MTFBMP Chapter 15

I was some distance away from the dolphins, so I couldn’t get a good look at them. They seemed to be checking my position and jumping up and down.

 

“A little closer!”

 

“Should I try to catch that one?”

 

“No, you’ll get in trouble.”

 

The dolphins were now swimming almost under my nose. Even now, it didn’t look like a good sign.

 

I moved a few steps to the side, keeping my eyes on them.

 

The dolphins that had been swimming alongside the boat, all at once, kept their distance and came back a little further and followed me in a side-by-side position.

 

‘This is an illusion created by my consciousness,’ I thought.

 

Still unable to face reality, I turned my gaze away from the dolphins and faced the opposite side of the ocean.

 

“Why are there so many seagulls?” I asked myself.

 

“Isn’t there some kind of huge spot here?”

 

This time, a flock of seagulls floated above my head. They weren’t hunting, but circling a spot near the boat.

 

‘Another eye contact again.’

 

This time it was a whole flock of seagulls watching me.

 

‘Come to think of it, didn’t I see them in Dion’s room, too?’

 

The dolphins were still distant because of the waves, but the seagulls were much closer.

 

It was quite an eerie experience to have an entire flock of birds looking at me at once.

 

‘No, it’s scary!’

 

Adelaine must have been keeping me from staying sane.

 

‘I just wanted to look at the ocean and clear my mind!’

 

It seemed like every beast I could encounter on this ocean was coming for me.

 

“No way…”

 

He’s not going to summon a Kraken or a Leviathan later, right?

 

Every one of them was a beast of enormous power, but they were of low rank compared to the beasts of the deep and the griffins.

 

‘They’re all mid-bosses!’

 

I had a sinking feeling that if I pissed off the final boss any further, I’d end up capsizing the ship.

 

“Oh, okay, I’m going down, I’m going down.”

 

I muttered and turned to leave, but the ship lurched once more, and I slid right along.

 

“Get out of the way, kid!”

 

“Ouch!”

 

Meanwhile, I’m jostled and pushed back by the rough hand of the sailor, and a few sailors who couldn’t resist the temptation of fishing finally shove me out of the way and drape their rods over the railing.

 

“What’s the matter, I thought I’d catch something.”

 

“Good luck casting!”

 

Wanting to stay out of their way, I took a few steps back. As I waded through the crowd, my back touched a tall pole. I looked up and saw a sailor on a lookout tower with a binocular scanning the area.

 

“Heads up, everyone! There’s a big wave coming!”

 

Just then, the sailor took his eyes off the binoculars and shouted.

 

“It’s too late! Hold on tight!”

 

Immediately, I hugged the pole tightly.

 

A powerful wave crashed over the deck of the ship. There was a lot of swearing going on, and then…

 

There I was, embracing an octopus bigger than me. 

 

“Hey, look at the kid over there!”

 

“Kid caught an octopus!”

 

I flopped to the ground, soaking wet, and exclaimed, “Yikes! No! What the hell!”

 

“Get off! Get off me!”

 

I had never seen an octopus this big before. The giant sucker was holding me tight. The octopus didn’t even struggle, as if humbly accepting its fate.

 

One of its legs kept trying to get into the restricted area. I kept my legs close together.

 

And it wasn’t just one octopus. All kinds of fish were flapping around me.

 

“It’s a catch, a big catch!”

 

One of the sailors rushed over and tried to grab a nearby fish.

 

“No, I need help with this one!”

 

At the same time as I shouted, the stunned fish began to flop around furiously, as if they had come to their senses.

 

“Eww, what’s with this strength?”

 

The fish continued to move, using their slippery bodies to evade the crew’s touch.

 

‘Please tell me I’m just seeing things.’

 

I hoped I was hallucinating. The fish managed to form letters.

 

‘Come here.’

 

It took all my willpower not to pass out.

 

“Get this off me first!”

 

I shouted for whoever was lurking below, but the sailors on deck reacted first.

 

“Hahaha!”

 

They looked at me, unable to hide their laughter.

 

“The little one has brought up the offering.”

 

“One of these will do!”

 

Then I remembered that octopus was a favorite sea sacrifice of the superstitious sailors here.

 

‘A sacrifice sent by the sea to the gods.’

 

My heart sank even deeper as I realized I’d been given a mythical offering.

 

“I’ll give it to you, just please take it!”

 

Two of the sailors rushed over and tried to subdue the octopus. But in vain. The more people they gathered, the stronger the octopus became.

 

“I’ve never seen anything so strong in my life,” said the sailor.

 

“This won’t work. Go wash it with salt and come back.”

 

Their eyes scanned me up and down, including the octopus, and their gazes were filled with wonder. I was starting to get discouraged.

 

As more sailors gathered around me, I began to have a new worry: I was soaked through and afraid they would see through my clothes.

 

“Haha… I still caught it, right?”

 

Trying to be confident, I asked. Part of me wanted to jump up, but the octopus in my arms was too heavy.

 

I barely managed to pull myself up, almost hobbling. My drenched clothes were also heavy. I was surprised my hat hadn’t come off in all the commotion.

 

“Another fish here.”

 

I gesture at the fish that fluttered away from me in a circle of letters. I’d better grab what I can.

 

“Yeah! You got him!”

 

The sailors began to clap.

 

“The waves have calmed down.”

 

The sailor on the watchtower looked down at us and said.

 

“Looks like the sea gods have a favorite on board.”

 

It’s a god, but it’s not a sea god, and I don’t know that this could even be called love. But it’s true, I thought, that some god down there was constantly sending me signals.

 

“Kid’s lucky, he won’t be bad to have around.”

 

This time a killer whale leaped the highest so far, so close to us that it barely grazed the bow of the boat.

 

Of course, it was also looking at me.

 

Scary, but not a bad initiation.

 

💫

 

After disposing of the octopus, I was given fresh water and allowed to use the crew bathroom. Luckily, I was the only one using the bathroom, as it was busy.

 

The octopus, which had been covering my body so diligently until then, came off as soon as I was alone.

 

“Hah.”

 

I chuckled with glee. It felt like Adelaine was responsible for this.

 

After glaring at the octopus as if it were the villain’s spawn, I placed it in the barrel that the other sailor had given me to contain it and left it by the door. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it would at least keep someone from trying to get in.

 

Even then, I wasn’t reassured, so I moved as fast as I could.

 

My hair was saved by my hat, but my top was a mess. I had to wash it, crying because it was covered in coarse salt. 

 

Thankfully, Simon’s vest and undershirt were made from the skin of a special animal, so they were not difficult to wash.

 

But the shirt had crossed the river of no return.

 

“I should have just gone straight down to the basement.”

 

It was a hindsight regret. If someone waiting downstairs had heard, they might have clapped their hands.

 

“…You’re not watching me change, are you?”

 

I asked out loud, just in case. As if in answer, the boat tilted once to the left and then back.

 

“Don’t look.”

 

I felt less afraid to say this because he wasn’t in front of me.

 

Still, it wasn’t enough to convince me, and I managed to get out of the bathroom without stripping down to my underwear. I planned to finish the rest in my private cabin.

 

Cautiously, I scanned my surroundings to make sure no one was around. I made it as far as the corridor to my cabin, but it was the captain’s private quarters and not much traffic.

 

‘I’ll see if I can find a change of clothes first, and then I’ll go straight to Adelaine’s.’

 

The problem was…

 

“Anthele?”

 

“Hic!”

 

Unknown to everyone else, the captain was a frequent user of that hallway.

 

“Ah, Captain.”

 

Dion caught up to me with the cabin door right in front of him.

 

I’ve come out still in my wet clothes, and I’m anxious about how I look to him. I crossed my arms in an X to cover my upper body and twisted myself to make sure.

 

…I had no idea how that image would reflect on Dion.