40 – There is a Killer Among Us…
This guy is a total psychopath. I'll play along for now, since fighting him is a terrible idea. I have to find a way to get off this ship safely with Sharon. Even though Alice is a problem, I believe there’s another way to do things. So, the only way is to run away with Sharon at the very first opportunity, though honestly, I don't know if that's even possible. I have—
Makoto narrowed his eyes. “You’re thinking too much, Karl. Don't tell me... you're siding with them... the villain NPCs? Don't make me do this... I don't want to kill a real human...” He stepped closer to Crow, then did nothing, just walked right past him and opened the door. Before stepping through, he added, “Come on, Karl, we've got work to do. I got you out of the city, remember?” Then he headed up the stairs toward the deck.
Looks like I don't have much of a choice. And a hidden quest? Honestly, I don't know a thing about any quest when leaving the main city by ship and why ours, specifically? We barely even left the port. How is it possible we're already out in open waters? This makes no sense at all. Whatever, I'd better just go for now...
Crow stood there a moment longer, glanced around the room, then followed toward the door. Climbing the stairs, before he even reached the deck, he saw it through the opening above...
Snow? How?
On the deck, Makoto said, "Like it, Karl? I have several items like this that teleport us countless kilometers away. Took me a month to get enough mages to fill the artifact with mana just to teleport an entire ship."
Where's the boss?
Sharon stepped closer to Crow, but just as she looked like she was about to say something, Makoto kept going. "False alarm, Karl. We just teleported right on top of that whale back there. Well, it's pretty beat up now, but it makes sense, who's gonna survive getting headbutted by a whole ship anyway? HAHAHAHAHA... why isn't anyone laughing? Man, that joke was hilarious..."
"Fufufu~, Master, you're so funny," said the taller, curvy elf, drifting closer to where Makoto stood.
Breathe...
Makoto continued, "What are you doing just standing there, Karl? The boss fight got pushed back... Oh right, you don't know the ship yet. Well... hey, you, back there. Yeah, you, baldy. Come here."
The man, pointing at himself in confusion, stepped forward. "Makoto-sama, what do you need?"
"Take that little couple to the crew quarters... No, actually, put them in Katarina and Diana's room. They're sleeping in my quarters tonight, so everyone stays comfortable. Yeah... that's it." He turned and walked off, an elf tucked under each arm like a pair of crutches.
He caught what Sharon whispered to me back on the street, but he was close then... and now, not so much... so do I risk telling her? He's a Rogue with a Mage subclass for sure, based on that diary. He's a complicated guy. If I'd known, I would've tried forcing my way out of the city. It would've been rough, but... no. This is bad, but it could be worse in other ways. At least I know this lunatic exists. He treats people like XP—
"E-er, sir? Can you follow me?" The bald man gestured toward another part of the ship.
Sharon stood nearby in silence, just taking everything in. She and Crow followed the man down a staircase into another part of the ship, arriving at an area quite different from what you'd expect on a ship.
This looks basically like a hotel, not a ship's corridor at all... If it weren't for the slight rocking underfoot, I’d never have guessed I was still at sea.
The bald man continued, "Sir, Ma'am, here's where you'll rest. I'll let you know the moment Makoto-sama calls for you." He withdrew, heading off down another corridor.
Right. He's gone now.
Sharon, still silent, opened the door and stepped inside. After looking around the room for a bit, she said, “I think I'm... seasick.”
Yeah, me too. And it's got nothing to do with being on a ship...
He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. Checking it, he saw there was no lock, so he grabbed a chair and wedged it under the handle to keep it from opening. "Right, that should hold for now."
Sharon turned back. "W-why? Why y-you locked the door?"
"So nobody interrupts us—"
She stumbled back a few steps, throwing her arms up in an X-shaped guard over her chest. "N-no, don't tell me that..."
Crow stepped forward, placed his hands on her shoulders, and brought his face close to her cheek. She looked like she was about to faint, completely frozen, so he whispered, "You have magic to keep things quiet, right? That way... nobody will hear us."
I remember her using something like it against the Hero, back in that fight.
Her face went completely red. "I-I, w-we need to get m-married f-first—" She rested her head against his shoulder...
"Sharon?" She practically hugged him, though without wrapping her arms around him. With her body pressed tight against his, she went limp and dragged down against him, almost hitting the floor before he caught her.
Great. Just what I needed. Did she seriously faint? How am I supposed to tell her the guy's plan now... Maybe it's better this way. No, to tell the truth, honestly, this is terrible... Fine. Best thing to do now is rest, since a fight is probably inevitable.
He laid her down on the bed and pulled a blanket over her; it was already pretty cold. Then he crossed to the other bed beside it, slightly bigger, probably belonging to the taller elf, and lay down.
Really, ever since I landed in this place, all I've done is get into trouble. Maybe Sharon is right, if I had a Luck stat, I could even deduce what the value would be... I knew there were others besides me, but a guy like him, I really didn't expect. The guy treats this world like fiction, like a game. This stopped being a game a long time ago. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep, let alone rest... Well, worst-case scenario, he won't try to kill me yet, nor kill her... since for a speedrunner who wants the maximum using as little as possible, he would use us to face this hidden boss. So... so...
He fell asleep...
“ThIs Is ThE rUn, MaN—”
What? Why is this place so colorful? Ah... it’s a dream. A lucid dream... I’m going crazy.
“TrUsT mE bRuH, I gOt ThIs!”
Better to jump off this plank than be dreaming about this guy, to be honest... Seems like the dream is falling apart. Good. Wait... why am I feeling something way too soft on my face?
He woke up with his face turned to the side, noticing that the chair was still wedged beneath the door handle, keeping the bedroom locked. Turning his eyes toward the soft sensation on his cheek, he finally saw it.
Of course... of course... Wait a moment... how? How did she even get over here? With her foot on my face? Don't tell me she sleeps like Frieren... Whatever, at least her foot is... never mind. I'd better get up and figure things out.
He moved her soft foot off his cheek, setting it down beside him, and got up, somehow, she had ended up lying upside down on his bed.
Right... focus... I don't know what time it is, maybe I didn't even sleep that much, but this bedroom wasn't breached, so... I'll check outside, see where we are, but I’ll try to get back fast. I can't risk leaving her alone and vulnerable, especially after what Makoto said... Honestly, based on what he said and how he acts, he'd use her and me to deal damage while he takes the boss rewards... No, he came prepared. I saw several people on this ship when I boarded, they were armed, not to mention the elves traveling with him seem strong, he mentioned S-rank something about them, that must be how he considers the strongest in this world... Either way, thinking too much won't solve anything. Since this bedroom is close to the stairs... yeah, I'll make sure nobody has time to reach here.
He approached the door, and after removing the chair from the handle, he opened it and checked both sides of the hallway and looked at her one last time before leaving.
Looks like nobody is out here... they must be asleep. Right, I'll leave the door closed. Since there's no lock, I need to be fast so I don't leave her alone for too long... Why doesn't this door have a lock anyway? I could just lock it and slide the key under, though she could bust through this door easily... True, maybe putting the chair by the door didn't even make sense, anyone could just burst it open too. No, the noise would wake us up. You can never be too careful after everything that's happened so far. Alright, I'm almost there. Gotta move without making a sound... Are you kidding me? This step... Well, looks like nobody is here, and the hallway leading to the bedroom where she's sleeping is empty too. As long as I take less than two minutes, I think everything will be fine. Hm? Is someone playing a flute? Yeah, it seems like it’s still night... and snowing. We're still in the middle of nowhere, or wherever this place is. Makoto didn't tell us, and keeping me in the dark is definitely part of his plan.
The short woman was playing a flute with her back to him. As she looked out at the sea, she sensed his presence and turned around, stopping her music. “Hmmm, looks like it’s fate indeed, walking wardrobe...”
Why is she here? Thinking about it won't help.
He approached her and leaned against the ship’s gunwale. “What are you doing here?”
The bard girl didn't answer him.
He turned around and started walking away.
“Ooii! You’re not even going to push a little?” She rushed over and yanked the back of his shirt. “I just wanted you to feel how awful it is to be ignored, just like you did to me...”
Crow turned back and looked at her. “I’ve already finished what I came up here to do. If you have something to say, you'd better make it quick.”
The bard paused to think for a moment and replied, “I... about earlier, well, that doesn't matter anymore, because it was about—”
“KYYYYAAAA!” A woman on the upper deck screamed. Crow and the bard both looked up at her. She turned around, wildly pointing down at the sea right near where they were standing. “BALDY! HE’S DEAD OUT THERE!”
What!?
He rushed back to the ship’s gunwale.
You've got to be kidding me... it really is him. Missing an arm, and... yeah, he’s dead. Someone killed him, but who? This is bad. I need to go check on Sharon right now.
A voice spoke up from behind him. “Crow... what happened? I noticed you’d left, and when I reached the stairs, I heard a scream...” It was Sharon’s voice.
He turned to her and said, “Someone killed Baldy...” Crow looked to the side as more people arrived at the scene, and added, “We’d better get him out of the sea—”
“No, he’s already dead. There’s no way to bury him on the ship, and he loved the sea... leave him there.” It was Makoto, arriving with his elves, using them as crutches... again.
Are you serious? We can’t just leave him out there, abandoned in the sea. What if he has a family? At least we should—
Makoto continued, “Looks like we have a killer among us... right, Crow? Better we find it out soon.”
It’s you. I don’t even need to think to know it... you soulless... how can this guy say this... while...
Makoto stepped away from the elves, approached the gunwale, and looked down at Baldy’s body. “The cut on his arm was far too clean... he died almost instantly. Only someone extremely powerful could do this... and him ending up down here, with no bloodstains on this part of the ship... it’s very suspicious. Someone managed to bring him all the way over to this section.” He turned toward Sharon. “Someone who could hypnotize him, bring him out to the edge of the plank, and finish him off... after doing... whatever they wanted to do... who could be capable of that?” He turned to face the rest of the crew, and gestured with his open arms. “What do you think? Who among us is the killer?”
A relatively well-built man stepped forward and said, “It’s definitely a woman. For me to sneak out in the middle of the night just to meet someone alone... it would have to be a drop-dead gorgeous woman. And strong, like Makoto-sama said, otherwise she couldn't kill me, especially without a fight.”
These guys... give me a break. It's so obvious it's Makoto. The dead bald guy left dumped in the sea, Makoto making up excuses not to pull him out of the water... and not to mention he told me earlier that Sharon was a sacrifice. What does he want, to attract the boss? Is the boss a sea monster? Like a shark that smells blood? But he mentioned before that he needed a lot of concentrated mana... So he wants to—
“Karl.” Makoto put his hand on Crow's shoulder and continued, “Why are you so quiet... do you know something, Karl? You can tell me, I’ll help you...”
This guy...
Crow looked at him. “It’s too strange... why would someone kill him?”
Another crew member stepped up and said, “I saw Baldy taking you two to your room a few hours ago... you must have done something...”
I knew it... however, Makoto needs us, so he’ll try to—
“True... something is really wrong here.” Makoto continued, “I don’t want to accuse anyone... but really, you guys were the last ones to see him... I know you are innocent, Karl...” He leaned in and whispered, “But your pretty-faced girl... don’t worry, I’ve got your back. I’ll keep your bad girl safe... looking at her in her pajamas... whoa... I can understand why you want her alive...”
I want to punch him... really bad...
Makoto stepped back and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Drop anchor. Since this spot was used for teleportation, I’ll be able to get us back, but it would take... at least two days. Everyone will return safely, don't worry. In the meantime, let's vote on who you think is the culprit, and whoever is guilty will be... thrown overboard if there’s concrete proof... ”
The bard girl standing near Crow chimed in. “I-I’m innocent... I-I was just playing my flute! I-I didn’t s-seduce anyone!”
For real? Right now? It’s MAKOTO! What timing...