"Hoo, hoo…"Aquila let a light breath seep out. She had managed, somehow, to play tag with the pirates in the cabin corridor and make it onto the deck, but just that had burned through half her strength.My condition’s worse than I thought.Even so, she couldn’t back down. At least the hostage tucked against her side wasn’t resisting, which made moving a shade easier."Uh—uh?!""Dammit! How is she that fast?!"She slipped past the pirates’ hasty rushes, snatched the rope in one motion, and vaulted into the air.The stares glaring up at the fugitive in the sky prickled along her skin. Aquila, in turn, swept them all, quick and precise.A pirate crew of beastfolk, the whole lot of them.That first night on the Count’s cruiser she’d been busy with the mission, and it was too dark to study them.As the rumors said, every last one of them ran on a different track from ordinary humans. Some had beasts’ ears or tails; some had arms, legs, or even heads in a beast’s shape; some were abnormally large of frame.“Monster crew” fits. Each one of them is first-rate on their own.But she knew there was a monster worse than they were.Where is Noce Mostro?The louder the commotion swelled, the thicker the crowd grew, yet nowhere among them did she see that black-haired pirate. Her hawk-keen eyes skimmed the deck and even the blind spots that weren’t properly visible, and her face set.I don’t like this.For the man who could not possibly be ignorant of this ruckus not to appear—ill omen. A wild beast is more frightening not when it’s right before your eyes, but when it’s hiding somewhere out of sight.Maybe he was watching for an opening to snatch the hostage out of her arms. Aquila tightened her hold on the child."You—! After the boss went to the trouble of saving you, you’ve got the gall to—!""Enough."A burly man stopped the pirate with the spear who had barked up at her, hanging from the rope.Siobhan, unlike the others who bared hostility as they drew their weapons, studied her closely and spoke with care."Tell me what you want. You took a hostage because you need something, didn’t you?""?!""Underboss…?"Every pirate who’d been growling looked at Siobhan in surprise. The Underboss they knew used formal speech to no one but Noce.Aquila, however, thought the reason for their shock was simpler: that this man called the Underboss was choosing to talk instead of fight.If you open that way first, that’s convenient.It still sat wrong that Noce Mostro was nowhere to be seen, but the Underboss of a ship should have the authority to arrange what she wanted."I want a lifeboat. Even a small dinghy will do."Aquila spoke clearly, her voice pared of emotion."If you just let me get off this ship unharmed, I’ll return the child.""Even if you get off here in one piece, I can’t guarantee your safety."Siobhan made a small gesture to the rear. Beyond him stretched the wide horizon."With a dinghy alone you’ll never make it where you want to go.""What comes after is my concern. In exchange for this child’s life, all I want is a single lifeboat."It was, undeniably, suicide to be left on the open sea without a proper ship, food, or a compass. But Aquila had something to rely on. And she had no reason to explain that to a pirate."Decide. If you don’t hurry, this child…"Fwish—!An artificial wind swept in, but Aquila didn’t so much as blink. Below, Siobhan shouted, face gone hard."Milena, stop!"So the name of the shadow angling for her flank was Milena.Aquila let go of the rope and flipped. A vicious whip split the air where she had been."What…?!"Aquila, rotating inverted in the air, and Milena, who had struck and sprung back with speed, met each other’s eyes head-on. In that instant suspended without any support in empty air, Milena could have sworn she saw wings behind Aquila.She flew…!While Milena floundered from her failed ambush, searching for a place to land, Aquila’s reddish eyes remained calm.She’s not beastfolk.Calm enough to spare the leisure to observe Milena. Aquila, who’d chased Ouroboros for a long time and drifted through any number of black markets, wetted her lips at a familiar twinge as she took in Milena’s wide, light-green eyes."Elf…?""…!"Milena’s eyes blew wide at that whisper. Her pupils shrank and her pulse raced. Mind reeling with shock and fear, she lost reason and lashed her whip again. At the same time Siobhan boomed her name."Milena!"Damn…!Even Milena regretted it the instant she threw that thoughtless attack. The human still had Milio in her hands…!But then something astonishing happened.Slaaap!A white sheet snapped wide and lifted the whip’s line. Through the rippling torn sheet, the woman could be seen settling steadily back onto the shroud rope.Stumbling down to the rail, Milena looked up at the human in disarray.What kind of reflexes…!Even she hadn’t expected that assault. To whip out the blanket cocooning Milio in that split second and counter it—that skill; and to land with that steady balance—neither were ordinary.Milena, being half-elf, possessed bodily abilities superior to most humans. In terms of speed, she prided herself on being outstanding even within this pirate crew.Yet even she couldn’t keep up, for a heartbeat, with that human woman’s movement. Surprise curdled quickly into a fretful, biting impatience.How is that possible?! Assassin or not, that’s…!Smack!Milena’s wrist, about to strike again, was caught."I told you to stop.""Underboss!"Siobhan, who had come close at some point, restrained her. Unable to shake off the grip whose strength no one could match, Milena burst out."Let go! We have to save Milio! And that ungrateful human—!""The one who just put Milio in danger was you.""…!"At that, Milena ground her teeth. It was a mistake she couldn’t deny. Terrified at having her identity exposed to a human, she’d reacted emotionally.Frankly, if that human woman hadn’t answered properly, Milio would have…"That’s an order from the Underboss. Stand down and keep calm."Dragging the flushed, over-excited Milena down from the rail, Siobhan added:"Milio will be fine.""…?"What was that supposed to mean? As Milena looked up at Siobhan, baffled, Aquila above was sweating cold.I slipped. I only meant to think it; I blurted it out in surprise.Of many different races, elves had been humanity’s most beloved quarry the longest. The elven race had already been driven to extinction long ago; sometimes half-elves with a trace of that blood were found, but even that was vanishingly rare.Naturally their hostility toward humans would be immense, and she’d more or less gone and poked that with a stick."Uugh…""Ah."Maybe it was the sudden violent motion. The child dangling at her side clapped a hand over their mouth. Because she’d used the sheet for defense, the child’s face—bloodless and blue—was laid bare.Feeling a twinge of guilt, Aquila shifted her hold to make it as comfortable as possible. At that, the child—Milio—flicked their eyes up at her, gaze turning strange, but Aquila didn’t notice.She had to keep wary watch on the pirates, who were even more incensed now that Milena’s attack had been blocked."That’s dangerous, idiot! What are you doing to our precious little one!""Underboss, stop talking and act! A lifeboat, my ass—just toss her into the sea!""Bring a pole!"It looked like any room for negotiation had vanished.Bad.That last burst of motion had shaved her stamina down again. Aquila had hoped to preserve at least enough ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) strength to row a bit once she had a boat, but this was getting tight. The longer she dragged this out, the worse the odds for her. But she couldn’t show that.Think. Another way…A chill rippled over her.Milio felt the arm holding them go rigid and looked up.Huh…?Siobhan and Milena, directly below, noticed the shift in Aquila’s expression as well. A small but distinct anxiety rose on her suddenly pale face.One sailor, seeing her locked features, lifted his pole and shouted:"Finally getting the picture? Sit tight! Right now I’m gonna—"Crack!Just then, a dagger flew from somewhere and buried in the tip of the pole. Startled, the sailor dropped it on the spot.Thud. As the pole clattered to the deck, the sailors who’d been staring down at it in a daze began, one by one, to raise their heads toward the direction the dagger had come from.Skkk.In a hush so deep you could hear the flag snap atop the high mast, there came the sound of fire catching.Creak, creak…A man, lounging at ease just above the mast that leaned and swayed with the wind, touched flame to the end of a long pipe and then let out a long breath."Hoo…"Cold sweat beaded at Aquila’s temple where she hung on the high shroud rope not far from him.Noce Mostro…The man she’d been all the more wary of for not showing himself. And yet he’d been far closer than she’d thought. Of course, she’d realized his arrival a heartbeat earlier than the pirates below—but that was all.He made his presence known on purpose…!If he hadn’t, she would never have noticed.That the air she’d thought safest—up above—turned out to be the inside of a beast’s jaws.Whether he knew Aquila’s eyes were rolling tight with vigilance or not, the man smoking at leisure slid his gaze.The look he sent toward the sailor who’d just menaced her with the long-stemmed pipe was grim."Who needs to do it? The getting-a-grip on the situation."

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