Sea Monster Stew Chapter 73

“Hello there…”

The woman who timidly approached the round table was Camilla, a resistance fighter from Witches’ Cove. 

 

Admiral Moose raised her head, her face looking disheveled.

 

“What… It’s just Camilla?”

“Moose! What’s wrong with your face?”

 

Camilla let out a short shriek upon seeing Moose’s pale face.

“You look like you’ve vomited about five times!”

“It was six. Not five…”

 

“Really?”

She sat in the seat opposite Moose, furrowing her eyebrows.

“I heard you’re staying at Tusa’s ‘Blue Stag’ inn. Did you by any chance eat Tusa’s specialty?”

“Yeah… Have you tried it too?”

“I have, but… I didn’t really like the texture…”

 

Kisa glared at Camilla and scowled. ‘Texture? Was texture the issue here?’

“But it is the most popular dish at the inn.”

 

“Dammit, did everyone’s tongues—no, their brains—go weird while I was away?”

The moment Moose stuck out her tongue in shock, a tall man strode confidently into the meeting room. 

 

Kisa frowned as he saw the man with his silver hair neatly swept back.

“Orca.”

 

“Long time no see, Admiral Kisa.”

 

Commander Orca gave a slight laugh and sat opposite Kisa.

“Wait, since it’s the first time seeing that handsome face in person, should I say ‘Pleased to meet you’?”

With his entrance, a wave of tension rippled across the round table like a gentle wave.

“Calyxo isn’t coming.”

Orca spoke with a meaningful smile.

“I heard she’s taken ill, all because of her son who became the Emperor’s dog.”

“…Moose. You should go check on her.”

Kisa swallowed a sigh and looked at Admiral Moose. 

 

The only one who could enter the Emerald Castle now was Moose, being from Witches’ Cove.

 

Moose, rubbing her pale lips, nodded weakly.

“Alright. I’ll go and come back quickly…”

“And here I thought we were finally meeting the leader of Witches’ Cove… I’ll be returning to the inn first.”

Chaitan snorted and shot up from his seat.

 

As if he had no intention of sitting face-to-face with the resistance, he leisurely left the meeting room.

After Moose and Chaitan left the meeting room, a cold silence fell over the round table again. 

 

Camilla watched the two men staring intently at each other, sweating nervously.

“Um…”

She glanced at Kisa’s face and cautiously broached the subject.

“I heard the news. That you safely reunited with the daughter of the Duke of Akstain…”

“Reunited? Wasn’t it an abduction?”

Orca cut Camilla off with an annoying smile.

“You’ve certainly set the whole sea abuzz. Revealing the face you kept hidden your whole life, cutting off your left hand and escaping from the prison island, abducting Hildert’s bride…”

Kisa shrugged his shoulders lightly, as if to say, let them chatter all they want.

“I don’t care what others say.”

 

“If we had known Hildert was targeting Miss Akstain, we would have protected her ourselves instead of sending her to the ducal estate.”

Camilla, who had been blankly pondering Orca’s words, suddenly had a strange expression. 

 

She poked Orca’s side with a bewildered face.

“Commander Orca…?”

“I heard from Camilla. You promised sufficient compensation if we safely escorted Miss Akstain to her hometown, correct?”

Orca’s voice carried a subtle ease and a hint of smugness. 

 

The look in Kisa’s eyes instantly turned sharp.

“…It seems you want something else.”

 

“Yes. I want an alliance between the Resistance and the Crocus pirate crew.”

Orca answered with an expressionless face.

“You wish for Hildert’s downfall, don’t you? The Resistance is the same. Having a man of his caliber acting as the Emperor’s dog isn’t something we welcome either.”

 

At those words, Kisa twisted his lips into a bitter smile. 

 

His eyes gleamed darkly from behind the flickering candlelight.

 

“The Resistance would join hands with mere pirates?”

 

“Mere pirates? Don’t play coy.”

Orca snorted and cast a secretive glance towards Camilla.

“Even as remnants, the Crocus pirate crew is distinctly different from other petty pirates. Isn’t that right, Camilla?”

“Haha… Y-yes, that’s right…”

Kisa silently stared at Camilla, who was awkwardly raising the corners of her mouth. 

 

Their words left a strange resonance. Kisa’s mind began to race.

 

‘These two… they’re hiding something.’

He stared straight into Orca’s blue eyes. A slight tremor occurred in his black pupils. 

 

Not missing the minor sign, Kisa narrowed his eyes.

“So? Will you join hands with us?”

Orca grinned, stood up, and extended his hand to him. 

 

Kisa skillfully hid the suspicion flaring up like a small spark, pushed his chair back, and stood.

 

“…If it’s to crush Hildert, then certainly.”

“Now that you’ve shed the giant’s skin, we understand each other much better.”

 

Orca laughed contentedly and shook Kisa’s offered hand. 

 

Camilla bit her lip and kept stealing glances at the two men’s expressions.

“Oh, I’d like to greet Miss Akstain. May I stop by the inn sometime soon?”

“No. Don’t even come near.”

Kisa threw down Orca’s hand, which was curled unpleasantly, and turned away. 

 

Orca, seemingly unbothered, laughed brightly and called out to the back of his head.

“Let’s all meet at the Emerald Castle as soon as we get permission from Calyxo to enter! With Miss Akstain as well!”

As soon as Kisa stepped out of the meeting room, he let out a short whistle. 

 

From a dark corner of the tunnel, the skin of a sturdy human man smoothly revealed itself.

 

The flabby limbs of the skin stiffened with force, and artificial eyeballs filled the empty eyelids.

“Keep an eye on Commander Orca’s recent movements.”

Kisa approached the man’s skin and whispered.

“Check carefully if the Commander has ever approached Hildert or the Duke of Akstain, pay special attention.”

The man’s skin nodded silently and backed away into the darkness. 

 

Leaving the hidden truth behind, Kisa strode briskly out of the damp tunnel.

 

* * *

 

Camilla looked at the door through which the Live-Skinner Kisa had exited and whispered urgently.

“As expected, seeing him in person is much better than the wanted poster.”

“Me too?”

Orca laughed playfully and picked up the newspaper lying on the round table. 

 

He pulled out his own wanted poster tucked within the newspaper and thrust it in front of Camilla’s eyes.

“Aren’t I much better in person too?”

“Why on earth did you lie to Admiral Kisa?”

Camilla snorted and pushed aside the poster he offered.

“Miss Akstain didn’t return to the ducal estate with our help, did she?”

 

“Right. She jumped off my ship on her own.”

“If Miss Akstain tells Kisa the truth, we’ll lose our credibility as allies, won’t we?”

“No, that woman will never tell Kisa the truth.”

Orca grinned and lowered his voice to a whisper.

“To reveal that fact, she’d ultimately have to disclose that she herself is a half-breed.”

 

“W-well… I suppose she would, otherwise she couldn’t explain surviving in the stormy sea.”

“If you were Arcobicche Akstain, could you tell the ‘Live-Skinner Kisa’ the truth?”

“No. Even just valuing my life… it would be better to keep my mouth shut, right?”

Camilla let out a small groan mixed with a grunt.

“But if they really are lovers, maybe Admiral Kisa would accept Miss Akstain for who she is?”

“Don’t you think the betrayal would feel even deeper because they’re lovers?”

 

‘Why does this guy keep acting so out of character? I thought he’d hate getting involved between a pirate and a noble.’

Camilla stared intently at Orca, who was beaming, with a furrowed brow. 

 

She had found it suspicious ever since he kidnapped and hid the merman and the monstrous sea creature.

 

“Commander, don’t tell me… The reason you hid those two sea creatures you supposedly stole from the Duke…”

Her eyes, which had been squinting, widened in shock.

“Don’t tell me you’re holding them hostage to blackmail Miss Akstain? So that if she tells Kisa the truth, our alliance would be jeopardized?”

‘To win Arcobicche Akstain’s favor? You? Why on earth? Arcobicche has already left the ducal house; she’s not even a suitable person to extract information from. Why is this capricious man suddenly showing excessive interest in a half-breed sea creature?’

“Commander. If you’re committing these antics because you have some… twisted feeling of wanting what others have… then please count me out of this.”

“Hey, Must you disparage my pure heart like this?”

“Pure heart, my foot…”

 

Camilla clicked her tongue shortly and shook her head vigorously. 

 

He sure says things that would turn the whole gray mine upside down if Admiral Kisa heard.

‘If the Commander gets skinned and becomes one of the Admiral’s collection items… what would happen to the alliance between the pirate crew and the resistance?’

Thinking such frivolous thoughts, she left the meeting room as if fleeing.

 

* * *

 

Biche slowly regained consciousness within the heavily pressing darkness. 

 

Moonlight filtering through the white curtains clearly outlined the spacious inn room.

The first thing she felt was a heavy arm firmly wrapped around her waist. 

 

Kisa was breathing evenly behind her.