#dragoart

Despite Friede's impulsive nature, he enjoyed great patience: perhaps because of his teacherly qualities or simply because of his kindness, Friede did not tend to rush through life, trying to take a much more relaxed approach.

But even the adventurer had certain limits.

Friede snorted at the sight of the door frame, still crooked. He'd been asking Orla for days to fix it once and for all. Although the mechanic always promised to do it every time, she never kept her promise, allowing the plank to slip further with each day she neglected it.

If they were the only two inhabitants on the boat, Friede wouldn't have a problem with the plank falling on their heads. Unfortunately, they couldn't afford that luxury: he was worried that the board would end up hitting one of the children.

And it was a risk he wasn't going to let go.

"Do you expect it to sort itself out?"

Murdock's sudden voice startled the young professor, who turned to see the cook looking at the scene with curiosity. Friede sighed.

"Welp, if I had Orla's skill, I'd fix it myself…" his own words quickly gave him an idea, "But I have an idea to take care of the problem completely."

Without giving the cook a chance to respond, Friede quickly went to one of the closets where he knew they kept a small ladder, as well as a toolbox. He could hear Orla in the other room, possibly repairing something other than the damned door frame. Rolling his eyes, the young professor didn't even say goodbye to her or acknowledge his presence, instead, retraced his steps to where Murdock was waiting.

"So you're planning to fix it?"

"Not exactly."

With that, Friede extended the arm carrying the ladder and dropped it, causing a loud metallic clang to resonate through the room.

"Oh, for Arceus' sake!" Friede shouted loudly and with a false tone of irritation.

To Murdock's astonished gaze, the white-haired man dropped the toolbox less abruptly, but still audible.

"Damn it!" he shouted again.

"Friede?" Orla replied from a distance.

The adventurer didn't answer, but instead began opening the ladder, making as much noise as possible. As if sensing he shouldn't interrupt him, but with growing curiosity in his brown eyes, Murdock approached him gently.

"What in the earth are you doing?"

"Just watch." the white-haired man whispered, pushing the ladder under the door frame.

He opened the toolbox and continued making as much noise as possible.

"Friede, what are you doing?!" This time, Orla's question sounded more alarmed.

"Nothing!" he deigned to answer, although the professor didn't make anything clear to the poor mechanic.

Finally, he found what he was looking for: a battery-powered drill. The white-haired man climbed the ladder, turning to face Murdock while holding a drill.

"Watch and learn." he whispered before tapping the drill, without touching it against the wood of the frame.

Within seconds, they both heard quick and heavy footsteps running towards them. In the blink of an eye, Orla was standing in front of Friede, her greenish eyes completely wide with terror.

"DON'T. MOVE! NOT A SINGLE MUSCLE!"

"What? Can't a gentleman fix his own house?" Friede asked with feigned innocence, as if he hadn't planned to scare her in the first place.

Orla shook her head, grabbing his arm and pulling him along.

"Don't be a fool, get off the ladder!"

"But Orla—"

"Get off!"

Friede obeyed her. Once the adventurer was on the ground, she snatched the drill from him in a swift motion.

"Couldn't you wait a little longer?"

"I feel like I've waited long enough. I thought you weren't that interested, so I decided to take matters into my own hands—"

"NO, NO, NO! YOU WON'T!" she growled, grabbing the toolbox and climbing the ladder. "I'll take care of this. Go play somewhere else, don't get in my way."

"Yeah, yeah- EH?! HEY! What do you mean, 'go play somewhere else'? I'm not a kid!"

"Then don't be so reckless as one! Go away, give me some space to work in peace."

Friede puffed out his cheeks and feigned offense, but when the young professor turned to Murdock, he replaced the grimace with a small smile and winked at him, Friede then signaled for the cook to follow him. Once they were sheltered in the kitchen, he turned to the cook.

"Hey, I'm a great actor, aren't I?"

"What was that all about?"

"I call it the oldest trick in the book. When Orla ignores a fix I request for too long, I then 'take matters into my own hands' and pretend to fix it myself… It's the most effective way to get her attention wherever she is."

"But her reaction… Wasn't it a bit over the top for what you did?"

"Oh, not at all. I had an accident once while trying to fix things, and since then, she won't let me touch any tool… Remind me to tell you the story one of these days, it's hilarious!"

"The fact that you had an accident doesn't give me confidence that it'll be a very funny story!"

Friede simply laughed at his companion's surprised and terrified response.

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