Sea Monster Stew Chapter 38

“Where is Muir? Why… why did you bring me here!”

Kisa silently looked down at Biche, who was pressing herself tightly against the headboard. 

 

He wanted to say, ‘I am here. The Muir you’re desperately searching for is right in front of you.’

Would it be okay to reveal his identity one last time? After all, she would soon erase all traces of him from her memory…

But the words wouldn’t come. 

 

Instead, he carefully covered her shoulder with his large hand.

“Please… where is Muir…?”

Biche’s voice began to tremble with anxiety. 

 

Kisa squeezed his eyes shut. Repeating to himself that it was time to end this, he forced the words out.

“…You can’t stay here anymore.”

“Muir…”

“He wants you to leave too.”

Biche’s eyes, which had been filled with fear, widened with shock. 

 

With a look on the verge of tears, she shook her head weakly.

“That can’t be. Why would Muir…”

Kisa silently reached out and placed his fingertips on Biche’s temple. 

 

The moment she flinched and pressed herself harder against the headboard, he whispered in a low voice.

“I’m sorry, Arco.”

A blue light began to spread from his fingertips. 

 

Biche, who had been trembling, slowly closed her eyes. 

 

Her body, which had been leaning heavily against the headboard, slowly tilted to the side.

“Oh my, careful!”

Camilla hurriedly threw herself forward and caught Biche in her arms. 

 

She checked the complexion of Biche, whose eyes were tightly shut, then tilted her head in confusion.

“What did you just do to her…?”

“I erased her memories.”

“Memories? What memories did you erase?”

“…Utterly useless ones.”

Kisa couldn’t take his eyes off Biche, who was breathing faintly. 

 

The sound of her weakened breathing continued quietly, like a faint pulse.

“…Mother…”

With that final, faint, tearful call, Biche’s consciousness slowly faded away. Her small body went limp in Camilla’s arms.

“Um, Admiral Kisa. I don’t know what your relationship with this young lady is…”

Camilla carefully laid her down on the bed, covered her with the blanket, and muttered in a timid voice.

“I’ll try to explain things properly to Commander Orca first…”

“Never tell her I was here.”

“O-of course not.”

She nodded, her shoulders trembling slightly.

“If the Commander found out a pirate left a woman here, with his personality, he’d never let it slide…”

“No. If he learns of this woman’s origins, even Orca wouldn’t be able to throw her off the ship.

Kisa looked at Biche’s collar, where the locket was hidden.

“Orca knows that safely returning this woman to her home would be more advantageous for the resistance.”

“Really? How exactly is it advantageous for us?”

“…If things go well, you might be able to obtain information from the Helio Imperial family.”

“Eh? Oh my, which family is she from…?”

“Ask her yourself.”

Camilla tilted her head and examined Biche’s pale complexion. 

 

Glancing at Kisa’s seriously set face, she cautiously added,

“Commander Orca can be a bit… difficult, but he’s not the type to throw such a fragile person off the ship. Don’t worry too much.”

Kisa nodded silently and turned to leave. 

 

He wanted to imprint Biche’s image one last time, but he feared if he did, he wouldn’t be able to walk away.

“…Make sure she returns safely to her family.”

 

He spoke in a flat voice as he stepped over the threshold.

“Come find me once you’ve safely returned her home. I’ll reward you handsomely.”

He felt Camilla nod quietly behind him. 

 

Kisa listened to Biche’s faint breathing for a moment longer, then slowly left the sickbay.

The large wooden door closed with a dull thud behind him. 

 

The dark passage stretched out before him. 

 

He took quiet steps towards the distant staircase.

Moose’s advice, telling him to live freely like a pirate and choose his own companion, suddenly came to mind. 

 

Now even that memory felt distant and remote.

Even though he wasn’t the one whose memories were erased…

 

The sun was rising over the horizon. 

 

Under the slowly brightening sky, the sea began to shimmer with a silvery light.

The black sails embraced the strong wind and slowly unfurled. 

 

The resistance ship cut through the waves, gradually growing distant.

Kisa sat perched on the high cliff, silently watching the ship depart. 

 

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the shrinking vessel.

Only the sound of crashing waves remained beside Kisa, who was left alone. 

 

The moment he irritably rubbed his stinging eyes—tears he was oblivious to—he felt a presence behind him.

Kisa didn’t turn his head. Even so, he knew instantly who was standing behind him.

“I knew you’d do this, you idiot.”

A solid fist came down on Kisa’s head. Kisa took the punch and tilted his head back slightly.

“Look at this brat. What if someone sees you, sitting here without your skin on?”

Captain Hawk stood there with his hands behind his back. 

 

He stared at the departing ship and let out a sigh.

“‘Put her back where she belongs’ didn’t mean send her back to her hometown… You knew that perfectly well.”

“I’d rather bite my tongue off and die than send her back to Hildert.”

“You should suffer from lovesickness in moderation… You pathetic fool.”

Hawk glared in the direction the ship had gone, then plopped down beside Kisa. 

 

He gave a bitter smile and ruffled Kisa’s hair roughly.

“But I’ll praise you for not running away with her. I was afraid you’d just up and disappear somewhere far with that young lady.”

“Where would I even go?”

“Who knows? The Helio Empire, the young lady’s homeland?”

“…What would a pirate like me do in the homeland of a Duke’s daughter?”

His spat-out voice cracked unpleasantly. 

 

Hawk glanced at the First Mate’s reddened eyes and scratched his head.

“It’s a shame to lose leverage against Hildert… But well, this means your weakness is gone too, so the outcome isn’t all bad.”

“She wasn’t a weakness.”

“What else would you call a woman who made you betray your Captain? You cut it off well.”

He patted Kisa’s shoulder firmly and spoke in an indifferent tone.

“Just consider it a short-lived fever and forget it cleanly.”

Kisa didn’t leave that spot until the ship had completely disappeared from view. 

 

Emptiness gnawed painfully at a corner of his heart. 

 

Into that void, regrets he hadn’t managed to erase came washing over him like a wave.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The faint dawn light seeping through the curtains softly enveloped the silent bedroom. 

 

Hildert, who had only managed to fall into a shallow sleep in the late hours of the night, snapped his eyes open.

“Ugh…”

He pressed hard on his throbbing chest and struggled to sit up. 

 

His magical power was surging violently, warning him.

Right now, at this very moment. 

 

The being whose dirty blood he had hidden with his own magic was leaving Karabas.

“Biche…”

Hildert, bent over, gasped for breath, then clenched his teeth and spread his long fingers. 

 

The air above his palm distorted, and a strange red light spread out in all directions.

Soon after, Biche’s heart, shining like a transparent crystal, floated up above his palm. 

 

With every beat of the heart, red light pulsed outwards.

The faint warmth radiating from the heart violently shook Hildert’s own.

“You, you actually…”

He twisted his trembling lips and muttered with difficulty. 

 

The woman who had hidden like a rat had finally escaped this pirate den. She had left his side so futilely.

Anger, bewilderment, and a sense of betrayal churned chaotically within Hildert, sweeping through his insides. 

 

He stared at Biche’s heart with bloodshot eyes. 

 

The hand that had summoned the heart shook precariously.

He thought he would only feel rage—that a dirty half-breed monster would dare to run away, not knowing its place. 

 

He didn’t know he would feel such utter betrayal and loss. He didn’t know it would be this painful.

Hildert stared at the quietly pulsating heart and slowly closed his fingers. As if he intended to crush and destroy the warmth emanating from the heart, he put fierce strength into his fingertips.

If he crushed the heart like this, that hybrid who betrayed him would meet her death before even leaving the waters of Karabas.

She would never be able to run away again. She would never be able to abandon him again.

 

“Ungrateful wretch…”

The moment he tried to crush the heart, spitting out the curse with difficulty, Biche’s smiling face flashed briefly before his eyes.

The way she smiled brightly, the way she smiled shyly while looking at the lotus flowers.

He also remembered her face from when she was younger. 

 

The face from not long after she had become his assistant. 

 

Remembering the little girl who had relied on him, the strength in his hand loosened of its own accord.

He felt hollow, as if waking from a long nightmare. 

 

The strength drained from his entire body. He stared blankly at the heart, then slowly bowed his head.

“…I can’t end it like this…”

A painful whisper scattered into the air. In the end, Hildert could not crush Biche’s heart.

 

The fierce anger, hatred, and sense of betrayal gradually faded. 

 

All that remained was his attachment to that one person, and the thread of an obsession he could never sever.