Chapter 48
Alice had a private theory about Fiore’s true nature.
Sharp molars, a sleek body that didn’t match its size, and dark brown spots along its back made her think it must be a large carnivorous feline. A species even bigger than a cheetah.
But no matter how far she flipped through the ledger, there was no record of any large carnivores.
‘There are several entries that don’t match the current village residents…’
What remained were rare snails, an iguana that died under Nathan’s care, small taxidermy pieces with unusual patterns, and medium to large birds… none fitting Fiore.
Alice tried to find common traits with Fiore in the raptor pages but gave up.
‘Even if I figure out what it is…’
No, she didn’t know if the day would come when she’d accept the navigator’s suggestion, but still, it would be useful to know what kind of animal their roots came from in case of emergency.
After hesitating briefly, Alice reread the ledger and memorized it. One of these must be Fiore’s information.
‘Alright, time to head back.’
But just before leaving the captain’s cabin, a box tucked in a corner of the bookshelf caught her eye.
‘They put a lifebuoy on the box?’
Maybe they tried to save the box even if the cabin flooded.
The black paint only made the lifebuoy’s round silhouette stand out more.
She couldn’t ignore a box that seemed to scream, ‘I am really important.’ So Alice first glanced down the corridor.
The shimmering water shadows twisted like a kaleidoscope, making it dizzying to the eyes. Over the steady sound of hammering came repeated voices: “Hey, someone help here!” and “Wait a moment. Once I fix this, we should be able to leave.”
Everyone was probably far away. In this distorted, damp space, the voices alone were wildly distorted, piercing the ear canal.
If there were a hell, it might look like this place.
‘I don’t want to ever come back here.’
With that thought, Alice reached for the box.
Inside the rusted-open metal box, wrapped in layers of wooden boxes and cloth, was something she recognized.
‘Isn’t this the herb the professor mentioned?’
There were tiny herbs about the size of a pinky finger stacked in layers.
Alice carefully picked up one herb. It was so thoroughly dried and preserved that it looked exactly like the illustration Nathan had drawn.
‘What on earth is this?’
She didn’t feel hopeful.
There was no record of this herb in the inventory ledger.
‘When explaining how we came to Reki, the navigator said he turned the ship’s wheel because of suspicious cargo.’
Even though they recorded the owners and quantities of items that would surely alarm the quarantine station, the record for this precious item was missing? That must mean it was the most dangerous item medically and administratively.
Her hand holding the herb trembled.
But Alice didn’t hesitate long.
Fear begins with ignorance.
‘If I’m with the professor, I’ll understand what this is.’
She slipped the three dried herb stems under her sleeve.
The box was returned exactly to its place. She was sure it was the same spot as before.
‘Let’s hurry back.’
Her thirst was reaching its limit.
Alice tightened her skirt once more. The path was basically a single way. She wouldn’t get lost.
“Someone, please help here!”
That voice would serve as a landmark too…
But the moment she left the captain’s cabin, Alice almost collided with someone.
“Eek!”
“…”
The man who stopped just in time gave her a look far from friendly. His broken glasses and the tattered tie hanging around his neck didn’t suit a sailor or a treasure hunter.
“Who are you…?”
“I think that’s my question.”
His voice was close to metal. Alice felt a strange discomfort there. He was hoarse, but his voice was different in tone from the other sailors’ breathy voices.
Trying not to show it, Alice observed him and asked,
“I think I already introduced myself. Weren’t you with navigator Calvin earlier?”
“You were the one talking all the time, not Calvin. Now it’s your turn.”
The man blocked the cabin door with his whole body. Alice felt confusion rather than threat.
He was so thin he looked like he hadn’t eaten in a month. He couldn’t even properly barricade the door. His trembling limbs touching the doorway were pitiful.
But thanks to that, Alice noticed the difference between this man and the other sailors.
That he was undergoing metabolism and feeling pain meant his body was still alive and functioning.
He was in a different state from the undead sailors or treasure hunters.
‘Damn. I guess I have to ask more questions.’
“What do you want to know?”
“You’re Alice Boucher, right? Who did you come to Reki with?”
“With a companion.”
“Tell me their name and occupation.”
“Nathan Labouf, professor at Canary Medical College.”
She left out Arno’s name. Mentioning that he was the one attacked last time wouldn’t do any good.
But it was a mistake. The trouble began the moment she said “Nathan.”
The man’s eyes gleamed like blades.
“Nathan and Alice… You’re that female medical student?”
“…Yes, ‘that’ female doctor. Do you know Professor Nathan?”
“Of course! Though I wish I didn’t! So Nathan’s subordinate crawled all the way here!”
“Wait a moment. Who are you? I don’t know your relation to the professor, but as long as everyone can get out safely…”
“Heh, heh heh! Safe! Everyone! You sure learned well how to talk to Nathan, huh?”
The man laughed. He didn’t seem to care at all about what Alice said.
“If you came here following Nathan’s orders, did you touch anything in this room?”
He spread his arms like a compass and slowly spun around. The back of his right hand swept over everything in the room.
Then his hand stopped in front of the box with the lifebuoy. Like someone who guessed what a thief might have touched.
At that moment, Alice made a quick, suitable decision. She would pretend not to know. Ignore any leading questions.
But even the briefest expression of judgment was enough clue for him.
Alice ‘knew’ about this box.
He shouted, his dry voice ringing loudly.
“There’s a thief here! Another thief has come!”
“Hey! I’m—”
“This bastard stole the Maloja herb—Gah!”
Alice put her weight into her elbow and struck the man’s solar plexus. It was enough for the emaciated man. He collapsed without a scream.
After kicking his face to prevent pursuit, Alice ran out of the cabin. The surroundings were quiet.
That meant the sailors had stopped what they were doing and left their places.
‘Damn!’
Swearing, Alice ran further inside. The echoes of pursuers chasing through the narrow space between the wall and seawater reached her.
“Thief, where are you, thief!”
“How dare you touch our treasure…!”
“This time don’t just erase memories! We’ll hang you!”
Hearing words like ‘another thief’ and ‘this time’ made Alice guess what Arno had done. On his way back after being treated like a guest, he must have stolen something useful from the ship.
But just from the pursuers’ mood, it was clear who was the greater criminal between Arno and Alice.
‘What should I do? Threatening them with a pocket knife won’t work. Should I just be ready to die and jump into the sea…?’
That last thought was her final imagined option.
But the seawater had already risen to her knees, taking away her choice.
‘No…!’
She walked carefully along the barely visible floor and was blocked by a dead-end storage room. If she gave up the clear path, there were options.
One way led to the engine room, the other to another cabin.
But when she prepared to move forward, unknown things brushed her ankles beneath the dirty water. There was no guarantee the corridor floor was fully intact.
While hesitating, voices approached.
“There’s the thief!”
“We were nice to you…! I’ll cut your waist and make a new figurehead!”
She couldn’t wait any longer. Alice grabbed her skirt tightly and plunged into the water. Under the dirty seawater that reached her waist, the corridor floor held firm beneath her feet.
The brief relief of being able to walk vanished quickly.
An unexpected current wrapped around her legs like tentacles.
“Ugh…!”
She lost her balance quickly.
She tried not to stop. She wanted to run until the end. But the current shook her body violently.
Her view filled with the ceiling. Almost at the same time, an arm detached from her body and dangled, reaching for her hair.
Alice struggled to pull out her pocket knife in the dark water…
But the current snatched the knife away.
A thud shook the wall.
“…Huh?”
A vibration like a mace hitting.
The sailors stopped moving. They seemed to know what was about to happen. Their twisted mouths shouted urgently to each other.
“Run…!”
The second collision and the wall breaking happened almost simultaneously.
The small current that had moved like a snake was swallowed instantly by a huge wave. One sailor was shaken and lost a thin arm when he collided with broken wood.
Alice didn’t see what happened next. The dark wave swept through her vision.
Like a beast roughly tearing into the guts of a herbivore, the black current ravaged everything in the destroyed space.
Alice, who had lost her breath, was no exception.
‘No…’
At the moment she realized she couldn’t escape death,
The arms that wrapped around her were not the current’s but someone else’s.
