Sea Monster Stew – Chapter 55

Author: Dakku-san

“I… apologize on his behalf.”

Seemingly surprised by the unexpected apology, the woman’s eyes widened as she draped the shawl over her shoulders.

“…I’m a half-breed, born between a sea creature and a human. As the Duke of Akstain, it’s only natural he’d want to hide me away from prying eyes—a symbol of his daughter’s disgrace.”

She pressed herself back against the wall defensively, crossing her arms.

“Now it’s my turn to ask. Who are you, and why have you come here?”

“My apologies for the late introduction. I am ‘Orca,’ one of the high commanders of the Resistance.”

Orca opened the door a little wider and bowed his head politely. He did not step inside.

He feared the already frightened woman might panic further and try to flee.

“My reason for infiltrating this castle is simple. I was curious about your identity.”

“…I see. Has your curiosity been satisfied a little now?”

The woman sighed with her haggard face, avoiding his gaze.

“I overheard part of the conversation you had with a woman named ‘Camilla’ that day. You said Admiral Kisa of the Crocus pirates entrusted me to that ship… Why would he…?”

“I also came here searching for that answer.”

“So you don’t know the reason either? Why did Admiral Kisa help me?”

Orca found himself nodding with a slightly sullen expression.

He didn’t want to talk about Admiral Kisa any further.

‘Would it have been easier if that guy had truly been an old giant?’ He was irked by the fact that a handsome man had been hidden inside that unsightly giant’s hide.

“By any chance, were you and Admiral Kisa lovers?”

“Th-that’s impossible! Why would I, with a pirate of all people…!”

The woman’s face flushed bright red as she quickly shook her head.

Orca was quite satisfied with her vehement reaction.

He barely managed to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upwards and struggled to maintain a nonchalant expression.

“Since Admiral Kisa entrusted you to us, the Resistance has a duty to protect you.”

“Are you… a friend of Admiral Kisa?”

“No. We aren’t that close.” Orca shook his head quietly and put his helmet back on. “If it’s true the Duke has imprisoned you here, we will grant you your freedom.”

He silently held out his hand to her.

The woman, gripping her shawl tightly, opened her eyes wide.

“You’ll get me out of here?”

“If you want it.”

“But, I…”

The woman bit her lip and shook her head.

“Thank you for the offer, but I cannot go with you. My friends are being held hostage by the Duke… I can’t turn my back on them and leave them alone.”

“Hostages?”

“In the water tanks in the main castle’s underground dungeon, there should be a merman and a creature that looks like a sea lion.”

A merman and a monstrous sea creature.

Both would be of considerable size and weight. Orca groaned softly and quickly ran through the possibilities.

The merman could probably transform into a human and escape on his own two legs.

The problem was the monstrous sea creature.

Smuggling that heavy thing out of the castle secretly was next to impossible.

“…Very well. I will first look for a way to smuggle your friends out of the castle.”

“R-really?”

The woman hastily pulled her back away from the wall, raising her voice.

“Thank you. Thank you so mu—”

“Shh.”

Orca whispered softly, glancing down the spiral staircase.

The sound of metal armor creaking echoed from below.

The sharp noise brought a tension, as if a net was closing in.

Another guard was coming up the stairs.

Orca adjusted his helmet and looked back at the woman.

“I will return for you soon. Until then.”

He quickly pulled the door shut.

Just before it closed, their eyes met through the narrow crack.

A bright smile had spread across the woman’s lips.

She blinked her tear-filled eyes and bowed her head to Orca.

*Clank.*

After the iron door locked again, Orca stood blankly for a while, holding the doorknob.

The image of the woman’s tearful smile seemed to float before his eyes.

“Huh? And you are…?”

A guard trudging up the stairs noticed Orca with a puzzled expression.

“Wasn’t it Ragner’s turn to switch…? Did the order change already?”

Orca silently placed the keyring on the table and descended the stairs.

The guard, looking bewildered, tilted his head and then plopped down onto the wooden chair.

The stairs were still cold and the air heavy, but Orca’s footsteps were different from before.

An ember kindled within him was completely altering the course of his life.

Not get involved in the turbulent whirlpool between a pirate and a sea creature? Far from it.

That resolution had already faded.

Soon, the small ember in his chest would flare into a raging fire, burning his life to ashes without a trace.

* * *

“Ah, uh…!”

Her strained thighs trembled violently. Sweat streamed down her spine.

Rough fingertips tracing her vertebrae then pressed firmly into the small of her back.

The sensation of the male intrusion, probing deep into her very flesh, was overwhelmingly vivid.

It felt like her insides were being filled to the brim.

*Thump, thump.*

With each rough thrust of the man’s hips from behind, her body collapsed helplessly.

Burying her face in the pillow, Biche choked back her moans.

Her eyes kept darting towards the firmly shut door, worried.

She didn’t know if the man behind her was aware of her fear that sounds might leak outside the room.

He continued moving his hips with fierce intensity.

Even as she swayed helplessly, her mind was dazed.

‘Why am I doing this with a man whose face I can’t even see, on a huge bed bathed in moonlight?’

Only then did she realize this was a dream world.

Of course, realizing it changed nothing. She still just buried her face in the pillow, emitting breathless sounds.

The onslaught of sensation was so intense she could no longer tell if this was a dream or reality.

Painful pleasure and a tingling ache. Neither was familiar.

All she could do was bite her lip and hold back her moans.

The man leaned his upper body deep over her, pressing his flesh against hers.

The broad chest against her back was hot.

He forced his fingers roughly into her mouth. Her soft tongue was pressed down by his thick fingertips.

“Why do you keep holding back the sounds?”

“Mmph…!”

“Stop biting your lip. It keeps getting hurt.”

The man’s fingers slid slowly from her jaw as he withdrew them.

Only then could Biche release a ragged moan through her parted lips.

“Uhk…!”

“That’s it.”

With a gentle word, the man slammed his hips down again forcefully.

A reflexive wave of tears gushed forth from the intense impact.

Contrary to the soft voice, his hip movements were anything but affectionate, yet as time passed, the feeling of being utterly filled gradually transformed into a sharp, sensual pleasure.

Finally, unable to withstand the pleasure that tingled all the way to her toes, she let out a high-pitched cry.

Seemingly satisfied with her rising moans, the man bit Biche’s earlobe and asked in a low voice,
“Can’t you say my name?”

“Ngh, ahk…!”

“Hm? Quickly…”

He whispered in a gloomy voice, asking an answer.

Holding her tightly from behind as she barely supported her weight on trembling arms, he even ran his tongue over her sensitive earlobe.

How long had she been swaying beneath this faceless man?

“Muu…”

Finally, her small mouth, which she had tried so hard to keep closed, slowly opened.

“Muu, ah…”

The moment she uttered a name she had never once spoken in her life, Biche’s eyelids flew open.

The dark, droplet-stained stone ceiling came into view.