Chapter 42
A head of red hair, covered in dust, appeared first. A long shadow stretched out as someone emerged from behind a pile of rubble.
“Huh…?”
A boy with wide, round eyes stopped right in front of him. Even though he was caked in dust, he still wore the same bright smile.
“Lucas.”
“Why are you here, brother?”
“That’s what I want to ask you.”
Hadn’t he said he had business to take care of back on Muia Island? Ian narrowed his brows slightly. Lucas scratched the back of his head.
“…I had some things to take care of. Some leftover business with the old pirate crew and… other stuff.”
His voice trailed off, and guilt was written all over his face.
“They said one of my former crewmates was captured here.”
Kanoe hadn’t gone into much detail about Lucas. She had just looked uncomfortable and said,
“Well… since the pirate crew he once belonged to was wiped out, I suppose it must weigh on his mind.”
That was all.
Even though she claimed she didn’t care much, Ian had sensed that Kanoe sometimes noticed Lucas’s absence. Thinking of her now made the corners of his lips twitch faintly upward.
“So that’s how it was.”
So the hunters and Lucas’s old pirate crew were connected somehow.
Ian calmly scanned his surroundings. The situation came together in his mind like the pieces of a puzzle.
“You came here looking for someone too, brother? This temple’s got more than a few shady things about it.”
“Did you find out something?”
“Yeah.”
The bright smile on Lucas’s face darkened with a dangerous light.
“I found something that would drive Sis absolutely insane.”
His lips curled slowly upward. Whatever “it” was, it would surely shock everyone.
“But where is Sis, and why are you alone, brother?”
“There were… circumstances.”
Ian gave a short answer and began walking—away from the direction Lucas had come.
“I’ve got something to take care of first, so stay there.”
“Uh, okay.”
Lucas, who had naturally started following, halted and answered. His voice was unusually low and subdued.
‘…He’s in a really foul mood, huh?’
Lucas instinctively understood. Times like this, the best policy was to keep quiet. Snapping his mouth shut, he watched Ian’s retreating back.
Ian, heading toward the collapsed stone heap, glanced briefly at the jelly on his shoulder. The little creature tilted its head at him.
‘…Guess I have no choice.’
That jelly had always been by her side. Leaving it behind would’ve bothered him too much.
He stopped in front of the massive ruins. His calm eyes lowered slowly.
“Hahaha. Do you know what kind of face you’re making right now?”
A voice rose from beneath the collapsed pillars and stones. Even half-crushed, the man kept laughing, a grotesque sight.
“That face is great. The way you scorn, the way you despise—it’s like you’re looking at garbage.”
It was Smile.
He grinned so wide it split his face ear to ear, laughing nonstop. Ian gazed down with an expression void of emotion.
“Does Kanoe know~? That you wear that expression when you’re about to kill someone?”
Ian didn’t answer. Or rather, he felt there wasn’t even the worth in answering. His face was so cold, so colorless, that the jelly trembled faintly.
Seeing this, Smile broke out into manic laughter, almost convulsing.
“That expression is the best. The best! Truly—”
He never finished.
A sharpened blade flashed. Ian quietly covered the jelly’s eyes with his free hand.
“…a masterpiece.”
Smile’s face was still frozen in laughter as life drained away. Ian stared at him with his emotionless gaze.
Maybe it was fortunate that the maze had collapsed. At least she wouldn’t have to stain her hands with the blood of trash like this.
“Even piranhas would refuse someone like that.”
Removing his hand from the jelly’s eyes, he saw it scrunch its little face and shake its head furiously. Ian gently adjusted the tiny jelly back onto his shoulder.
“But is your shoulder okay? Human healing isn’t even up to par with a sea anemone.”
“I’ll live.”
He had fought through far worse injuries before.
Compared to that, he was still in decent shape now. He could walk on his own legs and use his right hand without issue.
“This part’s dealt with. Let’s find the way again.”
“Alright! And I’m curious what made Master so mad!”
At the jelly’s cheerful cry, Ian gave a strained smile.
“I just hope it’s not because of me.”
Of course, he had acted without consulting her. But even if he went back, he would have made the same choice.
Ian Frederick was the most rational man there was.
If they had both been trapped in the maze, they might not have had enough time to rescue the hostages.
And he was better at finding paths than she was. Without Kanoe at his side, he could also use his abilities more freely.
He stacked up all the logical reasons he could.
But the one reason—that he couldn’t stand the thought of her getting hurt—was anything but rational.
‘…I must’ve gone mad for a moment back then.’
Ian exhaled lightly and rubbed his face. When he raised his head, he saw Lucas in the distance, nodding solemnly with a serious face.
“Brother. You’re done with what you needed to do?”
His eyes seemed to say, I know without words—good job. Ian had no idea what misunderstanding Lucas was under, but he didn’t care to ask.
“…Then let’s regroup with Kanoe. The temple collapsed and we got separated for a while.”
“Really?”
Lucas stroked his chin, scanning the area. The playful look usually plastered on his face darkened for a moment.
After a quiet check of their surroundings, he spoke in a low voice.
“…So, you were inside that maze too, weren’t you?”
Ian narrowed his eyes slightly, studying him. A short silence passed between them.
Had Lucas run into some dangerous foe inside the maze? Ian’s battle-honed nerves instantly sharpened.
“Good thing I ran into you, brother. I was lost too!”
All the tension drained out.
Lucas clapped his hands together and grinned brightly. Ian closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. And he realized.
“…Sigh.”
This wasn’t a comrade—he was practically a guardian babysitting him.
“Miss. This way.”
Rowing, was that his name? The only hunter still in decent condition, guided her forward.
His fingertip pointed into the temple’s deep darkness. Behind the cracked pillars and shattered altar, faint presences were huddled in silence.
“…”
The hostages emerged into view. Bound by ropes, they knelt trembling. Terror-stricken, none of them dared to meet her gaze.
“Untie the hostages. Every last one.”
Rowing nodded sluggishly. He moved lazily to work on it as she turned her eyes elsewhere.
‘That part’s handled, at least.’
She lifted her hand lightly. The moisture scattered in the air stirred in response, gathering quietly.
Honestly, it felt surreal.
To have taken care of all those hunters without so much as lifting a finger. She couldn’t even clearly explain how she had done it.
Her body had simply reacted first. The sensation was almost like swimming in the sea again.
It felt as if her powers had deepened.
Tok, tok.
Droplets of water glowed faintly blue, seeping into her palm. Almost like a reply, the jelly’s energy pulsed faintly through her.
The jelly was safe. When Ian had tried to push her to safety, she vaguely remembered seeing the jelly wrapping around him.
“As expected, jellyfish are better than people.”
One obedient jellyfish was far more reliable than reckless humans. With a little sigh of relief, she looked ahead.
“…Miss. They’re all freed.”
“Good. Now tie up the rest of your comrades.”
Shoving his hands into his gray coat pockets, Rowing let out a low sigh.
“…Fine.”
And then he started binding his fellow hunters with the ropes he had just taken off the hostages. With that, the situation seemed resolved.
“We—we’re alive.”
“Can we really go home now?”
“Thank you, thank you…!”
The freed captives clung to one another and wept. Light seemed to spill down through the ruined temple ceiling, cutting through the gloom.
And in that spreading warmth, a familiar face appeared.
“Kanoe…”
Their eyes met. Stumbling, she came forward toward Kanoe.
