As the hand ax came down, the blunt blade seemed to grow larger.
It was a fleeting moment, but the scene of waking up at sea and boarding the pirate ship flashed before the boy's eyes.
'I was going to do something...….'
In the midst of the life-threatening situation, the boy felt a tickle in his mind, as if a crucial memory was on the verge of resurfacing.
"Wait!"
Just as the tip of the knife was about to graze the dazed boy's eyes, the witch's voice halted it.
"That cloak! There's something peculiar about the boy's cloak. Remove it before you kill him. It would be unsightly to have blood on it."
The boy, who narrowly escaped death, came to his senses and gasped for air.
Surprised, he had momentarily forgotten to breathe.
At the witch's command, the captain started to remove the boy's cloak.
"Well, considering the various wounds, it seems this boy has lost his memory in battle."
"Really? What should we do then? Wait a few days? I don't know. Captain Ozma, you handle it. I'll be on my way now~"
The captain, nodding in agreement, escorted the witch to the shipper's cabin at the stern, gesturing to a sailor shaped like a sea elephant.
Then the sea elephant-shaped sailor, who had lowered his hand axe, guided the confused boy by his arm.
They descended the stairs located in the center of the upper deck, leading to the lower levels.
The lower deck housed several hammocks at the front for the crew to sleep, with various rooms at the rear serving different purposes.
As the boy glanced around, a walrus-shaped sailor, seemingly in a hurry, dragged him to the center of the lower deck.
A square hatch was present in the middle of the floor.
The sailor lifted the hatch as though opening a lid, revealing a storage space beneath it.
"Excuse me, are there any stairs to go down?"
The boy clasped his hands together and asked cautiously, contemplating the possibility.
However, the sea elephant-shaped sailor merely blinked his dull eyes and abruptly seized the nape of the boy's neck.
"Huh? I'll just... go down... Ugh~"
Thump—
The boy, tossed down like cargo, hit the floor with a thud.
"Ugh...."
While the boy lay groaning on the floor, he heard the sound of the hatch closing from above.
"Oh, it hurts... I was alone at sea, but am I alone again here? Well, at least I can still walk here, so it's a slight improvement."
The boy scanned his surroundings, considering it a step up from the endless, directionless sea.
"Yes, I might find something to eat here!"
Suddenly invigorated, the boy began to instinctively rummage through the warehouse.
Fortunately, the warehouse was filled with a diverse array of items, including fabrics, spices, metals, grains, and wine.
"Wow, are all these looted goods?"
Perhaps driven by hunger, the boy was drawn to the area where food was stored.
There were boxes of bread, fruit, and dried meat.
First, he grabbed a piece of cloth-wrapped bread and hurriedly bit into it.
Choke— choke—
Overeating in his haste, the boy upset his stomach. He uncapped a nearby leather pouch and took a deep gulp.
"Oh! That's sweet."
Fortunately, the leather pouch contained fresh, unspoiled wine.
It was a superior brew, its taste and aroma enhanced with herbs and spices.
Now, he leisurely enjoyed his dinner, retrieving fruit from a basket in another box and unwrapping dried meat from an oil-paper package.
"Phew~ I think I might survive a little longer...…."
With his stomach somewhat sated, the boy, now feeling a little better, began to explore the warehouse once more.
Hiccups—
The alcohol content was low, but it was still alcohol.
Slightly intoxicated, the boy stumbled upon a cage the size of his own body atop an oak barrel.
"Wow, what a beautiful cage!"
Perhaps due to his drunken state, the cage appeared more mysterious, seemingly pouring forth beautiful waterfalls.
Indeed, the cage resembled a serene forest scene.
The bars of the cage seemed as natural as if they had been transplanted from acacia trees.
"Why are there no birds in such a pretty cage?"
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr—
As the boy leaned in curiously towards the cage, he heard the growl of a beast.
Upon reflection, he recalled there was a jail cell, fortified with iron bars, located deep within the warehouse.
The cell was quite spacious, but shrouded in darkness and therefore hard to discern.
Driven by curiosity, the boy, as though possessed, made his way towards the cell.
"A wolf? They've pitifully locked it up like this...…."
Inside the dank, dark cell, a wounded Arctic wolf lay huddled.
As the boy approached the bars, the eyes of the red wolf gleamed.
Its coarse white fur was stained in places as if dyed with dark red paint, and in some areas the skin was peeled off, revealing raw muscle.
"Oh, my God... Such a large wolf...…!"
As the wolf slowly rose, it stretched to nearly 2 meters in length.
Then, as the boy's eyes met with the wolf's, viscous saliva trickled down from its lolling tongue.
Snarl—
"Aargh!"
Before the terrified boy could even scream, the massive wolf lunged towards him.
The boy's heart chilled at the sight of the frenzied wolf, its menacing snarl blocked only by the steel bars.
Enraged at having missed its tantalizing prey, the wolf paced frantically within the cell, howling with fury.
The boy, stumbling backwards and falling onto his back, trembled in fear.
His heart pounded wildly, seemingly unable to slow its frantic beat.
At that moment, the sight of the zombie-like Arctic wolf planted a deep-seated fear in the boy's heart.
"It's Lupus Nĭger."
"Lupus Niger?"
The boy heard a sudden voice somewhere and, roused from his stupor, echoed the words.
"Over here, over here. What a scaredy-cat you are."
The boy, still bewildered, looked around and his gaze landed on the cage he had just been admiring.
"Oh, my! Wasn't this cage empty?"
Within the bars of the cage was a small creature, its arms folded, and an impish grin on its face.
A cluster of tiny, twinkling lights flickered on and off within the confines of the cage.
As the boy approached for a closer look, the lights coalesced, forming a petite girl no larger than his palm.
"Lupus Nĭger means black wolf. Its original name was Lupus ărgéntĕus, which means silver wolf. It was an Arctic wolf with fine silver fur. We used to share the meat that Lupus ărgéntĕus caught...…"
There was a note of sadness in her small eyes that appeared to be tear-shaped.
"Meat? Fairies eat meat too?"
"What! What's wrong with that! Is there a law against fairies eating meat?"
She fluttered her dragonfly-like wings indignantly, let out an affronted squeal, then spoke again.
Seeing the fairy's irritable yet endearing mannerisms, the boy couldn't help but find her somewhat cute.
"The black wolf fell victim to the western sea witch. I was also deceived by this cage, designed to resemble a forest, and trapped in the most unusual way."
"Really? But there's no lock on the cage's entrance?"
"Huh! Are you simple? There's magic imbued in it, of course there's no conventional lock! Do you think I'm just stuck here for no reason?"
Upon examining the cage door, the boy noticed only a simple latch.
Feeling a sense of curiosity, the boy reached out to touch the latch.
For a moment, a tiny spark flickered, but that was all. Shortly after, the boy lifted the latch and the cage door swung open easily.
"Huh? Oh my! What did you just do? How did you manage that? You're a magician, aren't you?"
The boy was taken aback by the fairy's flurry of questions.
"Well… I just lifted the latch...."
"Just like that! It's over! I'm free now! I'll kill them all!"
Whoosh— whoosh—
The fairy, now free from her cage, swung her tiny fists in the air in celebration.
"Oh, but this isn't the time for that. First off, thank you. My name is Chichi. I'm a noble fairy queen. Well, not yet, but it's no secret that I will be soon!"
Chichi, who spoke in an animated manner, fluttered her wings as she inspected the boy's body.
As she moved her wings with an unusually quick tempo, focusing solely on the boy's wounds, a shower of sparkling lights cascaded from them.
"Wow! That's incredible! The wound is healing!"
"Of course! This is the healing magic powder of the great fairy queen!"
Chichi, having inspected all the wounds, puffed out her chest in pride.
"Now, boy, you have been aided by me, and now it's time to return the favor!"
"You want me to repay the favor? Well, thank you for the treatment, but I was the one who freed you first...."
"What? Are you just going to walk away after receiving my help? Is that so? There are people like you in this world. You shouldn't live your life like that. Mark my words!"
Unable to contend with Chichi's incessant chatter, the boy finally conceded.
"Yes, yes! I should repay the favor. Of course! By the way, my name is Jis."
"That's more like it. Now we can communicate properly. Now, Jis! See that cage as big as you over there?"
Following Chichi's pointed finger, Jis saw an iron-barred cage in one corner.
The cage, like the one Chichi had been trapped in, had no special locks, just a simple latch.
"You can do it. Indeed, it must be this fairy queen's intuition."
"Oh, yes. I'll give it a try."
Leaving a confidently staring Chichi behind, Jis approached the cage.
"Please, don't let there be another zombie animal in there."
After his encounter with the zombie-like wolf, Jis couldn't shake the fear of more zombies lurking in the dark.
Crackle——
Again, there was a stronger resistance than before in this cage. Yet, when Jis exerted a bit more strength, the resistance vanished and the iron-barred door swung open.
Click!
It was a tense moment. What would appear this time?
Suddenly!
As expected, something emerged again!
But this time, instead of a zombie monster, a five-year-old child ran out and embraced him tightly.
"Huh? You're just a little kid, aren't you?"
"Yes, this is Longlong. This boy was here before I arrived. Perhaps it's because he's still young, but he doesn't speak very well."
The child, having clung to Jis for a while, lifted his head and mumbled softly.
"Long-long...."
Though he was young, his eyes were sharp, and his thick eyebrows were striking.
When the boy smiled in gratitude, his high cheekbones became prominent. His small nose and thin lips added to it, making Jis naturally feel a desire to help the child.
"Wow, look at his eyes! His clothes may resemble those of a beggar, but his eyes are incredibly clear and deep!"
Seeing the child's bright eyes and ragged, torn clothes, a pang of sympathy pierced Jis' heart.
"It's all right, Longlong. We'll get out of here together!"
He had no concrete plan for escape, but seeing the little boy stirred a fierce protective instinct within him.
"But are you good at fighting? You seem adept with your hands, do you know any other spells you could utilize?"
"Well... when I came to, I was adrift at sea. I think I was doing something before that, but I can't recall."
"Phew~ Looks like I've got to take these two blockheads along...."
Chichi, shoulders sagging in apparent disappointment, suddenly perked up, clenching her tiny fist and making a bold declaration.
"All right! I've made up my mind! From this day forth, you'll be my underlings. Muahaha~!"
And just like that, Jis found himself in the surprising position of being a subordinate to a pint-sized fairy.
"Excuse me?"