On that day, everyone woke up feeling stomach pain, including me.
"Oww, my stomach."
I heard the moans of Shou Bao Tsai, and Sora's voice coming from my side, both complaining of stomach pain.
Even I felt as if there was a knife in my stomach tearing my guts apart.
"I hope the old bastard's plan is worth it."
I sighed, playing my part, waiting for the crew to find me so I could give them the medicine.
"Old serpent!!!"
Suddenly, Oliver's sharp scream spread throughout the entire ship.
"You old snake, come out of your hole! I know this is because of you."
"Hey, hey, wait, Oliver. You can't accuse me without a reason."
"Huh? Wait, what? Do you think it's easy to bully this old man? I'll make you pay for this."
"Wait, hey, wait, Oliver! Let me go!"
I felt cold sweat covering my back as I listened to the desperate screams of the trinket seller and the angry screams of the captain.
"I hope he doesn't discover my involvement."
*Clatter*
I felt someone forcefully slam into the door of the shared sleeping quarters.
"You!"
Looking up, I saw an angry Oliver entering the room furiously while dragging the trinket seller by the neck.
"Yes, captain? Do you need something?"
I tried to put on as innocent an expression as possible while holding my stomach in pain.
"Such a damn act."
Suddenly, I felt Oliver's iron grip pulling me up by the neck.
"...!"
"I don't know how that old serpent convinced you to cooperate with him, and I don't care. What matters is that if you can't cure everyone on this ship within half an hour, prepare yourself for a swim."
Feeling Oliver's iron grip choking me to the point where I couldn't speak or attempt to defend myself, I nodded weakly.
"Of course, my friend will cure everyone on the ship, but nothing in this world is free."
Seeing the trinket seller's attempt to get money for the treatment, Oliver's gaze turned colder as he tightened his grip.
"Shut up! I'm already being generous for not throwing both of you into the sea, so don't test my patience."
After saying this, Oliver lets go of both me and the trinket seller.
"Haaah… Haaah, finally, I can breathe."
"Remember, you only have half an hour."
After saying this, Oliver leaves the room.
"Damn, who would have thought that brat would become so cunning and cruel?"
Hearing the trinket seller's words, I couldn't help but glare at him angrily, gritting my teeth.
"Oh, come on, don't look at me like that. Even though the plan failed, I will make it up to you. Believe me, you will enter the sect of the Seekers of the Truth of Life and Death more easily than you can imagine."
The trinket seller smiles a not-so-sincere smile while making his unreliable promises.
"Damn you, you old serpent."
"Tsk, tsk, why are all the kids of this generation so disrespectful towards their elders?"
______
I sigh wearily as I lie on my uncomfortable bed.
The past week on the ship passed slowly and in agony.
After giving everyone the medicine, I and that damned trinket seller were sent to do various difficult tasks, like cleaning the storerooms and others.
"Why was I stupid enough to get involved in that stupid plan?"
Whenever I remember it, I feel regret and shame, especially because now, due to that incident, everyone on the ship looks at me with unwelcoming glances.
While I was lost in my thoughts, and drowsiness was overcoming me, I fell asleep.
That night, I had a dream.
In the dream, I moved to a new world, but in this world, I didn't understand their language.
And so, everyone treated me as if I were crazy. They would whisper in front of me in their incomprehensible language, but I was sure they were mocking and laughing at me.
Children would throw stones at me and spit on me every time they saw me, and the adults wouldn't do anything about it. Therefore, I had no choice but to chase them away myself. Yet, this only made things worse.
The children's harassment increased, to the point that some even brought their older brothers to beat me up. My weak body, from malnutrition, couldn't resist.
I lived by begging. Yet, over time, the number of people repulsed by my appearance on the streets grew, and few were willing to give me a penny or two.
Everything in this world rejected me, from the language to the people.
Even the weather.
Sleeping on the streets on winter nights was suicidal, and that's what happened to me.
As I lay on the cold ground in the middle of the rain, I felt life leaving me.
"How I long for Earth."
In my last moments, I could only feel a longing for my original world, where people spoke the language I was raised hearing.
And where my family and childhood friends were.
Where the sidewalks and roads I used to walk on existed.
"How I long for Earth."
And how lonely I feel in this new world where no one understands me.
"A dream?"
I feel something hot staining my cheek as I stare at the ship's ceiling.
"What a realistic dream."
It truly was a dream so realistic I thought it was real.
Especially the feeling of loneliness I felt as I died from the cold, thrown in the streets.
And yet, that loneliness seemed somewhat distant from me.
After all, I wasn't someone who longed for Earth. The only thing I longed for was my phone.
"This must be because of the feeling of rejection from everyone avoiding me after the incident."
I sigh wearily as I get up to go drink something.
"Wait, what is this smell?"
I grimace as I smell a strange odor in the air.
This smell was strange to me.
But at the same time, I felt a shiver down my spine.
It wasn't because of the smell, but because...
"Why am I the only one in the room?"