Chapter 25 – Dangerous Woman

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The next day.

To purchase our ship tickets, Ati and I went to the ticket office.

“Two passengers, and you’ll be boarding the Baresty, correct?”

“Yes.”

“All right then, 2,800,000 rob—oh, wait, there was a room that had been canceled a few days ago. I forgot about it. We’ll take that one instead. 2,500,000 rob is fine.”

Apparently, a room had become available due to a cancellation. Anyway, if the quality isn’t compromised and the price is lower, it’s the best deal.

I took the specified amount out of my bag and set it on the counter.

“…Alright, that’s exactly right. Here’s your ticket. Departure is exactly five days from now at noon. You can check into your cabin right away and even stay overnight. It’d be best to inspect your room first and drop off your luggage there. …Just be sure not to miss boarding on the day—no refunds will be given.”

It seems wise to be careful not to miss boarding. Losing just your money would be downright foolish.

By the way, if you miss boarding with your luggage left behind, it appears that your belongings will be disposed of. So, you really must be careful.

After receiving our tickets, we headed for the Baresty.

We wanted to check our cabin and have a place to drop off our luggage for now.

After talking to the sailors and dock workers, and once we identified the Baresty, I showed my ticket to a crew member standing at the entrance.

“Let me verify your boarding ticket. Yes, it’s all in order. Uh, your cabin is 315—oh, you’ve managed to secure a good room, haven’t you? It was still available… on this deck. Ah, or is it the one that had been canceled?”

“Um… is it a good room?”

“That’s something you’ll have to check out for yourself.”

A room that seems nice… I wonder?

Ati and I exchanged glances. Well, we’d know once we saw it.

While crossing the gangway, I surveyed the entire Baresty. It’s quite a large vessel. Though it’s smaller than a luxury liner, it’s clearly larger than most other ships.

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“Ah, onii-san?”

While wandering around the ship, I bumped into Cecil. Vallen Myers was nowhere in sight, and it appeared that she was alone.

“Hello.”

“So you’ve decided to board this ship?”

“I was recommended it, and no other ship looked any better.”

“Mm-hmm.”

She looked unusually happy. Well, anyone would be pleased if they took my advice at face value—unless they were stubborn.

“And what about your grandpa?”

“Hmm, he’s asleep.”

Is he taking a nap?
The weather’s nice—if there’s ever a perfect day for a nap, it’s today.

“Hey, onii-san. Since we ended up on the same ship anyway, why don’t we go check out the town together for a bit?”

I couldn’t understand what being on the same ship had to do with strolling around town together. However, Cecil was quite pushy. When she tugged my hand, she cheerfully led me off into town.

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Cecil seems to like sweets.
She was gobbling down snacks, and watching her eat made me feel like I was going to get heartburn…

“Onii-san, aren’t you going to eat? Here, open up—ahh, say ‘ah’!”
“No, I’m fine…”

She offered me some half-eaten candy, but I wasn’t in the mood to eat. I might accept that from Ati, but not from another woman insisting “ahh”…

“Hmph. What a waste.”

Still, she ate so much yet somehow managed to keep that slender figure. She was into swordplay, so I suppose she burned off what she ate through regular training.

――And so, we wandered the town.

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Before I knew it, the crowd had thinned out. We had apparently strayed from the bustling area. A cool sea breeze swept over the embankment.

“Hey, onii-san.”
Cecil abruptly halted.
“…What’s the matter?”
“In the carriage, I think Grandpa Vallen took a liking to you, onii-san.”
“Took a liking? I can’t say for sure since I’m not him, though I did have a decent chat with him.”
“He chats longer when he likes someone. Grandpa is friendly, but he doesn’t engage in long conversations with people he doesn’t like—he always ends them just at the right moment. But when he talked with you, it was a bit different. So…”

For a moment, Cecil’s finger twitched, and I saw it brush against the hilt of the sword at her waist. An unexpected flash occurred. I instinctively deflected her strike with the tip of my spear, following the line of her sword. A light metallic ring echoed, and for that brief moment, Cecil looked genuinely surprised.

“…If you hadn’t reacted, I was planning on stopping just short of you.”
“You can’t just be dangerous all of a sudden!”
“Not dodging, but deflecting—so you saw it coming, didn’t you?”
“…Who knows?”

I tried to play it cool, but that flash had been quite dangerous. It was barely noticeable. When I used to learn spear techniques from my father, his speed was far beyond mine. That experience saved me in this instance. But since my father died, I haven’t trained much, so I can’t deny there’s a gap. In the end, all I could manage was to deflect it. If I had trained even a little harder, maybe once I could have turned the tip back against her…

Anyway, why on earth did Cecil suddenly do that?

“What’s with that look?”
“Well, obviously—it was so sudden…”
“I thought maybe it was because Grandpa thinks you’re strong…”

I couldn’t understand what she meant. I wished someone would explain why I got attacked for no reason.

“I just wanted to test you a little, so I won’t do it again. You can trust me.”
“Really…?”
“Really.”

Cecil chuckled carefree. I felt uneasy, but since she said she’d put away her sword, I had no choice but to trust her—even though I’d still stay on guard.

“Then, shall we head back to the ship?”
“I think it might be better if we go back separately.”
“Geez! Don’t be so cautious! Geez—I’m sorry—”

Cecil frowned.
At that very moment—

“—H-help meeee!”

I heard a child’s voice. When I looked back, I saw a child being carried by a thug. The child was none other than Madi—the kid who tried to snatch my bag the other day.