Don’t you think?
カイトも - also Kaito
してやったりと - “I tricked you!”
唇の端を上げる。- lifted the corners of his mouth.
Yep, that’s pretty much what I think too.
Yep, I think so too.
With this last question you were quite lucky that you asked so quickly after I had read the passage, as I vividly remembered that I also fumbled around for any type of set expression with 的 at the start and that I was successful in finding one 
Next week I would probably not have remembered any more…
(Chapter 5 Q discussion)
Oh, so is the implication that Jeoffrey did encourage Kaito to ask about the Gloria getting new cannons?
If you look at the few sentences before that:
Drake:「…君の入れ知恵か？」
ジェフリーはわざとらしく目を見開いた。 「とんでもない。…」
and then
よくやった――――ジェフリーはこちらを見つめているカイトに、素早く片目を瞑ってみせた。
I can’t help but think that this was a conspiration 
(and my impression is that Drake sees through it and plays along)
Ah, in that case, it all makes sense! Thanks!
Chapter 6 comments:
So they met up with Drake, and he asks Kaito to foresee their attack on Cadiz harbour. According to this prophecy, Drake stole all the merchant ships’ goods and burned them down in the harbour. After that, Drake goes off the rails and wants to sneak into Cadiz harbour once more in order to burn down the ship of some Spanish commander. He asks Kaito for another prophecy (or was this the same one?? don’t recall huh) and he says it’s safe before dawn. So Drake goes but gets attacked even before dawn. Jeoffrey & co. hear the gunshots and get worried, so they row over to Drake’s ship with a small boat. Turns out Drake is fine but the ship’s captain got shot. Kaito declares that he is very worried because of his incorrect prediction and that he doesn’t want to predict any more (trying to pull out of the whole thing, I guess), but Jeoffrey and Drake cheer him up. In the end, Kaito receives a kitten from Drake which makes him very happy, but Jeoffrey first chimes in because Nigel apparently doesn’t get along well with cats. But when he sees how happy Kaito is with the kitten, he gives in and says he will sort it out if Nigel acts up.
On the other hand, Jeoffrey and also Drake’s deputy commander feel that Drake is overconfident with his actions. Jeoffrey thinks that Kaito is the cause for this because Drake likes to believe what he predicts. Maybe Jeoffrey will try to talk Kaito into predicting less or something, in order to get Drake out of his crazy state of mind?
So if I understood it right, Drake was using the Butterfly as his flagship, right? I guess his usual Elizabeth Bonaventure would’ve stood out too much/was too big for the Cadiz harbor?
I really liked the kitten part. :3 I’m wondering what the kitten’s name is going to end up being! Probably for the best it won’t be Nigel since he apparently hates cats so much, haha. I got a chuckle out of Drake glaring a little bit at Jeoffrey when he initially mentioned not everyone would be happy with the cat, and another when Kaito asked him if a cat was how Nigel lost his eye. 
I am really curious about if Jeoffrey’s going to try to keep Drake from going crazy; hard to do when he’s such an important figure, and even harder since it seems like Drake’s confidence is rooted in the religious certainty that God himself gave Kaito to the English. This could be a good time for Vicente to successfully kidnap Kaito; keeps Drake in check and keeps Kaito from having to figure out how much/what he should tell Drake in his prophecies.
He used the Butterfly to go into the harbour, but I thought that was more because it was old and so if the adventure went wrong and the ship was lost, then it wouldn’t be such a big loss. But on searching for it, I could not find anything in the text, so maybe this is just my imagination… 
Chapter 7 thoughts:
We start with a little bit of backstory for Yuan of all people. He’s apparently Scottish and has had quite the life before joining up with Jeoffrey’s crew. We also find out the name of the kitty, Blackie! Apparently he’s a little white kitty with a little bit of black fur around his right eye, going by descriptions in chapter 6 and 7. Nigel is apparently also allergic to cats, poor guy; due to superstition at the time that sneezing gives the devil a chance to snatch your soul, he’s apparently convinced cats are the devil’s helpers or something and are actively trying to kill him. 
Kaito muses a bit more on his fortune-telling strategy; it sounded like he was going to try to say just enough to keep Drake and Jeoffrey happy, since he’s lost confidence in the outcome of him embellishing/trying to steer them too strongly in a direction.
So if I read things right, Drake’s set up base on the southern tip of Portugal while he waits for sight of the Spanish Armada. Jeoffrey volunteered to attack any ships coming from the Madeira Archipelago, and it’s here that Yuan suddenly notices a new ship approaching. Turns out its Vicente’s ship, and the crew gears up to attack them.
I’m glad to see Vicente back in action; it’s looking like Drake may need a potential slap back into reality/may get too overdependent on Kaito if he keeps all these wins up for Britain.
Felt like a shorter chapter; just enough to tempt me into reading chapter 8 and continually ignore my other book club book… This weekend I’ll get to it, I swear.
And finished the book! The last two chapters are mega short, so they barely count. There were some really intense moments and some really sweet moments in the last couple of chapters; I’m still feeling the fuzzies. :3 I can’t wait to hear you guys’ thoughts on it all!
(End of book spoilers)
Vicente thwarted at the last moment, but he was closer than ever! I’m really hoping for a viewpoint chapter in the next book from him. So glad to see Nigel and Kaito have really bonded; Nigel calling Kaito 弟 was just 
. Man, I can’t imagine how filthy the bilge was; it’s probably a good thing 松岡先生 didn’t go into too much detail…
Minor quibble regarding the last few pictures in the book: why isn’t Blackie anywhere to be seen?! He would improve them 150%.
Chapter 3 thoughts
So, I’ve gotten started on chapter 3 finally.
I really like that Kaito keeps thinking about his situation and trying to comprehend what it all means. Like the issue of Jeoffrey not being someone he knows from his history lessons, even though he clearly loves reading about stuff like this. Even with the success of the previous battle, there’s this nagging feeling of storm clouds on the horizon in this story. It brings an interesting tension - you really want to know if Kaito is right about any of this theories here. 
Jeoffrey is pretty crafty in getting the other captain to eat and drink with him, spilling possible intel! 
I’m all behind you two now, as reading hasn’t been a priority these weeks since getting back to work. We’ll see how I’ll keep up! Trying some “tacking!” to get back on course! 
No worries, no worries; I look forward to hearing all your thoughts!
Chapter 4 thoughts
This chapter starts off as an funny interlude in a way, with the captured captain waking up in confusion about his whereabouts (thinking he’s dead even) when he’s just in the brig. 
In any case, Kaito serves him breakfast and while chatting the captain puts 1+1 together and proclaims Kaito Japanese, even though he had managed to misdirect him the night before.
The conversation allows for Kaito to reflect on his current situation some more. Until…dun dun dun
Indeed. This chapter makes it clear, Kaito will have to be even more restrained about what he’s going to say about the future moving forward. There is simply no knowing if the details around historical events he’s learnt about in school will remain the same anymore.
It was hard enough for him to pretend to be able to predict the future as it was, but this development definitely push the stakes up even higher! (the risk of being found out is definitely something I’d also be worrying about 
)
End of Book thoughts:
Wow, that escalated quickly! From Nigel being the super-unapproachable over-strict dude to the gentlest and most caring person (when it comes to Kaito). And his unobtrusive way of approaching Kaito seems to resonate well with him. Of course also Nigel sharing the story of how he lost his eye made the two bond deeply. And Jeoffrey is raging with jealousy! Luckily he is pretty reflective about it, which makes it all the more entertaining to watch. I can totally see how Kaito bonds with both of them, Jeoffrey being the hot-blooded “latin lover” type and Nigel being the calm but deeply caring and loving type. Geoffrey is on the right track that Kaito doesn’t belong to anybody, but can he live that in reality? Because I guess they need to get this triangle sorted; it won’t work out if one of them is with Kaito and the other one is raging with jealousy. They’re together on this small ship after all, and at least Jeoffrey and Nigel cannot afford to have negative feelings towards each other because they need to rely on each other unconditionally.
Very interesting scenario! Let’s see how it will get resolved.
Chapter 5 thoughts
It’s really been a long time since I listened to this series, since I certainly didn’t remember the Gloria meeting up with Draka. I guess, I was grasping at straws back then trying to keep up with the rather fast paced story… ^^’
In any case, I can’t remember the rationale for Jeoffrey planning on handing the ship and shipment over to the Queen of England, though that seemed like a good way of getting recognition for himself + some of the funds from the looted goods would go to the financing of Gloria i take it. Now, he’s just handing it all over to Drake, who’s very please about it, but still, didn’t he already have a ship? And is that even okay (to not give the Queen the spoils under the “Royal pirating permit”, but giving them to someone else? lol
Apparently, it’s been a month since they set out. That feels both long and short. Short since I still can’t wrap my head around travel times here, and long, since quite a lot has happened so far. 
I confess I still really like all the tidbits about sailor life, like the superstition around changing the name of a ship, which Francis Drake doesn’t care about! he’s a repeat sinner on renaming ships. XD
The Golden Hind is one of those ships that has been reconstructed several times. I’d love to see one of those one day.
Also, Kaito is revealed to be a historical weapons nerd. XD I think it’s a relief to see Jeoffrey appreciate Kaito’s ability to draw conclusions, i.e. seeing Kaito as an asset due to his smarts, not just his ability to predict the future. That’s closer to appreciating him as he truly are after all. 
Chapter 5 continuation:
p 113
I think the most pertinent moment for me in this chapter, besides the major advancement of the plot, is when Jeoffrey considers the fact that Kaito seems to “know” Cadiz, even though (according to his previous story), Kaito has never been there. I take this internal monologue to not be in support of Kaito’s abilities to see the future, but rather, that Jeoffrey sense that something is off in the way Kaito talks about these things.
Back in volume 2? he made a similar remark, though not as clear. But, basically, Kaito seems to know too much about various things, things that there is no answer to why he would to Jeoffrey’s knowledge.
Chapter 6 comments
The story is heating up with the culmination of their plan to set the support fleet on fire.
From Wikipedia on the history of Cadiz: “The 16th century saw a series of failed raids by Barbary corsairs; the greater part of the old town was consumed in a major fire in 1569; and in April 1587 a raid by the Englishman Francis Drake occupied the harbor for three days, captured six ships, and destroyed 31 others (an event which became known in England as ‘The Singeing of the King of Spain’s Beard’). The attack delayed the sailing of the Spanish Armada by a year.[31]”
It’s pretty interesting to put Kaito in a position where he’s directing Drake to make this raid, though I sense a difference here in time taken, since Kaito says they have to leave before dawn to avoid the Spanish army to go after them. Meaning, Drake’s fleet is VERY fast working doing all that damage in a night! XD
Another interesting historical reference that I had no idea who it was, is when Nigel brings up John Dee (saying even he wasn’t as skilled with divination). 
John Dee - Wikipedia
Some rather interesting details about the man:
He was an ardent promoter of mathematics, a respected astronomer and a leading expert in navigation, who trained many who would conduct England’s voyages of discovery.
Meanwhile, he immersed himself in sorcery, astrology and Hermetic philosophy. Much effort in his last 30 years went into trying to commune with angels, so as to learn the universal language of creation and achieve a pre-apocalyptic unity of mankind.[72]
That’s quite the study goal! 
I’m not done with the chapter but I might as well post this to keep things not too long.
To be continued… *dun dun dun
Chapter 6 thoughts - part 2
Quite a lot of things happen in this chapter for sure. First is the attempt at Drake’s life, but one that ends in failure. That leads to Kaito having to concede that his ability to predict the future accurately might be waning. Now, this is actually a good thing, since Drake isn’t angry at him being wrong (and why would he, as he’s not shot dead). Instead this is a good opportunity for Kaito to give himself a bit of leeway moving forward - after all, he still doesn’t know in which ways this version of the past differs from the history books he’s read.
Also, this series needs 
I very much approve of this one! <3 
It’s funny to think of Nigel being at odds with cats. He’s a stern and straight-laced kind of character, so put him at odds with a cute kitten makes for a funny contrast, lol. XD
I also got this feeling. Maybe it was brought up in passing or something when the plans were being discussed? But, I don’t think the name of the ship was mentioned before chapter 6.
So as far as I can tell, this is more formality + digging for brownie points than anything else. Drake’s the head of the royal Navy, right? (Or some similarly high up position.) Technically Jeoffrey’s probably supposed to formally present the captured ship so his superiors can decide what to do with it, but he’s just skipping the middleman/saving time here by saying, “Hey Captain Drake. I know you’re actively pursuing the Spanish right now, and this ship’s in pretty good condition, so why not go ahead and start making use of it?” As for Drake already having a ship, I’m assuming he’s traveling in a convoy with a bunch of others, though it isn’t stated explicitly, so one more doesn’t hurt. Even if he isn’t, this would be the start of a convoy and so become a stronger force when attacking the Spanish.
That’s an interesting interpretation; I read it as just Jeoffrey being impressed, but it would definitely be more exciting for Jeoffrey to start wondering about the details about how Kaito’s seeing this stuff.
Our boy Kaito needs to step things up, haha. I wonder what Dee’s contemporaries thought of his grand plan…
I think you’re right. Iirc Drake just mentioned using an old ship, but didn’t name it.
Chapter 7 thoughts so far (< p. 158)
Kaito is learning more handy skills from the others in the crew. Good on him. He might still be a handful for others at times, but he’s definitely getting more familiar with life on a ship.
I notice that Kaito is still referring to Jeoffrey et al as “pirates” in his mind. 
then again, I guess The Gloria isn’t a military vessel either.
It’s funny how Kaito has zero diplomacy in how to deal with Nigel’s cat allergy, but simply dismiss his concerns about loosing his soul if he keeps sneezing as childish. Surely, Kaito should realize superstitions are “common knowledge” in this era?
p 157. テージョ河 might be
It’s clearly a river, but on Wikipedia they use different kana. Not that that’s all that surprising, other foreign words also have multiple kana variations. Still it makes it harder to decide if it’s the right river or not.
Oh! Are you saying that river has a different name in English? I don’t know any other name for this river other than Tejo, so I didn’t even doubt my understanding for a second…
I checked on the difference between the two kanji, and this page states that the kanji 河 is mostly used for very large and wide rivers: 「川」と「河」の違い | 日本語早わかり which fits the bill from my perspective.
