Six white wings swiftly crossed the sky.
The long silver hair fluttering in the air, the white robe, and the long silver spear sparkled under the blue sky in the sunlight.
Arundel glanced down below. A ship was visible over the azure sea.
‘Maybe I should rest for a while.’
Arundel concealed her figure and gently landed on the deck of the ship.
Fortunately, there were no people behind the engine room. Still, just in case, she looked around once more and released her invisibility.
As she walked on the deck, the floor creaked. It seemed to be a very old ship.
As she passed the engine room, Arundel’s figure was reflected in the blurry window.
Long, thin silver hair like spider webs, transparent silver eyes.
‘It’s too conspicuous.’
Arundel opened the hood of her robe. She didn’t forget to tuck her silver hair behind her back so it wouldn’t stand out.
She had a bout with demons and her body was sore. She didn’t know how long she had to cross the sea, so she decided to rest for now.
But the atmosphere of the ship was a bit gloomy, which was not ordinary.
Arundel, on guard, passed the engine room and headed to the front deck.
A group of people huddled together came into view. They all looked vicious, just as she expected.
When Arundel, a small figure in a white robe, appeared, she felt a glance even though she covered her face.
She didn’t want to make a fuss, but if they attacked, she had to fight back. The spear in Arundel’s right hand shone fiercely.
But unfortunately, the spear in Arundel’s hand didn’t seem to pose a big threat.
A man with a skull-patterned hood stared intently at Arundel. He murmured with his group, then approached Arundel.
“Hey.”
The man in the hood and his group spoke in a gruff manner.
Arundel gripped her spear tightly.
“You seem to be quite a high-ranking person to be on a ship like this.”
He then looked Arundel up and down.
“The robe is at least 5 pounds, the spear seems to be at least 10 pounds.”
Arundel clicked her tongue inwardly.
Fools.
The robe made of dawn light was worth at least one castle in human money, and the spear made of icicles from the ice caves of heaven was priceless. Because it could only be made once in a thousand years.
Whether he knew that or not, the man carelessly reached out to Arundel’s hood.
“You seem to have a lot of money, why don’t you give us some allowance?”
But the man’s hand didn’t touch the hood. Because Arundel’s hand quickly grabbed his wrist.
Arundel looked down at the hand she had caught and pondered for a moment.
Just drive him away? Or…
‘Should I teach him a lesson.’
Arundel looked around. A person much smaller than the man seemed to be controlling the man, attracting attention.
‘If I can’t avoid the trouble.’
He pushed the man’s wrist away. And at a fast speed.
Thud-!
“Ouch!!”
He hit the back of the man’s knee with the back of the spear, making him kneel, and then quickly hit the man’s head.
The man fell down, clutching his head.
“What…what.”
It happened so quickly that the man’s group seemed to have no mind to grasp the situation.
Then they pointed at Arundel, who seemed nonchalant.
“You, is it you?”
“You know quickly.”
When a surprisingly thin voice flowed from under the robe, people’s eyes widened.
“A…a woman?”
With that, the man swallowed his saliva.
“If you don’t want to be seen being beaten by a woman, get lost. Next time, I’ll use the front of the spear, not the back.”
The man’s sullen face was reflected in the well-split spear blade.
Did he sense that the atmosphere was not normal? At Arundel’s cold words, the group disappeared, carrying the man who was lying down.
It was fortunate that they were not fools who rushed in with pride. She showed a sufficiently threatening appearance, so there would be no one to quarrel with while she stayed.
Arundel thought so and leaned against the railing of the deck. As she closed her eyes for a moment in the sea breeze, the salty smell brushed past her nose.
It was a leisure she hadn’t felt in a long time.
That’s when it happened.
Tap tap.
She opened her eyes at the feeling of someone touching her shoulder.
The touch was careful, not like the feeling of picking a fight earlier, but she felt disturbed and unknowingly frowned.
‘Who?’
When Arundel turned her head, there was a man standing there. And he was tall and incredibly handsome.
But there was something peculiar. The man had purple hair and purple eyes.
‘It’s not a common color for humans.’
Arundel unknowingly gave a wary look.
Because she had fought a fierce battle not long ago, just seeing the purple eyes automatically rang a danger signal.
Seeing that, the man burst into laughter.
“I thought you might be an angel, but I guess I was right.”
At the word ‘angel’, Arundel quickly grabbed her spear again.
“Uh-uh, no. I don’t want to fight with you.”
The man raised his hands to the sky in surrender. But Arundel did not let her guard down.
Despite hiding her face tightly, he recognized that she was an angel in an instant.
Then, as expected,
“You, are you a demon?”
“Yeah.”
The man, no, the demon in front of her nodded with a clear expression.
“Archangel Arundel.”
When her name came out, Arundel flinched for a moment. She checked if her robe had slipped, but she was still hiding her figure without any gaps.
“How did you know?”
“The Spear of Frost, is there a demon who doesn’t know?”
As he spoke, Hills’ gaze touched the spear Arundel was holding.
“My name is ‘Hills’.”
The demon in front of her seemed to have a very brazen personality. He was introducing himself even though he wasn’t asked.
But Arundel didn’t have the slightest desire to get along with the demon. Arundel, who was clear with herself, asked sharply.
“Why did you come here?”
“…Just. On the way.”
He hesitated to speak, rolling his eyes.
Seeing Hills, who seemed to be lying, Arundel once again gripped her spear and glared at him.
He waved his hand strongly once again.
“I don’t plan to do anything here, so relax! Just really passing by…I stopped by chance.”
Should I believe this…?
Arundel pondered, still gripping her spear tightly. She couldn’t relax because she didn’t know how strong the guy was.
“Swear.”
A fairly serious voice flowed from the floundering guy. Seeing his hands raised in surrender, Arundel put away her spear.
Of course, she didn’t believe in a demon’s oath, but seeing that he looked flimsy, she thought she didn’t need to deal with it right now because she could suppress it at any time.
And she wanted to rest as of the moment.
Arundel gave Hills a glance and turned around. And she moved to another place, the sound of footsteps overlapping.
When she stopped, the following footsteps also stopped.
When she turned around again, Hills would be stuck right there.
“Why are you following me?”
When Arundel asked with an annoyed expression, Hills smiled and said.
“I want to get along with you.”
“What?”
“I like you.”
Hills extended one hand as he said this. It seemed like he was asking for a handshake.
Arundel looked at the hand suspended in the air once, then looked at his face again. A gentle smile shone on his handsome face. It didn’t look like he had a trick up his sleeve.
But that doesn’t mean she has room to ponder.
Thud-
Arundel slapped away the hand that was offered for a handshake.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I hate demons the most. So don’t make such creepy noises like, ‘Let’s get along,’ or ‘I like you.’”
Arundel said with a cold expression.
And before she could check his expression, she turned around and left the spot. Fortunately, there was no sound of following again.
Arundel, who entered the cabin, sat down anywhere in the empty space.
She had been flying for three days, and her wings were sore. She thought she would have to sleep here for about a day.
Looking around, people were sitting anywhere. As she felt on the deck earlier, the demeanor and expressions of the people on the ship were not good.
They were all heavy or fierce, one of the two.
Thinking so, a woman came into Arundel’s view as she turned her head.
She was wrapped in a black robe, but anyone could tell she was a woman by her slender silhouette and the beautiful hand that popped out of the sleeve.
The woman sat down, pulling her legs in and burying her head deep.
There was nothing special, but the curly blonde hair sticking out between the hood seemed to catch her eye.
‘There’s no one here without a story.’
Even if she didn’t see it, a tragic story unfolded. Arundel took her gaze away. It was a pity, but there was nothing she could do to meddle right now.
She was also very sleepy.
Arundel, who leaned her head against the wall, felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier.
And she closed her eyes.
****
How much time had passed?
Arundel blinked her eyes through the blurry vision. The fatigue had lessened a bit.
Yawn.
She yawned widely and stretched.
And she looked around to see if anything had changed while she was asleep. Fortunately, the spear next to her was still there, and the hood on her head was still in place.
As she got up with relief, Arundel felt a sense of emptiness for some reason.
‘The woman from earlier, she’s gone.’
The woman with the blonde hair who had been curled up earlier was gone. For some reason, the empty spot bothered her.
With a creepy feeling, Arundel turned her gaze away. It wasn’t her concern.
Gurgle-
First of all, it was more important to fill the stomach that was screaming for something to be put in. She thought about going out and finding something to eat.
However,
“There’s nothing.”
There was no food.
There was no place to sell food on the ship. It was a mistake to think that there would naturally be one because the ship was shabby but large.
When she tried to ask people for food, they either stealthily avoided her or made a ridiculous expression.
‘I’m a fool for expecting.’
She had noticed early on that it wasn’t an ordinary ship, and everyone’s faces were ashen, and there was no one with a generous heart to give, even if they had to plunder food…
“Do you want to eat this?”
A voice like a savior came from the side before she knew it.
As Arundel, who was thinking of jumping into the sea to catch a fish, turned her head with a grateful expression.
But Arundel’s expression hardened in an instant.
“…You.”
“You looked hungry.”
Hills was cheerfully offering a piece of bread. Arundel instinctively frowned.
But the smell coming from the bread was so good that she barely resisted lowering her gaze.
“No. I won’t eat what you give me.”
“You can’t get anything to eat here, can you?”
Hills tilted his head and spoke. Despite his tone, which had no hint of mockery or ridicule, he looked cheeky.
“This ship, it’s a smuggling ship. Everyone probably doesn’t have their own food, right?”
Ah, as expected, the atmosphere of the ship was strange.
If what he said was true, it would be really hard to get food. If it’s a smuggling ship, it would be hard to take care of your own body.
But that didn’t mean there was no way.
She could really catch a fish, or she could plunder food from the delinquents she met earlier.
If that doesn’t work, there’s also the option to leave here.
Thus she says confidently.
“I’ll find my own way to survive, so please don’t hang around me.”
Who would eat what the demon gives?
