"Look, this is eyeliner. You have to draw it like this, then like this, and then like this. Now look at yourself again. Isn't it much more beautiful than before?"
Nico, holding the eyeliner between his fingers, smiled and placed the mirror in front of the girl, allowing her to check her new makeup on her face.
They were in the room belonging to Second Mate Nico. Although the room was not big, it was very warmly decorated and the walls were specially painted in green apple color.
"Really? I'm much more beautiful now." Grace said in surprise.
"Right~ Women must learn how to put on makeup. Makeup is a pursuit of beauty and also represents a kind of self-confidence. As long as you put on makeup and go out, you will have a positive attitude in your heart. This is also the secret of why I can still maintain a young mentality at the age of 49."
Nico took the mirror back and turned it towards himself again. He straightened his chest, sat sideways, pursed his bright lips, and looked at the pearl earrings on his ears.
"Then why didn't Ms. Linda take me to buy cosmetics when she took me to buy things for the ship?" Grace asked puzzledly.
Nico rolled his eyes at her with disdain, "What does she know? Apart from Chief Engineer Audric, who else on the ship treats her as a woman? If you want to become a charming woman, you have to learn from me."
"Also, burn that big robe that doesn't fit you at all. Is that what people wear? I'll find you some clothes that fit you."
Grace looked at the gray robe on her body with a hesitant expression, "But, this is a gift from my mentor for me to wear."
"Haha, let me think about it. Your mentor must be an old man who doesn't understand romance, right? How can you let a girl wear this? Take it off quickly. You're right to listen to me."
Soon, a rose-colored satin long dress replaced the original old-fashioned robe. The dress was very short, but the skirt was very large. Combined with the light makeup on her face, it showed the most charming side of the girl.
"Hmm, that's great. Although my clothes are still a little too big for you, you can just alter them a little bit."
Lily, who was standing on the table next to her, with big blush on her face and red lips, lowered her head in frustration.
"I'm the only one who can't do it... I look like a clown when I'm drawn, but I was actually very pretty when I was a human..."
"Ah~, Lily, little Lily, what can I say to you?" Nico stretched out a finger with red nail polish with a distressed look and circled Lily's furry little head.
Grace next to her reached out her hand, held Lily in her palm, and gently stroked her hair.
"Lily, you don't actually need to put on makeup, you're so cute right now."
"Hey~ I don't want to be cute, but thank you for your comfort. I feel much better." Lily rubbed the other person's palm with her furry cheek.
"Coo~Coo~Coo~Coo~Coo~~" The mechanical wall clock suddenly opened, and a brass metal bird came out of it, flapping its wings and calling with its brass beak open.
Nico put the lipstick in his hand back and placed it neatly on the dressing table, then he stood up slowly. "It's my turn to be on duty now, you guys can play around here, this will be the place for the girls on the Narwhal to have afternoon tea from now on."
Grace smiled at Nico in front of her, "Thank you, Mr. Second Officer, you are so kind to me."
"Oh~ my sweetheart." Nico leaned over, his eyes full of doting, and stretched out his right hand to pinch the other's cheek.
"You're welcome. Anyone who sees such a cute little girl would want to help her."
Touching Grace's white skin that was as delicate as silk, a hint of envy flashed in Nico's eyes.
"That's the good thing about being young. You don't have any pores when you touch it. Unlike me, everything is loose. I should get going, or the first mate will say I'm not punctual again. We'll talk in six hours."
Lily tilted her head and looked at her, her expression as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Grace saw that she seemed to want to say something. She asked in confusion, "Do you have anything to say? Just say whatever you want. We are all good friends now."
Lily finally didn't say what was in her heart. She smiled and shook her head and said, "No... nothing. I just want to say that Mr. Nico is not as good as you say. I heard that he likes to sneak into the crew's dormitory late at night."
While the two were talking, Nico had already pushed open the cockpit door, and sporadic black dust bounced out through the open door.
Nico leaned against the door frame, facing Dipper at the helm and the bandage on duty, stretched out his right hand, and made a sexy downward movement. "Hey guys~ I'm here~ Did you miss me?"
Bandage and Dipper looked at each other, both expressionless and saying nothing.
"You... are late... again..." Bandage walked up to Nico with the navigation documents, stuffed the paper and pen into his arms, and walked down the stairs.
"Huh, this guy is so boring. Dipper, didn't you say he was quite lively when he was young? Are you lying to me?" Nico took the navigation log book and went to the map on the wall to start working.
"Uh... Never mind. I won't tell you. Anyway, Bandage's background is very strange."
"If you don't tell me, I won't bother to listen. This guy isn't handsome, and I have no interest in him at all. Let's get to work and report on your ascent speed."
"Average ascent speed 6 knots."
"Current coordinates."
"48.5, 73.7."
"temperature."
"21°"
Nico asked as he wrote something down with a pen.
"How long will it take? I'm getting a little impatient waiting." Dipper rubbed his sore neck with his hand.
"We have at most six days left. Fortunately, this road has been cleared by the Foundation before. Otherwise, if we just rushed in, we would probably be shot down before we even got there. The airbags still need to be modified, as their resistance to attacks is too poor."
Dipper nodded in agreement. "I'll tell the captain when he inspects the ship. By the way, are the things for the ceremony ready? The things on the ship are a bit simple, and I'm afraid I can't afford them."
"Linda is collecting them. There shouldn't be any problem. After all, there are people from two ships."
The cockpit became quiet again. After a few minutes, Nico raised his head and looked at Dipper with a smile. "Hey~ You should tell me what happened to that guy with the bandage. You have aroused my curiosity."
"Bandages... That's a long story. It all starts from the captain's first exploration."
(End of this chapter)