled to an inch of his life. However, as there wasn't a more serious issue, Zero brushed it off as a cross-wiring in Ottley's DNA done wrong.
The captain recovered without problems apart from aching cheek muscles and a rosier complexion. Zero sent him off with a pat on the head before checking the engine room temperature. The ice crystals no longer disintegrated instantly but remained for a while before turning into small water puddles on the ground. The water evaporated quickly, and the room's humidity caused Zero to halt. Was humidity in the interior of an enclosed space good?
Thankfully, he didn't have to add more ice to lower the general temperature of the room. The engine started to glow slightly, sending a signal to the command room.
While the room wasn't scalding hot, it was still difficult to stand in it for too long. Zero didn't feel it, but he observed how the sea otter mechanics started sweating not even ten seconds after entering the room. It was not a good temperature to be working in. Hence, Zero did his best to assist with their engine repairs and checks by introducing more ice and adding wind magic to circulate the air within, secretly sucking back some of that humidity into his void.
”How is it?” Zero asked cautiously, adding subtle temperature regulating magic to the two hardworking sea otters.