Chapter: 74
I finally understood why a being that left a terrible curse after dying was referred to as a God in the past. A Sea God? What a joke! Just like the Captain said, it’s more like a god of calamity.
Waahhhh! Huhuk, huhuhuh, huhhh!
Irlina, who had been desperately trying to hold back her tears, broke down completely and was now sobbing uncontrollably. Watching her cry as if the world were ending made me feel fortunate that I had sent the Head Magician back early.
In the midst of all this, I realized that when a person is truly miserable and overwhelmed, they can cry out in a way that might make onlookers uncomfortable. The quiet sniffles or soft sobs are just pretenses we keep when we’re still somewhat composed.
Of course, this wasn’t exactly information I wanted to know, nor should I have been privy to it.
Should I have just left too?
Seeing Irlina weep so sorrowfully made me question if I should have taken off too. But, abandoning a child crying among the corpses of a Kraken? That felt wrong… Especially with the other child crying down below.
I inadvertently peeked down at the scene and quickly looked back up. If Irlina noticed what I’d seen, she might just walk straight into the sea and never come back.
What in the world should I do?
What could I possibly say to soothe her?
“Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind!” Yeah, right. As if she’d feel reassured knowing she was in front of her family’s enemy.
I didn’t see anything? Good luck getting her to buy that. Saying something like that would strongly imply I had seen plenty.
What on earth could calm down the heart of a 17-year-old girl struck hard in her feelings? It felt impossible.
“Irlina, hang on a moment.”
Huh?
I gently lifted Irlina, who seemed to have cried her voice hoarse. I felt guilty for putting my hand on a child who was scared to be close to me, but this was the only solution I could come up with. If I left her like this, she’d probably collapse from dehydration.
As I turned away from Irlina’s face, which was soaked with tears, we waded into the sea until we were both submerged enough to be soaked.
“There was a bit of monster bodily fluid on you, just to be safe. Washing it off like this should do the trick.”
In reality, even without washing, nothing bad would occur. Krakens are a hassle only while they’re breathing—when they’re dead, their body fluids are the least of our worries.
But I couldn’t leave Irlina in such an uncomfortable situation. Plus, if we both got wet, it might ease the embarrassment a little. I knew it was a weird logic, but in my head, this was the best solution. Stupid Kraken! If you’re going to die, at least do it beautifully!
“Let’s head back. You must be really shocked; you should rest a bit.”
…Okay…
Her tiny reply suggested she had calmed down just a little. I was relieved that her tears had slowed, even if she was confused at being brought into the sea without permission. Sometimes emotional turmoil breaks when faced with the absurd.
How on earth am I supposed to face her now?
But we had just barely made it through this moment. Today’s events hadn’t vanished; I was sure Irlina would forever avoid my gaze. I’d probably grit my teeth and stay clear of her as well.
Now, if I returned after saying I would take my leave, everyone would be curious—especially if I returned dripping wet with someone unrelated to the affair.
“Brother? Irlina?”
As if to confirm my concerns, we bumped into Louise as she was descending the stairs. She looked at us, alternating between her surprised expression and mine, clearly flabbergasted.
“I’m back. Things wrapped up sooner than I expected.”
“That’s a relief! It would’ve been sad if you only worked while you were here.”
I was worried about that too, but thankfully, it was done in a day, though the price was rather horrible.
Louise quickly approached, inspecting my appearance from head to toe.
“But why are you so wet?”
“The waves were a bit rough. I got hit while passing by.”
“Be careful next time…”
Unlike Irlina, who had been in a swimsuit, I had jumped into the sea wearing regular clothes. Still, it turned out to be a worthwhile sacrifice if it meant her tears had stopped.
“Irlina, when did you go out? Are you feeling okay?”
“U-Um, I’m feeling a little better now.”
“Good to hear! I was really worried!”
As Louise held Irlina’s hand and smiled, Irlina’s gaze dropped to the ground. Ah, she was faking it, wasn’t she? Seeing Louise’s joyous reaction must have made her feel even worse.
“We met along the way. She looked exhausted, so let’s let her rest.”
“Oh, sure!”
It was probably best for Louise to take care of her rather than me hovering around. I figured she would look after Irlina just fine since I had asked her to let the girl rest.
“Uh, O-brother…”
Just as I attempted to pass Louise, I heard Irlina’s voice come from behind me. It was a word she had called me once before, back when she didn’t know I was the Executive Manager.
Turning back, I saw her slightly bowing her head. No need to go that far.
“T-thank you…”
“Thank you? It was nothing, really…”
Receiving gratitude from someone of the Yorun family made me feel a bit shy.
*
It felt like the sky was crashing down. I displayed a side of me I couldn’t even show my family or closest friends to someone I shouldn’t have shown it to.
It’s over. My life is over… As a woman, as a person. My life is officially over… If I knew it would come to this, I would have let that squid eat me.
After that, I cried for an eternity. It was like my mouth opened and my voice just spilled out. Dignity? I had already tossed that into the sea! My life was finished. Even if the Executive Manager told me, “It must match your hair color because it came from you,” I couldn’t even begin to retort.
“Irlina, hold on…”
But I never anticipated the Executive Manager would pick me up and take me into the sea. There was no way I could handle things in that state.
Is he going to toss me in like this?
As he waded further into the sea, that thought crossed my mind. Would he send me off while announcing, “After careful consideration, the Yorun family is indeed guilty!”? I wanted to struggle but my body felt heavy, paralyzed.
But he didn’t take me any deeper than just getting me soaked. Rather than tossing me in, he kept me secured so I wouldn’t budge.
“There was a bit of monster bodily fluid on you. This wash should prevent any issues.”
I stared blankly at him.
Why…?
At that moment, I finally got a good look at the Executive Manager’s expression. He carried me with an expression that wasn’t annoyed, contemptuous, or mocking—he didn’t even seem emotionless.
It was an expression laden with awkwardness about the situation, regret, and a touch of sorrow.
Why…?
Why would he show such a face? Aren’t you the enemy of my family? I’m terrified of you and desperately trying to avoid you. So why do you care?
Maybe it would’ve been better if you just ignored me. Then, I could dismiss it as bad luck. Why do you show me weird sides of you and act all considerate?
Why are you forcing me to feel strange about all this?
Just why?
I hate you. I really hate you.
“Let’s go back. You must be in shock, so you deserve to rest.”
But what I hate even more than anyone else…
“…Yes…”
Is myself, because my heart races for someone like you.
I bit my lips and hung my head low. I stayed silent on the way back to the lodging. My thoughts were a jumble, and I couldn’t even pinpoint what emotions I felt.
So when Louise noticed I had gone out, I wasn’t able to explain myself properly. I felt guilty for her concern. I wish I hadn’t lied if I knew it would end up like this.
As I stared at the ground, I heard footsteps ascending the stairs.
Oh no…
He’s on his way out. Leaving ahead of me, the coward, after stirring up my heart like that.
“Uh, O-brother.”
I called out hurriedly, only to feel a pang of regret afterward. Why am I calling him that now? I’ve tried so hard to keep my distance! What would he think if I suddenly acted friendly …? No, calling him brother would be a waste on him.
But since he saved my life, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to express gratitude, right? I did call him that the first time we met, after all. Yes, that’s fine; it’s not strange.
“T-thank you…”
I’m merely expressing my gratitude. No matter how much he’s my family’s enemy, or how much I dislike him, thanking someone who saved you is simply a common courtesy.
“It was nothing.”
His casual response made me shut my eyes tightly.
He truly is a coward. It’s infuriating how he can easily stir someone’s heart with such simple words. Such cowardice.
*
The Captain witnessed me defeat the Kraken, and the Head Magician confirmed the corpse. Since I sent him early, the Gold Duke must have heard the news already.
— Good job. I never thought you’d finish it in less than a day.
Still, I didn’t expect to receive a message the moment I stepped into my room. Ah, right; this resort is owned by the Gold Duke. I bet an employee must have informed him.
“I was just lucky.”
— Don’t be overly modest. What does that say about my people who suffered while you weren’t here?
“I’m pretty amazing, you know.”
— Ha! A man with such confidence is truly refreshing to see.
I was only saying that to please him, but the Gold Duke’s response is so unpredictable. What’s so great about confidence, anyway? As always, the Dukes have their quirks.
— Ah, about the reward. We should probably adjust it a bit.
“Huh?”
Please, don’t tell me he’s trying to shortchange me?
No, there’s no way. Even if things wrapped up unexpectedly, there’s no way the Gold Duke would do something so petty.
— Hasn’t the scope of its activities widened since I first asked you? We didn’t bring that up when we were last discussing it, so we should apply a new standard.
“Ah, okay…?”
— And you helped prevent casualties, right? We nearly took a hit to the tourism industry. We need to consider that too.
Upon saying this, the Gold Duke extended five fingers.
— This amount should suffice.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
It jumped from 30% to 50%.
Yes, the Gold Duke has always been a fair and just individual.
I knew I could trust the Gold Duke, the man of cool and smooth transactions.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.