MTFBMP Chapter 37

🪶

 

“What’s the movement so far?”

 

Dion asked Jade, who had put down the pen in the middle of writing in the journal, and stood beside him.

 

Looking over at Dion, who was pressing his thumb and forefinger against his closed eyes as if to soothe them from fatigue, Jade thought for a moment before speaking.

 

“I’m not seeing any strange behavior yet.”

 

“Hmm. You’re telling me you’ve been thinking about it?”

 

Jade tilted his head in respect at the sharp Master’s words.

 

“Have you finished reinvestigating the new people aboard this ship?”

 

“It is being finalized.”

 

“So far?”

 

Jade’s answer was not much different from the previous one. 

 

Not without suspicion, but more of a grimace.

 

Dion pressed hard against his temples, trying to fight the fatigue that was creeping back in.

 

The wrong button to start with. 

 

This voyage had been decided on a whim. The rush to get the ship afloat meant that there was no time to fill it with a carefully selected crew.

 

I regretted that I hadn’t scrutinized the people I’d brought aboard, but it was my conversation with Anthele that bothered me.

 

Whether everything in their contracts was true, and whether the identification cards they showed me were untrue. 

 

It was not an easy thing to investigate on a ship.

 

Still, I felt an uneasy premonition tugging at the back of my mind.

 

“They won’t be able to move much with the current,” he said, “so if we want to catch them, we’ll have to do it now.”

 

If the rotten fruit wasn’t picked out beforehand, it would rot everything else around it. 

 

Everyone was running out of time, and they had to get it all out now.

 

“The rotten fruit…”

 

Dion lowered his gaze to the pile of contracts he’d organized earlier. 

 

At the top of the pile was Rhodon’s contract.

 

He remembered seeing Rhodon reaching for Anthele’s hand, and Anthele frozen for a moment in front of him. 

 

I remember instinctively, almost too clearly, standing between them.

 

He shouldn’t have sent her to the kitchen in the first place, and if she wanted to help again, he should find her something else to do.

 

“Is there anything else you need me to do?”

 

“…Not really.”

 

Dion shook his head stiffly, his gaze fixed. 

 

Right now, he just wanted to soak in the warm water.

 

‘Does Anthele still plan to take a bath at this hour?’ 

 

Dion pondered for a moment as he rose from his seat, but realized it was too late, and she was probably already asleep.

 

Dion lifted his head and stared at Jade. His gaze rested on the nape of his neck, which was tied up in a ponytail.

 

‘It’s definitely not the same.’

 

I wanted to think that the feeling of something different was just an illusion.

 

“Let’s call it a day. There’s a party on board the day after tomorrow, so we’d better retire early.”

 

Dion’s eyes widened at the mention of the party, and a hint of self-help tugged at the corners of his lips.

 

Jade, who pretended not to see it, snapped a quick greeting and stepped aside to make way for Dion.

 

Dion exited the navigation room.

 

Seeing that the lights hadn’t gone out yet, Rhodon slipped out of the darkened hallway and headed for the kitchen.

 

His footsteps were eerily silent for such a great place. 

 

It was a silent movement, unlike his habit of humming his way around.

 

And then, at the very bottom of it all.

 

— Too many sleepless footsteps tonight.

 

Adele, who had caught him unawares, grew irritated at the continued floor noise.

 

— I can’t concentrate.

 

My master’s breathing was smaller and quieter than the others, harder to catch if I didn’t concentrate.

 

Perhaps I should have snuck in at least one beast, even if I didn’t want to.

 

I remembered keeping the blue flame burning all night to get a closer look at the shimmering human who was now my master. 

 

The beast had been obedient when it was returned to me, and not for any other reason.

 

The bright silver was too easily tinted by the colors nearby. 

 

If only…

 

— My gold would be a better match.

 

A muttering voice reached his ears.

 

‘Mmm.’

 

I heard a brief shudder, and that was enough to make my body react.

 

The next sunrise was expected. I couldn’t even see the sun without borrowing another beast’s eyes.

 

Now I couldn’t look at it all the time because I had to follow my master’s orders, and if I did, I wanted to be with her, even if it was just to hear her breathing.

 

Anyone who interfered with this was a nuisance to him in more ways than one.

 

🪶

 

On the cold floor beneath an underground prison.

 

His top, which had clearly been intact yesterday, was in rags. It was the last of the spare clothes Dion had given her.

 

“Adele, I’ve been thinking.”

 

It was clear from the look of the garment that it had been torn by the beast’s claws. The sleeves had been ripped off with a beak.

 

— Tell me.

 

“Adele, are you…”

 

I think he has separation anxiety. 

 

Either that or he’s a pervert. I couldn’t dare say it in front of him.

 

Adele blinked slowly, as if unable to sleep. No emotion, not even anxiety or nervousness, showed on his impassive visage.

 

— Why not speak?

 

“Umm. No. I’ll tell you later.”

 

When I feel more confident that Adele won’t hurt me. 

 

Maybe then I would be able to tell him.

 

‘You seem to have separation anxiety, or you’re a bit of a pervert.’ 

 

Well, I guess I should approach Adele just as if I were approaching an animal.

 

At least, that’s what I’m doing right now. If I told him that he was a pervert while waiting patiently for me, it would make me feel like a weirdo.

 

“Okay. Just make sure you keep your pants on. Just pants.”

 

Normally at this point, Adele would have turned into his human form, but he didn’t react any differently.

 

“Something doesn’t seem right about you today.”

 

I’d sensed it since the moment I descended into the basement. 

 

After the contract, Adele had been in human form for a few days, but today he’d been in beast condition from the start. He hadn’t even reacted when I came to his cage.

 

Thinking he was feeling unwell again, I approached him to check on him, but he didn’t even look at me as I sat down on my knees, just buried his head and breathed deeply.

 

When I soothed him and asked him what was wrong, the answer was…

 

— Shut up.

 

At first, I thought maybe he was talking to me.

 

When I asked if I should just leave, Adele leaned his head into my lap. It was a gesture of holding on to me.

 

I meekly gave up my lap, and here we are.

 

“Are you sure you’re feeling better?”

 

I didn’t think Adele would lie, and if not, I couldn’t figure out why this was happening now.

 

— I hadn’t slept well last night because of all the noise.

 

“Why didn’t you sleep?”

 

— What other reason could a pet have for waiting for its master?

 

With that, Adele dug into my arms as if trying to throw me to the ground. I resisted Adele’s thrusts by bracing my abdomen.

 

— So take responsibility, if you’re the master.

 

I still don’t know why I’m to blame for the sleepless nights. 

 

The waves hadn’t been bad at night, and it had been quiet all morning. I went to bed and woke up without dreaming.

 

At first, I wondered if I was being tricked.

 

It’s so weird, Adele playing tricks on me. Besides, he had nothing to gain by doing that.

 

Since I decided to make him my pet, I’ve been giving him as much petting and cuddling as he wants. 

 

Of course, I couldn’t be with him every hour, but I did my best.

 

“Your wings are getting better, right?”

 

— Yes. So pet me better.

 

‘Is my touch really working?’

 

Only Adele knew if I was mistaken, or if he was truly feeling better. 

 

All I could tell was his outward condition, and to my eyes, he didn’t look much different.

 

But strangely, it was hard to push him away.

 

‘He just keeps crawling up on me.’ 

 

Of course, I had been outplayed from the start. 

 

As frustrating as it may be, I’ve never really been able to beat this beast before.

 

And by crawling, I mean climbing on my body.