TSFA 05

chapter 05

I was flustered. So all this time, the reason he’d been sweating buckets setting up the shade was… because of me?

For a stepsister I’d known for less than an hour, whose existence he might not even have been aware of, and who had been forced onto him like some burdensome luggage?

No, it wasn’t so much because I was his blood relative—it had to be at least a minimal human consideration.

For a young, weak little girl.

“Hurry up and come in.”

“Ah, no. I’m fine. Ah… Dad? You go ahead. You must be tired and hot too…”

“Me? Here? You dismiss twelve years of prison experience? I’ve spent all day under the scorching sun pulling weeds and hauling wood. What’s with this?”

Ryan, as if annoyed, grabbed the back of my neck and pushed me into the shade. Once the blazing sunlight was blocked, it felt much better.

‘What is this?!’

A personality that knows how to consider the weak?

Do I need to reevaluate Ryan’s character?

“Ah! What the—why again, you brat!”

“Let’s not scream so much!”

While I was fretting, Ryan opened the engine room door and caused a commotion. I hurriedly scrambled out, fearing he might really kill the engineer, and saw:

“You should at least give them some water.”

Thankfully, it seemed he had only taken the canteen.

I went back into the shade, crouched down, and blankly stared at Ryan.

As if to cool me down, he tilted the canteen over my head, pouring the water refreshingly.

Yellow eyes. Golden hair spread like a lion’s mane. A handsome face, but strong features and deep eyes gave him a dangerously fierce look.

And above all… a massive frame that could swallow me whole.

He was over 190 cm tall, with muscles packed neatly onto his body, an overwhelming presence.

Even if Ryan were truly incompetent, my fragile neck could probably be twisted easily.

But…

“Here, the rest is for you.”

He didn’t do it.

The fact that he handed me the remainder of his water gave me a small hope that this man could be unexpectedly humane.

“Th-thank you…”

I draped a single shirt over my head to shield from the sun. Ryan sat down heavily, showing me his back.

Watching him from behind gave me a strange feeling.

‘What is this feeling?’

I never would have imagined it before meeting him, but the fact that Ryan shared even half my blood felt oddly significant.

Now, having turned my back on the family—my siblings and father who could’ve been called family—I was completely alone. All the more so…

‘No, focus. Keep your guard up until I fully understand his personality.’

I shook my head vigorously. Sensing my piercing gaze, Ryan looked back.

“Hey.”

He called to me.

Clunk.

At that moment, the rickety ship shuddered once.

“Yes! Speak!”

“….”

Ryan frowned.

“Uh, uh…”

“?”

“Ughhh!”

Bwooooooo-!

At just the right moment, a booming ship horn sounded, signaling departure.

This bustling place, filled with sailors in uniform and lively crowds, was the independent port city of Sorent.

“Ugh.”

It was a large island, a stopover for crossing to the continent.

“Ughhh.”

Ryan had suffered seasickness for the entire three-hour trip to get here.

And it wasn’t over yet—he was still leaving his mark even after stepping onto the dock.

‘Something about this… feels trivial.’

Well, at least it was a relief that the terrifying man seemed a little human.

Who would’ve thought that a man capable of killing with a flick of his finger was struggling with nothing more than seasickness?

“Funny?”

“No?!”

“Hah… ha…”

Ryan had somehow heard my quiet chuckle, glared, and grabbed my arm with a deathly serious face.

“Pat my back…”

“Yes!”

I diligently patted his back as instructed.

“Haa… to get to the continent, we have to do this again… on another ship… this time for a week or more…?”

“The ship here is large and stable, so you won’t get seasick.”

“Ughhh.”

“Done now? Feeling better?”

“I need to lie down for a bit…”

Ryan wiped his chin with the back of his hand and slowly straightened up.

“Shall we get accommodations first?”

I wondered if we had enough cash. I rummaged through the bag Ryan was carrying.

“Huh?”

With a casual hand, Ryan took it and slung it over his shoulder, walking ahead.

As expected, he was considerate.

I let out a small smile, hands now free and light.

“First, we need travel money, so let’s exchange the gold bars! Luckily, this city uses a special exchange rate, so exchanging here will be profitable!”

“….”

“If we exchanged on the continent, three gold bars would get 3,000 gold. But here, it’ll be about 3,100 gold!”

Ryan, who had been trudging along, suddenly stopped and stared at me.

“Why?”

“You sure do talk a lot. And you’re smart for a twelve-year-old.”

Flinch.

“…Better than being stupid, right?”

“Hmmm.”

Ryan scrutinized me with a suspicious look, stroking his chin.

Then, sniff sniff.

Suddenly frowning, he turned sharply and glared somewhere.

I sniffed too.

Following the strong smell, I looked to see four sailors gathered, smoking cigars.

“You stay back a bit.”

Ryan gestured for me to keep my distance, then fumbled through his shirt pocket and approached the sailors.

“Hey, gentlemen! Let’s talk! Here… uh, where is it? Hold on a sec.”

“Haha, take your time. By the way, where are you from? You look like an outsider.”

One sailor asked. Ryan rummaged through his bag and casually replied,

“From Abissus Island. Planning to transfer ships here to cross to the continent.”

At his words, the sailors stiffened.

Abissus Island.

There’s nothing there except a detention center.

If he came from that island, naturally…

“I was released today.”

The added words made the sailors blink and exchange glances.

“Ah, here it is! Found it… huh?”

When Ryan finally found a note, the sailors had already snuffed out half-smoked cigars and fled.

“Hey, guys! Where are you going! Never seen a criminal before?”

Ryan’s arm, extended toward them, dropped uselessly.

“What the… upsetting a freshly released prisoner.”

I hesitantly approached Ryan.

He looked a little annoyed.

Understandably.

Having a criminal record—and coming from Abissus Island—living in society couldn’t have been easy.

Especially since the charge was civilian massacre.

But if he hadn’t committed it, how unfair it must feel.

‘But it’s okay. Wrong things can be corrected.’

That’s my goal.

“Hey, aren’t you scared of me?”

“Huh? Now?”

“Thinking about it, I’m a criminal. Even though I have nowhere to go, it’s surprising you followed me.”

“….”

“When those big guys ran away, this tiny girl followed fearlessly.”

Ryan glanced at me.

“You’re not following me without knowing what I’m charged with, right?”

“I know. You killed a lot of people and set the village on fire.”

The reason Ryan was scary wasn’t because of his criminal record—it was because he nearly killed me before.

I knew he wasn’t the true culprit behind the “Konrad Massacre” twelve years ago.

“Not scared?”

“No, it’s okay. He’s my only dad, after all.”

“…?”

Ryan paused, somehow taken aback.

“Why?”

“Haven’t you had sex education?”

“Suddenly?”

“Just making sure… you don’t believe that I… made you when I was your age, do you?”

He cautiously spoke, looking at me as if I were an unintelligent creature.