<CHAPTER 13>
*There weren’t even pirate characters in the ending world, were there?*
It would have sounded more plausible to believe in a doppelgänger theory instead.
*Could there really have been a hidden twin?*
As I seriously considered the possibility, the crowd of pirates was suddenly pulled apart to either side.
**“What’s all the commotion?”**
**“Captain! W-Well… all the fruit suddenly fell from the tree, and then this woman appeared.”**
And like Moses’ miracle, one man arrived before me.
*So the captain himself has come.*
Knowing it was futile, I leaned my upper body back as far as I could and looked up at him.
My first impression was that of a man like a reef weathered by sea wind.
Rough yet exuding wild charm, with red hair, a scar across his firm jaw, a fine beard, and an eyepatch covering his left eye to complete the look.
*He’s the textbook definition of a pirate captain.*
*Does he even have a hook for a hand?*
I deliberately entertained such carefree thoughts to ease my tension.
Perhaps similar idle thoughts were passing through the captain’s head as well.
He merely stared down at me with his visible right eye without making any move.
At last, a crew member stepped forward before the captain, who had stiffened like a statue.
**“Could it be that side played tricks again? It seems they sent a scout with an Elecforo, but whatever they did to the tree, even the magic imbued in it has completely vanished.”**
“Huh.”
A short breath escaped the captain’s lips.
As if it were a spell that shattered a statue, he bent one knee before me.
His large shadow fell over me as though it would swallow me whole.
*Even lowering himself this much, why does he still feel so overwhelmingly huge…?*
Before I could finish the thought, he suddenly grabbed my chin.
His grip was far from ordinary, and my jawbone creaked under the pressure.
I seized his wrist with both hands and tried to pull it away, but it was like pushing against a wall.
He handled me as if inspecting meat laid out on a display, turning my face this way and that.
**“Whoever made you did a fine job. It doesn’t seem to be a disguise artifact, and you even appear to be fully materialized.”**
He added as if in thought, **“Memory replication isn’t complete yet, I suppose.”**
Then his gaze met mine.
**“Mind if I check something, miss?”**
*You’re free to ask, but don’t expect an answer in this state!*
I glared at him, pain flashing in my eyes, but he only exhaled with trembling excitement.
There was even a hint of perverse delight in the long curve of his smile.
*Oh no, is this old man a pervert too?*
**“You’re alive?”**
*Would I be dead then?*
**“Strange. Then what exactly is it that’s standing before me right now?”**
He tilted his head as though reading my thoughts.
Then he loosened his grip slightly—only to shove his thumb into my mouth and stir it around.
“Ugh—!”
Only after I gagged did his hand finally fall away.
**“Too warm to be a doll, and too much like a living person.”**
Because I am a living person!
It was unfair, but there was no way I could explain something even I did not understand.
Since he seemed aware of my previous death, acting recklessly would be dangerous.
Having witnessed someone capable of such abnormal behavior, I decided to pretend to be a captive who had lost consciousness.
When I gave no reaction, the captain rested his elbow on his raised knee and leaned forward slightly.
**“Miss, do you have any idea how much chaos your damned companions caused?”**
**“They each went mad in their own colorful ways, and a third of the deadline flew away. Half the group supposedly lost their abilities. No one died, at least?”**
That’s what I’d like to ask.
*Killian? Why?*
At this point, I had no choice but to seriously consider whether I had fallen into an entirely different worldline.
*You know how in novels people cross dimensions or end up in alternate timelines. Maybe that’s what happened to me—*
**“Were you perhaps lovers?”**
I had been managing my expression carefully, but it slipped at once.
Lovers? Lovers?!
*No matter how crazy I was about him, I ended up actually dying. And he was the one who first said we should part ways!*
My memories were already shattered to pieces.
There shouldn’t be any lingering affection left, let alone love.
*Ugh, that’s creepy. Is that how the world sees it? Even if the ending was ruined, Killian and Elise probably got married. They loved each other so desperately.*
…I had merely been the foreign object wedged between them.
As I barely suppressed my rising disgust, his hand reached toward me again.
Startled, I instinctively slapped it away.
*Oh no.*
I shrank back, but the captain’s expression twisted strangely.
**“Am I that frightening? The way you keep looking at me as if we’ve never met.”**
He let out a low scoff, his red eye gleaming with something almost playful.
**“That stings a little, miss.”**
It was exactly like the look I had once seen from Roakin.
A wounded face, as if I had betrayed their expectations.
But I would not be fooled by crocodile tears twice.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
*Sorry, but even if I’m not a stranger to you, you’re a stranger to me.*
Stranger.
In that moment, humanity’s most historically favored solution to everything came to mind.
*Amnesia.*
I didn’t know if I could pull it off convincingly, but it was worth trying.
I put on a somewhat bewildered expression without trembling too much.
**“I’m sorry, but I don’t know you.”**
**“The world is vast. Perhaps we only look alike.”**
If I had died just minutes ago, I could have pulled it off with genuine confusion.
I made my body tremble unnaturally, blaming it on the still-open status window.
[SYSTEM: You have encountered the lover of Shaiqan.
Limited interaction granted.]
The ruler who reigned across the sea routes that cut through Sakatas.
Called the “Sacred Bank.”
The only being who dominated even the Crimson Sea.
There were rumors that even driftwood floating upon his “Indo Ho” would bow its head in submission.
*Shaiqan…*
The moment I mouthed the name inwardly, he stiffened.
**“You finally say my name?”**
I desperately hoped his wife was not present here.
**“L-Listen, sir. I lost all my memories in an accident, so I—”**
Unfortunately, the warning in his eyes made it clear he wasn’t buying it.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
Then he leaned closer, his voice low.
**“If I hadn’t held you in my arms myself, I might’ve fallen for that comeback.”**
**“Held me? How?”**
**“Because I was the one who died.”**
**“I died while subjugating the Demon King.”**
**“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gone there in the first place. In a way… it’s my responsibility.”**
Just as he was about to finish, a notification sound rang out.
[Reunion with character ‘Shaiqan.’
Personal information has been updated.]
[Lamia → Lamia Rekitas]
What?
I alternated my gaze between the captain and the status window in disbelief.
*So the man before me—the one I thought was an orphan—*
As I instinctively whispered it aloud, he ran a hand roughly over his face.
**“This is truly cruel.”**
Moisture gathered in his red eye before he abruptly stood up.
**“Miss, when you return to your master, tell them to gather information more thoroughly next time. My daughter has never once called me ‘Father.’”**
He grabbed the back of my neck and hoisted me up along with him.
“Ugh!”
He slung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and began walking back the way he had come, addressing the surrounding crew.
**“But do I really look that old?”**
*Of all things, that’s the part you’re hung up on…*
—
New Character:
Shaiqan (샤이칸)
