“Really…? Then I understand.”
Hills surprisingly agreed easily. But for some reason, his slumped shoulders bothered her.
‘Don’t worry about it. That guy is a demon, who knows if it’s poisoned.’
Arundel glanced at Hills and distanced herself. Fortunately, he seemed to have some pride and didn’t follow any further.
Arundel, who moved to the front deck, leaned on the railing again. It was quite chilly as evening came.
Creak! Creak!
Seagulls flew over her head. Arundel aimlessly followed the flying seagulls with her eyes.
‘…No.’
She almost drooled for a moment, but Arundel shook her head and regained her senses. Eating them was the last resort. She didn’t want to give up her dignity as an angel yet.
Arundel wandered around looking for someone who seemed friendly.
‘Oh, that woman…?’
Arundel’s gaze was fixed on a woman in a black robe.
She had never seen her face, but she could recognize her at once because her curly blonde hair was sticking out of the robe.
It was the woman who was crouching in the cabin earlier.
‘I have nothing to lose… Should I ask if she has something to eat?’
Arundel stared at the woman.
But there were those people who approached Arundel before.
A familiar group of men with skull-patterned hoods approached the blonde woman.
‘Those guys.’
They picked a fight with Arundel during the day, a group that got a good scolding as a reult.
“Miss, where are you going? Are you alone?”
The man with the skull-patterned hood asked in a loose manner. It seemed like their job was to hunt for prey all day.
“…”
The blonde woman just bowed her head without any response.
“Can’t you hear me?”
The man asked the woman again, leaning his face towards her. But the woman was still silent.
“Oh, it seems like you have a pretty face?”
After seeing the woman’s face briefly under the robe, the man spoke excitedly.
The group that was with him also started to show interest.
“Let’s see!”
“Me too!”
Arundel, who was watching the scene, frowned heavily.
Such things would happen countless times a day in the human realm, but she couldn’t stand it happening right in front of her eyes.
Moreover, those guys were good prey for the hungry Arundel.
Arundel quickly approached the noisy group. Their gaze was immediately directed at Arundel, who suddenly appeared.
The eyes of the man with the skull-patterned hood widened when he saw Arundel.
“Oh, you…!”
Arundel stood in front of the woman, blocking the gaze from the men. And she stretched out two fingers and pushed them in front of the eyes of the man with the skull-patterned hood.
“Now, I’ll tell you two ways you can survive.”
The man with the skull-patterned hood swallowed his saliva.
“First, don’t talk to other people. Especially women.”
When those guys approached others, it seemed like they were either picking a fight, trying to steal something, or mocking, one of the three. It was best to prevent it in advance.
“Second, give me something to eat.”
The group of men with skull-patterned hoods looked absurd as if they thought they heard wrong.
“What…?”
“Give me something to eat.”
Arundel repeated her words clearly. At her words, the man with the skull-patterned hood spat out a sigh.
“If you think I’m going to beg you because of what happened during the day, you’re greatly mistaken.”
He growled as if he had some pride. Arundel grabbed her spear again. There was no reason to speak nicely if it came to this.
But the action of the man with the skull-patterned hood was faster.
“I’ll see who hits first!”
The man with the skull-patterned hood, who pulled out the dagger hidden in his waistband, aimed at Arundel’s chest.
Clang!
But the dagger flew far away with a clear ring. It was because Arundel’s spear accurately blocked the dagger.
“Is it my turn?”
Arundel swung her spear mercilessly. The man with the skull-patterned hood closed his eyes tightly.
“Uaaaaaak!”
He screamed as if it was the end, but there was no pain at all. The man with the skull-patterned hood, who slowly opened his eyes, rolled his eyeballs. The blade of the spear was stuck right next to his left cheekbone.
Arundel soon gave strength and pulled out the spear. Wood chips splashed fiercely in the air.
“Next time, it will be in your eye.”
Arundel said indifferently, brushing off the wood chips stuck on the blade. The man with the skull-patterned hood just licked his lips, unable to do anything.
“Now, bring the food.”
At the gangster-like words of Arundel, the group nodded repeatedly. Arundel pointed at the man with the skull-patterned hood.
“You bring it. The others stay here. Because there needs to be a hostage.”
The man with the skull-patterned hood turned pale, and soon disappeared to get food.
Arundel gestured to the remaining group.
“You guys stay here quietly.”
After saying that, Arundel approached the blonde woman and bowed her body.
“Are you okay?”
But there was no answer in return. The woman was barely breathing faintly.
‘Is she a person who can’t speak…’
How is she going to survive in this harsh place?
I don’t know how long the ship has to go. It doesn’t matter if we arrive on land soon, but I didn’t know what would happen if we had to go for a few days.
When the woman didn’t respond at all, Arundel tried to get up.
But a white hand rose and grabbed Arundel’s sleeve.
“…Thank you.”
It was a crawling voice, but Arundel was surprised for a moment. It was a delicate voice as much as her body.
Hearing the voice, Arundel was more worried about the woman.
“Did you get on this ship alone?”
The woman nodded her head.
“Do you have enough to eat?”
This time, the woman hesitated. Seeing her, Arundel sighed softly.
“Here, here it is.”
The man with the skull-patterned hood came running in a hurry. He seemed to be quick to understand the situation and had a lot of food in his arms.
His appearance made the men in his group grumble.
“No, if you bring all that, what will we eat!”
“It takes at least a week to reach land!”
Arundel raised her head sharply. At the sudden action of Arundel, the grumbling voices of the group subsided.
Arundel frowned as if she had heard an annoying word.
“Do we have to go for another week?”
“It takes a week to get to the middle island…and it takes about three weeks to reach our final destination, the Hail Empire.”
One of the group members answered, looking at the situation. Arundel’s expression gradually hardened.
“I see…”
“Can we go now…?”
As Arundel nodded with a somewhat blank expression, the group, including the man with the skull-patterned hood, disappeared in an instant.
Arundel was left alone with the woman.
The man with the skull-patterned hood picked up the bread he had brought and handed it to the woman.
“Eat.”
The woman took the bread cautiously like a herbivorous animal with a lot of fear. Arundel, who was staring at such a woman, asked.
“What’s your name?”
“…”
“Don’t you have a name?”
When the woman didn’t answer, Arundel asked again.
“I don’t have one now.”
At the woman’s meaningful words, Arundel laughed as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Then I’ll call you whatever I want.”
“…”
“How about Gold because you’re blonde?”
It seemed that the corners of the woman’s mouth, which could be seen under the hood, dropped a little.
“…Mary. Just call me Mary.”
She must not have liked the name Gold. Anyway, she gave a name she could call, so it was okay.
“Mary, when you were treated like that earlier, you should refuse more actively.”
Arundel scolded, recalling the woman’s timid attitude earlier.
“I understand that you’re scared…”
“I didn’t care.”
A cold voice flowed from the woman’s mouth. At the quite strong voice, Arundel stopped her hand that was picking up the food.
“I’m grateful for saving me…but honestly, I didn’t care.”
This lady says something big. Arundel didn’t like Mary’s words, but for now, she held her tongue.
She glanced at the woman’s face. Even though only the lower jaw was barely visible, a gloomy energy was pouring out.
‘Well, she seems to have a story.’
“Just eat this.”
Saying that, Arundel held a stubby sausage to the woman’s mouth.
Contrary to her pessimistic words, the woman ate well. Even when she spoke like a person who could die at any moment, she seemed to be hungry.
Arundel, who was watching the woman eating well like a baby bird, laughed without energy. They filled their stomachs, looking at the dark night sky.
“Did you eat everything?”
Arundel asked Mary.
“Yes… thanks to you.”
“Are you going to sleep now?”
Mary nodded her head.
“Let’s go together. I’m alone, so I think I’ll be bored on the way.”
Saying that, Arundel glanced at Mary. If she had continued to ignore Mary, it wouldn’t have mattered, but since she caught her eye, she didn’t want to see anything go wrong.
“Yes…”
Mary answered, nodding her head. Her voice was still weak.
Arundel and Mary moved to the cabin. Even though it was a smuggling ship, the places where men and women slept were basically separated, so they thought they could sleep a little more comfortably even if it was just sleeping.
“Good night.”
Arundel said so and lay down. Mary also seemed to have fallen asleep soon, as only the sound of her breathing was heard.
****
The hot sunlight came in through the gaps in the cabin window. The cry of the seagulls was quite loud, making it impossible not to wake up.
Arundel sat up in her spot, squinting her eyes. Her whole body was sore from sleeping on just a single blanket. She often had this when camping, but this seemed even worse.
Moreover, the ship was rocking quite a bit, making her condition even worse.
As soon as Arundel’s vision cleared, she looked for Mary, who was lying next to her. Fortunately, she was still asleep.
Suddenly, Arundel realized that she was acting a bit strange.
‘Why am I so concerned about this woman?’
She was acting like a woman’s nanny.
Although her gestures and voice were frail, she didn’t seem immature at all. She was as tall as her, and her voice was close to mature.
She couldn’t guess her exact age because her face was hidden under the robe and she could only see her lower jaw.
Arundel recalled the conversation she had with Mary yesterday. When she asked if she had a name,
[I don’t have one now.]
Even street dogs have names, but this person doesn’t have a name.
While she was thinking, Mary woke up tossing and turning. She got up abruptly and looked around. And then she fixed her gaze on Arundel.
Mary let out a small sigh of relief.
‘Was she looking for me?’
Arundel thought, watching Mary’s quick change of expression.
“Shall we go out and eat breakfast?”
When Arundel got up from her spot to get food, Mary also got up from her spot. For some reason, she felt like a little chick.
When they went outside, the ship rocked from side to side.
“Walk carefully, you might fall.”
At Arundel’s words, Mary nodded her head. But as soon as he spoke, the ship rocked heavily, and a wave came over the railing.
Splash!
Arundel and Mary became like drowned rats due to the unexpected water bomb. The robe clung to their bodies. Plus, it was salt water, so it was unbearably sticky.
Arundel rolled up her robe and squeezed out the water. The water dropped heavily.
But the robe, which had absorbed water, was still heavy and uncomfortable. She didn’t have any clothes to change into right away, and she was worried about attracting people’s attention if she took it off and walked around.
Besides, even if she was okay for now, Mary didn’t look okay. Her lips were blue as if she was cold.
Then a different voice came from the side.
“Do you need clothes to change into?”
Arundel turned her head. There stood the demon posing as a savior.
Arundel touched her forehead at the sight that gave her a bad feeling.
