Unnoticed, evening descended, and the warehouse was veiled in darkness.
As Chichi flapped his wings, a swarm of pellet-shaped fireflies illuminated the space.
"Wow, who needs candles when we have you, Chichi!"
"Well, I'm always the best. That's a given, right?"
Chichi grinned as the boy expressed surprise with an approving thumbs-up.
"Alright, let's escape this pirate ship! I've decided!"
"Yes, we must escape! But how?"
"Well, there's not much you can do without me. Just hold tight for a moment."
Once he finished speaking, Chichi fluttered towards a door situated near the warehouse ceiling.
"Jis, do you see that long stick over there? Use it to pry open the ceiling door a bit."
Quickly, the boy picked up a stick from the floor and pried open the warehouse door slightly.
Squeak—
The ceiling door, which seemed to be concealing the lower deck, opened a smidge, and Chichi darted through the gap.
murmur—
The sea-elephant-like roars of sailors having dinner echoed from the deck above the warehouse.
"Hold on, Longlong. Chichi is small and can disappear suddenly, so he won't get caught."
Jis offered these reassuring words to an anxious Longlong, though he suspected he might be trying to comfort himself as well.
"Yes, everything will be fine...."
Perhaps an hour had passed?
A whisper came from the ceiling door of the warehouse.
"Hey, open the door!"
Jis quickly lifted the ceiling door once again, and Chichi practically plummeted down.
Thud— Rattle!
Surprised and hurried, Jis lost his grip on the stick, trying to catch Chichi. The ceiling door fell shut with a rattle.
"...."
Fearful of being discovered, Chichi froze in the boy's hand, his eyes filled with anxiety.
However, Chichi grumbled nonchalantly as the noise of the closing door was drowned out by the pirates' hums.
"Whew~ I thought I was done for, snooping around. Most of them are dullards, but the captain and the witch are pretty sharp."
Wiping sweat from her forehead as if she'd narrowly avoided disaster, Chichi advised.
"Change into the pirates' clothes. Their outfits are pretty much the same. If you wear something similar in the dark, you're less likely to get caught."
Like a disciplined soldier, the boy obeyed the command and began rummaging through the warehouse for suitable clothing.
Luckily, they found clothes in the warehouse that were the right size for both Jis and Longlong.
Perhaps Captain Hobbit had prepared extra outfits.
They dressed in shirts and vests designed for easy movement, pants with ample pockets, and cloth belts.
Longlong's clothes were a bit oversized, but a few folds on the sleeves and pants resolved the issue.
Lastly, they donned round hats to better conceal their faces in the dark.
"Hee-hee~ Longlong~"
Upon changing into clean new clothes, Longlong pranced around the warehouse, joyfully calling out his own name.
Unfazed by Longlong's antics, Chichi continued with the instructions.
"The clouds are moving quickly. See that feather-shaped cloud over there?"
"Feather clouds? We're in a warehouse with no windows...…."
"Oh, right. He-he~ When I was outside earlier, I noticed feather clouds and the waves were steadily growing."
"Come to think of it, the boat has been rocking more than usual!"
"That's right! I don't think the pirates have noticed yet, but a storm's coming tonight. We'll escape in a lifeboat amidst their confusion!"
"Chichi, but wouldn't a sea storm be extremely dangerous?"
"We don't have a choice. Being stuck here and becoming a guinea pig for the West Sea Witch is a far worse fate."
At the end of her speech, Chichi, imagining herself as an experimental subject, wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered.
"Once the pirates are asleep, we'll make our move. Rest until then!"
In response to Chichi's instructions, everyone chose to settle down and rest on the floor for a while.
* * *
As the night deepened, the lower deck above the warehouse grew quiet, suggesting the pirates had retired for the night.
Flick!
"Ouch!"
"Quiet, you oaf! What if you fall asleep too?"
"Huh? Is it already morning?"
Jis rubbed his forehead with one hand, uttering these words.
Chichi crossed her arms, giving Jis, still half-asleep and rubbing his eyes, a pitying look.
"What morning! Our plan was to escape while everyone was asleep!"
"Oh, right, right… We must escape!"
Jis jolted awake, as if he suddenly remembered.
Chichi sighed at the sight.
"But Chichi. You can fly up there, but how are we supposed to climb?"
"Well, I have a plan!"
Chichi, visibly irritated, turned to Longlong and commanded,
"Longlong, jump!"
With a nod, Longlong leaped up towards the ceiling door of the warehouse.
"Good heavens! Longlong stuck to the ceiling!"
Despite his small stature, he exhibited a formidable jumping ability, akin to that of a superhuman.
Creaking—
Longlong, now attached to the ceiling, carefully cracked open the door to avoid waking the pirates.
Chichi swiftly flew through the gap, and Longlong stealthily climbed up to the lower deck.
Shortly after, at Chichi's instruction, a ladder was lowered into the warehouse door.
"What are you doing, you dolt! Hurry up and climb."
"Alright, I'm coming. You all are impressively skilled...."
The warehouse door, located at the bottom of the lower deck, opened to a dark passageway within the ship.
The torches scattered haphazardly on the rough timber floor were unlit, intensifying the darkness.
They could see pirates, sleeping in hammocks strung along the lengthy corridor.
Snore~ phew~
Perhaps due to their laborious work at sea, the pirates snored loudly.
Jis and Longlong moved with the rhythm of the snoring, allowing their footfalls to blend into the sound.
Creaking— creaking—
Without significant hindrance, they quietly navigated towards the central staircase, aiming to ascend to the upper deck.
Thud—!
Suddenly, Jis heard a dull thump from behind.
"...."
Startled, the boy carefully looked back.
Fortunately, the noise was just a pirate's hand, previously hanging from the hammock, dropping onto Longlong's head.
It seemed that Longlong, still a child, had been poking around out of curiosity, inspecting the pirates' antiques and weapons nearby.
"Phew~ Longlong, you're okay. Quietly… slowly come this way."
At Jis's gesture, Longlong carefully tiptoed step by step.
Thus, they safely made their way to the upper deck.
As they emerged onto the upper deck, they felt the ship rocking more intensely than when they were on the lower deck.
The wind seemed to be picking up as well.
"Chichi, what's our next move?"
"First, we need to get to the captain's quarters at the front of the ship. We have to find a map and a compass."
Though Jis was uneasy about their need for a swift escape, he decided to follow Chichi's guidance.
They crept cat-like towards the forecastle, which was accessible directly from the upper deck.
Suddenly, they heard voices from behind.
"Captain Ozma, come here."
"Well, witch. You seem quite inebriated."
"Oh, my! How dare you! I am not drunk!"
Fortunately, the sounds came from the stern cabins.
Despite the late hour, the captain and the witch were in a room, sharing wine and conversation.
"Whew, that startled me!"
Chichi patted her chest, visibly relieved, while Jis strained his ears in the direction of the voices.
"Anyway, boys... Tsk tsk... Hurry up, will you!"
Upon seeing them, Chichi clucked her tongue, urging them forward in an exasperated tone.
In response, Jis gave an awkward smile and scratched the back of his head.
Before long, as the voices of the West Sea Witch and Captain Ozma faded away, Jis and his companions arrived at the captain's quarters.
Click—
The captain's door seemed to be locked, but surprisingly, it opened naturally as Jis turned the handle.
Peering through the thick, heavy curtains that hung at the entrance, he took in the various furnishings and artifacts within the captain's room.
"Jis! Grab the map and compass from that large desk."
On the desk, an open ink bottle and a quill stained black suggested that someone had been writing not long before.
Next to these was a cloak billowing like a boat's sail.
"Huh? That's my cloak."
"Hey, this isn't the time to be stealing extra things."
"But it's the cloak I was originally wearing."
Chichi interjected from her perch on a large, fluffy mattress in a corner of the captain's room.
"Anyway, boys... let's quickly pack and get going."
Jis, who had hurriedly donned the cloak and began moving again, exclaimed in surprise.
"Wow! Chichi, I feel incredibly light! I seem to fall very slowly when I run and jump!"
"Long long~"
Longlong also clung to Jis's legs, seeming fascinated.
"You guys sure are excited," Chichi observed, shaking her head.
Rumbling— boom boom!
Suddenly, thunder echoed in the distance.
Startled, Jis glanced out of the small cabin window. The sea was churning with violent waves.
"I think a storm's coming. The pirates will be on deck soon, we need to leave this place," Chichi advised. "Grab that map!"
Jis, who was about to turn around in haste, listened to Chichi and grabbed the map and a compass.
He then flung open the door to the captain's room.
".... Uh... they're all on deck now...."
As soon as he exited the captain's room, he came face to face with pirates bustling around on the deck.
"See, I told you we should have just offed him. I'm exhausted. I'm off to bed, Captain Ozma, you deal with it," grumbled the Western Sea Witch, irritated by the clap of thunder. She turned to retreat into her quarters.
"I understand, witch. It's going to be quite the storm. Make sure to close your window," Captain Ozma calmly replied, watching the witch until she was out of sight before he turned his attention elsewhere.
"A storm's about to hit. You should stop venturing into the sea now."
"What?"
Flash—
Amid the flash of lightning, a nearby sailor shaped like a sea elephant raised his hand axe high.
Rumbling— bang bang!
"Well, I'm off!"
As the thunder rolled again, Chichi vanished first.
Swoosh—
Shortly after, as the pirate's hand axe came down, Longlong darted away like a squirrel.
Crack—
The blade of the axe lodged into the deck between Jis's legs, who had stumbled backwards.
Then a splinter from the deck flew up and struck the boy on the cheek.
"Huh? Haven't I experienced something like this before?"
Jis found himself momentarily lost in thought, forgetting that he was in the middle of falling backwards.
However, his body didn't hit the deck but instead glided backwards. Jis's wind cloak had started to function.
The boy, snapping back to reality, flipped himself over and landed lightly on the deck.
"Oh! Am I a special individual now?"
At that moment, a sailor resembling a walrus standing nearby suddenly grabbed Jis by the scruff of his neck.
"Uh… I wasn't trying to escape… hee-hee...."
The boy looked at him with pleading eyes, but once again a hand axe was hurtling toward his face.