Chapter 20

Vol . 13 Ch . 20

September 13, 2018 by Wu Jizun

Lucia panted as she looked at the corpses lying next to her . She leaned on Nier’s back with her dagger in her grip . In a loud voice, she exclaimed, “What are these things?!”

Nier watched her surroundings vigilantly . The two of them were standing on the tilted ship . Next to them were wet corpses . Specifically, they were the dead people washed up to the boat . Fortunately, they were no different to human beings and were no match for Lucia and Nier . However, they dealt a big mental blow to Lucia, because she worried His Highness would be among them; hence, she didn’t dare to strike them down . Nier was initially afraid of causing accidental injuries, but the two of them were soon pushed to the edge . As a consequence, they had no choice, but to cut their attackers down .

Their initial thought was, “His Highness wouldn’t attack us even if he turned into one of them . ” Alas, they ended up cutting down dozens of people . The fortunate part was that, while the ship had been flipped into the water, it hadn’t completely sunk . The two of them lived on the tilted ship the last few days, albeit it being a struggle . There was still a fair bit of food remaining on the ship . At night, they slept holding each other in order to keep each other safe as well as keeping warm .

Lucia’s combat skills were very poor late at night . She, therefore, had to rely on Nier to protect her . Their roles were reversed during the day, with Nier resting and Lucia taking responsibility for keeping them safe . The two girls in a relationship akin to fire and water demonstrated impressive chemistry and unity when they were faced with the perilous predicament . Although they never spoke much, the two of them displayed close friendship and unspoken understanding .

Nier lowered her sword and replied, “We don’t need to concern ourselves with what they are . That said, I’m getting sick of them raiding us every night . They’re definitely not from the surface . It might be an issue with the ocean water . They only turned after they drowned . ”

“Don’t blame it on the ocean water! Did you forget that we swam in the water?!”

“Okay, okay, it’s not the water,” responded Nier, as she scratched her head . “That means they turned into this state after they drowned . Lucia, we’ve killed a good number, haven’t we? Have you seen His Majesty?”

“No . His Highness’s clothes shouldn’t change . I haven’t seen anybody who resembles him among the ones I’ve killed, either . I’ve always been by His Highness’s side, so I’m familiar with every part of his body . It’s impossible for me to misjudge . ”

“Same with me . In other words, His Majesty is all right; he’s definitely still alive despite whatever happened to him,” stated Nier, sheathing her sword . “His Majesty is still alive; that’s good news . We just need to wait for the rescue fleet to arrive, and then search for him . My concern is how much he is suffering right now . He must be alone on some desolate island or floating on a plank somewhere, starving and freezing…”

“Stop… Please don’t make me imagine how pitiful he currently is, okay? I want to jump into the water to search for him as it is!” exclaimed Lucia, tears welling up in her eyes .

Nier bit down on her bottom lip . In a solemn tone, she said, “We will definitely save His Majesty . His Majesty’s predicament won’t last for long . We will definitely save him and bring him to our side where it is blissful!”

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In reality, my predicament wasn’t as tragic as they imagined . Rather, I was quite happy… My two wives eventually found out I was admiring flowers under Ying’s care while they were on a ship that could sink at any moment, wondering if there’d still be food for tomorrow and worrying about monsters attacking . They didn’t talk to me for an entire day once they found out .

Ying woke me up again with her voice when the sun came up . I saw a scene of Ying standing under the tree in my dreams last night . I saw her beautiful silhouette underneath cherry blossoms flying about . It was supposed to be a beautiful scene; she was supposed to be expressionless, yet I had the impression she was actually drowning in misery for the first time .

“Is it because of the environment or is it me who feels sad? She appeared to be her usual self . Why was she so sad that I almost shed tears for her? Is it Ying who’s sad, was it me, or was it the sky littered with flower petals that was sad?” I wondered to myself .

I didn’t have anything to think about when I saw the scene in my dreams . I just happened to dream of that scene . I didn’t have spare energy to ponder it – not that I needed to in front of such a beautiful scene . Eyes on Ying’s back, I yawned . I said, “Good morning . ”

Ying turned around and bowed” “Good morning . You’re looking much better today . The medicine has worked as expected . See if you can sit up . ”

I used the ground as support to slowly move my body . It felt as though all of the components of my body began to reboot . My joints creaked as I slowly sat up . My chest was still in a bit of pain, but it wasn’t as intense . It was merely a lingering pain . I could slowly straighten up my back and sit up now . I let out a breath of relief .

Ying didn’t look consoled even though she saw me, who was practically her patient, finally sit up . I hadn’t seen a second expression from her in three days . She kept her cold expression the entire time . She suggested, “Very good . Since you don’t have anything you have to do today, stay here for another day . That way, your body will recover better . ”

I nodded: “All right . I shall lie here in peace for today, then . I’ll be able to stand up tomorrow, right?”

“That’s right,” answered Ying . “However, even if you’re able to stand up tomorrow, that doesn’t mean you can walk around however you please . Obviously, you need to consume different medicines to completely recover . ”

“I’m truly very thankful, Ying . Thank you so much for taking care of me and spending your medicine on me . If you want money, I can give you everything on me . I just want to express my gratitude . I don’t have anything else I can give you . This is my way of thanking you . ”

“You don’t need to pay me . ” Ying shook her head . She wasn’t angry or annoyed; she remained calm as per usual .

“Oh, right… My money would be useless to you… I can give you gold and silver if you prefer, except I’ll have to wait for rescue to arrive before I can pay you . ”

“I don’t need those things,” replied Ying, with a head shake . She turned around to continue sweeping the flower petals: “If you really want to thank me, go into the village two days later, and help me buy some stuff . If you want to thank me, just go shopping for me every day after . I can’t leave the shrine . Normally, somebody will send me things every month, but I didn’t have enough resources after you arrived . ”

“Sure . ” I asked, “Why can’t you go to the village?”

“Because I need to protect this village . ”

“Why can’t you go, then?”

“I told you; I need to protect this village,” answered Ying, keeping her head down as she swept the ground .

I figured she wouldn’t give a different response no matter how I posed the question; that was her answer . Nevertheless, it was just a spell of confusion to me . Maybe it was because she had to stay in the shrine in order to protect the village below, though I wondered how reasonable that was . Whatever the case may be, I was glad I could recover . I could gradually get to know Ying better .