Chapter 46
Early morning.
After the grand banquet from the previous night, which had been filled with countless events,
Most of the crew were still fast asleep.
Sitting alone in my room,
I began carefully inspecting the spoils from our latest endeavor.
Various jewels, pieces of artwork, and even rare materials for magical research—
Though they were all relatively small, each item held great value.
Looking at them,
I couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Now that I see them all gathered like this, it’s actually quite remarkable… They didn’t have much time, yet they managed to only take the smallest, most valuable items.”
What Ambasha and Elkana had done—abandoning their orders and acting on their own—was certainly wrong,
But I had to admit that their accomplishments were nonetheless impressive.
If they could just fix their reckless tendencies,
They would undoubtedly grow into invaluable assets.
Hoping that Franklin’s ‘sacrifice’ would serve as an effective lesson for them,
I continued rummaging through the auction goods,
When suddenly,
A particular gemstone caught my eye.
A small, coin-sized, teardrop-shaped jewel,
Glowing with a brilliant shade of blue.
According to the auction catalog I had obtained earlier,
It was known as “Tear of the Sea.”
The moment I saw it,
I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
As if I had seen it somewhere before.
A strangely nostalgic sensation.
However,
No matter how hard I racked my brain,
I couldn’t recall anything in my memories about an item with that name.
The catalog’s description stated that it was “a treasure of the sea spirits, the merfolk.”
But in the original story,
Merfolk didn’t even exist.
Of course, since arriving in this world and living as a pirate,
I had personally encountered the existence of merfolk.
Though this world was corrupt,
It was still a fantasy world.
A place where creatures that existed only in legends in modern times—
Werewolves, Lizardmen, Sirens—
All kinds of beings known as “Demonic Races” were real.
Merfolk were included among them.
That being said,
I had never actually interacted with them.
The merfolk race tended to avoid humans,
And for us, seeing them was no different from spotting dolphins in the sea.
But now,
Holding this Tear of the Sea—
A supposed treasure of the merfolk—
I felt an unshakable, eerie familiarity.
“I can’t figure it out… What the hell is this…?”
In the end,
Unable to find an answer,
I decided to set the matter aside for now,
Hoping I’d be able to solve it later.
I tucked the gem into my pocket.
As the first owner of the loot,
It wasn’t as if anyone would object.
With that,
I finished examining the rest of the goods—
Finding nothing particularly special among them—
And set them aside to distribute among the crew.
And then…
“Now then…”
Turning my gaze to the large chest before me,
I felt a tension unlike before.
Until just yesterday,
It had constantly rattled, exuding a faint presence.
But now—
Perhaps it was asleep?
The chest was silent.
I cautiously approached.
Considering the transport schedule,
I had about two days before I needed to deal with whatever was inside.
But now that most of my tasks were done,
There was no reason to wait.
I decided to open it immediately.
According to the original story,
Taming this thing was simple.
If others were around, it might be dangerous,
But this was the early hours of the morning.
The entire crew was asleep,
And I was alone in my quarters.
With no external factors to interfere,
I was certain that nothing would go wrong.
Thinking that,
I applied force to the chest and opened it.
And the very next moment…
Upon seeing the contents inside,
A single word naturally escaped my lips.
“…Fuck.”
***
“Snooze… snooze…”
“Snore… snore…”
“Mmnya…”
“Mu… nya… mu… nya…”
The four of them were sprawled out on the kitchen floor, each making their own distinct sleeping noises.
Ambasha was curled up in a corner, sleeping like a shrimp.
Elkana and Magellan were tangled together on the bare floor, clinging to each other’s bodies.
And… Auriel was leaning against the wall in a demure posture.
Without even the energy to find a comfortable bed, they had simply collapsed into deep sleep.
It was as if they had just survived a battlefield… No, perhaps even worse than a battlefield— the hellish night they barely endured had left them completely drained, and now, they slept in the most uncomfortable positions imaginable.
At that moment…
—Sizzle—
“…Mm…mnn…”
“…Sniff… sniff… Mmm…?”
A familiar sound suddenly rang out, followed by a savory scent tickling their noses.
The first to react and open her eyes was Ambasha.
“Ah… You’re awake?”
With a greeting, her drowsy eyes met a familiar sight—
Franklin, standing as always in an apron, cooking.
Ambasha rubbed her eyes and greeted her.
“Ah… Good morning, sis… Yaaawn… What time… is it now?”
“It’s still five o’clock. You worked hard yesterday, didn’t you? If you’re tired, you can sleep a little longer.”
“…Yaaawn… No, it’s fine. I should get up too.”
Still yawning, Ambasha struggled to shake off her sleepiness, gazing blankly at Franklin, who was expertly stir-frying vegetables in a large pot.
However…
Though Franklin seemed the same as always,
Ambasha suddenly felt a strange sense of unease.
‘Huh? That’s odd… Somehow, sis feels a little different from usual…’
She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
There wasn’t anything noticeably different about Franklin’s appearance.
Her movements and clothing remained the same as always.
However,
At this moment, there was something… unusual about her.
She seemed strangely excited—
Or perhaps, it would be better to say that she was more lively than usual.
It was difficult to put into words,
But there was an aura about her that felt different.
“…Something about her has changed… but I can’t tell what it is…”
Feeling an inexplicable sense of curiosity,
Ambasha carefully folded the blanket—clearly left for her by Franklin—before heading toward her.
It was still the early hours before dawn.
Though the light of the rising sun on the distant horizon made it just bright enough to see,
The lingering darkness still signaled that it was too early for most to be awake.
However, that was only for ordinary people.
For those in charge of cooking, this was a completely natural time to wake up.
And after spending so much time working alongside Franklin since joining the pirate crew,
This biological clock of a cook had become ingrained in Ambasha as well.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You must be exhausted…”
“This much is nothing. But what about you, sis? Is your back injury better now?”
“Yes, last night, Vice-Captain Remine healed it with magic. Look here.”
“Ah…”
As Franklin slightly lifted her clothing to reveal her back,
Ambasha let out a small sigh of relief.
Unlike yesterday, her wound had completely healed thanks to the recovery magic.
Seeing this, the guilt that had been weighing on Ambasha’s heart lightened just a little.
“I’m so relieved… Truly… You’re not in pain anymore…”
“Fufu… Thank you. I appreciate your concern.”
Of course,
That relief was only a small comfort.
Still burdened by guilt,
Ambasha quickly adjusted her posture, putting on her apron with a disciplined air.
“So, what should I do first? Should I start chopping the carrots? Or…”
“Ah… The vegetables we have should be enough. Could you check if there’s still any meat left in storage? If there is, bring it here so we can prepare it.”
“Understood. I’ll go right away.”
Following Franklin’s instructions,
Ambasha headed toward the food storage at the back of the kitchen.
The storage area was filled with various vegetables and spices.
The meat, however, was stored inside the cooling chamber,
Where magic kept the temperature low.
The iron door, covered in a thin layer of frost,
Brought to Ambasha’s mind the lavish banquet from the night before.
It was entirely possible that the storage had been completely emptied.
With that concern in mind,
She reached for the cold handle and pulled the door open.
And then—
“…Huh?”
For a brief moment,
She froze, her eyes widening.
A rapid heartbeat surged through her chest,
And in an instant, she slammed the door shut.
“…Mmm…”
Thinking she might have just imagined it,
Ambasha hesitated before opening the door again.
And then—
“…Gulp.”
Without realizing it, she swallowed dryly.
At that moment,
She saw it clearly.
There, perched on a half-eaten chunk of meat,
Was a creature, staring straight at her.
Its entire body was covered in pure white fur.
It was about 60 centimeters long, its body sleek and streamlined.
It took Ambasha only a moment to recognize what it was.
‘…A weasel?’
She had seen them before—
They were often kept as pets by nobles.
A small, fluffy, and adorable creature.
Almost instinctively,
Ambasha reached out her hand.
The urge to touch its soft fur was overwhelming.
But then—
-CRACK!
“!?!!”
—
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