MTFBMP Chapter 10

It was hard to figure out how I got back to my cabin.

 

My hat was on the floor, and I barely managed to grab it.

 

As I left the cellar behind and climbed the steep stairs, I didn’t feel Adelaine following me, even as the door closed behind me. 

 

I didn’t hear a voice calling out for me. But the moment I stopped walking, I felt the warmth of his hand grab the back of my head.

 

Slam—!

 

I ran back to my cabin and slammed the door roughly shut. I listened to the noises outside and heard people talking on the deck.

 

Suddenly, I was snapped back to reality. The party hadn’t finished yet. Maybe that’s how I got back here unnoticed.

 

“Whew, whoo!”

 

Breathed heavily. Realizing that I was safe, my strength drained out of my body.

 

Instead, I leaned my back against the door and slid down, plopping onto the floor of my room. My head was dizzy, like I’d never felt motion sickness in my life.

 

I could see the bruises on my arms from the stumbling and slipping on the way up. My knees were throbbing, and I knew I must have bruised them.

 

Thank goodness I didn’t run into anyone on the way back.

 

“What the hell is going on?”

 

The final boss was trapped below the ship, while the villain who had appeared with him was comfortably working as a chef on board.

 

“Did you two actually meet in here?”

 

That was a weird way to put it, but I couldn’t think of anything else. It was as if I’d just learned some deep backstory about a villain I’d never really cared about.

 

“All I want is a strong pet!” 

 

The narrow cabin felt like a prison. 

 

It was a much more pleasant place than being in the basement, but not much different except for the fact that it was closed on all sides. 

 

And beyond the layer of wood was the ocean! There was nowhere to escape on my own two feet.

 

“What should I do now?”

 

The plan of snatching a pet and fleeing was about to fall apart.

 

It was already a mess outside. I was now in the same boat as the people I should be most wary of.

 

“How screwed am I really?”

 

For the life of me, I couldn’t come up with a good number.

 

In my frustration, I glanced up and saw a round window.

 

The night was so dark I couldn’t see the horizon. Waves glistened in the moonlight.

 

Looking at the night sea, I felt a little calmer. 

 

Even at the inn, when I had a lot on my mind, I would always take advantage of this time to clear my mind. My heart was still pounding, but I was slowly coming to my senses.

 

“It’s impossible to run away alone at sea.”

 

So there was no way she could run away mid-sail without a pet.

 

“What if we dock halfway?”

 

Even a ship of this size couldn’t sail straight to the imperial capital. They’d have to stop at least once to refill their supplies.

 

But until then, there was no guarantee that the ship would be safe.

 

“It’s best to get a pet.”

 

That was a hunch. There was no answer.

 

“Oh, please, just this once, just drop a quest spear on the top of my head!”

 

Truth be told, I didn’t get a single answer. I knew it was impossible, but I clasped my hands together, looked out to sea, and prayed fervently.

 

It was that moment.

 

“Huh?”

 

The sea outside the window seemed to turn red as if it was dawning. I blinked a couple of times in surprise.

 

Once again, the strange sensation of floating overtook the body.

 

.

.

.

 

After an unexplained floating sensation.

 

When I opened my eyes, I felt solid ground beneath my feet.

 

A sunset beach stretched out before me. It was White Gold Beach, the beach I had never left, except for now.

 

‘Am I hallucinating again?’

 

Feeling like a ghost, I searched my body, startled, and suddenly noticed something strange.

 

‘There are no scars on my arms.’

 

The scars on my arms from running on the boat earlier had disappeared, revealing only clean white skin. 

 

What’s more, when I released it, a strand of silver hair had brushed the nape of my neck and was fluttering in the wind. 

 

There was a reddish glow on the surface of the transparent silver hair, like a sunset.

 

When I raised my head again to face the sea, I recognized that the red glow in front of me was not the sunset. At the same time, an ominous feeling of foreboding came over me.

 

‘What if it’s not a sunset?’

 

It was a familiar sight. It was one of those scenes I’d watched countless times in my previous life.

 

This was also a video of an event I knew. The final boss’s appearance…

 

‘It wasn’t a sunset, it was burning.’

 

The ocean was on fire!

 

At the same time as I realized this, a shadowy figure that looked like a giant bird flew over the Red Sea, blocking out the sun with its wings.

 

In an instant, the day became as dark as a sunset evening, and contrasting red lights burst scattered throughout the village.

 

A huge bird slowly landed on the beach.

 

“Kyaah!”

 

While I was mesmerized by the seascape, I heard a familiar voice scream in the distance.

 

‘No!’

 

It was Iris’s voice. I turned around and saw the inn burning.

 

The ending I’d wanted to avoid the most since I could remember my previous life was unfolding before my eyes.

 

Screams began to erupt from everywhere, from Iris, and scattered throughout the place, men and women alike.

 

My heart was beating fast. Seaside villages, inns burning. People were being killed.

 

“No, stop! Stop everything!”

 

Before I could think, I was running toward the inn.

 

Unlike my first vision of floating against gravity, this seemed real. I even kicked the pie into the sandy beach, losing my center and crashing to the ground.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Blood gushed from a cut on my arm. The wound looked exactly like the one I’d gotten in reality.

 

It felt sinister, as if the fate that had been prepared for me would be impossible to defy.

 

Before I could get to my feet, a giant man’s foot slammed down in front of my nose.

 

“Ha! There you are.”

 

“…!”

 

A voice I had heard very recently. Even without the raucous, frivolous laughter, I knew immediately who it was.

 

Like a bolt of lightning striking the back of my head.

 

“Argh!”

 

Before I could say anything, someone grabbed me by the hair and dragged it up. It swung and pulled so viciously that my feet were off the ground and my big toes barely touched the floor.

 

“Yes, the silver hair we’ve been looking for.”

 

I barely swallowed the pain and looked straight ahead, and there was the face I expected to see. There was an X-shaped scar on his face.

 

It was Rhodon and on the top of his head…

 

‘Red.’

 

The red color of the name meant threat.

 

“Let go of me, ugh…!”

 

The view behind him came into focus: Iris stretched unconscious in the doorway of the inn.

 

Her ripe, carrot-colored hair was redder than it had ever been before, and the color was spreading to cover her entire body.

 

The fire spread through the village, starting at the inn. The screams of the people began to fade away, replaced by the mocking laughter of the pirates.

 

Turning quickly, I identified each of the pirates on the rampage. I wanted to yell at them to stop, but my mouth was twitching, and no words came out.

 

Imagining it in my head and seeing it in front of me were two different things. This was not even like the video game footage. I couldn’t even breathe from the sudden terror.

 

Noticing my distraction, Rhodon leaned in closer to my face.

 

“So the rumors are true. What a waste of a pretty face.”

 

Rhodon stroked his chin, sounding genuinely regretful. His words sounded like those of a man who had no idea they’d exchanged pleasantries on the deck.

 

“Such a waste to kill, but I can’t help it if I’m going to make a living.”

 

Using the arm that wasn’t holding me, Rhodon drew the dagger that was tied to the strap of my dress. I hadn’t seen it when we first met on the ship. 

 

Maybe it was the shadows from the fire, or maybe it was someone’s blood, but the blade appeared black and dull when it should have been shining.

 

“Are you going to kill me?”

 

“Ah, yes! Or will you live quietly and breathlessly under me?”

 

The offer sounded so dirty and nauseating. I glared at him with all my might.

 

“Yes, these eyes, they’re a pretty pure color. You’re worth a lot of money.”

 

A barely grown woman with silver hair and coral-colored eyes.

 

Together, they saw ‘Antheia’ in their eyes.

 

Somewhere in his mind, the man made a decision and put the dagger back into its sheath. 

 

The decision seemed more horrifying than any sense of being alive.

 

“No! Let go of me!”

 

For the first time in this fantasy, I began to rebel. Writhing my whole body, pinching and clawing at his arms. Even with my futile gestures, I knew I couldn’t escape being dragged away.

 

“Ha! You think you can fight back?”

 

Rhodon shrugged off my kicks like they were nothing. I wanted to kick him in the face, but I could only struggle as he yanked me by the hair.

 

‘Somebody, somebody, please help me!’

 

In the end, I begged. I felt like I was grasping at thin air.

 

“You’re a nuisance, stop…!”

 

I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut when I saw Rhodon raise his huge hand. But no pain followed.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Instead, the hand holding my hair loosened, and I fell to the ground.

 

“You can’t even finish a mission of this magnitude.”

 

Before I could even begin to think I was alive, I heard a different man’s voice this time.

 

It was just as commanding, but much more polished. It sounded eerily casual in this sea of fire.

 

Not only that, but it sounded familiar. A voice I would never forget, etched into my bones.

 

Raising my head, I stared at the owner of the voice.

 

There stood Adelaine…