"Eeuukk — my head hurts —" Arthur winced in pain when he woke up from his sleep. His face was a mess, and his sweat-drenched hair by now was probably smellier and messier than the mop used to clean the hospital toilet. But what he really complained about was his nose which really hurt and was bleeding. Well, no wonder as he just kissed the floor this morning. No one would be surprised if he broke his nose, but he seemed fine.
The first thing Arthur noticed after stuffing his nose with the tissue available on the table was his super messy room, and the feeling as if the ground was shaking. It is still questionable whether he actually just fainted from a migraine or from drunkenness.
"Land? No way, I'm on a ship! Wait, what time is it?" Arthur stood up to check the antique clock on the wall and was surprised to see the number the hands were pointing at. "Wait, it's already 3?? Just how long have I been asleep? And why didn't any of the crew members wake me up, even though it's past lunch time? I thought this was first class service!" Indeed, it seemed there was a problem with the service on this ship.
Arthur then looked around, and saw how messy the condition of his room was. With piles of clothes on the bed, suitcases wide opened, belongings everywhere, blood all over the floor, and even a toilet that hasn't been flushed since 7 in the morning — the room now certainly looked like a murder scene. At least Arthur was grateful the smell isn't as bad as his rat cage in the lab when he will return in a month.
"Well, thank goodness no one came here — especially with that thing lying there —" Arthur said, glancing at the gun lying in the corner of the room after he threw it this morning. "I have to do something with this thing,". Of course, Arthur, it could be dire if anyone saw it. Bringing a firearm on a ship sailing to another country was certainly a brilliant idea if you wanted to find a quick way to jail.
In a matter of seconds, Arthur had quickly wrapped the revolver back in the cloth bundle, then inserted it into the small slot behind the cloth on the inside of the trunk, where it should have been, out of sight.
"Hff, safe —" Arthur muttered as he opened his eyes again. "Now, this bathroom and stuff —" Wait, so he did all that just now without looking? Wow, that was a very useful skill. You could say it was a waste to be mastered by this coward fellow Arthur Rolyn.
"Damn Gilbert —" Arthur muttered as he closed the trunk. "Why did he put a firearm in my suitcase? If this is found out — there's no way I can be safe from the authorities, even though Necanta legalizes firearms, bringing them to another country is another matter. Wait, what did he say earlier at the port? Something I need for sure? Why would I need a revolver?" Well, that was what everyone hasd been asking about before. He finally realized it too.
"Gilbert — his actions may be a bit questionable at times, but I've known him for 4 years. He won't have bad thoughts," Arthur said hesitantly. "From the start, how did he get it? Such a small gun rarely comes out on the market because many people boycott it. It's too small to be hidden and used easily to commit crimes."
Arthur thought hard. If he really wanted to suspect Gilbert, the thing the man could have planned was to get Arthur arrested on the ship while Gilbert stole his research. But all of that was broken by two things — the fact that Gilbert had put the revolver in a hidden slot instead of being openly in the suitcase, and the fact that Gilbert had also put Arthur's research notes in it meant he was probably on guard to ensure the safety of the notes. It would be dangerous if it was stolen —
"No, wait, stolen? That's right, the Temple —" Arthur finally realized something about Gilbert's odd behavior. "Was he alarmed thinking that these notes might be targeted by someone, and he also put that gun there? Wait, that means there's a chance he doesn't just want me to take a vacation, but to escape from something in Virion —"
Arthur tried to calculate the various possibilities that might occur. He had no idea how much Gilbert knew about Virion's conflict with the Temple. After all, Gilbert was still a newly hired lecturer. He wasn't even a professor! But there was a possibility that Gilbert had overheard it from someone — or perhaps guessed it himself.
"Then why didn't he tell me from the start? He didn't know that I hate guns! This could have all been avoided if he didn't play secrets!" Arthur grumbled. "But now, because of this, I have to be vigilant. It could be that on this ship there are also people from the temple looking for me, because these notes are not in my room or lab. They might have messed them up by now —"
Arthur gulped. He was getting paranoid now. Would he be okay? All because of that one thesis. But would the Temple go to any lengths including hurting a 14 year old just to snatch a thesis? Then why didn't they ask Virion to hand over his research notes long ago? That would make things easier right? Or perhaps, there was something else? What did the Temple want from him?
"Growwlll."
Suddenly, a loud voice filled the room. And the source was none other than his stomach, which felt unfair because it had not been fed since 7 in the morning. Arthur groaned in annoyance, it was at a time like this that he least wanted to leave the room. But to die of starvation was no better fate than to die from murder. There was no Gilbert here to help him, and given the quality of service on this ship, Arthur doubted anyone would come to check on his condition.
"What can I do," Arthur said as he stood up to take his fedora and change his jacket which was dirty with vomit stains. "But I'd better do this first," he said before he grabbed his suitcase and shoved it under the bed after locking it and covering it with a sheet. He didn't want to risk someone breaking into his room while he was away.
"It seems the suitcase that Gilbert exchanged also turn out to have a better security system than my old suitcase, thank God," commented Arthur after he finished doing all his work. "One quick trip to the diner and I'll be right back."
********************
It was meant to be like that, but our dear comrade Arthur Rolyn — who was very, very smart — even got lost while looking for where the food for visitors was placed on the ship. It seemed that of all the books he had read in Virion's library, indeed not a single one contained what the cruise ship looked like. Now the title of 'First and Fastest Person Who Can Read Most Books in the Virion Library' was questionable.
"I thought this ship would look like the Titania inside too!" Arthur grumbled loudly. "Apparently not so. I have to admit it turns out, the designer of this ship also has a bit of originality in its design." Oh, so that was the reason.
Arthur wandered the unfamiliar alley in confusion. It seemed like returning to his cabin was indeed the best option. He couldn't get lost any further. Thankfully, he still remembered where to go back, thanks to his memory. Even though he really hated his photographic memory, he had to admit that it did come in handy in some situations.
But when he was about to turn around, he heard a knock from the opposite direction. The tapping sound got louder and louder and this time even mixed with the sound of footsteps.
Arthur was silent, waiting to see who would come — which, it must be said, was foolish considering he was worried about the possibility that he was being chased by one of the most influential organization in the world. But thankfully, the worst case scenario didn't happen because who appeared was a woman in — a manservant attire? She was walking a step behind a little girl with wavy blonde hair.
It turned out that the source of the knocking sound had come from the girl. More precisely, from the long white cane that the girl used to help her walk. Because it turned out that — at least from Arthur's guess — the little girl was sightless, or to put it bluntly, blind.
But it did seem impolite to stare at a stranger for so long, and it seemed the woman in the manservant's outfit had noticed it. Arthur quickly averted his gaze before the woman gave him a glare, but all chance to make absolutely no contact with the two people was shattered the moment the girl's staff touched Arthur's leg. And that was when their faces met. A gush of familiarity brushed Arthur as he saw the girl's face.
"Hm? You're blocking the way," said the little girl as the tip of her wand came into contact with Arthur's heartily polished brown loafers.
"Oh, sorry," Arthur apologised, shifting his body. He made way for the girl to pass.
But the girl stayed still. "You — you've been injured, right? There's a smell of blood."
"Eh?" Arthur was taken aback before he quickly rubbed his nose. Nothing, he had confirmed his face was clean.
"I'm just kidding, tee~hee!" suddenly the girl chuckled. "You sound really serious, what's wrong?"
"God! You just startle me," Arthur commented. "I'm looking for a place to eat, but I don't know where. Unfortunately there's no one here, I wonder why,".
"Oh, that's probably because this ship isn't really a vacation ship. Most of the passengers are elderlies who are invited because of their accomplishments, and you know how they are usually when they travel far, right? Backaches, migraines, or something like that," she explained in a tone that sounded like those cheerful girl characters in the theatre. "Moreover, it's January. It's so cold here!"
"Turns out that's the reason," Arthur thought, what exactly was the sender of this invitation thinking? Inviting people to go on cruises in January, providing poor service to visitors, making a ship that looked like the Titania from the outside — did they actually plan to hold an event or not?
"Hey, hey!" the girl called Arthur. "Don't space out!"
"Ah, sorry. It's nothing —"
"Oh yeah, you were going to a place to eat right? I happen to be hungry, do you want me to accompany you?" The girl asked without any hesitation. Admittedly, she did have better social skills than Arthur, even though she didn't know what the person in front of her looked like.
"Miss, you just had lunch today," said the woman next to her, it seemed that she was indeed a servant.
"Can we, Sellie? I suddenly want to eat strawberry shortcake!"
"Alright, Miss."
Arthur looked at the two people with a strange look. He was not used to seeing the interaction between master and servant. No, he wasn't sure whether this woman named Sellie was really this girl's servant or just someone assigned to look after her by her parents.
"By the way, what's your name?"
"Arthur R —" Arthur paused. Telling his true identity to someone he just met was a bad idea. Even though she was only a child, Arthur still had to be wary of her servant. After all, the fact that this girl was here meant that this girl came from quite an influential family. "Just call me Arthur, I'm 14," he didn't want this girl to mistake his age judging by the sound alone.
"Age? You don't need to tell me that, I already know. Your voice sounds like a teenager."
"Miss, he doesn't seem to look older than ten years," commented the maid.
"Hey!"
"Oh, come on, Sellie. That's rude. Poor him," the little girl said with a giggle before she turned her face to Arthur. "My name is Della."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. She also did not give her full name. This little girl knew what she was doing.
"Let's go, Arthur. The dining room is over there!" Della said as she pulled Arthur's hand. He didn't know how she knew.
"Eh??" Arthur tried to follow Della's steps which he didn't expect was fast enough. But without him noticing it, the maid who followed them from behind was watching him with a sharp gaze.
*******************
The place to eat that Della meant turned out to be a restaurant located on the upper deck. The restaurant looked very luxurious with wall hangings and giant chandeliers. Each table could be filled by 4 to 8 people. However, not many people were there, maybe because it was still not dinner time.
Arthur's loud voice was heard which couldn't be called a scream but also couldn't be said to be normal. "What do you mean I have to pay for this? Isn't the lunch menu included in the service I get?" asked Arthur who was currently facing the restaurant's waitress.
"Sorry, kid. But this menu is only for lunch, while it's already 3 where we no longer provide the menu. All orders made outside the stated time are no longer included in the promised service," the fat woman with a large mole under her eyes tried to explain. "You can bring your parents to buy food with you."
"What about my lunch earlier? I haven't taken it at all, so I deserve it right?"
"I'm sorry. We already threw away all the leftover food 10 minutes ago,".
Arthur growled as he left the woman. If one may say, indeed the quality of service on this ship was abysmal. Basically the free invites were just some kind of bullshit to invite passengers to this ship and make them spend money there.
"The price of one meal here is enough to cover my monthly food expenses," commented Arthur as he sat down on one of the empty table by the door looking at the menu. "I regretted coming here. Now I have to wait until dinner," he grumbled with a growling stomach.
"Oh, Arthur? What are you doing here?" suddenly Della came over to him.
"Della? How did you know I was here?" she couldn't possibly see him.
"Selena told me that you were sitting alone with a sad face holding the menu," Della answered casually. "I see, you don't have any money, do you?"
"It's obvious, isn't it? If I had I wouldn't be here," Arthur grumbled. He glanced at the table where Selena was. The table was not far from there, and Arthur saw that it was filled with delicious food.
"Hey, want to join?"
"I thought you couldn't see?" If not, how could she had realized that Arthur was glancing at the table?
"Wow, that was rude to someone who just offered you food," Della commented. "I'm just guessing, because you went silent."
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to —" very good Arthur. If this was in a public place you might have been jeered by the crowd.
"Hehe, don't worry. It's not the first time someone has said that to me, I'm just too great!" Arthur could only sigh. After all, he was dealing with a child. "Come here, the food is delicious!"
"Yes —"
Arthur then stood up to follow the girl. He hoped the ship's cooking was as good as Della said it would be.