Through the slanting curtain of rain, the smoking muzzle sank, slow and steady.A burly man with shaggy brown hair and a thick cigar wordlessly safetied his rifle, and one of the watching sailors asked,“Did you hit her?”“Yeah.”“Whew… as expected of the Underboss. Incredible. You nailed it.”“I’m not incredible. I got lucky.”Fff— He blew out a harsh ribbon of smoke and answered flatly.“Because the other side didn’t have the skill to dodge.”“…Who dodges a bullet that comes out of nowhere? Unless they’re like our boss.”“There is that.”“…?”The world is wide and full of the skilled.The man they called Underboss fell silent, recalling the woman on that sinking ship who had dodged the hail of gunfire until the very end.Thunk!A huge hand clamped the rail right in front of them at that very moment.SPLASH—!Out of rain and wave rose a pitch-black shape, and most of the sailors jerked in fright.By contrast, the Underboss walked up calm and offered the man a pipe.“A little late, Boss.”“…Hoo.”Bronzed bare feet set down on the deck. Drawing long on the pipe he’d been handed and exhaling smoke, the man—Noce—swung over the rail as if nothing were amiss. Seawater dripped from his soaked black hair.“…I thought I heard gunshots. Was that you, Siobhan?”“Yes.”The Underboss, Siobhan, gave a silent nod, his eyes flicking to the woman slung over Noce’s shoulder.“Someone was stubbornly gunning for ‘that one.’”“Hm… you’re a convenient sort. You do things right on your own.”“You flatter me. …However.”Tap…Siobhan’s gaze sank as he spotted a red liquid that wasn’t seawater or rain splashing on the deck.“Looks like I was a step late.”“…What’s that supposed to be?”Among the sailors—more shocked that the boss who’d vanished mid-raid had popped up from the sea with a woman than by his reappearance—one red-haired, sharp-eyed woman snapped a question.“Why’d you fish up a corpse?”“Milena.”At her rash remark, Siobhan spoke her name in warning.“She’s not a corpse.”Noce gathered the woman he’d brought up from the sea more securely into his arms. Supporting the head that lolled with eyes clamped shut, he pressed his lips to her brow; his eyes curved into long crescents.“She’s treasure.”“…Huh? Ah… she’s that woman! Assassin A!”Milena, brain stalled by Noce’s out-of-the-blue move, caught up late and pointed.The hair color was different; that had thrown her for a beat. Remembering the dancer in the cabin who’d been trading mad talk with the boss, Milena shouted.The other sailors murmured.“Treasure? That woman?”“An assassin?”“Her name’s A?”“Use your head. It’s a moniker.”“Whoever she is, why’s the boss dripping honey from his eyes…?”While the whispers ran, Noce noticed the dagger clenched tight in her hand and paused. Even unconscious, she had latched on so hard he had to pry her fingers one by one to work it free.For an instant, his eyes hardened at the sight of the dark-gleaming, razor-edged blade.…This is…In the meantime, Siobhan came up with a blanket as if on cue and took in the bloodied shoulder. His face turned grave.“That’s not a simple bullet wound. We need to treat her at once.”“……”“Boss?”“I know.”Noce clamped the pipe between his teeth, drew the dagger from her and tucked it at his own waist. Then he took the blanket from Siobhan with a flick and turned on his heel.For some reason, his mood had shifted markedly lower than moments before, and the sailors—preemptively cowed—shut their mouths and snapped open a path.As he passed through them, Noce added,“Don’t interfere. Any of you.”“…Yes.”Just like that, no one dared speak to him until the moment Noce stepped into the cabin. Only after his footsteps faded and the sailors thawed from their freeze did they all exhale the breaths they’d been holding.“Underboss! You know, right? Who is she?”Milena asked, face full of vexation. Siobhan, whose cigar had burned down and who was lighting a fresh one, let out a low sigh.“The boss will explain later. …Probably.”“‘Probably’? You can’t say that as the Underboss.”“Boss decided. We follow.”“But she’s a hu—!”“If you’ve got complaints, get off. You know the only rule on this ship.”“……”Only then did Milena shut her mouth.Siobhan looked up at the sky dumping rain and clapped softly.“Don’t stand around gaping—move. We’re riding this wind back to the Merk Sea!”“Aye—aye!”On the storm-torn sea, the black flag snapped and thrashed like mad in the gale.***Blub…A faint sound of bubbling drifted in.Aquila thought dully.…Underwater?Her eyes wouldn’t open, but it °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° felt right. Something like a warm current stroked over her motionless body.Right. Then, I got shot…She chased memory back to the last instant. The ambush and the gunshots on the ship about to go under, and… the fall into the sea.Am I already dead? Then this is a dream…?She felt oddly poised on the seam between reality and dream. Maybe she really was moments from death.So it’s a dream…In the haze, her simplified mind rendered its verdict. The tension bled away; her body burrowed deeper into the warm something that her hands found by instinct.“…Is this an invitation?”A voice hummed from far off.Who…?No—whoever. What did it matter.Thinking she was already dead, Aquila found everything tedious and pointless.All she wanted was not to lose this firm warmth wrapped around her.“Haa…”She thought she heard a faint sigh. But what pushed past that was the pain waking in her shoulder, drawing a crease between her brows.“…It hurts…”Does pain go on after death, too? That—she didn’t want…“Mmh…”Aquila’s thoughts didn't get any farther.Between her lips seeped a lukewarm trickle. Something hot and slick teased up her uncooperative tongue; that moist liquid slid easily down her throat.Gulp, gulp.Without knowing what it was, Aquila drank it down obediently. It had a faintly briny tang, but the moment she swallowed, the burning pain seemed to ease bit by bit.All the while, gentle waves stroked her from throat to shoulder, back, and waist.Aquila melted, relaxing completely.“Sleep a little more.”“Mmm…”She answered without thinking to the tender, dreamlike voice. As her consciousness receded in a rush, she thought she heard a soft chuckle.It doesn’t hurt. Now—finally…If this was death, it might not be so bad.But Aquila did not know.That she would soon open her eyes again into a cruel reality disguised as rest.“You’ve got a cute side. So clingy.”The man laughed as he swept her disordered hair behind her ear; she’d fallen asleep again.Aquila didn’t know it, but it wasn’t seawater that had caressed her. It was a man’s hands, holding his appetite in check.Noce—lounging back on the berth with her laid on his bare chest and stomach—picked up the pipe he’d set aside.Fff— The milky plume he exhaled soon filled the cabin. Yet instead of growing smoky and stale, the air took on just the right humidity and freshness.Enough that even a patient snatched back from death could breathe with ease.He kissed the white crown of her head and let out a low sigh.“You’ll pay for making me worry.”Aquila had no idea she was taking her rest on the belly of a beast.Nor that the beast’s lower body was prodding insistently at her lower belly.***Creak… creak…Aquila lay on the berth, staring at the nightstand right before her nose. Its southern, ornate goldwork was done in relief; the whole thing tipped and swayed in a slow teeter.Not just the nightstand—everything around her did.On a ship.A ship floating in the middle of the sea. Rather than rise recklessly, Aquila kept her waking posture and, calmly, moved only her eyes to take in her surroundings.Even allowing for the partial view, the cabin was sizable. And lavish. Very.The rich rugs draped along the hard wooden walls all bore intricate patterns that looked worth whatever price one might name, and the gems set into the wall hangings glittered each in their own way.Most of all, the great berth she lay on stood out. Sheer curtains spilled from a finely carved tapestry frame, and from the pillow beneath her head to the bedding on her skin, everything was of the highest grade.Plainly, this had to be the finest cabin on the ship. But Aquila felt no joy at all.The smell of the tobacco he smokes.She was alone now, but the presence of the man who had surely been here until moments ago chilled her gut. Aquila realized—and finally admitted—that the muddled memories of the night were not a dream.She had been captured.By the pirate called the Devil of the Sea, Noce Mostro.Her black at her waist was gone—as were every hidden blade masquerading as jewelry.That damned sniper. Should’ve put it through my heart.If this was the result, dying then would have been far better.Aquila cursed the sorry skill of the unknown assassin who had targeted her.

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