“Have you been following me?”
Arundel spat out the words in an annoyed tone.
It wouldn’t make sense otherwise, for him to appear just when help was needed.
“Yeah.”
Arundel felt HER strength drain at the confident reply.
sHe was sure She hadn’t seen anyone around when She was sleeping. Well, he was a demon, so he would be skilled in magic.
“I waited outside your room until you came out, Arundel.”
Thankfully, it seemed he hadn’t been watching invisibly like a pervert. It was a relief, in a way.
Arundel shook her head.
“I don’t need your help. If the clothes dry, that’s enough.”
And the incredibly expensive robe made of dawn light was also known for its quick drying feature.
“It’s because it takes time.”
Why was she explaining all this to him? Arundel felt the situation getting twisted.
“The woman next to you, Arundel, doesn’t look okay? Her face looks pale.”
At Hills’ words, Arundel looked at Mary. As he said, Mary didn’t look well.
She seemed as frail as her slender appearance.
“Mary.”
“…Yes.”
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes.”
Mary nodded with difficulty, but she looked like she was about to shiver and clench her teeth.
“Do you have extra clothes?”
“….”
Mary did not respond. Arundel touched her forehead again.
She didn’t want to get involved with that demon Hills, and being indebted was even worse.
Arundel asked Hills, “Do you have clothes to change into?”
Though reluctant, there was no choice now. She didn’t want to see Mary die from hypothermia when it wasn’t even winter.
“Yes.”
Hills smiled as if pleased. He rummaged in the bag on his shoulder and pulled something out, offering it to Arundel.
“Here.”
Arundel accepted it cautiously.
Unfolding it revealed a clean robe. Along with the robe, there was a simple dress that could be worn underneath.
“One should be prepared for any situation.”
Hills chuckled as he spoke.
The bag didn’t seem big enough to hold all these clothes…It was tempting how items seemed to come out like from a black hole.
Suddenly, Arundel remembered something she had forgotten.
“…What’s the price?”
Demons never gave or helped for free. Even this somewhat clueless guy was fundamentally a demon and would surely demand something in return.
“Well…”
Hills hesitated as if pondering.
“You don’t have to pay anything.”
He smiled and answered.
“Why…?”
“I told you, I want to be friends.”
Hmm…
Arundel opened her eyes and stared at Hills. She couldn’t read anything from his cheerful face.
There was no need to refuse when it was offered for free, for now.
“Just don’t change your mind later.”
After firmly warning him, Arundel turned towards the room. Then she quickly turned back to Hills with a stern expression.
“And this time, don’t follow me! I need to change clothes.”
Hills nodded slightly with a slightly flustered expression.
Satisfied, Arundel turned back and entered the room with Mary.
Entering the shabby bathroom in the room, Arundel looked around. Fortunately, there was no one else there.
Arundel quickly took off her clothes first. Her salt-streaked hair was tangled messily.
“I need to wash quickly…”
As Arundel was about to say that, she felt someone’s gaze and turned her head. Mary stood there with her mouth slightly open, looking a bit surprised.
“What…What are you embarrassed about?”
Mary was still dressed. Arundel, feeling a bit awkward, urged Mary.
“Aren’t you going to take off your clothes?”
“Oh…okay.”
Following suit, Mary also removed her clothes. As the robe came off, Mary’s face was revealed. Arundel’s gaze, which had been curious inside, turned towards her.
“Wow…”
Arundel exclaimed softly. Such a pure and instinctive admiration was truly rare for her.
The face that had been hidden was indescribably beautiful.
Despite the tangled mess of her golden hair, her features were undeniably radiant and beautiful.
She was a woman who truly fit the phrase “radiant beauty.”
Suddenly, Arundel was curious. She wondered what kind of story a woman, who seemed strong enough to shake a man with both hands, had to be on a smuggling ship alone.
What was more surprising was that her slender body had a slight bulge that didn’t match her figure.
‘Could it be…’
Arundel swallowed her words, not wanting to presume anything without her saying it first.
In the meantime, Mary started to shower cautiously. Arundel, who had been captivated by Mary’s appearance, also washed herself.
After safely finishing the shower and getting dressed, the two stood side by side in front of the mirror.
Perhaps it was because of the hot water, but Mary, whose cheeks were flushed red, opened her mouth first, which was unusual.
“Is your name Arundel?”
Arundel nodded her head.
Then she realized that she hadn’t introduced herself. She must have heard Hills calling her earlier.
“It’s a name like that of an ancient god…It suits your appearance very well.”
Mary seemed a bit more lively than yesterday. Then, Mary murmured shyly.
“…When I saw you earlier, I thought you were an angel. Silver hair and silver eyes are very rare…”
Arundel was momentarily flustered by Mary’s accurate guess, but she pretended to be nonchalant.
“I was the one who was surprised to see Mary. There was a reason why you hid your face so tightly.”
Unlike Arundel, who spoke lightly, Mary looked a little gloomy. She couldn’t figure out where her mood, which had just gotten better, turned worse.
“…I wore the robe tightly because I was afraid someone might recognize me.”
The eyes visible between her lowered eyelids somehow looked precarious.
“I’m being chased…”
Arundel reached out in a hurry at the sight of her about to cry any moment. But she couldn’t hold back and eventually burst into tears.
“I’m not alone…sob.”
What? All of a sudden?
Arundel was flustered. She hadn’t made a mistake in her words, but she didn’t know what had touched her heart…
First, she had to soothe Mary before she started to sob.
“Mary, Mary. Calm down first.”
“…You saw it when I was showering, right? I’m pregnant. And I’m alone…in a foreign country…”
Mary hugged Arundel and cried out loud.
“If I get caught, I’ll die…Even if I survive, I’ll be unhappy for the rest of my life…sob.”
Mary cried sorrowfully. She didn’t know what her story was, but all she could do now was comfort her.
Arundel slowly stroked Mary’s curly hair. Then Mary’s crying gradually subsided.
“…”
Mary pulled away from Arundel. Perhaps she was embarrassed to have cried in the arms of a person she had met for the first time yesterday, her gaze directed at the ground.
“Are you hungry?”
She wanted to change the heavy subject, but she was literally hungry. Also, Mary was pregnant, so she needed to eat on time.
Arundel and Mary put on their robes again and went outside.
“Done?”
Hills was still there. He got up from where he was sitting and dusted off his buttocks.
“Are you hungry? Shall we eat something now?”
She was thinking of going along with the cheeky guy’s words this time. She was in a predicament.
Food that was hard to see on the ship came out one after another from Hills’ bag. The unusual bag was a really tempting magic tool.
Seeing that, Mary’s mouth opened slightly. Hills didn’t miss it and spoke to Mary.
“Your mouth is open.”
Arundel, who was next to him, corrected Hills’ words.
“It’s not ‘you’, but Mary.”
“Ah, yes.”
Hills answered casually, seemingly uninterested.
The three of them sat in a circle and started eating. The bread that Hills took out of the bag was soft, and the cheese and bacon were fresh.
Usually on a ship, it was hard to see anything other than dry food. This was because they had to bring food that wouldn’t spoil for a long voyage.
The food stolen from the skull-patterned hood was also like that. She ate it because she was hungry yesterday, but the half-dried bread was crumbly, and the dried sausage was tough.
Compared to that, this was very satisfying food.
When the meal was almost over, Hills opened his mouth.
“Do you need me now?”
It was an undeniable fact.
She had planned to leave the ship today or tomorrow, but she decided to stay a little longer because she was worried about Mary.
So food was essential. There were still three days left until they arrived at the stopover.
But there was something on her mind.
“…You didn’t put anything in the food, did you?”
“Wow! Why are you saying that after eating well!”
Hills thumped his chest and glared at Arundel. It was the first time Arundel had seen Hills so excited.
“Hmm…”
It was clear that Hills was useful, but Arundel wasn’t sure if she could trust him yet.
Then, Hills rummaged through his bag and pulled out a black gem, offering it to Arundel.
“What’s this?”
When Arundel asked cautiously, Hills approached Arundel’s ear and whispered. It was a conscious act, aware of Mary next to them.
“It’s my wing.”
Arundel’s face crumpled for a moment. Hills, who had moved away, spoke with a rather serious face.
“If you can’t trust me, use it as a hostage.”
Arundel looked down at the black gem in her hand. A black figure was visible inside the luminous gem. It was indeed a wing.
He had heard that high-ranking demons could detach and attach their wings. But how should she think about this crazy demon who handed over a part of his body to someone he met for the first time yesterday?
And that too, to an angel.
“…Why are you going this far?”
“I told you, I want to be friends with Arundel.”
The conclusion was made.
This guy seemed a bit lacking for a demon. Arundel took a deep breath and exhaled.
The tension she had felt was deflated without energy.
“Alright.”
“Really? Arundel, do you want to be friends with me too?”
“No, I don’t know about being friends. But we can hang out while we’re on the ship.”
At Arundel’s words, Hills smiled with an extremely happy face. And he nodded his head repeatedly.
Although she had allowed Hills to accompany her, in reality, there was nothing special.
They had to sleep separately, and since the range they could move around was limited, there was nothing special to do even if they were together.
Arundel looked at the white clouds floating around and muttered.
“Ah, I’m bored. What do other people do to pass the time on a ship?”
She felt the gaze of Hills and Mary, but Arundel didn’t care much.
It was the day when half a day had passed since she allowed Hills to accompany her. The guy who had insisted on being friends didn’t take any special action.
Just like Mary, he just followed her around. Arundel felt like the mother of two chicks.
Mary was as quiet as she had expected, and Hills, who seemed to be talkative, was quieter than she thought, so Arundel felt like she was going to die of boredom.
What comforted Arundel was that they would be anchored at an island by tomorrow. It wasn’t the final destination, but they were going to stay there for two days.
Arundel glanced at Mary.
Contrary to her thoughts, the days were ordinary, and thanks to her firm stand against the miscreants on the ship, no one dared to mess with Arundel’s group.
They were supposed to stay only for two days, but a week had already passed quickly. The original plan had already been disrupted, and since Mary seemed okay, it seemed fine to leave the island this time.
‘So, let’s hold on until tomorrow.’
While Arundel was making this resolution, a small voice came from beside her.
“…What were you two doing before you got on this ship…?”
Mary managed to open her mouth.
Although a week had passed since they spent time together, the number of times Mary asked a question or started a conversation first could be counted on one hand.
Arundel was at a loss for what to answer to Mary’s precious question.
“Um…”
She couldn’t list all the things she was doing in heaven, and she needed a suitable answer to dodge the question.
Arundel, who was rolling her eyes here and there, answered with an ‘Ah!’
“Something like punishing bad guys?”
“Like a mercenary…?”
“Well… something like that.”
Arundel passed it off lightly, but Mary, with her mouth open, nodded her head.
“No wonder, I thought that spear was not ordinary…You were like that when dealing with the miscreants too…You’re amazing.”
At Mary’s innocent words, Arundel felt embarrassingly flattered.
“What about you Mr. Hills…?”
Mary’s question was directed at Hills. Hills tilted his head and said.
“Me?”
