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CHAPTER 6
Whoooosh—
The cool sound of waves.
A salty, fishy smell filled the air. When I lifted my head for a moment, a pale-blue sea spread before my eyes.
“Shasha.”
“Yes—Yes!”
A sharp voice pierced through me. I jumped in surprise and dropped the rag in my hand.
The captain, wearing a black eyepatch and leaning on a crutch, walked toward me. I quickly bent down and picked up the rag.
“Is the deck clean?”
“I—I’m cleaning it now!”
His eyes pressed down on me like a weight, and I immediately got on my knees and scrubbed the deck.
“Do you think you have time to slack off?”
Captain, I only rested for a second!
I had been working nonstop until now. Really, I did.
It felt so unfair, but no one cared about my side.
Satisfied with my frantic scrubbing, the sound of his crutch slowly faded away.
Phew… Or maybe not phew.
How was I supposed to clean this huge deck all by myself?
After all, I was the only crew member on this ship!
But what choice did I have? Orders were orders.
Even a cruel boss was still the boss.
This is why you should always read the contract carefully before—huh?
“Wait. Why am I even on a ship?”
Wasn’t I just at the Duke of Bermanion’s mansion?
That’s when I realized something was wrong—no, very wrong.
From somewhere far away, I heard a faint singing voice.
“☐■?☐☐☐■■?☐■”
“☐☐■?☐■☐■?☐■”
The sound was…
So horrible!
I clutched my ears and sank to the floor.
Suddenly, the ship’s bow swung sharply to the side. I lost my balance, rolled across the deck, and barely grabbed the railing.
Something was off. We were sailing straight toward that awful sound.
“We shall go there…”
This lunatic!
When had he even grabbed the wheel?
The captain—who had just been glaring at me—was now steering the ship toward the song.
The sea, calm until moments ago, suddenly churned with waves.
If we moved wrong, I’d be swept into the ocean.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the terrible song grew louder and louder.
“☐■?☐☐☐■■?☐■”
“☐☐■?☐■☐■?☐■”
“Why… why are we going closer?”
I swallowed hard.
It wasn’t just out of tune—it basically meant:
“We’ll eat you alive.”
Why would anyone sail toward that?!
As the voices grew nearer, a massive cliff came into view.
On top of it stood two monsters. Their lower halves were birds, their upper halves women.
And they glared down at me with murderous eyes while singing.
Why me?
I was just an innocent sailor scrubbing the deck… wait.
Now that I looked closely, their faces seemed oddly familiar.
But I didn’t get a chance to study them.
“Uh-oh—”
A massive wave surged toward the ship.
It was at least twice as tall as the mast.
Inside the wave, a dark shadow loomed.
Something that size had to be larger than the ship itself.
And then—something burst out of the wave.
A gigantic octopus tentacle.
It stretched high into the air, ready to smash the ship into pieces.
“…Oh God.”
For the first time in my life, I prayed.
Clinging to the railing like my lifeline, I squeezed my eyes shut.
“☐■■!☐■☐■☐■!☐■!!!”
A deafening voice shook the air. A violent gust blew my hair upward.
And in my head, the words became clear:
“Maid Head… I will kill you.”
Maid Head?
What?
I snapped my eyes open.
The tentacle that should have crushed the ship was still frozen mid-air.
And right in front of me was—
“…A snake?”
…A snake?
***
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t on a ship.
A bright lamp shone above a white ceiling.
“What…?”
A face leaned into view.
“Did you have a nightmare, Shasha?”
It was Eki.
Ah… So it was just a dream.
Thinking back, it was completely ridiculous.
Even in dreams, I had to work for a cruel captain, only to almost get eaten by monsters.
“Yes… I think so.”
I nodded slowly.
Wiping sweat from my forehead, I pulled the blanket up to my chin.
The clock beside me read 3 a.m.
I must have cried out or tossed in my sleep, so Eki woke me.
Thank goodness. If not, I would’ve been eaten by that octopus—or drowned in the sea.
Even in a dream, I didn’t want to die scrubbing a deck.
“Thank you, Eki.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Eki smiled softly, hugging her beloved doll.
Wait a second. The last thing I saw in the dream—
“Didn’t that snake look just like her doll?”
I glanced at the doll in her arms.
On my first day of work, I had sewn it back together for her.
She had sat right beside me, telling me exactly how she wanted it fixed.
At first, it was so torn I couldn’t even tell what it was supposed to be. But after stitching it up, following her instructions, it became a snake.
A colorful snake, pink and green woven together.
Meanwhile, Eki gently touched my forehead and cheeks, checking me over.
“Shasha, do you feel better now? You’re not scared anymore?”
“Yes, yes.”
It was only a dream.
But seeing how much she cared about me, my nose stung.
She used to be so shy, and now she worried about me so much.
Even though my sweaty skin must have felt gross, she didn’t mind touching me.
After fiddling with my hand for a while, she whispered softly:
“It’s okay now. Go back to sleep.”
“You too, Eki. Good night.”
“Sweet dreams, Shasha.”
…Though I thought I was wide awake—
Or maybe not.
I met her golden eyes staring at me, and before I knew it, sleep pulled me under again.
***
Eki’s golden eyes lingered on Shasha.
Once she was sure Shasha was asleep, her black pupils narrowed into vertical slits.
The smile she had worn vanished. Her face turned blank, emotionless.
Even though the lamp was still on, half of her face looked swallowed by shadows. Pink scales briefly shimmered across her cheek.
Still holding the snake doll, she slowly moved to the door.
Slide—
Her steps were calm, but the rage inside her spilled out. Her lower body twisted, transforming into a snake’s tail.
A massive shadow swallowed the entire room. Anything her tail touched—closet, lamp, furniture—was shredded into pieces.
But the moment she stepped outside, the tail and scales vanished.
She leaned against the door, arms crossed.
In front of her stood several monsters, trembling with their heads bowed.
Her lips parted slowly.
“If you ever torment the Maid Head again…”
Her voice was nothing like the gentle one Shasha knew.
It was sharp, like nails scraping against glass.
“…I’ll tear your souls apart, piece by piece.”
“Y-Yes! We’re sorry…!”
Even as they trembled, the monsters stole glances at each other.
She had broken Rule Number One, yet nothing happened to her.
Then they realized why.
At night, the hallway lamps always cast light. Yet no shadows appeared on the walls.
That was because—
Eki’s shadow covered the entire mansion.
Bowing again and again, the monsters fled quickly back to their quarters.
One or two, after glancing at the perfect snake doll in her hand, suddenly wore grim, regretful expressions—as if they had finally realized something.
Eki didn’t move until they were gone. Then she returned to the room.
Dragging a chair to Shasha’s bedside, she sat down, resting her chin on her hand as she watched Shasha snore softly.
The wrecked room didn’t bother her.
Now that she had regained her true form, fixing this mess would be as easy as snapping her fingers.
But then—
[[Echidna.]]
“…!”
A sharp voice rang inside her head.
Eki froze, the doll slipping from her hand.
