Sea Monster Stew Chapter 13

Hildert stared blankly at Biche as she hopped nimbly onto a broad, flat rock. 

 

As she crouched on the rock to get a closer look at the lotus, her long hair, tied loosely in a single bunch, slipped smoothly over her shoulders.

“If you like it, you can have it.”

Hildert, who had been watching the scene as if enchanted, blurted out the words without thinking. 

 

Biche’s eyes widened, and she looked up at him.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“But Captain Hawk…”

“If you and I keep our mouths shut, the Captain won’t notice a single flower missing from among so many lotuses.”

‘And if the guy submerged in the water also keeps his mouth shut.’ 

 

Hildert swallowed the rest of his sentence and glanced at the pond. 

 

It was a warning to Kisa, who was undoubtedly holding his breath underwater watching this scene.

“Thank you. The Iros Lotus was my mother’s favorite flower… I’ve always missed this flower too.”

 

A faint smile spread across her lips as she carefully lifted the lotus with both hands. 

 

The corners of Hildert’s mouth twitched upward slightly. 

 

Just then, Biche’s eyes, which had been peering into the pond, suddenly grew wide. 

 

She leaned deeply towards the pond and exclaimed.

“That idiot?!”

Biche tossed the lotus aside and threw herself into the pond. 

 

Before Hildert could even react, there was a loud splash, and water sprayed in all directions. 

 

He stared at her, now in the water, with an utterly dumbfounded expression.

 

 

* * *

 

 

‘How much longer do I have to do this… Does the Vice-Captain not care if I drown or not?’

Kisa, submerged in the cold water, looked up at the surface. 

 

As the disturbed water calmed, the scene outside became vaguely visible through the water. 

 

Between the lush lotus petals and stems, he could see the bright crescent moon.

‘Damn it… What kind of ordeal is this because of that woman…’

Kisa closed his eyes tightly and thought of Hildert’s assistant. 

 

Even if she didn’t know he was “Live Skinner Kisa”, his pride wouldn’t allow him to be seen in such an undignified state.

“Thank you…”

Kisa cautiously opened his eyes at the faint voice he heard from outside the water.

“The Iros Lotus was my mother’s favorite flower… I’ve always missed this flower too.”

Hildert’s assistant was looking towards the water where Kisa was submerged. Her gaze, which had been wandering aimlessly over the water’s surface, settled on one particular lotus petal.

‘Was there a lotus he hadn’t ruined?’ 

 

A faint smile spread across the woman’s previously stiff face. The smile shimmered on the gently rippling water.

So she does smile like that. 

 

Kisa stared blankly at the woman from his position submerged in the cold, deep water. 

 

Was it because her features seemed blurred by the rippling water? Or was it because of the bright moonlight pouring from the night sky?

Her face seemed to glow whiter than usual. 

 

He grew impatient with the smile that flickered in and out of view between the dark blue lotus leaves.

‘So that’s the rare smile that brought the Vice-Captain to his knees,’ he concluded to himself. 

 

The moment he did, the smile that had been on her lips vanished as if it had been a bubble popping.

“That idiot?!”

It was at that exact moment that their eyes met through the rippling water. 

 

 Green eyes filled with anger and amber eyes tinged with panic stared at each other.

Only then did Kisa realize that her eyes were a deep green. 

 

Cold water rushed into his startled mouth like a tidal wave.

The patience that had allowed him to forget the pain and cold disappeared, and a powerful surge of water rose to his chest. 

 

The deep green eyes came sharply closer through his blurring vision.

“You idiot!” The green eyes seemed to be saying to him.

The woman grabbed his ice-cold arm with her warm hand and pulled tightly. But it was nearly impossible for her alone to pull him out.

After struggling for a while, she firmly grabbed one of his hands and swam towards the surface. His previously limp arm was raised high.

‘How do you expect to pull me out, you foolish…’ Kisa couldn’t finish the thought as he slowly closed his eyes.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Is he alive or dead, seriously…”

Biche stood on the aerial corridor railing, looking down at Admiral Moose’s greenhouse. 

 

She was trying to find the grey-haired man who had become virtually invisible since the pond incident. 

 

She was too scared to loiter right in front of Moose’s quarters, so she was prowling around the easier target—the greenhouse.

No matter how long she waited, the man didn’t appear. 

 

This was already the fourth day she’d been lurking near Moose’s greenhouse. Every day was a wasted effort.

Before, it was understandable since they were staying on Admiral Moose’s island, so she couldn’t find him no matter how hard she looked. 

 

But Admiral Moose and his assistants had recently been staying at the main base. Yet, the grey-haired man was still nowhere to be seen.

“Did he catch a bad cold? Serves him right for diving in that freezing pond water on such a cold day…”

Her conscience pricked her the whole time she grumbled. After all, the man had ended up in the pond because of Biche in the first place.

‘He couldn’t be… dead, could he?’ 

 

Biche swallowed hard and trudged away from the corridor. She entered the sweltering kitchen to get Hildert’s meal first.

“Excuse me, I’m here for Vice-Captain Hildert’s late-night snack.”

“Oh— right. Over there.”

 

One of the cooks, without taking his eyes off a sizzling pot, pointed to one side of the kitchen. 

 

On the tray he indicated with a jerk of his chin were piles of large pink fruits. 

 

They were the large ‘Maple Fruits’ cultivated in Admiral Moose’s greenhouse.

She picked up the tempting Maple Fruits and returned to the aerial corridor. 

 

She looked down at the greenhouse again, but sure enough, the grey-haired man was still absent.

Just then, a young assistant carrying a bucket approached below the aerial corridor. Biche leaned over the railing and called out to the assistant.

“Excuse me! Is there a large, grey-haired male assistant by any chance…”

Before she could finish her sentence, a rough hand grabbed her shoulder. 

 

Seized by a large shadowy figure, she was dragged out of the corridor.

“Looking for me, are you?”

‘That voice?’ Biche started and looked up. 

 

She stared with bewildered eyes at the broad chest that blocked her view.

The owner of the voice and the leather robe he wore were a complete mismatch. According to Biche’s memory, the owner of this familiar voice usually appeared before her in a state of near-nudity.

“What possessed you to prowl around the Admiral’s greenhouse so fearlessly?”

The grey-haired man clicked his tongue and removed his robe hood. 

 

His long hair, hidden by the hood, tumbled messily over the robe. Biche blinked in surprise.

“What’s with the clothes today?”

“Caught a cold.”

The grey-haired man retorted in a sullen voice.

“A cold?”

“Yeah! Thanks to someone, I fell into cold water, so it’s only natural!”

Biche studied the man’s angry face carefully. Despite his claim of being sick, he looked perfectly fine.

“Are you better now?”

“Maybe.”

 

“What a relief. I hadn’t seen you for days, so I thought…”

“Were you worried about me?”

The man’s sullen expression softened as he cut her off. 

 

Feeling mischievous, Biche deliberately put on a teasing expression.

“No~o? I was just happy I wouldn’t have to see you sneaking into my room every night anymore. Why?”

She laughed brightly and spoke playfully, but the response she got was eerily quiet. She glanced furtively at him, gauging his reaction, his eyes narrowed.

“Why…?”

“……”

“Ah, right. I’m joking, joking! Actually, I was worried you might be sick…”

“‘My’ room?”

The man cut her off again. His narrowed eyes were filled with displeasure directed at her.

“Is the Vice-Captain’s room your room? You’re awfully familiar, aren’t you?”

“Ah…”

It was only upon hearing the man’s sarcastic remark that Biche realized her slip of the tongue. 

 

‘Calling the Vice-Captain’s room ‘my room’? Have I lost my mind…? Has going in and out every day made me unconsciously too comfortable with it?’

“A mere assistant casually referring to her master’s room as ‘my room’.”

The man clicked his tongue, looking at Biche, who was tugging at her hair in frustration.

“Vice-Captain Hildert must treat you quite well, huh?”

“Well… So-so.”

“So-so?”

Biche nodded without much thought. 

 

She was too busy reflecting on Hildert’s past behavior to notice the man’s face hardening instantly.

Hildert had, quite literally, treated Biche ‘so-so’ with gentlemanly conduct. 

 

Despite holding power, he had never forced himself on her. 

 

Since the incident where he pulled her from the pond, he hadn’t laid a hand on her.

‘Was it normal for a pirate to show such consideration to a woman who was in his grasp?’ 

 

Biche swallowed dryly, puzzled by Hildert’s peculiar attitude.

“As for me…”

“Huh?”

Lost in thought, Biche jerked her head up at the small voice from above. 

 

The man was glaring over her shoulder, his face bright red.

“…I hate taking medicine.”

“Huh? Medicine?”

“Yeah! I hate being sick more than anything in the world, so I absolutely despise taking medicine!”

“…Ah, I see…”

Biche made a noncommittal face. ‘For such a big guy to hate taking medicine… He has a surprisingly cute side.’

“I can’t stand medicine… But thanks to you pushing me into the pond, I caught a terrible cold, and the medical unit prescribed me medicine.”

“Right, right.”

“So. You owe me.”

“Right, ri… Wait, what? That doesn’t make sense!”

Biche, who had been humoring him like a child, was flabbergasted by the man’s strange logic.

“Owe you what! If we’re going that route, I’m the one who saved you from the pond, so you owe me!”

“The one who pulled me out of the pond and is thus my benefactor was Vice-Captain Hildert, not you, you foolish woman.”

“Th-That’s…”

It was frustrating, but he wasn’t wrong. 

 

It had been impossible for Biche to haul his massive, limp body out of the water by herself. 

 

If Hildert hadn’t used magic to retrieve them both, the man’s body temperature might have dropped critically, and he could have been in real trouble.

“So you do owe me, right? I almost died for real back then.”

The man looked down at her with a brazen face, as if he’d never been blushing, a cocky smile playing on his lips.

“You owe me, don’t you? Huh? Moreover, strictly speaking, you’re the one who pushed me into Captain Hawk’s pond in the first place.”

“…You slipped and fell in by yourself!”

“Well, you certainly share some responsibility for the Captain’s pond being ruined, and I haven’t breathed a word about you. That means you owe me two debts now. What are you going to do about it?”

“Urk…”

Biche slowly backed away, avoiding the man who was leaning down to meet her eyes. 

 

The man, who was subtly closing in on her, felt even more gigantic than usual today.