There’s the sound of waves in the distance.

Thank goodness for the rays of light s.h.i.+ning in from the crack in the wall, it’s the only way we know that it’s not night yet. But the s.p.a.ce really is cramp and dark, and there’s the suffocating smell of fruits.

“That’s why I didn’t want to hide in the mandarin crate! The color orange gets on my nerves every time!”

“You’re really noisy, Yuuri. If we followed what you said and hid in the crate with fish, by now we’d have choked on the odor of fish… Oh-umph!”

“Waa—Wolf! Don’t puke don’t puke! Don’t puke here! I wanted to say that the fish crate was already cleared and washed, so we wouldn’t have to squeeze with the fruits like this, and there’s so smell. Tsk, and I thought that stowing away with the food cargo was a good idea too… Oh, no, Wolf, someone’s coming!”

After a frantic mess of footsteps, someone runs into the food storage. Since they’re in such a hurry, perhaps they’re preparing dinner now. I check my hardworking G-SHOCK, and find out that it’s now 5.20 pm. The tips of my feet step on some more mandarins, squas.h.i.+ng out more sour juice.

“I mmph—would now rather be fund mmph—it’s probably more relaxing than now mmmph. After all we left the land ages ago, they can’t turn back now mm-ph!”

“Don’t say silly things with such a weird suffix. We’re stowaways, remember! If we get caught, we’ll definitely get tossed into the sea by our necks!”

“Toss you and I into the sea? Who would dare? Even the so-called ‘Tough Guy Sea Monster’ Sizemore wouldn’t dare be so rude to the king and his fiancé?”

“No, the problem is Günter. Still remember that moving speech he made? The way I see it, he just didn’t say ‘might not make it back alive’ aloud. He obviously knows this mission is very dangerous, and in the mood he’s in now, he would never let us tag along.

“… About that, Shou s.h.i.+maron is very dangerous.”

“But Günter is conducting an official visit as special amba.s.sador, there shouldn’t be any dangers, right?”

After an emotional transformation, Lord von Christ, who at some point became ‘real Günter’, personally volunteered to head to Seisakoku, and no matter what anyone else said he refused to listen. Since I have no idea what his political methods are, all I could do was to try and stop him with all I got, and finally his tear ducts started to loosen up.

“I say, Günter, even if the virtual live conference failed, there’s no need for you to volunteer yourself to make up for it!”

“That’s right. Günter, this mission should be mine anyway. Don’t tell me that after the Yuki Günter and Kiku Günter incident, the screws in your brain have gone loose?”

“Ah, then next time why don’t you try becoming Kuzuyu Günter? Yuki, Kiku, Kuzuyu… hey, it’s a word-connecting game!”

“*sob* Your Majesty, I never thought that you would be so worried for me, you really are a good king who appreciates your officials. Coming into contact with Your Majesty’s beautiful and pure soul, I, von Christ Günter, feels like I might melt. However, please allow me to complete just this one mission. Even if our fate as king and minister will be broken, I am still willing to head for that dangerous land! Oh~ Your Majesty, just the thought of never seeing your beautiful black eyes again… No, I should say ‘not seeing your eyes for now’, my little heart beats painfully, like ‘payo-payo’, in my chest.”

Even the way the way he praises is unique.

What’s really surprising, is the ease with which Gwendal agreed, and every other n.o.ble present even gave him the ‘honor’ of being special amba.s.sador. Even Lady Anissina, who never has a good word for men, agreed,

“Come to think of it, maybe you are very suited for it.”

Why? What could be in the heart of Shou s.h.i.+maron? Something that suits super bis.h.i.+es?!

When I came to that idea, I was already excitedly planning my stowaway.

So we hid in the wooden crates filled with food, and then we were sent onto the departing “Friends on the Sea”. Captain Sizemore is a brave but gentle strongman, and also a good guy who’s secretly worried about his receding hairline. Although it’s not like I don’t know him, but since he has an important position in the navy, I don’t dare to openly ask him to help me stowaway. If I did, he would most likely be torn between Günter and I, and lose even more hair over it. That’s why I decided to fight alone, but why on earth did the easily seasick Wolfram have to come along too?”

I’m really worried because there’s no telling when he’ll puke. And our knees have been knocking each other since just now, in a really painful way too.

“This place really is cramped, huh? A s.p.a.ce like this can’t help but remind you of ‘Poison Lady Anissina’.”

“Ouch! Don’t stretch your legs! Forget about my Windpipe no 1, your sword gets in the way too… What? Why would you mention ‘Poison Lady Anissina’ at a time like this?”

“Because in one book they described how a purse-fixing expert opened the lid to find Anissina stuffed inside. I brought it if you wanna read it, here!”

Wolfram pulls out a particularly small, around Collector’s Edition[1] sized book. Shouldn’t the cover be intricate leather, though?

“This is the ma.s.s-produced version.”

“M-ma.s.s produced Anissina…”

“She gave it to me, saying it’s for spreading the teachings, and she wants me to secretly put them in the drawers of all the hotels we stay at.”

“It’s not as though this is the holy bible, and she didn’t say ‘spread the word’, but ‘spread the teachings’?!”[2]

If Lady Cheri is the Love Huntress with the superb methods, then Lady Anissina is the global Poison Lady who transcends worlds? One is the beautiful leader of the Free Love Party, the other is the terrifying founder of the ‘Poison Lady Anissina’ cult. It’s hard to tell which one is more impressive, and I have no intention of commenting either.

I cheat by using my pointer finger to touch the pages inside. What I’m doing will probably shock even the super-powered people of China, but that’s because I read much faster with my fingers than with my eyes.

“d.a.m.n… As expected of the latest printing technology, there’s barely any difference between the printed parts and the white parts when it comes to touch, I can feel only a teeny tiny difference. Guess I can’t read in this dark place then. Hmm… What does it say?”

“When the repairman opens the cover of the purse, a blinding light s.h.i.+nes into his eyes.”

“Waa!”

And at that moment the world really did suddenly s.h.i.+ne before our eyes, I was even surprised that even the ma.s.s-produced books would have magic on them. Right now, a light even more piercing than a spotlight s.h.i.+nes in from above, where the cover has been lifted off completely.

c.r.a.p, we’ve been discovered by the kitchen crew!

“... That’s weird?!”

He probably thought he was seeing things. The man closes the lid immediately, then opens it again, staring at Wolfram and I, who are in turn staring at the ceiling. Besides the position of the light that hides his face from my sight, I notice that the man’s head is particularly s.h.i.+ny. His scalp is rubbed till it’s s.h.i.+ny as a mirror, reflecting the light from the lamp.

“Eehh--?! Who did this, who mistook His Majesty and His Excellency for food?”

What a familiar voice.

“Shh--! Shh--! It’s not what you think, Dakaskos!”

Turns out he’s Lord von Christ Günter’s miscellaneous man, Lilit Latchie Nanata Micotan Dakaskos. It took me forever to remember his full name, but whenever I say it he starts crying. That shaven head gleaming, Dakaskos repeatedly wipes his hands on his lacy ap.r.o.n.

“Milords, what are you doing in the fruit crates? Are you conducting some sort of experiment?”

“Before that, why are you wearing one of those shoujo dreamy ap.r.o.ns? When did you become Sizemore’s chef?”

“No, no. Actually last time after I returned home to try and make my wife happy, I ended up making her more and more angry instead. As a result, I had to decide between ‘silence is golden’, or sleeping separately at home. Since even staying home was so miserable, I decided to change my profession and find a job that keeps me away from home for long periods of time, eventually stumbling across Captain Sizemore’s recruitment drive. I’m still an apprentice supplies soldier, though, living the ‘every day is peeling day’ life. If milords keep staying in the crates, you’ll probably rendezvous with the head of the kitchen shortly.”

“Rendezvous? That won’t do, we’ll be very troubled.”

Aside from the naggy and friendly but not very bright Dakaskos, we strictly forbid him from telling anyone else, and then we leave the food storage. Even using magical propelling energy, it takes at least seven days to get to Shou s.h.i.+maron. Add that to the changes in the weather, and it’ll take more than ten days. Even though it’s not even halfway yet, but since we’ve already been discovered, there’s no more need to hide in the cramp little crate.

Dakaskos half looks like he’s gonna cry when he says it’s still better if we report to the captain, but just thinking about how badly Günter will scold us, we decide to keep as few people in the loop as possible.

“After all, we’re talking about Lord von Christ Günter here, if his jealousy turns to hatred, he’ll definitely shoot beams out of his eyes, and supersonic rays out of his mouth and curse us to death!”

“How could you say that? Your Majesty! Then what about me, who hid milords in my room? Is it okay if I get punished?”

“Sorry.”

“… Eek!”

Perhaps because he’s imagining some scary scene, all the baby hairs on Dakaskos’ scalp stand on end. Farewell, Dakaskos. We’ll never forget the great sacrifice of your head… No. We’ll never forget the light of your life.

Even though we’ve moved from the food storage to the cabin, we still spend each day in hiding. We’ve escaped from the darkness and suffocating s.p.a.ce, but in a high-level kitchen apprentice’s room with only one bed, it doesn’t take much to guess that there won’t be an attached bathroom. So we have to keep our guard up whenever we want to go to the bathroom, even going in disguise lest we be noticed. Having tied up my black hair with a scarf, I feel like a weird chef with no nationality. As for Wolfram, he wore a white chef’s hat and immediately transformed into a cute little cook.

In the daytime when there are more people around, we can only mope around in the room, sometimes sleeping on the simple and small bed that looks like a stretcher, sometimes reading ‘Poison Lady Anissina’ carefully. I haven’t read a book so seriously in a long time, perhaps even since I read the baseball rule manual. I even memorized the long-winded lines, imitating all thee voices from old people to little girls. After we get back, I’ll read it to Greta immediately. My reading skills have become surprisingly good, children’s books really are useful for beginners to the language.

“L-let m-me continue reading--”

“Hang in there, Yuuri! If you go on like this, you’ll get poisoned!”

“I’m just worried about the perpetual victim, Gwe Dal!” It’s really very scary.

Once the sky goes dark, and the activity outside decreases, we’re free to enter and leave the room, as long as we’re careful. Just like how the dads would duck into the balcony to sneak a smoke, we’d stay on a corner of the deck for a breath. After letting the cold breeze blow past his cheeks, Wolfram finally recovers from his seasickness.

Since this isn’t a luxurious cruise like last time, there aren’t any b.a.l.l.s after meals or social activities like a saloon. I don’t blame them, this s.h.i.+p is headed for a country on bad terms with us, after all. But this is still one of s.h.i.+n Makoku’s famous large-scale battles.h.i.+ps, so there are plenty of basic entertainment facilities for the soldiers. From a distance I can hear the lively sounds of a violin, and the timely cheers are proof.

Wolf and I loiter around a corner near the stern of the s.h.i.+p where no one patrols, not saying much. The crew’s merry singing and the steady rhythm of the waves fill my ears.

The only thing bobbing on the surface is the light from ‘Friends on the Sea’—there’s not a star in sight.

“Yuuri.”

“Mm?”

“If you want to, go over there and have some fun.”

“Where do you mean by ‘there’? The crew’s drinking party? Please, you know that I don’t touch smokes or alcohol. And our disguise this time is so simple, what if we’re discovered? Don’t forget, we’re currently in the complicated position of ‘stowaways’, you could call this Mission Impossible: Stowaway!”

“As long as you’re happy.”

Leaning on the painted-white railing, Wolfram says while looking into the sea.

“That… I mean, you like mixing with people lower in status than you, right? Even if you’re in the capital, you’ll just sneak out of the castle straight away, even in Covenant Castle you like to stick around the kitchens or the stables. Basically… Well, you’re always with Conrad, so I just thought that the lively atmosphere would suit you.”

“Oh-- I see.”

Gripping the cold iron railing, I gaze into the waves too. Right now my heart is filled with an endless sense of unease, and I start to suspect: will I ever reach the sh.o.r.e?

“Although it’s a little lonely, but I never thought of mixing with them, y’know. This s.h.i.+p is headed from Shou s.h.i.+maron with a heavy duty. Personally, I believe that this journey will definitely be a safe one, but everyone else doesn’t think so, do they? Just like that time in the imperial meeting, I’m sure there are still a lot of people who think they’re the enemy. Maybe some of them feel sure that they’ll be attacked, and have mentally prepared themselves to enter enemy territory.”

When my arm and waist hits the railing, my sour muscles cry out in pain in spite of myself.

“But it never occurred to me that everyone is living so warily, it’s just impossible to imagine, that’s why I don’t want to disturb one of their rare days of peace. If their boss suddenly walks into their free-for-all party, there’s no way they can relax, huh? I don’t care at all whether they talk to me respectfully or not, but if I cause them to worry then I won’t be able to get over it myself.”

I subconsciously shake my head.

“…I don’t want to ruin their fun, and besides…”

Suddenly there are cheers, followed by enthusiastic applause—maybe someone’s having a drinking match. At that moment, even the corners of my lips lift naturally. Let’s just hope that no one collapses due to acute alcohol poisoning.

“Besides, I’m not alone here either.”

“Hmph, you finally have some awareness as a leader?”

I can hear the purposely suppressed joy in his voice.

“It depends on the time and location, Wolf. Time and location.”

I really don’t know which one of us should be feeling embarra.s.sed now.

“If you want to drink, why don’t you get some wine from the kitchen? It’s okay, you don’t have to abstain from alcohol just because I do. You’re already eighty-two, after all, though it’s true that you should take care of your liver.”

“If I get drunk and end up interrogated by a certain someone, you’ll laugh at me for the rest of my life… Hey!”

Wolfram’s tone and expression changes abruptly as he points to the other side of the ocean, the direction this s.h.i.+p is headed for.

“What’s that?”

“Probably s.h.i.+p lights?”

There’s a flickering light on the surface of the black ocean. But those lights start increasing immediately, and approach us at a fairly fast speed. The sentry yells on the top of his lungs, and there’s a sudden commotion in the s.h.i.+p. The night duty crew start running across the deck.

Since the speed and distance with which we approach each other is similar, they conclude that the torchlight is coming from another large-scale battle s.h.i.+p, but at least it’s not an entire fleet or army.

“Hey hey hey, don’t tell me it’s pirates again--”

“How can it be? We’re already in s.h.i.+maron territory, surely there aren’t pirates who are that stupid, right? I’d sooner believe that’s a giant squid…”

Upon hearing that, Wolfram starts shaking.

“Why, Wolf, are you scared of squids?”

“Y-you wouldn’t understand how scary that can be! C-calm down, calm down, a squid-fis.h.i.+ng boat can’t be that big.”

“Then could it be Shou s.h.i.+maron’s wars.h.i.+p?”

Our corner near the stern may be quiet, but anywhere that may be attacked is already covered with soldiers, each going to their respective positions. What I can do now, is pray that there won’t be any tragedies.

“Waa, thank goodness milords are here! Your Majesty, Your Excellency, please retreat to the cabin at once! If you stay in such a dangerous place, once the enemy starts using catapults, who knows what will happen!”

Dakaskos rushes over, hairless head sweating buckets and an inflated life preserver in his arms. He was probably worried we’d drowned or something.

“That won’t do, I have the duty to watch the battle from the sides. In the worst case scenario, should we lose the highest ranking officer, I’ll have to take his place in charge.”

“Eh? Even though we’re stowaways?! Well, according to what you just said, then I’ll have to watch too. Although I don’t want to be pessimistic, but if the captain and Günter get hurt, then the responsibility will first fall to me, and not you, Wolf.”

“… I get the feeling that if we leave it to you, you’ll probably surrender straight away…”

“Aah—Please, spare me, young masters--”

The kitchen apprentice half cries, half pleads as he pulls the stubborn duo’s sleeves.

“It’s not a wars.h.i.+p! It’s a patrol s.h.i.+p!”

The sentry above reports.

Great, now we won’t get ambushed. Speaking of patrol s.h.i.+ps, does that mean, uh—An organization like the marine customs? If they ask for the s.h.i.+p’s credentials, it’ll definitely check out, so by right they shouldn’t have to investigate further. Sizemore should be used to these situations, too. No, perhaps this is a problem that the captain doesn’t even need to deal with it himself, one that can be solved easily by the guard on duty.

Just when we’re about to return to the cabin, the clouds shading the moon are suddenly swept away by a gust of wind, and faint moonlight s.h.i.+nes onto the surface of the sea. A black s.h.i.+p tinted oddly with white enters our field of vision.

“Wait.”

“Why?”

“I think there’s something there, between us and the s.h.i.+maron s.h.i.+p. Look, there, there’s people on board!”

It’s an old fis.h.i.+ng boat with the mast about to break. It’s filled with people, but not too many until they exceed the limit. The pa.s.sengers are hugging each other tightly, trying to avoid falling overboard. I was just about to ask why there’s a speck of light amidst the black waves, turns out those people are shockingly pale.

Under the moonlight, their hair and skin are so white, it looks like faded dye.

I saw two children just like them before. Those girls also had skin so white it was almost transparent, and blonde hair closer to the color of b.u.t.ter.

Those people can’t do anything else but hug each other and s.h.i.+ver. Although I can’t see them very clearly, it’s obvious that they’re terrified to the point where they don’t dare make any noise anymore.

“Could it be a refugee boat? I’ve seen those in the films they played in history cla.s.s, like during the Vietnam War or Cambodian refugees.”

"What countries are you talking about?"

"What countries, you ask? They"re Earth’s—Ah! They attacked! They attacked a small unarmed boat!”

The s.h.i.+maron s.h.i.+p doesn’t even bother with a warning, just aimed their catapult into the middle of the fis.h.i.+ng boat. A large block like a rock punches a huge hole into the body of the boat, and it immediately starts slanting, throwing the people onboard into the sea.

“Unforgivable!”

“But they seem to want to rescue those people!”

It’s just as Dakaskos says. The s.h.i.+maron s.h.i.+p is pulling all the people in the sea onboard, one by one. There are adults, kids, old folks, even mothers carrying babies. All of them are equally pale as they’re pulled into the patrol s.h.i.+p. On our side, Captain Sizemore seems to have decided against interfering. Although it’s unforgivable for them to attack an unarmed civilian vessel, if they insist that they were just trying to warn the boat and accidently misfired, there’s nothing we can say about it.

And as long as all the people are rescued, the rest has to be settled between those two parties. We’re not exactly welcome here, either, so it’s only natural that we wouldn’t want to start a riot on another country’s waters.

“…If that attack wasn’t a warning, then Shou s.h.i.+maron really is a scary country.”

“Now only you’re saying that, haven’t I been telling you from the start?”

Once most of the pa.s.sengers are rescued, the patrol s.h.i.+p starts taking precautions against our s.h.i.+p, asking run-of-the-mill questions like, “Where is your s.h.i.+p coming from?”, “What are your intentions?”, “Where do you plan to land?”, and “Have you gotten permission from the Shou s.h.i.+maron navy?” etc.

Since there isn’t anything else suspicious except for the two stowaways, the investigation goes smoothly. Leaning my arm on the railing to watch the soldiers cause a ruckus, I suddenly s.h.i.+ft my gaze to the surface of the sea. In the black waves after the moon has disappeared, I notice something shaking slightly in the corner of my eye.

“…That’s weird…”

Just underneath us, there’s a white object standing out against the pitch black.

I use my 2.0 vision to look closely.

It’s an arm? “Ah, Your Majesty?!”

Before I’ve completely confirmed whether or not it’s an arm, I’ve already tossed the lifebuoy in Dakaskos’ arms down. The rope curves beautifully, the inflatable landing on the water.

Two pale, thin arms finally grab a hold of the life preserver. But what’s surprising is that there’s someone else clinging tightly to the person whose head has already broken the surface.

Normally, this is when I should be yelling, “Hang in there! Just a little more!” to encourage the ones in the water, but seeing the way they barely even dare to pant, I suddenly feel that we shouldn’t make a scene either.

“Hold on, I’m coming down to save you! Tie the rope around your waists!”

“Bring the rope over here, and tie it there. Yuuri, switch positions with Dakaskos. Are they two children?”

“I-I think so.”

Wolfram mutters, “Then we’ll do it ourselves,” and grabs the rope behind me. The Shou s.h.i.+maron patrollers and our own crew don’t notice this little rescue mission at the back.

After struggling with the rope for a while, two slender bodies are finally pulled near the deck. The white hands that were clinging desperately onto the lifebuoy, now grab the round railings tightly. We wildly tug at the children’s hair and clothes, dragging them onboard.

“…F-finally, we—we saved them.”

“Looks we should send them to the healthcare room now, and we’d better return them to the Shou s.h.i.+maron as soon as possible too, it’d be better for them to stay with the others.”

“That’s true, there are so many of them there, if there are o-only two here, i-it must be r-really scary.”

You can’t be serious, s.h.i.+buya Yuuri? Just that little bit of exertion already has you panting so badly?

The duo that we saved are reduced to all fours on the deck too, desperately trying to catch their breath. They point at me with their fingers several times, but then they immediately put their hands down, probably trying to say something but can’t find the breath to form the words.

The language that comes with the irregular breathing, is one we’ve never heard before.

Their limbs are lithe and long, their skin as white as those adults. They have pale blonde hair, although it only reaches around their chins. Even the weak oil lamp can illuminate their skinny bodies, but only those rare golden eyes are s.h.i.+ning brightly.

They look exactly the same, reminding me of the girls I met in Dai s.h.i.+maron.

Jason and Freddy, a pair of beautiful twins with amazing powers. I remember someone said they were s.h.i.+nzokus brought in from another country.

“So, these two are also… s.h.i.+nzokus?”

“That’s right.”

I stop Dakaskos, who wanted to keep the two of them standing, while Wolfram says with a solemn expression,

“I’m afraid they’re probably from Seisakoku.”

“What?! By Seisakoku you mean the country in lockdown? Are all the people there Jason and Freddy?! No, I mean, are they all s.h.i.+nzoku who look like Jason and Freddy?”

Perhaps because they understand that we’re saying the name of their country, because one of the strong kids holding onto the lifebuoy suddenly raises his head. I know it’s very rude to stare, but he should be a boy. The other’s a girl. Both of them look around twelve, thirteen years old. Although I can’t tell which one of them is older, the two of them do look very similar.

“…Save…”

We still can’t communicate.

“Your Majesty, take mine too.”

Seeing that I’ve taken off my jacket to put over one of the children, Dakaskos hurriedly hands over his. The adult coat wraps both of them up completely, when suddenly the girl starts sniffling, eventually bawling with a rough voice. The boy –we don’t know if he’s her older brother or younger brother—scolds her shortly, but her tears continue flowing unbidden, like a broken dam.

“Ah—Sorry, your bodies are still soaked. Go inside, it’s warmer in there. And don’t be so sad… Not working? Oh, yeah, take this.”

I pull down the scarf around my hair, and hand it to her so she can wipe her tears.

Unexpectedly, both their bodies suddenly stiffen.

“c.r.a.p, sorry. You’re scared of being touched, aren’t you?”

But the siblings’ eyes are trained on my black hair. Shoot, black hair and eyes are an ominous sign to everyone except the mazoku. Seeing something so unlucky after experiencing such a trauma, anyone would be unsettled. If a black cat runs across my path when I’m cycling, I know I’d feel really depressed.

“I won’t do anything. Don’t worry, I won’t do anything at all. Black hair IS nothing to be scared of--"

“…zoku?”

The boy opens and closes his mouth, pointing at me (whose voice had suddenly gone all weird). The unfamiliar sound he squeezes out of his throat is a word that we finally understand.

“…Mazoku?”

“Mazoku? That’s right!”

He quickly grabs my hand and pulls it to his chest. I sense that behind me, Wolfram and Dakaskos already have their respective weapons in their hands. The pure white boy puts a trembling finger on my palm, slowly making a movement that he himself wants to confirm.

His pointer draws out a fixed line.

“Save”

“Save? Do you want me to save you? But you see, your friends are already fine. Just now all of you wanted aid from the Shou s.h.i.+maron s.h.i.+p, right? You’ll be reunited with your family real soon, if you don’t even want to change out of your wet clothes and return home as soon as possible, I’ll go contact them now--”

He shakes his head, as white and as beautiful as a bubblehead doll, then writes on my palm again.

“Mazoku”

“Save”

And then a high-pitched alarm rings somewhere in my brain.