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chapter 11
“Ananta.”
“Yes.”
“Remember why you were born with that name.”
“…Yes.”
“You are the guardian of this sea, and at the same time…”
Ah, this dream again.
You’d think I’d be tired of it by now… But how deep must that resentment be, that his face keeps appearing without end?
Long silver hair slipped down past the hand covering his face.
Annoying.
Every time he used his power recklessly, endless nightmares and pain would come surging in.
This curse that would never leave Ananta’s body…
“…Wait.”
Ananta lowered the hand that had been covering his face. Grabbing his fallen hair roughly, he tossed it back over his shoulder.
Something was strange.
The pain was oddly faint.
Normally, it should have come with a crushing headache—so sharp it felt like his skull would split apart—and an uncontrollable urge to destroy everything.
But he felt fine.
Just a shallow, light headache. Barely enough to notice, something that could easily be ignored.
How long had it been since he had opened his eyes with such a clear mind, even after using his “power”?
Ananta slowly counted back through the years.
Over a decade ago. The night his father died. A night when rain poured so hard it seemed ready to swallow every waterway. Ananta hadn’t slept a wink that night.
Every time he closed his eyes, a massive white serpent crept closer, until it finally opened its jaws at his feet.
That was the curse passed down through Ananta’s bloodline.
The one who inherited the family name would, upon the death of the previous generation, inherit the curse as well.
[ …Find it. ]
Hatred passed down through generations.
[ Destroy it, and I shall sleep forever in this sea. ]
If he didn’t find and destroy that unknown thing, it would never end.
The curse left behind by a being who had once been the god of the sea was just that powerful. And because of it, Ananta had become something less than human.
A monster.
Alive, but not truly living.
“…Disgusting.”
The reduced pain was welcome, but he knew it was only temporary.
Just another whim of the monster.
After that, there were a few more encounters with sea beasts, but none larger than that octopus.
Though the captain had looked pale for days afterward, he soon returned to his usual self, as if nothing had ever happened.
He didn’t speak of that day again—and instead, he resumed bothering Rinka. No, if anything, it was worse than before.
“Rinka, what’s your family like?”
“I don’t have one.”
“You have no parents?”
“I don’t know who my father is, and my mother passed away.”
“I see. Was your mother laid to rest in Cader?”
“She was cremated. She asked me to scatter her ashes into the sea.”
It was always like this.
What she used to do in her hometown, who she lived with, what she was good at, what she liked—endless questions. And if she didn’t answer, he would pester her without mercy.
Afraid he might stumble onto something she didn’t want to discuss, she gave vague answers. That only encouraged him to keep going.
He wouldn’t let her leave the captain’s quarters, grabbed the doorknob to stop her, and even stuck by her side the whole time she was cooking.
Honestly, it’s such a pain…
Like right now.
Rinka was sitting in the storeroom, checking the remaining supplies before they reached Lavanto Island—
“What about your father?”
“I told you, I don’t know! Ugh, stop hovering.”
Technically, this was supposed to be the captain’s job. But because he was so careless about it, Rinka was doing it in his place—yet he still had the nerve to distract her.
“Why are you always frowning? Your face looks funny, Rinka.”
“I want to punch you five times, Captain.”
“Do it.”
That look of his, like he wouldn’t even feel it—how irritating.
Rinka clenched her fist tightly and aimed at the captain’s solar plexus.
She hesitated just a moment, glancing at his radiant face, then held back.
“Wait, are you really going to hit me?”
“You told me to, didn’t you?”
“Of course I was joking—ugh, you seem stronger these days.”
Actually, she was only pretending to hold back. She immediately let her fist fly.
Ignoring the captain’s obvious act of playing the victim, Rinka went back to counting sacks of flour.
There was a reason she had ended up taking on the captain’s responsibilities.
When she had first been hired aboard this ship as a cook’s assistant and errand girl, the captain had told her:
“On this ship, hardly anyone has experience with that sort of work.”
At the time, she had just thought, What nonsense is this pirate talking about?
But it turned out to be true.
“Rinka, we don’t have any butter for the bread.”
“Since you toasted it in butter already, just spread some jam.”
“How do you toast bread in butter?”
From people who didn’t even know how to toast bread—
“To be honest, that cream stew was delicious. But to make it richer, should we slaughter a cow?”
“…Why?”
“Milk comes from cows, right? So we’d need a cow to make richer cream.”
—to suggestions of hauling live cows aboard just to improve a stew. When all they really needed was to buy fresh cheese.
The captain had been right: the crew somehow enjoyed his absurd cooking, yet knew almost nothing about food.
Not all of them, though. Berina and Mien, who had often helped Rinka since the beginning, were fairly capable with small chores.
Well, aside from trying to solve everything with brute strength or magic. And eating octopus tentacles as though they were steak at a fancy restaurant…
“Rinka, what are you thinking about?”
A soft, teasing voice broke through her thoughts. Silver hair brushed her shoulder, tickling her cheek.
“I’m thinking about slipping you a sleeping pill, Captain.”
“I don’t take medicine.”
“Oh, for crying out loud—”
This man.
He knew perfectly well what she meant.
Rinka scowled and jerked her head toward him.
“Uh—”
Deep, ocean-blue eyes were right in front of hers.
Glittering like jewels, rolling like waves…
Frozen, Rinka stared blankly into the captain’s eyes and slowly blinked once.
At the same time, his silver eyelashes lowered, then lifted again.
“Rinka?”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t we a little too close?”
“Too clo—wah!”
She had been about to deny it, but the warmth of his breath across her lips snapped her back to her senses. In a fluster, she scrambled to get away, stumbling with a loud crash.
Too hasty? Her foot tangled.
Behind her was the captain. In front, sacks of flour. If she tipped sideways, she’d fall.
“Careful—”
Before she even thought of what to grab, before his words even finished, a large, familiar hand wrapped around her waist.
“Got you.”
Heat suddenly rose at the nape of her neck.
His hand at her waist felt… ticklish.
He had gotten this close before plenty of times, but strangely, this felt a little… different.
“Okay, I get it, let go now.”
Something was—
“Why?”
“It just feels… weird.”
“Weird?”
She wanted nothing more than to shove that flawless face out of her sight!
Whatever this was—
“A-anyway. I’m standing properly now.”
She was certain she had just fallen for that stupid face again. But if he realized she had been dazed by his looks, who knew how he would use it against her later? She averted her gaze and pressed her hand to his shoulder.
But—
Instead of letting himself be pushed away with his usual smile, the captain didn’t budge.
Startled, Rinka looked up. The captain’s gaze was fixed on the small window by the storeroom door.
