Sea Monster Stew Chapter 7

The quality of the newly issued assistant’s uniform was on a completely different level from anything she had worn before. 

 

The fabric was soft, and the waist tie had to be cinched tightly, making her figure stand out.

 

It was nothing like the previous clothes, which prioritized practicality above all else. 

 

Early this morning, the head maid had tossed it to her the moment she woke up, rubbing her puffy eyes. 

 

The moment Biche received the clothes—the kind only a noble lady would wear—she understood.

‘So, everyone else knew.’

The desire that had flashed in Hildert’s eyes was vivid enough for everyone around to notice. 

 

There was no other reason they’d throw such clothes, so saturated with Hildert’s taste, at her.

 

But Biche clung to a thread of hope regarding Hildert. It wasn’t that she trusted him. Even after five years as his assistant, he remained an inscrutable man.

 

Biche pinned her hopes on his arrogant nature. It seemed unlikely that such a refined mage would embrace an assistant of dubious origins.

‘Surely, with his personality, he wouldn’t yield to mere desire…?’

Tense, she entered Hildert’s bedroom. The thick bed curtains surrounding the massive bed felt like solid walls.

 

“Ahem…”

A nervous cough escaped her. 

 

Biche adjusted her grip on the tray holding the teacup and teapot and cautiously reached for the curtain.

Just as she was about to slowly draw back the heavy velvet curtain, a low, husky voice came from within.

“Come in.”

 

A large hand pushed the curtain aside slowly from the inside. 

 

An opening wide enough for Biche to enter by bowing her head was created. 

 

The space behind the curtain was dark, like a cave.

Her face stiffened, and she took a step back. 

 

She had brought warm tea to Hildert’s bedroom many times. But he had never once asked her onto the bed itself.

She hesitated, gripping the tray tightly, but Hildert pulled the curtain more firmly, widening the cave’s entrance.

 

It felt like an urging not to dawdle and to climb onto the bed quickly.

 

“Yes…”

First, Biche carefully pushed the tray into the cave. 

 

Whether Hildert pulled it towards himself or not, the tray slowly disappeared into the darkness.

 

Biche swallowed hard and hitched up her cumbersome skirt. 

 

Gathering the frilly petticoat filling the skirt in her hands, she crawled clumsily onto the high bed. 

 

Her forehead bumped against something warm and solid.

The moment she looked up, thinking ‘Oops’, her eyes met Hildert’s. He was sitting leaning against the bed’s headboard.

Her forehead had bumped against his forearm, which was holding the curtain. His languidly half-closed eyes gleamed dangerously in the dark.

“You said your place of origin was where?”

“Huh?”

Biche’s eyes widened as she looked up at him. Was he only curious about her origins now?

“I asked where you’re from,” Hildert repeated, as if annoyed by her hesitation.

 

“Ah… The Helio Empire.”

 

“And the reason you ended up in Karabas?”

“I was kidnapped by slavers and brought here.”

“When were you kidnapped?”

“Five… five years ago.”

He tilted his head silently, then let the curtain fall. The interior of the bed grew even darker. 

 

Biche looked up at him, relying on the light seeping through the curtain gaps.

“Five years ago, you say…”

Hildert muttered with an expressionless face, just as he was about to sip his tea. A loud horn blast echoed throughout the entire fortress.

 

Biche flinched and jerked her head up. Hildert frowned and set the teacup back down.

“That sound is…”

 

“Kraken attack on Turtleneck! All hands, battle stations! Assemble in the western sea!”

A man’s shout boomed from outside the door, followed by someone pounding on it.

 

“Boatswain! You must depart immediately!”

 

“We’ll talk tonight,” Hildert said, stroking Biche’s head with his large hand. 

 

His touch was surprisingly affectionate for such a brusque man—so much so that it was hard to believe he was the same man who had left blue bruises on her shoulder yesterday.

He left the bedroom, leaving a flinching Biche behind. Biche was left alone in the large bedroom, blinking.

Even though she had entered the bedroom prepared for the worst, he hadn’t embraced her. 

 

A profound sense of relief washed over her, enough to make her feel grateful to the Kraken.

At that moment, the horn blasts echoing through the fortress grew even louder. 

 

This was no time to be spacing out. Biche hurriedly pulled herself together and ran through the bustling corridors.

While the other maids rushed outside to help the pirates prepare for battle, Biche headed straight for Hildert’s study. 

 

She had to finish cleaning it before he returned from the fight.

“If this is how it’s going to be, they should call me a cleaner, not an assistant…”

Muttering under her breath, Biche was startled by a giant figure blocking her path and fell flat on her back. Her elbow, which had hit the marble floor, throbbed painfully.

 

“Hey! Why are you blocking the—” Her angry mouth snapped shut. 

 

Kisa stood there, staring down at her, fully clad in his leather armor as usual, unlike the other admirals who had rushed to Hawk in their nightclothes.

“Aah— My apologies. You’re so small I didn’t see you.”

Kisa laughed heartily and helped her up. 

 

Biche just stood there, pale and trembling violently. Her gaze was fixed on the long sword hanging from Kisa’s waist.

“Hmm? You’re…” Kisa, who had been staring intently at her, tilted his head and muttered. “Last night in the garden…”

 

“Never mind. But step back a bit, will you? If anyone sees, they’ll think I’m about to eat you.”

Biche slowly backed away from the grumbling Kisa. 

 

Just then, Kisa’s large, menacing face swooped down close to hers. His massive hand grabbed her by the shoulders.

He bent deeply, rubbing his sharp, hawk-like nose against her neck. The sound of him sniffing was starkly audible near her ear.

“Hmm…”

 

“U-um, excuse me…?”

“You smell of the Boatswain’s magic,” Kisa said, tilting his head slightly to stare straight at her. 

 

His messy black beard tickled her shoulder slightly.

“Hildert’s magic has a unique scent imbued in it.”

“……”

“I’d heard the Boatswain had marked his assistant as his woman. To think he’s already staked his claim so clearly… Hey! Look here!”

Kisa swiftly scooped up Biche, who had fallen flat on her back again. Trembling like prey thrown before a beast, Biche slowly closed her eyes.

Kisa’s face, seen up close, was more menacing and terrifying than the one on the wanted posters, or the one she’d seen from afar long ago.

 

She remembered the moment she had seen him execute a monstrous sea creature. 

 

Standing right before her now was more frightening than that time he had been drenched in blood. 

 

Biche trembled violently and then lost consciousness.

 

A few hours later. Biche’s eyes snapped open in a cold corner of the corridor. 

 

Her body was wrapped tightly in a thick curtain. The curtain’s musty smell of dust assaulted her nose.

“What a man, without a shred of chivalry,” Biche clicked her tongue and got up, her body stiff. 

 

While Kisa, who needed to move swiftly, had no obligation to take a mere assistant to the medics, she couldn’t help but complain.

“Someone faints right in front of you, and you just wrap them in a curtain and call it a day…?”

A bluish bruise had formed on her elbow from when she initially fell. Biche made a pained face and rubbed her throbbing elbow.

“Fight the Kraken and get your beard burned off!” she cursed at Kisa.

Around the time Biche was laying curses on Kisa, the man who had left her wrapped in a musty curtain was being subjected to a persistent interrogation by a colleague.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The war with the Kraken, which had started in the early morning, concluded smoothly for the time being. 

 

Unable to withstand the admirals’ combined assault, the Kraken had retreated to the deep seabed.

The admirals began leaving one by one as soon as they returned to the fortress. Only two remained: Moose, the witch from Whecoca, and the youngest admiral, Kisa.

‘If I don’t get away quickly, I’m in for a tedious lecture,’ Kisa thought. 

 

He gave Moose an awkward smile and began stealthily backing away.

“Well then, I’ll be off—. The lining of this leather is still my pajamas, feels quite uncomfortable, you see.”

The nickname ‘Live-Skinner Kisa’ held a deep misunderstanding. Firstly, contrary to rumors, Kisa did not have the vile hobby of skinning his enemies.

Why would he do such a filthy thing? No matter how carefully one tried to skin someone, blood would inevitably splatter. 

 

Unless the target was a hated sea creature, he didn’t bother trying to skin them.

Kisa hated getting blood on himself during combat more than anything.

 

 So, as soon as his magic stabilized, he turned a giant’s hide into armor.

It had already been ten years since he began hiding himself within that giant’s skin. 

 

The moment he became an admiral, the wanted posters featured the giant’s menacing face instead of his. 

 

Most of the crew, except for Captain Hawk, Hildert, and the other admirals, didn’t know Kisa’s real face.

“I hear you made the Boatswain’s assistant faint this morning?” Moose asked, gripping Kisa’s long sword tightly as she smiled.

Kisa glared at her in dismay. “Dammit, Moose! Did you plant eyes and ears around me?”

“The familiars all over the fortress are my eyes and ears. Now, shh—” Moose subtly lowered her voice. Kisa, following her lead, sneakily bent his waist.

“What?”

 

“Kisa. You know about that, right?”

“About what?”

“The fact that the Boatswain has taken a liking to the woman you knocked out and left stuffed in a curtain.”

“Dammit, what’s the big deal? I already know! That woman reeked of the Boatswain’s magic, what of it? They’ve clearly been rolling around wildly, ugh. What is this?”

“You certainly have a vulgar mouth,” Moose said, using her magic to firmly seal the giant hide’s mouth. 

 

A sweet-smelling magical energy enveloped the entire hide. The magic began to harden with a smooth, glossy finish.