Ahem, ahem—as long as I don't feel awkward, then the one feeling awkward is everyone else!
Klein adjusted his expression and, in his usual calm and distant tone as "The World," said, "Good afternoon, Lady Strength."
Bernadette's gaze was tranquil. "Do you need to take the potion now?"
"Of course. The sooner, the better."
She turned to Cattleya. "Catie, take him to the mermaids."
"Yes!"
Cattleya's eyes lit up instantly. "Catie" was the affectionate nickname Bernadette had given her when she was little—a name that symbolised warmth and closeness.
"Thank you," Klein said briefly. He had no time for polite conversation with Bernadette. Under Cattleya's guidance, he retraced their steps and took another path that led toward a secluded harbour opening into the endless ocean.
There, dozens of graceful figures sat along the shore, their melodious voices weaving together into an ethereal chorus.
Each of them was breathtakingly beautiful, their long tails shimmering with iridescent scales that exuded an almost dangerous allure. Yet, Klein's mind was focused on only one thing—
Finally…I can advance to Sequence 5!
He reached into his coat pocket, drew out the potion of the Marionettist, and, amidst the mermaids' hypnotic singing, uncorked the vial and drank it in a single gulp.
———
Waypoint Island—The Largest Special District.
A handsome man with crimson eyes burst through a door and sprinted down the street as if fleeing from some unspeakable terror.
Moments later, four or five scantily dressed women chased after him, waving their hands.
"Hey, handsome, why are you running? Come back!"
"Sweetheart! Wait!"
"Ah, such a shame—he's good-looking and rich."
"Even the way he runs away looks charming…If I weren't doing this kind of work, I'd definitely try to pursue him."
"Ugh—what a waste…"
Their sighs lingered in the air.
These women didn't want to sell their bodies—they simply had no other choice. To survive in this harsh place, they had to do what they must. Compared to the filthy, brutish pirates who usually came their way, the clean, pale, well-dressed young man who'd just fled was practically a dream.
Emlyn White ran as if his life depended on it, burning every ounce of strength in his body. When he finally made sure those women weren't following him, he stopped, gasping for breath.
That was terrifying. Absolutely terrifying!
"Yo, back already? Didn't last long, huh? Guess you're not built for it."
A teasing voice came from nearby. Dressed casually and leaning against a wall—Danitz—took a leisurely bite of an apple.
"DANITZ!!"
Rage exploded in Emlyn's chest. He charged forward, fist raised, and swung it at Danitz's face. "You bastard! You set me up!!"
Danitz nimbly dodged back, laughing. "Hey now, when did I ever lie to you?"
"You told me that was a doll shop!"
"...Come on! What I said was that it's a place that could make you feel excited and thrilled!" Danitz spread his arms innocently. "Any normal man would know a doll shop doesn't exactly do that!"
"You—"
Emlyn's face went crimson with fury. "You misled me on purpose!"
Danitz immediately raised his hand. "I swear, I didn't!"
"..."
Emlyn took several deep breaths, forcing down his temper. "You said it's a place that excites normal men. So why didn't you go?"
Danitz's expression turned solemn in an instant. "Shut up! My heart belongs to the Captain! I'm saving myself for her! How could I go to such a place?!"
"..."
Emlyn's face twisted. "Damn you!"
He lunged again, and the two men rolled into a chaotic brawl—punches, kicks, shoving, but no supernatural powers.
"Hey."
Just as Emlyn was tugging on Danitz's hair and Danitz was yanking at his collar, a crisp, almost amused voice cut through the air.
"Are you two play-fighting, or is this your way of bonding? Because with moves that soft, neither of you's going to die."
"???"
Both froze instantly and turned toward the voice.
Standing a short distance away was a striking young woman, around eighteen or nineteen years old. Her long black hair was tied simply into a ponytail, and her outfit—strange and foreign—was unlike anything they had ever seen.
"Blondie," she said lazily, her eyes glinting with mischief, "you should've blown his head off with that gun. And you—vampire—should've ripped his throat open with your claws."
Emlyn's instincts flared, and he blurted out, "It's Sang—"
Before he could finish, Danitz shoved him aside, his hand already pulling his revolver from its holster and aiming squarely at the girl.
Years of surviving among pirates had taught him well: aside from the Captain, he never let a woman's beauty dull his instincts. No matter how pretty, she could be as deadly as a serpent.
The girl smiled, narrowing her eyes. "Nice gun…"
She lifted her slender white fingers—where, at some point, an identical revolver had appeared between them.
No—not identical. It was his gun.
"Now it's mine," she said with a faint, playful smile.
"!!!"
Memories of humiliation came flooding back—the moment Danitz first met Gehrman Sparrow (Edward) was something he would never forget. The other man had used a nearly identical trick back then to snatch away his revolver!
"Emlyn! Don't just stand there—run! Go get the captain!"
Danitz forced the words out through gritted teeth, stepping forward, intending to buy time for his companion.
But Emlyn didn't move an inch. Instead, his eyes went wide with shock as he stared at the girl in front of them.
Danitz felt a wave of despair. Seriously?! You're choosing now to get interested in a woman?
"You…you are…"
A flicker of realisation flashed through Emlyn's mind. He had seen this girl before—she was the same figure "Mr. World" had projected during the last Tarot meeting!
No, that wasn't the important part.
What mattered was that her voice sounded exactly like the one that had once conveyed the will of the Ancestor Lilith to him!
Then…the girl standing before him—could she be the Ancestor Lilith herself?!
The thought struck like lightning. Emlyn trembled with excitement. "You…you are…"
The girl smiled sweetly. "It's me. I'm the one who told you to set sail, remember?"
It really was the Ancestor!
Emlyn's excitement spiked to the point of incoherence. For a moment, he didn't even know what to say—or what to do. Should he kneel? Bow? Offer blood?
His body answered faster than his brain—he dropped to his knees with a solid thud.
Ancestor: "???"
"Hahaha!"
The girl bent over laughing, clutching her stomach. "Emlyn, you really are one of the Tarot Club's three idiots. Get up."
She walked toward them with her hands clasped behind her back. "From now on…" She glanced at Danitz. "You two will just follow me around and run errands for me."
Without hesitation, Emlyn bowed. "As you command, my lady."
Danitz exploded. "Emlyn, have you completely lost it today?! I thought you were only interested in dolls!"
The girl's sapphire eyes slid toward Danitz. "Oh? You're unwilling?"
"I—"
He only got one word out before his bravado vanished. "I…I'm loyal to my captain…"
Jingle.
The girl turned her hand over, revealing several shimmering gemstones of varying shapes and colours. "You sure you don't want to reconsider~?"
Danitz froze mid-breath. "Those are…"
"Oh, just the Beyonder characteristics of the Hunter pathway—Sequence 5, Sequence 4, Sequence 3, and Sequence 2."
"!!!"
In one smooth motion, Danitz snapped to attention, bowed deeply, and declared, "It would be my honour to serve you, my lady."
He swore it wasn't because of the Beyonder characteristics—no, of course not. It was simply that anyone who could casually produce such items was obviously far beyond his comprehension.
To know the times is to be a hero—that's what Emperor Roselle always said!
———
The past—Year 1160
Emerald Street No. 28
Dubois had barely slept the entire night. At dawn, he was already up, ordering Endili to prepare several kinds of breakfast: one the boss's usual favourite, one from Endili's hometown, and one children's meal.
Yet before Mr. Sparrow even came downstairs, Bernadette arrived first. When she saw the children's set on the table, her eyes lit up. "Wow! Did Mr. Sparrow prepare this just for me?"
No, that's actually for Mr. Sparrow…
Dubois thought bitterly but didn't say it aloud. It would have ruined the moment. Then something clicked in his mind—Bernadette must've known the boss was back. Maybe they even met last night?
He leaned closer. "Bernadette, did you see Mr. Sparrow last night?"
"I did!"
"And…did he seem, uh…" Dubois hesitated, searching for the right words.
Bernadette's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to get information out of me?"
Damn it. I hate smart kids.
He sighed and decided to just ask outright. "Are you sure the person you saw was really Mr. Sparrow?"
"Of course."
"Why?"
She lifted her chin proudly. "Because that's a secret between Mr. Sparrow and me!"
"…"
Fine. You two can have your little secrets. Apparently, I'm just the outsider here.
Dubois grumbled inwardly, though his suspicion eased a bit. Children's words might be naive, but their instincts were often sharper than adults'.
Tap, tap, tap…
The sound of slippers dragging across the floor came from the stairs. Edward, wearing pyjamas, hair a tousled mess, yawned as he came down from the second floor. "I wanted to sleep a bit more, but the smell was too good."
Still in his childlike form, he walked straight to the table. "Morning, Dubois. Morning, Bernie."
"Good morning, boss."
"Eh?"
Bernadette rushed over, eyes wide with delight. "Mr. Sparrow! You've turned into a child again?"
"…It's not like I wanted to."
Edward climbed onto a chair, his legs dangling seven or eight centimeters above the floor. "Can't be helped—I'm cursed."
Her eyes sparkled with fascination. "Then you'll stay like this forever?"
"…Are you gloating, Bernie?"
"No!" Bernadette shook her head furiously. "I just think you look really interesting like this!"
"I don't." Edward sighed. "They call it a curse for a reason."
He ruffled his messy hair. He wasn't like that Snake of Mercury, who seemed to enjoy being a child. To him, this was nothing but inconvenient—especially the part that made him actually feel childish.
He speared a piece of pastry with a fork, resting his chin on his hand as he ate. "You've heard of dwarfs, right?"
"Uh-huh. Dad said they're people who got sick and couldn't grow up. It's really sad."
"Exactly! You can think of my situation as having some illness like that. At least dwarfs have normal minds—mine's worse."
Bernadette's expression grew serious. "Then…can't your illness be cured?"
"Not exactly impossible," Edward said with a shrug. "Just…troublesome. There's no known case of this kind of 'illness,' no one understands its cause, so there's no way to treat it."
Hmm?
His expression suddenly shifted. Wait—if I could identify the underlying cause, wouldn't that make it curable?
And to find that cause…
I'm a Sequence 3—Deconstruction Scholar!
Couldn't he simply use [Deconstruction] on himself to uncover the "cause of illness" and resolve it?
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.