Innocent Malice (Ghost Ship 2)

The sea in the early morning.

I was on the deck of the ghost ship, wrapped in white fog. It was a large ship with three masts.

It was damaged and broken here and there. Under normal circumstances, it would have been such a wreck that a single high wave would seem likely to break it apart.

But the ship was protected by some kind of magic power and drifted aimlessly.

Liricia, in angel form, descended beside me while holding the soundly sleeping Rāna. Rāna’s long white hair swayed gently.

“I’ll take Rāna. It’s better for you to have both hands free, Liricia.”

“Understood.”

I took Rāna from Liricia and carried her on my back. Liricia readied her silver flail.

While supporting Rāna on my back with one hand, I also drew my sword with my free hand.

I spoke while looking toward the white figures on the deck.

“Let’s quickly defeat this ship’s boss and get to Luktia today.”

“Yes!”

“So, what bothers me is those things… Are they not undead?”

There were several white figures—skeletons—on the deck. There was a skeleton steering the helm, skeletons climbing the masts and adjusting the sails, and a skeleton looking through a telescope from the lookout platform. Some skeletons wore scraps of sailor-like clothing, while others were completely naked.

At a glance, they looked like undead skeletons.

But if so, it would be strange for them not to have died after being bathed in my constantly leaking Holy Wave.

Liricia made a monocle with her fingers and looked at the skeletons.

“They are already dead. It appears the sailors’ corpses are being controlled with magic power.”

“So there’s someone controlling them—then that person must be this ship’s boss.”

One of the skeletons came nearby. It held a deck brush and was making motions as if scrubbing the deck.

I tried speaking to it.

“Hey, can you talk?”

“…”

It ignored me. The skeleton continued scrubbing the deck.

“If you can talk, I’d like you to guide me to the boss controlling this ship.”

“…”

The skeleton kept scrubbing the deck. Looking closely, the bones all over its body were cracked and wobbly.

I shrugged and said,

“No response. It seems to be just a corpse.”

“It seems to be doing nothing more than repeating simple movements.”

“Then the boss must be in the cabins. Let’s go, Liricia.”

When I tried to head toward the door leading into the cabins, Liricia spoke as if reproaching me.

“Would it not be better to destroy them now? When we end up fighting the ruler of this ship, these skeletons may attack us.”

“I thought of that too, but they’ll probably return to their original shape even if we break them apart. Their broken bones are moving while still maintaining their original shape. It’s like they’re connected by magic power. Cutting off the boss’s magic power should come first.”

“You had thought that far ahead. As expected of you, Master.”

“All right, let’s proceed carefully.”

“Yes!”

We headed to the door at the edge of the deck that led into the cabins.

The door opened slowly with a terrible creak.

Inside was pitch black.

I poured power into the sword in my hand. While I was at it, I compressed the Holy Wave as well.

“Hah!”

In moments, the blade glowed bluish-white and illuminated the inside of the ship.

The inside of the ship was filled with damp humidity. The walls, ceiling, and corridors made of brown wooden boards were falling apart. There were holes here and there, and even green moss and mold were growing.

We avoided the holes as we headed deeper inside. We also looked into the cabins along the way.

However, most of the cabins were in ruins, with nothing but the remains of chairs and desks, shelves and books, bunk beds, and cloth-like things.

Everything crumbled away just from being touched with a fingertip.

It could be said that there was nothing there.

Feeling a little disappointed, I sighed and said,

“It’s a ghost ship, but there doesn’t seem to be any treasure.”

“Even if there was, it seems it would have rotted away… What a shame.”

We headed even farther in.

Rāna, whom I was carrying on my back, breathed “suii, suii” beside my ear, and it tickled.

We headed deeper inside while occasionally passing by skeletons.

They seemed to be doing nothing more than mechanically performing their normal duties.

After opening several cabins, we came out into a luxurious room.

By luxurious, I mean it was wider than the cabins so far and had furnishings made of things other than wood.

A large iron desk was set up with its back to the window. On the shelves along the wall were several rotted books.

A skeleton wearing a hat and an eyepatch over one eye was sitting at the desk.

It seemed to be the captain.

—Is this the boss?

I stepped forward while staying on guard.

“Are you the one controlling this ship? We have to hurry to the Luktia Holy Papal State. If you get in our way, I’ll have to destroy the ship.”

“…”

“No response. This one seems to be just a corpse too.”

The skeleton captain sat at the desk without moving in the slightest.

Liricia put a slender finger to her chin and spoke while thinking.

“As expected, they are not undead. It seems more like magic power is being sent through them to give them simple orders, like golems.”

“So the captain is just being controlled too. All right, let’s search for some clue.”

“Yes, Master!”

The two of us searched the desk and the skeleton’s clothing.

It was eerie how the skeleton captain sometimes stared at us with his hollow eye sockets.

—Is he really just being controlled? Doesn’t he have consciousness or emotions?

While thinking such things, we finished searching.

What we found was a large golden key. It was decorated with a black gemstone. Complicated patterns were also drawn on it.

Liricia said,

“I sense magic power from this key. It seems to be a key for opening a special box or door.”

“Oh-ho. In other words, there’s somewhere on this ship to use it. Farther below, then.”

“Could it be the key to enter the hold on the lowest level?”

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

We headed farther down the crumbling corridor.

Along the way, there was a large dining hall.

Long tables were lined up, and several skeletons had gathered and were making merry. Though silently.

The inside of the dining hall was completely silent.

Suddenly, one skeleton stood up, raised an empty mug, and acted as if shouting something. The other skeletons burst into laughter at those words. The plates on the table shook soundlessly.

However, no words could be heard, and their movements made no sound either. On top of that, several minutes later, they repeated the same actions again.

It was eerie, but it was an eeriness that made one feel sad.

For now, they were harmless, so we left them alone.

We passed through the dining hall and descended the stairs.

The second level was built much like the first.

Searching it seemed meaningless. Just in case, I asked Liricia, who was smarter than me.

“It’s fine to go straight to the lowest level now, right?”

“Yes. Even if we search, I believe almost everything will already be decayed.”

“Thought so. Then let’s go.”

With Liricia following me, I descended the stairs leading to the lowest level.

The lowest level was a vast open hall. It was almost as wide as the ship itself.

There should originally have been bulkheads, but perhaps they had been destroyed, because it was open all the way through.

And it had become a forest with trees standing close together.

On top of that, it was faintly bright. Magical light?

I unconsciously voiced my question.

“What the heck is this?”

“It is a forest with an unpleasant presence.”

Although I called it a forest, the trunks of the trees were thin and lanky. There were not many leaves either. Because of that, we could see far ahead.

Well, since they were growing in a place like this with no sunlight, they probably had no vitality. The magical light was dim and hazy too.

The undergrowth also felt more like moss than bushes. There were also things growing that looked like bracken shoots.

“Those are really good if you remove the bitterness, then simmer them with egg.”

“Huh? Bracken? Shall we gather some?”

“We don’t have time right now. Another time.”

“Yes.”

I thrust my sword forward and entered the forest cautiously.

Liricia also followed behind me with her flail in hand.

We walked while stepping on moss and fallen leaves.

I cut obstructing branches with my sword.

Around the time we had walked halfway in, I saw a blue pond a short distance ahead.

Then Liricia, who had been looking through her monocle, shouted in warning.

“Master! There is a dragon! A Sky Dragon! It is an upper species even among wind-attribute dragons!”

“Huh?”

In the direction Liricia pointed, there was a spring in the forest—or so I thought, but it was a dragon with the color of transparent water. It was sleeping with its long neck and tail curled up.

I approached while becoming even more cautious.

Gradually, I reconsidered and decided that saying the dragon was the color of water was inaccurate. If anything, the color of the dragon’s body was like the surface of water reflecting a blue sky.

We came near the dragon. It was not very large. About the size of a horse.

While looking at the soundly sleeping dragon, I asked Liricia.

“Is it a child dragon?”

“It may be. Sky Dragons are said to be very large dragons that fly through the vast sky.”

“…Is this one the culprit behind the ghost ship?”

“I believe the feel of the magic power being used is similar, but—”

Just as Liricia tilted her head, a small winged insect flew out from the shade of the forest.

We had no time to brace ourselves, and it took the first move.

“Wide open! Temptation!”

“What?”

Pink magic power covered our bodies.

Before my eyes, a fairy with wings on her back appeared. She was about thirty centimeters tall and flew while fluttering transparent wings.

Her figure was rather good, and in human terms, she could be called a woman around twenty years old. Slender legs extended from her light-green tunic.

However, while her face was the beautiful type, her cheeky expression was a little annoying.

“Heh-heh! Against the great wind fairy Sylph-sama, any enemy goes down in one shot!”

It seemed she had used some kind of magic.

However, I could move my fingertips, and it seemed there was no particular problem.

As I watched the situation, the little fairy in front of me put her hands on her hips and arrogantly leaned back while saying,

“Haah! This time it’s a man who doesn’t look like he’ll ever amount to much. Well, I’ll have you work until you die, and then keep working after you’re dead. Got it? Oh, right, you can’t move unless I order you anymore, can you? Ahaha!”

After saying that, she slapped my cheek with her small hand.

It was kind of irritating.

Next, the fairy flew toward Liricia.

The fairy looked Liricia up and down with a stare, then frowned in displeasure.

“Haaah? What’s with this girl, cosplaying as an angel? Well, I get admiring beings with wings, but unless you’re a noble and graceful being like me, it doesn’t suit you. A mere human trying to imitate me is beyond presumptuous.”

The fairy slapped Liricia’s large chest with a bouncy motion. Then she shoved her arms into the deep valley between them and made wet shuffling sounds.

Liricia blushed while letting it happen.

However, there was no effect from the magic. She simply seemed surprised and confused.

I had finally gotten fed up, so I moved my hand quickly, sheathed my sword, and caught the winged insect.

“Gyaaah! What!?”

“That’s enough, you damn bug.”

When I gripped her tightly, the winged insect made a racket in my hand.

“Gyaaah! No way! Why can you move!? Temptation was the strongest art in the Romancing Dance Saga! Don’t tell me you’d already seen through it!?”

“No idea.”

Liricia muttered quietly.

“Well, Master’s Holy Wave is too dense, so all status abnormalities are nullified…”

I put even more strength into the hand holding her.

The fairy twisted her body and shouted.

“Ow, ow! W-wait, I’m gonna get crushed! I’m gonna get crushed!”

“I don’t care what you say about me, but I will not allow you to insult Liricia.”

“What did you say! Acting so high and mighty! Do you know who I am!?”

“I don’t even want to know.”

“Hmph, listen and be amazed! I am Sylph, the great wind fairy!”

I looked at Liricia casually and asked,

“Can you eat fairies?”

“Who knows? I have never heard of it.”

“Maybe we should try deep-frying her.”

Sylph started panicking in my hand.

“W-w-wait! What are you discussing!? I’m not tasty, okay? I’m all skin and bones! I don’t have any fat on me!”

I held Sylph firmly as she thrashed in my hand trying to escape, brought my face close, and glared at her.

“You’re the one controlling this ship, aren’t you? Mocking the dead even after they’ve died. What exactly is your goal?”

Sylph averted her eyes and whistled badly with a “fuhyuu, fuhyoo.”

“W-who knows? Whatever could you mean? I haven’t done anything.”

“Before deep-frying you, maybe I should cut open your belly and pull out your filthy guts.”

“T-there’s nothing filthy about me!”

“If we stuff her belly with herbs before frying her, she may become even more delicious.”

Liricia, who had come beside me, answered while peering at Sylph with a radiant smile. Only her eyes were not smiling. Her gaze was as cold as ice.

Cold sweat appeared on Sylph’s face.

“I’m sorreee! I won’t do it again, so forgive me!”

At last, Sylph began to cry. Then she started talking about what she had done.