Sea Monster Stew Chapter 59

“I’ve seen the wanted posters.”

It was a cautious, indifferent reply. 

 

Kisa’s face fell, and his shoulders slumped.

“…Ah, of course you have.”

For once, he found no joy in the fact that his magic had been perfect.

“Can you walk on your own?”

Forcing a calm tone, he gently helped her up. 

 

As she struggled frantically, trying to escape, he hoisted her like a sack over his shoulder.

“What are you doing? Put me down this instant!”

Without a word, he stepped out into the corridor and strode purposefully up towards the deck. 

 

A pirate ship with black sails unfurled was closing in fast on the vessel.

“Kisa!”

Admiral Moose’s booming voice echoed from the pirate ship. 

 

Kisa vaulted over the railing, cursing.

“Damn bastards, you’re late.”

Biche desperately clutched at his clothes. 

 

But Kisa, without hesitation, held her tight and leaped into the sea.

A woman’s scream tore through the rushing wind.

 

“What are you— Aaaah!”

“What does it look like? Kidnapping a pirate bride.”

Kisa landed skillfully in the small boat. It rocked violently, sending spray in all directions.

“Let me go…! Let go!”

Biche thrashed, trying to break free from the arms of the man who had suddenly seized her. 

 

Kisa held her firmly against him, tightening his grip.

 

“Hold still. You’re not a cat. Why are you screeching so fiercely?”

A faint tremor ran from his fingertips. Like a cool midday breeze brushing against skin, Kisa’s fingers flicked lightly through the air above the boat.

Suddenly, the air in the center of the boat twisted. The body of a man, now just a skin, was summoned back into existence.

Hollowed out, devoid of even organs, the body resembled a rag doll with all its stuffing gone. 

 

The man’s skin moved as if alive and slumped down inside the small boat.

Kisa flicked his fingers once more. 

 

The skin creaked as it took up the oars. Biche stared blankly at the skin rowing as skillfully as a living person.

“A… a magician?”

 

Her eyes wide, she licked her dry lips. ‘How can skin move like it’s alive…?’

“No need to be so scared.”

 

Kisa tilted his head, looking down into her eyes. 

 

The corner of his mouth quirked up quietly, yet slightly crookedly.

“You don’t think I’m going to eat you, do you?”

“……”

“Ah, honestly, I kind of want to.”

“Wh-what are you talking about? Let me go.”

Kisa pulled the struggling Biche tight against him once more. Her nails dug deep into his shoulder.

But Kisa, unfazed, grabbed hold of the rope ladder lowered from the pirate ship. 

 

With his arm wrapped firmly around Biche’s waist, he began to climb.

“I’m not sending you back, so just behave. You’ll fall.”

As he started climbing the ladder with Biche in his arms, she finally gave up struggling and went limp against him.

Kisa found himself smiling, the corners of his eyes crinkling. 

 

The sensation of her soft hair brushing against his chin felt good. 

 

He had missed this feeling so much he hadn’t hesitated to do the insane act of cutting off his own wrist.

As he landed lightly on the pirate ship, the crew waiting on deck swarmed around him. 

 

They all cast curious glances at Biche.

 

* * *

 

The Crocus pirate crew stared in disbelief at Kisa, who had returned holding an unidentified woman. 

 

Some sailors even slapped their own cheeks hard enough to see stars, thinking their eyes were deceiving them.

“Isn’t that girl… the one who was the First Mate’s assistant?”

“What? Was she that pretty?”

“She was always pretty. It’s just that Hildert went crazy, not letting anyone near her, so no one could lay a hand on her.”

“But… Why is Admiral Kisa bringing that girl from Hildert’s ship?”

“That’s a wedding dress, isn’t it? So that girl was the First Mate’s bride?”

“Wait, so Duke Akstain’s granddaughter was the First Mate’s assistant…?”

 

Biche looked around at the murmuring pirates with a grim expression.

 

After everything she went through to escape Karabas Pirate Island, to be surrounded by pirates again!

 

‘Why on earth did this man… bring me here?’

Trembling, she glanced sideways at the Live-Skinner Kisa. 

 

‘Why would a man who loathes sea monsters more than anything rescue her?’

“What are you all standing around gawking for?”

Kisa adjusted his hold on Biche and glared fiercely at the crew.

“Grab the dowry and treasures the Duke prepared and sink that ship. We don’t have time to stand around staring.”

“Aye, sir!”

The crew scattered across the deck in unison. 

 

Kisa carried Biche over his shoulder and strode purposefully into the ship’s interior.

He flung open the door to a cabin that looked like the captain’s quarters, the scent of the sea growing stronger. 

 

Inside the spacious cabin was a large bed, and various maps and newspapers were strewn haphazardly across a desk.

Kisa carefully set Biche down on the edge of the soft bed. 

 

She eyed him warily, gripping the bedsheet with both hands.

Her face was pale with terror. 

 

‘Had seawater splashed on her back in the small boat earlier?’ The belated thought made her quickly roll her eyes, checking her body.

Fortunately, there was no sign of being wet with seawater. 

 

She thought that if Kisa saw skin covered in scales, he wouldn’t hesitate to slit her throat.

“No need to be afraid.”

Kisa raised both hands as if to show he meant no harm, then knelt on one knee before her. 

 

Biche stared down blankly at him, now below her eye level.

“There isn’t a single person on this ship who will hurt you.”

Biche remained silent, biting her lip hard. 

 

The fear, confusion, and faint curiosity in her eyes didn’t fade.

A cold sweat trickled down the back of her neck. 

 

The tips of her fingers gripping the sheet trembled slightly. Kisa carefully covered her hands with his own.

Biche flinched and looked down at her hands, enveloped by his large ones. 

 

Contrary to the newspaper article saying he’d cut off his own wrist, his left hand was perfectly intact, attached to his wrist.

 

‘…It’s not?’

Looking closer, she could see a fine line around his wrist. 

 

A faint seam crossed his tanned wrist. The skin tone of his forearm and hand was subtly different.

Mustering her courage, Biche looked up and met Kisa’s gaze. 

 

In his pupils, an unfathomable emotion, deep and dark like the sea, swirled. 

 

Biche whispered in a trembling voice.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Kisa gave a faint smile.

“Because I couldn’t stand to see you become Hildert’s bride.”

He raised his right hand and gently brushed her cheek.

“You’re under my protection now. You don’t need to be afraid.”

The sound of the crew busily moving about came from outside the door. 

 

An awkward silence enveloped the two for a moment. 

 

Biche, unable to fully process the situation, muttered in a small voice.

“So… you kidnapped me to screw with Hildert?”

“Is it okay for a Duke’s daughter to use such rough language?”

Kisa grinned and shrugged his broad shoulders.

“It’s not like the thought of screwing him over never crossed my mind…”

 

He stroked her disheveled hair and whispered quietly.

 

“But that wasn’t the only reason.”

Biche stared into his deep eyes and swallowed with difficulty.

 

‘Does he… want to use me to get revenge on Hildert?’

There was no other explanation she could think of for why the Live-Skinner Kisa would plunge into enemy territory to kidnap her.

“…Did you hate Hildert even before the pirate crew was destroyed?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard… that you were the one who left me with the resistance ship…”

She tried to wet her parched, cracked lips, but her tongue felt heavy. 

 

The presence of this unfamiliar man loomed large over all her senses.

“The reason you smuggled me, Hildert’s assistant, out of the pirate island… there’s no other explanation…”

Kisa didn’t look away from her. This intense, deep gaze wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.

Somewhere in the recesses of her old memories, it felt like she had known this man. 

 

But no matter how hard she searched her mind, she couldn’t grasp even a thread of this feeling.

“It seems Camilla couldn’t keep her mouth shut and blabbed like a magpie.”

Kisa slowly reached his large hand toward Biche’s forehead. 

 

Staring blankly at his face, Biche’s eyes suddenly widened.

‘Won’t you say my name?’

The man from her dream, the one she had been intimate with. 

 

His voice and Kisa’s were eerily identical. 

 

The casually affectionate tone and the low voice.