Rose looks up at the star-filled night sky. "Notchollow. After passing through the land that refuses the light… I don't expect much from what Notchollow will be like anymore." she says, a faint, eager smile forming at the end.
"We'll see soon enough—but finish your dinner before it gets cold," I reply.
"It's been cold from the start, Hiro," she answers, her expression flat.
But then she smiles.
"Still, I'm relieved you finally wake up, Hiro," she says with a sincere smile.
I do not answer. Her gaze feels dangerous.
"HEY, LOOK AT ME. ANSWER MY EARLIER QUESTION!" she says firmly.
I slow my eating and drinking.
"Ugh, hurry up!"
HMMMMMMM—the sound from deep within the sea thunders, its vibration rippling through the ship's planks. Every passenger tenses, and so does Rose.
I close my eyes… a blue whale.
I open them.
"Rise, and let us go to the ship's railing. Look over there, Rose. Do not turn away," I say, waiting for what I already see forming in my vision.
"What is it?" she asks, yet follows my words, her gaze shifting to where I point.
The blue whale spins in the air. Not merely a leap—its massive body twists before crashing back into the sea.
"WOOO—!" "Look at that!" "It's flying!"
Cheers erupt across the deck, swallowing the roar of the ocean.
The passengers shout in awe. I remain frozen. I have never seen anything like it.
"Whoaa… it's beautiful," she says, her eyes sparkling.
Hm? For some reason, that sense of wonder turns at once into a bad feeling.
I touch my shoulder. The lightness turns heavy in time, with the whale's next display and the crowd's renewed cheers. I do not join them.
"Isn't it amazing?" she asks eagerly, turning toward me.
"Hiro?!" she says, more seriously.
I give a slight nod, my eyes still on the sea. The weight on my shoulder grows stronger as the whale spins again and the cheers explode, again and again.
"What's wrong?"
I shake my head slowly.
"Nothing. Look back at the sea—watch that."
The dolphins around the whale rise and leap again and again, fast and dazzling, an act that draws more cheers and amazement, but not from me.
What is this… another bad feeling? What is coming next?
---
Morning turns to noon, noon to evening, and evening to night. No explicit sign appears, and my vigilance begins to wane.
Yet I do not dismiss my premonition.
Dinner is served.
"Are you feeling better, Hiro?" she asks, handing me a can of food and a bottle of milk.
I accept them and exhale softly.
"You could say that. Still, I will keep watch tonight. I cannot simply let this pass."
Rose smiles gently at me.
"True, but this is the sea. If someone strong comes for you, you will surely defeat them. You are strong, after all," she says, trying to ease my caution.
I eat and take a slow drink of the milk.
"Perhaps. But my concern is not a person—it is a creature, Rose."