Several days had passed since then.
‘Seriously.’
The reason I was able to stay calm while recalling this series of events was that I was confident I could treat it.
‘Hah, I even have the perfect emergency treatment supplies.’
But if I remained trapped here, I couldn’t do anything. If things continued this way, the infected wouldn’t receive any treatment by the time we reached the Western Continent. Despite being infamous as a pirate, I couldn’t let my innocent families die.
‘Stay calm. Think, Mare… no, Polaris Caelum. Just sitting here won’t change anything.’
Since Nereus was busy trying to manage the situation, other crew members had been bringing meals for the past few days.
‘There must be a way.’
Nereus, despite seeming easygoing, was surprisingly thorough, especially during crises like this. Deceiving him wouldn’t be easy.
But he was the captain of this ship, and unless the situation improved by the time we reached the Western Continent, he wouldn’t be leisurely fetching my meals during such an emergency.
‘If my memory isn’t wrong, the situation won’t improve on its own. In that case…’
I moved toward the small window next to my desk.
‘That’s the only way.’
I had nothing to lose.
I wasn’t sure if it would work, but when a person is drowning, don’t they at least try to flail? I stared at the window and then stripped off my clothes.
“Okay, let’s get going.”
***
“Sniffle.”
Dexter, with swollen eyes and a runny nose, pressed down on his nose with his hand.
‘Don’t cry.’
He muttered to himself, but the tears kept coming regardless.
‘The captain said it was fine, but is it really okay?’
Last night, Dexter was on watch duty. As they were nearing the Western Continent, he tried to stay awake by drinking every stimulant and bitter tea he could find.
Despite his efforts, he found himself waking up to the midday sun and a commotion.
Despite all his efforts, he had fallen asleep, and the ship had drifted off course in a strange current during the night.
“Idiot…”
The ship was in a serious state, but Nereus only summoned Dexter to the captain’s quarters for about an hour and did not impose any punishment.
The crew assumed Dexter had been punished during his time in the captain’s quarters, and no one said anything to him afterward.
Dexter knew this was Nereus’s way of showing kindness to the young sailor. Nereus understood that the person who blamed and despaired the most in this situation was none other than Dexter himself.
‘What about Gerard?’
The mysterious disease had reached Gerard as well. Gerard was the only friend of the same age as Dexter on the ship. Knowing that he had not only failed to help but had also been a burden made Dexter even more disgusted with his own incompetence.
‘At least I need to take good care of Lala.’
The task Nereus had given Dexter was to take care of Polaris.
Since Polaris hadn’t shown any symptoms in the past few days, Dexter was assigned to look after her. If he messed this up too, he would not only be killed by Nereus but by everyone else.
He said with trembling hands, holding the tray in his hands.
“L-Lala? Are you hungry? I brought food…”
“………..”
But there was no response, only silence.
‘Huh?’
According to what he had heard from the other pirates, Polaris had been acting like she was in early puberty, banging on the door whenever food was brought.
Given how dangerous it was outside, everyone had been worried about how to keep her in the room quietly.
‘It’s quiet?’
Dexter looked around nervously, concluding that she might still be asleep as it was early morning for a child.
‘If so, I should quietly go in.’
Dexter carefully turned the key, making as little noise as possible, and opened the door. He was told the bed was immediately to the right upon entering….
“………?!”
As he turned right, expecting to see the bed, he couldn’t find the child. Turning his head, he saw something dangling from the wide-open window.
“L-Lala?!”
Seeing the child limp and stuck in the window as if she had failed to escape, Dexter’s heart nearly burst out of his chest. He nearly threw the food on the ground and ran to the window.
“L-Lala! I’ll save you! Just stay still! You’re not dead yet, are you?!”
No, it can’t be! Dexter screamed quietly as he grabbed the dangling Polaris and realized something was off.
“……….?”
Too light and soft.
Though Lala was originally light, this wasn’t the weight of a person.
‘This feels like….’
Squeak—click.
“…Huh?”
By the time Dexter noticed something was wrong, the door to the room had already closed.
Click—.
And then the door was locked.
A child’s voice came from beyond the door.
“Sorry, Dexter. I’ll repay you threefold when I get back.”
“Repay what?!”
He had been completely fooled by a six-year-old. He alternately looked at the bundle of cloth in his hand and the door, shouting in frustration.
“Lala?!”
***
‘I did it.’
I stuffed cloth into my dress, made a fake person with spare stockings and shoes, and hung it from the window.
Thanks to that, I was now wearing a thin dress and barefoot, but the important thing was that I had escaped. Just in case, I tightly clutched the key I had taken and let out a deep breath.
‘Dexter was really a stroke of luck.’
If it had been Isaac or Gilbert, they wouldn’t have been fooled so easily, and the other crew members would have broken down the door. But Dexter was a skinny, small boy. So, my room door was safe, and so was I.
Looking back at the door, I confirmed that my assumption was correct. Despite Dexter knocking on the door, it barely moved.
“L-Lala! Open up! Please?! This is serious!”
“Yes, it’s serious for you, Dexter, but I’m fine! Don’t worry! I’ll tell them not to kill you!”
Nereus wouldn’t kill him anyway! Even though he couldn’t see it, I gave him a thumbs-up behind the door.
“But what if you get sick too?! Everyone else has fallen ill!”
“I’m fine. I won’t get sick.”
‘Besides, not everyone has fallen ill.’
Dexter was almost wailing at my reckless words. He seemed to think my words were just the whims of a child.
‘Well, if I were in his position, I wouldn’t believe it either.’
“Sob, sob….”
“Dexter, stay there and cry. I’ll be back soon!”
But I didn’t have time to explain everything. I left Dexter crying behind the door and ran towards my destination.
The Caelum pirate ship had been replaced once during my upbringing, so I had been on this ship for more than ten years. However, since it was practically my home, I found my destination without difficulty.
‘The kitchen.’
At this time, there wouldn’t be anyone in the kitchen. In the Caelum pirate crew, meal times were often adjusted and quick meals were eaten when problems arose.
‘As expected, it’s empty.’
I smiled with satisfaction as I looked around the kitchen. It was indeed empty, but someone had prepared a huge pot that was gently simmering over a low flame.
“Oh, just let me catch my breath….”
My body had always been weak, and being young only made it worse. I needed to find a way to quickly get my body healthy.
That would be dealt with later; my immediate priority was my goal.
Next to the kitchen was a large storage room for food supplies, and I needed to get in there. This storage room was usually locked.
“As expected, it’s locked….”
How nice it would be if just looking at the padlock would unlock it… I sighed deeply and headed for another door in the kitchen.
‘I really hate this.’
It was the room where Gilbert, the ship’s cook and second mate, would be sleeping. Gilbert, who generally seemed indifferent to me, was someone even Nereus didn’t bother when he was asleep.
“Even though he was indifferent, he always seemed difficult.”
Although he didn’t do anything to me, he often looked at me with an indifferent face. Every time, I felt he wasn’t fond of me.
Moreover, I was supposed to be quietly locked in my room. Gilbert, even though he didn’t participate much in the ship’s external activities, knew I wasn’t supposed to be here.
‘Please be deeply asleep. Please be deeply asleep. Please….’
He must have had a lot of tiring tasks recently, so he should be sleeping. I prayed earnestly, and when I opened the door, my heart almost leapt out of my chest.
“Hah, hah.”
“……….….”
Gilbert was sitting with his eyes rolled back.
‘Is he sleeping like that?’
With his personality, he would have said something if I came in here, but it was silent. I rolled my eyes and looked at the wall where the storage key was hanging.
‘I just need to grab that and get out quickly.’
Since there was a desk next to the wall with the key, I climbed up and easily grabbed the high-placed key.
‘Got it!’
With the key in hand, all I needed to do was grab the item from the storage room and stop by the infirmary for the remaining materials.
‘If someone catches an infectious disease, they’ll be quarantined in a room below deck, so I need to hurry. It’s even more dangerous in an unventilated area.’
The importance of ventilation and disinfection wasn’t well recognized at this time. Even though it was known, people didn’t pay much attention to it. Moreover, because it was an infectious disease, even if they were aware of the importance of ventilation and disinfection, it was difficult to place them in well-ventilated areas.
Being on a ship, you never knew when or where a disease would spread, and if it went wrong, everyone could die together.
Thud, thud.
“……….!”
As I got down from the desk and was about to hurry, I heard urgent, heavy footsteps from the kitchen.
‘That harsh sound of footsteps, it’s Nereus!’
Judging by how loudly he was stomping, he might have noticed I locked up Dexter and escaped. Even if not, if I ran into Nereus here, I’d be captured immediately.
I saw Gilbert’s fingers twitch at the loud footsteps. I hid behind the desk.
Bang!
“Hey, Gil—! Ugh!”
As expected, Nereus came into the room where Gilbert was, and a loud, dull sound echoed simultaneously.
I held my breath and kept silent.
“I told you not to wake people up when they’re sleeping….”
“Oh, come on! Is that the problem now?!”
“I haven’t slept for days. Isn’t that a problem?”
Normally, Nereus would have sensed my presence, but he was too angry at Gilbert to notice me.
‘Thank goodness.’
“Really?! Should I make you sleep forever then?!”
It had been ten years since I last saw them fight like this, but it still felt familiar. Even though they seemed like that, they never drew guns or swords on each other, so I could ignore the crashing sounds from behind the desk.
‘Moreover, it seems like Nereus forgot why he came here out of anger.’
If his rationality was that paralyzed, it would be easier to move. I picked up a stick lying next to me and headed for the door.
“Wait, hey, Ner.”
“What! Why!”
“That, that, that.”
Just as I was about to close the door, I made eye contact with them.
“Why is she here?”
“Oh, hey! Lala!”
“Sorry, but this debt… um.”
Before the startled Nereus and the just-awakened, grumpy Gilbert could catch up with me, I quickly closed the door, wedged the stick between the doorknob and the adjacent lock slot.
“Honestly, it’s not really a debt. This is all for Caelum, trust me.”
“Ah!!”
Bang! Bang! The door shook violently. This stick would soon break, but it would buy me enough time.
‘Alright, loot the storage and then head to the infirmary.’
I’ll get it done quickly.
