Chapter 43
The plan was simple.
They’d claim they got caught in rough seas, stop at Reki, and unload some of the cargo. The detour would only cost them three or four days. Afterward, they would retrieve the goods from Reki by land or sea.
Of course, retrieval would take much longer. Some of the merchants protested when they heard the plan, but there was a way to persuade them.
“Insurance fraud?”
“Fraud is such an unpleasant word.”
A crew member smirked.
“Technically, losing the goods isn’t a lie. Our business partners will handle the paperwork in a way that benefits us. Take the payout, wait two months, and we’ll get your goods back to you.”
The projected insurance payout silenced the merchants. This was a far safer deal than letting the navy sink its teeth into their cargo.
Soon, they signed the documents presented by the crew—one for the insurance claim and another agreeing to the retrieval fee.
A boat was sent ahead to handle the paperwork. Meanwhile, the Lumière slowly adjusted course to the right.
A few wary adventurers glanced at the darkening sky with suspicion, but when they saw the sailors singing as usual, they dismissed their unease.
However, not everyone on board agreed with this little adventure.
An old sailor followed the navigator closely.
“Not Reki. Go anywhere else! There are plenty of empty lands where neither man nor beast dares to tread.”
“The cargo needs a roof over its head. Having Reki nearby is a stroke of luck.”
“It’s not luck! It’s a curse! Can’t you see that foul air growling in the distance?”
What nonsense. So it was just superstition?
The navigator glanced toward Reki out of courtesy. The sea was rippling like countless blades cutting through the water. Beyond it, jagged rocks played hide-and-seek with the mist.
“I’ll admit, the waters look rough. But the danger people talk about is based on ships from a hundred years ago. The Lumière can handle it.”
“That’s not the problem! I’m telling you, Reki is truly cursed!”
The old man’s voice rose. The navigator wanted to laugh it off, but the uneasy looks on the other sailors’ faces made him pause.
No industry was as superstitious as sailing.
Noticing the crew hesitating in the corridor, the navigator dragged the old man into a private room. He had no intention of wasting too much time on this.
“What are you talking about? A curse?”
“You know Reki was a detention center, right?”
“So I’ve heard. Given how hospitals, cemeteries, and execution sites always come with ghost stories, I suppose a detention center would be even worse—”
“Reki wasn’t just any detention center. It was a place where they threw people into corners and let them waste away, without even pretending to treat them.”
The navigator listened with disinterest. The story was as predictable as he expected.
A quarantine facility, built in the farthest reaches of the continent to isolate prisoners with infectious diseases. It didn’t take long before it became a dumping ground for political prisoners, the falsely accused, and persecuted minorities.
There was no real medical care. Those who once prayed to the heavens eventually abandoned their prayers, cursing instead as they died.
Before their prayers could reach the sky, their curses seeped into the earth, taking hold.
At some point, even the wardens began to fall ill. Guards and doctors collapsed side by side in the same beds.
Soldiers sent to transport new patients turned their horses around at the sight of the horrors. Their stories of hell spread across the land.
No one wanted to turn hell into heaven.
Instead, they simply marked the land as a place no one should ever approach.
Before someone finally had the sense to draw a boundary, the curious who ventured too close disappeared one by one, just like the native inhabitants before them…
“…You don’t believe me.”
The old man’s voice was full of despair. The navigator replied with indifference.
“A place where many people died is bound to have ghost stories.”
“It’s not just stories! The moment the living step foot on Reki, the vengeful spirits will make them fall ill. They’ll drive their souls from their bodies through unbearable suffering!”
“Have you seen this with your own eyes?”
“Well… When I was young, I swear I saw someone from that direction, staggering like they were possessed…”
Now he had to sit through childhood ghost stories too? This was a waste of time. The navigator turned sharply on his heel.
“If this happened when you were a kid, then the ghosts must have gotten tired of waiting for visitors and moved somewhere else. Stop making people anxious with tired old tales.”
“…There isn’t one.”
The navigator ignored him. Talking any further would be pointless.
But the old sailor kept going.
“There’s no cemetery on Reki.”
“…”
“When people die in a plague, we at least gather their bodies, bury them, and mourn them. But Reki doesn’t even have that. Where do you think all those bodies went? They were abandoned. That land can’t be normal…”
The navigator stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.
If he listened any longer, he was afraid even he might start believing in the ghost stories.
* * *
Alice swallowed a groan as she listened to the navigator’s story.
“No cemetery? How did I not realize this before?”
Cemeteries were an inseparable part of human life. They were present in villages, but even more so in hospitals.
“There wasn’t even the most basic cremation facility.”
A sanatorium that didn’t even handle corpses properly? Just how forsaken was this place?
As Alice reeled from the realization, the navigator’s eyes glinted with curiosity.
“Was that really something to be shocked about?”
“It’s just… it’s so strange that there wasn’t a cemetery…”
“If you’re that concerned about cemeteries, what are you, a nun?”
She was a doctor.
Alice hesitated, wondering if she should be honest. In the end, she shook her head.
“I spent a long time in hospitals taking care of a sick family member. So I just assumed that every hospital would have a facility for handling the deceased. Or at least a mourning room.”
“And that family member?”
“They died.”
“Lucky them.”
The navigator’s lips curled into a twisted smirk.
Alice turned her gaze to the others still searching for treasure.
Was this the curse of this land?
Trapped between life and death, endlessly repeating their final actions.
‘…Wait.’
Hadn’t the number of people around them increased?
Earlier, she had only seen about six of those wandering corpses. Now, not only had the number of decayed former sailors and treasure hunters grown, but behind them… there were figures with strangely bright eyes.
If things went south, would Arno’s pocket knife even be useful? Most of them looked like their blood had long since dried.
But while Alice remained on edge, the navigator paid no mind to her wariness. His words drifted back to what had happened here ten years ago.
* * *
The waters of Reki bared their fangs at their long-awaited guests. As the ship rocked and waves soaked the deck, both the navigator and the captain smirked.
“Attention, passengers. We’ve encountered some unexpected rough seas… The ship’s lower hull has sustained some issues… We will be making a brief stop nearby—”
The merchants were already informed.
This was just for show, to make the insurance claim look legitimate.
Most people remained calm. The ship swayed just enough to serve as a convenient excuse, but not so much that real panic set in. As they passed through the rocky zone, the vessel stabilized.
They were nearly there.
A sailor ran down the corridor, notifying the passengers.
“Please remain seated and wait! We will be stopping in an area called ‘Reki.’ There are no inhabitants, but it is a safe place—”
“……”
Meanwhile, the navigator kept his gaze fixed outside the window.
Was it because of the old sailor’s nonsense from earlier? The mist settling in at this hour felt wrong. The murky view made the ochre-colored land beyond the fog look like writhing flesh.
A keen-eyed sailor spoke up.
“I see buildings up ahead. If they’re still standing after all this time, they should be sturdy enough to shelter us for a few days.”
“Better than spending the night stranded on a deserted island. Might as well call that place a palace.”
Laughter filled the air. But to the navigator, the lighthearted banter felt like a way to ward off unease. He regretted ever listening to that cursed story.
Less than half a nautical mile to shore.
The navigator forced himself to sound cheerful.
“Alright! From now on, that land is our treasure ship. Let’s relive our childhood memories, hiding treasure in our secret bas—”
The ship lurched.
A hidden reef in the shallow waters struck Lumière’s rounded hull.
And as if waiting for this very moment, the waves surged violently, clawing at the deck. Foam lashed against the hatches, obscuring their view. Several people lost their footing and slammed into the walls.
“Aagh!”
“Everyone, stay in— stay in your places!”
Lumière’s crew were seasoned seafarers. A collision of this degree was nothing to panic about. Besides, the shore was close. Even if the worst happened and the ship sank, they could make it to land.
But even as they checked that their comrades were unharmed, they all felt the same creeping unease.
It wasn’t the sea they had spent their lives fearing.
Something else was watching.
Something far more terrifying.
Not as sailors.
As living creatures.
