‘H-how did they wake up?’
The amount of sleeping pills those people consumed could have put a tiger to sleep for a solid 24 hours, easily.
‘Did they share it?’
No, even if they shared it, I calculated and prepared for that possibility. There were even several more plates…
‘Did they just wake up on their own?!’
Come to think of it, there was a similar case before. When they were afflicted with White Rot, they shook it off quickly after taking emergency medication.
‘Wait, medicine and poison are technically the same, aren’t they?!’
It’s just a matter of dosage, right? So they respond well to medicine but are resistant to poison? What kind of body structure is this? It’s absurdly simple and robust.
While I was baffled, Nereus stood firmly in front of me, cracking his neck to either side with loud pops.
“While we were knocked out, you had fun with Lala~ We’re so grateful for that.”
Laughter erupted around us. It was the laughter of the people from Caelum.
‘It sounded like a beast roaring.’
These people were always cheerful and foolish in my eyes, so this was the first time I’d seen them like this. Weren’t their laughs usually clearer and more vibrant? Now, it was like the sinister laughter of villains echoing through the forest.
A chill ran down my spine, raising every hair on my body.
‘What… what is this?’
I saw parts of my body visibly trembling.
‘What exactly am I scared of?’
They’re my family. No matter how they act, they’re still my family. Does it make sense for me to tremble just because of this side of them?
“Phew.”
Someone suddenly lifted me up.
“Our Lala, why do you look like this? You’re making Dad upset.”
It was Lamis. On our pirate ship, he was one of the roughest-looking men, comparable to Nereus, but he had a surprisingly gentle heart.
“Your feet are so scraped up… and your body is covered in cuts.”
“……….”
“I knew I should’ve told them to aim to kill, not just to shoot near you. Those damned… sons of…”
…But only for me, he was a softhearted person.
It seemed Lamis had left his subordinate, Dexter, in charge and came here first. Wearing an expression that looked as though his world had collapsed, he carefully blew on the scratches covering my body.
“More importantly, Lala, what’s that?”
“Oh, this.”
Lamis noticed the documents and the box I had been clutching tightly even while being chased.
“I don’t know exactly what they are, but they kept chasing me harder as long as I had these. They must be important.”
Of course, I’d skimmed through everything except the contents of the box, so I had a good idea of what it was, but there was no need to mention that.
“Lamis, cover her eyes.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Lamis’s thick hands covered my eyes, plunging me into darkness.
“Shh, Lala. Sleep.”
“No, how could I possibly sleep in this situat…?”
I was about to protest, but strangely, my body began to feel heavy. Up until just a moment ago, I had been breathing erratically, and my heart was pounding wildly.
‘What’s happening to me…?’
It felt as if my entire body had broken down, sinking into a lethargic and weighty state.
***
Rustle— The child soon fell into a deep sleep. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say she fainted. Nereus turned slightly to glance at Polaris, who had already lost consciousness.
‘Damn it.’
No one had noticed that the food was drugged. In fact, there was no one on this ship who could have anticipated it. Unless someone had an exceptionally sharp palate, they would have fallen victim to it without a clue.
‘I suspected they were scheming something, but…’
He had deliberately lingered longer than necessary, as if to provoke them into making a move. But to think they would approach things this way. Who could’ve guessed that these non-combatants would hatch a plan to sell everyone in Caelum into slavery for a one-time profit?
‘They even included a child too?’
Polaris, unlike them, was an innocent child who had committed no crime. But even if she had done something wrong, so what?
To Nereus, and indeed to all of Caelum, she was the most precious one of all.
Gilbert appeared, tossing a sword toward Nereus. Catching the hilt effortlessly, Nereus swung it hard enough to create a loud whoosh of wind. The tightly fixed scabbard flew off, revealing the gleaming blade.
“Let’s cut the chit-chat and start cleaning up, shall we?”
Isaac, who had caught a magic scroll from somewhere, added,
“Another group reported finding Ethan. He’s still asleep, but they have a lot of people over there, so we’d better hurry.”
“Alright.”
Though Nereus casually swung the sword in his hand with a nonchalant air, the encircled enemies remained frozen, unable to move.
‘What is this oppressive feeling?’
It wasn’t just because they were surrounded by enemies. All this pressure, this sense of impending death, emanated from a single man.
Then it happened in an instant.
The man with the sword, his red eyes blazing fiercely, charged forward with lightning speed. A stillness fell over the air, and leaves floated in suspension.
This wasn’t a fight—it was an execution.
Like a gust of wind made solid, the sword slashed the man at the front, who didn’t even have time to scream.
Thud. Drop.
One by one, they fell as Nereus moved, their bodies collapsing helplessly as if prey to a massive predator. The rest stood paralyzed, unable to move until the massacre was complete.
“D-damn it! I don’t want to die!”
With only two left, one man shoved his comrade forward as a shield and bolted. The entire area was under Caelum’s control, and given the difference in numbers, escaping was impossible. Yet paralyzed by fear, the man couldn’t recognize this.
Not that it would’ve mattered; when faced with death, it was only natural to flail and flee.
Watching the man sprint away, Nereus let out a small whistle.
“Wow, no loyalty at all. Leaving your buddy behind?”
“Would you leave us behind if we were in danger, Captain?
“Of course not. We’re family, aren’t we? No matter what, we survive together.”
Nudge, nudge. Nereus lightly tapped the remaining man, who had collapsed in terror, with his foot.
“You guys aren’t family, are you? Well, I guess these days, even real families sell each other to slavers.”
Unlike the man who was staring up at him with a pale face, Nereus chuckled gleefully.
“Alright, guys, feeling bored? Isaac, Gilbert, and Lamis, stay here. The rest of you, go have some fun.”
At Nereus’s command, the crowd surrounding them dispersed quickly. It was a classic hunting formation.
“Well then, my friend, how about we have a little chat?”
“I-I don’t know anything!”
“Oh~ That’s okay. You must know more than us, though, right?”
Nereus grinned widely, crouching down. He still held a sharp sword in his hand.
“Even if you don’t know much, surely you know more than we do? If you’ve got a brain, try using it.”
“……….”
“You should know why you chased after my kid so relentlessly, shouldn’t you?”
The playful grin on his face gradually faded, replaced by an expression as still as a quiet night.
“Speak. What was so important?”
***
I slept well.
Really, I slept very well.
‘Did only an hour pass, even after such a deep sleep?’
And in just that one hour, everything was over. The criminals were all tied up, and the children had been rescued.
The truth about the production of ‘Angel’ was roughly uncovered, leaving the Caelum pirates with grim expressions.
The one whose face was most hardened was Ethan.
“The biggest issue is the people who are addicted. Even if we turn these criminals in, as long as the addicts remain, they could start up again.”
Nereus groaned, then asked Ethan,
“Well, that’s true. Ethan, do you think you can make it?”
“Hmm… I’m still studying the latest medical advancements. Even if I had access to new knowledge, it would still be difficult.”
“Hmm~ That’s a problem. But we can’t stay here for too long.”
I was currently nestled in Nereus’s arms. Thanks to Ethan’s treatment, my feet were wrapped in bandages, and my wounds had been carefully dressed with clean cloths.
‘Look at my feet…’
In truth, aside from some mild muscle soreness from running until I could barely breathe, I wasn’t seriously hurt. However, my appearance made it seem like I wouldn’t be able to walk for a while.
‘More than that, the Angel antidote…’
There were various types of antidotes. Most of them didn’t treat addiction itself but rather gradually addressed the aftereffects caused by it.
‘And the antidote for Angel already existed in the future.’
As I mulled over it, I finally opened my mouth.
“I think I can make the antidote.”
“What?”
“Hmm?”
“Really?”
“Huh?”
Everyone’s eyes snapped to me as I casually uttered the words.
“The addiction to Angel ultimately comes from ‘sleep,’ doesn’t it? If it’s that easy to get addicted, detoxing should also be relatively easy.”
Of course, in reality, addiction is typically easy to develop but hard to overcome. However, the key to Angel’s dependency lay in the fact that without it, the users couldn’t sleep—an obvious clue.
When I had become a military doctor, Angel had already been eradicated, so I hadn’t formally studied its treatment methods.
‘There were just so many other things to focus on back then.’
Still, I had learned the basics while studying Angel’s mechanism and history. Considering what I could observe now, combining that knowledge to research an antidote would likely yield quick results.
“But even if we develop the antidote, we can’t immediately administer it to people. And even if we did, we’d need to monitor the results…”
At that point, Ethan voiced his concern. He was right. Treating addiction wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight. And yet, staying here indefinitely wasn’t feasible either.
Despite all the problems, I spoke calmly.
“It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“The navy will be here soon.”
I had called them in advance, just in case.
