My door was pounded from outside; Kuti was looking for me and invited me to go out for some fresh air. I left Atmaja, who was trying to sleep and rest. "Are you sure you don't want to come outside?"
"N-no. I get seasick," replied Atmaja. "You go ahead. I'll catch up if I feel better."
"Alright," Kuti said. Romanova was waiting for us outside my and Atmaja's room. The three of us headed to the upper deck to enjoy the view of the blue ocean. The sailors were working, ensuring the ship was in good condition.
After spending some time enjoying the scenery, the sun grew hotter, so we headed to the ship's kitchen. The resting sailors were surprised to see us and seemed happy to see me and Kuti.
"Ah! Come here, holy ones, have a seat. Are you opening a confessional?" shouted one sailor.
I was slightly taken aback when my phone vibrated. How could it be? I'm in the middle of the ocean. How could 999 contact me? I opened my phone and saw a message from 999.
"I forgot to tell you that as envoys of the deity, you are like priests in your real world. You can decide to forgive their sins by recording their confessions and sending them to me."
What now? Are we priests too? My phone vibrated again.
"Oh yes. Faore Island used to be under Deity 111, who disappeared. If you can convince the people of Faore to worship me, I'll grant you and Kuti more powers."
Alright then. Kuti and I sat among the sailors who were eating. The dining table was oval-shaped, surrounded by chairs. "What sins do you want to confess?"
The sailors took turns sharing their confessions in an orderly manner. Most of them had only stolen, gotten too drunk, or lied to their captain. My afternoon was spent listening to them confess their sins.
To my surprise, 999 forgave all their sins. The God of Death could do that too? After yesterday's outburst at the Sacred Tree. The sailors returned to work, and only then did Kuti, Romanova, and I have lunch.
Atmaja appeared, looking very pale and tired. He sat down in front of us and asked for water, warm porridge, and an orange. "A-are you feeling better?"
"No," Atmaja replied. "Ah, I still feel dizzy."
The sound of a trumpet blared from outside. I immediately went out and saw the sailors preparing their weapons. Captain Fandlan shouted orders to avoid the first attack.
A cannon fired into the fog on the east side of the ship. Kuti, Romanova, and Atmaja followed to see what was happening. The cannonball exploded in the fog, revealing the silhouette of a giant snake within.
"Increase speed! We need to avoid it!" Fandlan shouted. "Otherwise, it could drag us into the Abyss!"
"Ah! We've fought that creature before," Kuti whispered to me. "It's just an illusion, right? If we get close, it's only the size of a human. It drops fish scales that can strengthen your shield."
"But we don't have the ability to walk on w-water," I whispered back.
Kuti took her bow and fired flaming arrows into the fog. The creature approached, shocking the crew. I prepared myself with just my dagger and shield.
To my surprise and Kuti's, the creature was three times the size of a human. "Kuti! Wh-what are you doing!"
I jumped onto the sea serpent's head and stabbed its eye with my dagger. Kuti shot the other eye with her arrow, causing the serpent's head to fall onto the deck. Romanova and Atmaja attacked it, though Atmaja's seasickness caused him to miss a few times. The crew helped us with swords and arrows.
Once its eyes healed, the serpent dived back into the sea, splashing water onto the deck. I grabbed Kuti's hand, who then held onto Romanova and Atmaja to avoid being swept away by the water. The serpent spewed sharp ice spikes. I ran with my shield to deflect all the attacks.
Of course, to prevent the ship from sinking. My shield felt cold from absorbing the ice attacks. I returned the energy of the attacks, causing the serpent to freeze. Kuti fired an arrow infused with lightning magic, making the serpent's head fall onto the deck again.
"Now, attack it again!" I ordered, trying to sever the serpent's head.
The serpent shed some scales before fleeing. From my observation, it had very little health left but managed to escape. A mini-boss? This isn't like in the game world.
Among the ice spikes it spewed were some gold jewelry. The sailors scrambled to collect them, but Kuti and I focused on collecting the materials dropped by the sea serpent. Captain Fandlan arrived and controlled his crew. He distributed the gold jewelry from the frozen ice spikes equally among his crew.
Romanova chose not to take anything, while Atmaja only took a gold bracelet for his lover.
"Okay. Now, who came up with the idea to fight that sea serpent!?" Fandlan asked.
"It was us," I replied.
"Thank you! Finally, we know that sea serpent had treasure! Next time we sail, we'll reinforce the ship's weapons and defeat it," Fandlan said proudly. He glanced at his crew admiring their loot. "Now, get back to work and check for any damage!"
"Don't forget to assign the night watch!" Fandlan said, organizing his crew. "To the deity's envoys and their friends, you may rest. By tomorrow morning, we should see Faore Island."
The four of us walked together to our rooms, but Kuti held my hand and didn't let me enter my room with Atmaja. "I... Will you sleep with me? I feel more at ease when you're by my side."
I nodded and entered Kuti and Romanova's room. Romanova's bed was on top, while Kuti's was below. Kuti glanced at Romanova, "Sorry, Nova. I can't sleep without him."
"N-no problem! You two are adults," Romanova replied, climbing onto her bed.
Kuti happily pulled me into her bed. She hugged me tightly, yawned, and fell asleep peacefully. But I felt something wrong with myself. I was extremely thirsty. I tried to hold back this thirst until morning.