Sea Monster Stew – Chapter 36

Author: Dakku-san

“You, I absolutely must get an answer from you on this one thing. Don’t tell me you and Hildert’s assistant… already….”

Hawk’s gaze dropped straight down to the space between Kisa’s legs.

Kisa glared back, startled and angry.

“Don’t cross the line. Even if you are my godfather, isn’t this too much?”

“Damn it, don’t tell me you’ve already given her your body too?”

“I told you not to cross the line.”

“Oh, for god’s sake…”

Captain Hawk muttered a curse in a hoarse voice, pressing his fingers to his forehead.

“You, Kiki, what in the world do you plan to do from now on…”

Kisa clenched the armrests of the chair tightly, then slowly relaxed his grip. He was pretending to be calm, but his knuckles were already white.

After a moment of heavy silence, Kisa bowed his head slightly and spoke cautiously.

“As you said, I’ve always tried my best to follow your orders, as my Captain and godfather… Please, just this once, can’t you do this for me?”

“How many times do I have to say it? I’m doing all of this for you!”

Hawk slammed the desk with a bang and shouted.

His eyes blazed with anger and disappointment.

Refusing to back down, Kisa glared back fiercely, gritting his teeth.

Suddenly, he remembered the moment he first met Hawk in the ruins of his hometown.

The Hawk of that time was an overwhelmingly powerful presence, incomparable to now.

Even so, Hawk had been his only family and leader, and sometimes, his merciless judge.

He had never once gone against Hawk’s will. But this time, he didn’t want to back down.

“Don’t be ridiculous. How is staining my hands with that woman’s blood doing anything for me!”

“That’s the only way you can forgive yourself… No, forget it. Let’s stop this conversation now.”

Hawk shook his head, his hand still on his forehead.

Another long, heavy silence fell.

The anger that had contorted Hawk’s face soon subsided into calmness.

“…Alright. Fine. You’re telling me you can’t bring yourself to kill that young lady with your own hands. Is that it?”

He stared silently at the First Mate’s resolute face, then let out a deep sigh.

“Let me ask you one more thing. Did that woman honestly reveal her identity to you?”

“…You mean that she’s from a Ducal house of the Helio Empire?”

“Is that all?”

“Huh?”

“I said, is that all?”

Kisa furrowed his brow and nodded. Hawk let out a hollow laugh, propping his chin on one hand.

“Ha. So that’s all there is to it…”

“Since when have you known about Arco’s identity, Godfather?”

“Damn it, you even have a nickname for her already? Don’t tell me she affectionately calls you “Kiki” like I do?”

“…Arco doesn’t know that I’m the “live-skinner” Kisa.”

“Ah, right. That’s true.”

Hawk clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“I figured out that young lady’s identity the very day we rescued her from the slave ship. She was bold enough to wear the Ducal family’s relic around her neck; it would have been more strange not to notice.”

“Did you try contacting the Ducal house?”

“Yes. I tried to arrange a prisoner exchange for the crewmen captured by the Helio Empire, but unfortunately, the deal fell through. She had less value than I thought, so I gave her to Hildert as an assistant.”

He shook his head with a displeased expression.

“After that, I’d completely forgotten about her… I never imagined she’d captivate both my First Mate and my Vice-Captain.”

“I’m not captivated.”

“Aren’t you? Even now, I bet you’re itching to run off to see her.”

Hawk’s sharp gaze fell on Kisa’s legs, which twitched slightly.

Hawk glared at the flustered Kisa and swirled his glass.

“I’ve never seen you look as pathetic as you do today. Get out of my sight before I throw this in your face.”

“You know you never actually answered my question, right?”

Swallowing a curse, Kisa shot up from his seat.

He still hadn’t heard the reason why he had to be the one to end Biche’s life.

He shoved the chair back roughly and moved towards the door.

The moment he grabbed the doorknob and turned it, Hawk’s low, firm voice came from behind him.

“Kisa.”

He froze mid-step over the threshold. Hawk rarely ever called him by his real name.

Even when furious, he always used the nickname “Kiki”.

Even without turning around, he could feel the unusual intensity emanating from Hawk.

A chill ran down his spine.

“If you truly cannot kill that young lady with your own hands, then at the very least, put her back where she belongs.”

“……”

“Mark my words. If that young lady is still by your side three days from now… I will have no choice but to intervene personally.”

Hawk added in a soft, almost affectionate voice.

“All of this is for your own good.”

Captain Hawk’s affectionate tone sounded like a cruel curse.

A hollow laugh escaped Kisa’s lips.

Anger and despair, colder than the sea wind, wrapped around his body.

“You truly believe that killing the first woman I’ve ever given my heart to with my own hands is for my own good?”

He spat the words out in a cold voice and left the captain’s quarters.

The heavy sound of the iron door closing echoed behind him as he walked down the silent corridor.

With every step, a heavy sense of guilt transmitted from the soles of his feet.

The long years spent with the Captain weighed oppressively on his chest.

The evening breeze from the window brushed past his hair.

Without realizing it, Kisa squeezed his eyes shut.

‘Mark my words. If that young lady is still by your side three days from now… I will have no choice but to intervene personally.’

‘All of this is for your own good.’

Captain Hawk’s voice echoed in his ears as if it were haunting him. Kisa’s eyes snapped open.

The dark corridor stretched endlessly before him.

He was already standing on a path from which there was no return.

* * *

The island ruled by Admiral Kisa was smaller than the Karabas main island.

However, its fortress walls were much higher, and the town surrounding the Admiral’s castle was more bustling than the main island.

The roofs of the buildings, carved with wave patterns, were all of a unified style, yet their colors varied, giving the entire town an air of restrained splendor.

‘For someone who looks like that, does he actually have a taste for lavish things?’

Biche recalled the menacing, massive face of Admiral Kisa.

His bulging, large eyes, his sharply rising, jet-black eyebrows, and the messy beard covering his jaw and cheeks.

It was hard to believe this beautiful island was ruled by such a ferocious-looking pirate.

‘Why would a man like that take such meticulous care of Muir and me…?’

Leaning on the balcony railing with both arms, Biche lost herself in thought.

No matter how she looked at it, the Admiral of the 2nd Ship had no reason to give the top floor of his castle to a mere courtesan and an assistant.

Moreover, she was a fugitive.

If it were discovered that he was hiding an escaped assistant, it was obvious that the relationship between Admiral Kisa and Vice-Captain Hildert would rapidly deteriorate.

‘Even if Admiral Kisa owes Muir a great debt… this situation still doesn’t make sense…’

Just as she tilted her head and stared blankly at the dark blue night sea, she felt a familiar presence behind her.

Muir, who had been absent all afternoon, emerged onto the balcony with a stiff expression.

Biche turned to him with a bright smile.

“You’re back? Where have you been all this time?”

“I was handling a task ordered by Admiral Kisa.”

He replied as if sighing, removing the hood attached to his robe.

“Why are you out here and not asleep?”

“Just because. I couldn’t sleep.”

Biche stared intently at him as he leaned against the balcony railing.

‘What exactly was this task ordered by Admiral Kisa?’

The moment Biche tilted her head, about to ask a question, Muir fixed his gaze on the distant sea and asked in a low voice, “Do you still miss your family?”

Biche’s eyes widened involuntarily. ‘Still’? Why was he asking such a strange question?’

“Yes. Of course I miss them.”

“And you still want to return to your homeland?”

“If I could, I’d go back right now.”

“…Is that so?”

“I miss them so much. My father, my mother… and my hometown too.”

She offered a bittersweet smile and leaned her head against Muir’s shoulder.

He wrapped his large hand around her waist and quietly gazed out at the sea.

Biche soaked in his warmth for a moment, then looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

Muir’s face, glanced up at, was still cold and hardened.

She had expected him to flash his usual mischievous smile by now, to meet her gaze with a suggestive look, for the hand on her waist to sneak deeper into her clothes, to lighten this heavy atmosphere with a teasing remark like, ‘I can make you forget about your family.’

The usual Muir would have done just that. But the Muir right now was different.

“Muir…?”

“Let’s go inside. The wind is cold.”

Holding her waist, he slowly turned his body towards the room.

Biche glanced up at his stiff face and murmured in a cautious voice,

“Did something happen?”

“…Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“You seem angry…”

“I’m not angry. It’s just…”

His unreadable eyes finally met hers.

Biche reached out and softly caressed his cold cheek. Muir slowly tilted his head, leaning his cheek into her hand.

“…I’m just a little tired. Don’t worry about it.”