Chapter 37

Everyone stared blankly at the retreating seagulls, then quickly checked their hunger gauges. Each of them had already dropped to 30%.

“What do we do? Should we just eat the emergency rations?” Holanghee asked.

“Isn’t that wasteful? Let’s just hold out until we catch more fish,” Noquia answered.

“If something happens while we’re waiting, we’ll all get wiped out,” Theo countered.

“I think Theo’s right. We should eat the rations now,” Father added, siding with him. She pulled out the emergency supplies and told them to speak up if they disagreed, but no one did. Even Noquia, who had objected at first, only gave a reluctant nod. Father divided the rations and everyone sat down in a circle, finally eating their fill.

Once that hurdle was over, peace settled over them again. They cast their fishing lines back into the sea and leaned back, watching the slow clouds drift across the sky.

They managed to catch plenty of fish this time, stringing them up to dry on a rope. But the number of circling seagulls had also grown, waiting to swoop down for a meal.

“An island!”

Holanghee shouted from atop the mast. At the same moment, the ship veered to starboard. A short while later, they pulled up at a small island.

This one was different: a cliff island made of jagged basalt columns. The air was damp and clammy, the whole place shrouded in gloom. A weathered dock led straight into a cave that tunneled deep inside the island.

They disembarked and cautiously followed the path into the cave. The deeper they went, the more it branched like a labyrinth. Places like this usually hid something important—maybe even the map they were looking for. With growing anticipation, they split up to search.

Not long after, shouts of triumph echoed through the tunnels. Even without seeing, the overlapping cheers bouncing through the cave told everyone the others had found something valuable.

What they uncovered was a fishing net—and a map. The map was essential, showing their destination at last. The net, when set up on the ship, would automatically catch fish and items without needing to cast lines, a priceless convenience.

While Noquia and Blaine hurried back to install the net, Father, Theo, and Holanghee unrolled the map.

“Whoa, it’s crazy far,” Holanghee muttered.

“We drifted completely in the wrong direction,” Theo said, grimacing.

Their current position was marked at the bottom-right corner of the parchment, a tiny rock island. Above it, scattered across the sea, were various islands. At the very center was the spot where they had first set sail.

And far to the upper left lay their destination: a massive island so large it filled an entire corner of the map, its borders stretching beyond the parchment. That was where the stage would end.

When Noquia and Blaine returned from setting up the net, they too leaned over the map. Seeing the daunting distance ahead, they both let out a long sigh.

Still, knowing their destination at least made their hearts a little lighter. Once the ship set off again, Holanghee climbed back up the mast, Father stood beside Noquia at the helm with the map spread out, and Theo and Blaine took charge of sorting whatever the net dragged up.

Doing the same task over and over would get boring fast, so they agreed to rotate jobs at regular intervals. After a few rounds, the lineup shifted: Theo was up on the mast, Father handled the helm, Holanghee kept the map, while Noquia and Blaine worked the net.

The two of them hauled up the heavy net and gave it a quick once-over before pulling everything out to sort through.

“Plenty of fish this time.”

“Yeah.”

Both of them glanced at the drying line. Twice already, seagulls had swooped in and stolen their catch. The squawking birds circling overhead were infuriating. If they’d had real weapons, those damn gulls would’ve been sashimi by now.

Grinding her teeth, Noquia strung the fish and then waved her arms furiously to scare the gulls away. But the only thing that rained down was bird crap right on her head.

Covered in filth, she pressed her lips tight, stalked over to the supply pile, and started chucking whatever she could grab up at the birds.

“W-wait! Don’t—!”

Blaine panicked, trying to stop her, but she wouldn’t. Not until she nailed one gull out of the sky did she finally dust off her hands, satisfied. She plucked the feathers, lit a fire, and roasted it right there.

With a wicked grin, Noquia tore into the meat. The surviving gulls circled angrily, cawing in protest—but the sharp gleam in her eyes, daring them to come closer, sent them scattering into the horizon.

Watching them flee, she threw her head back and laughed triumphantly, then split the roasted gull meat and shared it with the others.

After that little “scuffle” between Noquia and the seagulls, the deck soon quieted down again. As they hauled up the next net, Blaine suddenly asked the question that had been bothering him.

“By the way… what happens if someone falls into this sea?”

“Hm?”

“I mean… if you fall overboard and miss the ship, then what?”

“Not sure.”

“Would the person die? Or just get kicked out of the dungeon?”

“Good question…”

“Yeah…”

“You should try it and find out.”

“…Huh?”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“…I-I am…”

“Then jump in.”

Blaine glanced between Noquia and the sea, then fixed his eyes on the water, as if wrestling with something serious. After a moment, he turned back to her with a grim nod.

Noquia watched him, half in disbelief. Surely he wouldn’t…? But before she could stop him, Blaine vaulted over the railing and plunged into the sea with a huge splash.

Her eyes bulged like lanterns as she scrambled to the edge. Blaine surfaced, flailing, only to be swept further away by the current.

“Pffft—! He actually jumped in!”

Noquia clutched the railing, rolling around in hysterics. The others, alarmed by the racket, stopped the ship and rushed to the deck, but she was still doubled over with laughter.

“What the hell happened?!”

Father snapped, glaring at her. Blaine had just been working with her a moment ago—why was he suddenly in the ocean? But Noquia only clung to the railing, laughing so hard she gasped,

“I’m dying here~!”

Theo leaned over to scan beneath the ship, but Blaine had already vanished, carried off by the tide—or dragged under.

Sweat slicked Theo’s palms. Should he dive in after him? While he hesitated, a different kind of chaos broke out behind him.

Father and Holanghee had grabbed Noquia, raining blows on her while demanding an explanation. She sobbed and begged as she confessed between shrieks of laughter.

“You told him to jump?” Theo’s voice was ice-cold.

“No, no, it’s not like that! He was curious, so I just said he should try it out for himself!”

“That’s the same thing, you idiot! Why’d you egg him on?!”

“He’s at that age, you know—full of questions! I just thought he should solve it firsthand, my little act of kindness—”

Her excuses were cut off by Father, who pummeled her back with both fists.

“You damn fool! You half-wit!”

While Noquia yelped under the beating, Holanghee stomped anxiously at the railing. No matter how much she searched the waves, Blaine was nowhere to be seen. He couldn’t have drifted far—the ship had stopped soon after he fell.

“What do we do now? How do we find him, Sweetie?”

Theo thought hard, then said they had to turn the ship around.

“I don’t know how far he’s drifted, but he’s already out of sight, so it might be farther than we think. Or maybe he got pulled under the hull. We should check there fir—”

The deck trembled beneath their feet. Theo froze mid-sentence, staring down. The others did too, dread sinking in.

Something surged up from the deep with the roar of a waterfall. Shadows fell over the deck as Haraban loomed above them, frill spread wide, eyes narrowed.

Their faces drained of color as they instinctively backed away. Of all times, why now? If they ran from Haraban, they’d lose Blaine for good. But if they stayed, they’d be crushed.

Haraban stretched its head, circling half the ship, then wrapped its tentacles tightly around the hull. Escape was impossible. One strike and they’d all go under.

But the monster didn’t attack. It only scanned the deck with narrowed eyes, as if searching for something.

Then, with a wet retch, Haraban spat something out. The object clattered across the deck, rolling to a stop at their feet.

It was Blaine.

Soaked in seawater and Haraban’s slime, he lay limp, unconscious.

Everyone gaped, looking from Blaine to the sea monster. Haraban smacked its lips, then uncoiled its tentacles and simply loomed above, glaring down with a guttural roar.

That snapped them back to their senses. Without another word, they scattered to their posts, working frantically to steer the ship away.