[ Volume One: Moonlight Mysteries ].
Chapter 1: It's been a long time, you bastards (1).
ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ
Drip~, drip~, drip ~!.
The remaining raindrops fell, making a soft sound as they hit the wooden floor .
Lines of sunlight appeared between the folds of the veil covering the clearing sky .
The dark, overcast sky, little by little, began to light up with the color of the morning sun .
The raging waves in the dark of night began to slacken and slow down in their brutal pace .
As if the catastrophic storm hours before had been just a mirage, the morning sun shone with a peaceful atmosphere .
The gentle breeze of wind gently blew on the bow of the ship floating in the sea .
It was such a beautiful atmosphere that made you want to enjoy the tranquility of the sunrise .
However, none of the passengers dared to enter the deck of the huge ship .
It was an unusual sight to see a ship of such size and grandeur empty on the deck .
It looked deserted to the viewer .
Swoosh ~.
The wind moved as if it were the only wanderer there .
Of course, everything in life had an exception .
As if to break the silence of human voices, a boy hummed peacefully as he sat at the bow of the ship .
Observe the surroundings as if enjoying the scenery .
The waves gently lapped the lower deck .
The gentle breeze could be heard, it sounded like a lullaby in the morning .
The crimson sunlight touched his skin gently .
He would normally want to sleep in such an atmosphere .
Of course, it was just an idea, he wasn't going to implement it since he was getting closer to his destination .
Not far away on the horizon, a vague view of an island can be seen .
The morning light, which had risen in all its glory, illuminated the sea and the world.
The shape of the island appeared, though not clearly .
But as we got closer, her appearance became clearer .
After being lost in his thoughts for a while, the boy felt a presence approaching from behind him .
He decided to ignore it and focused his thoughts on the island that was looming on the horizon .
Of course, things don't always go your way .
" ... excuse me "
He heard a gentle female voice calling him, her voice was strangely calm .
The boy felt that he did not fit in with a traveler who was possessed by panic and anxiety, although he somewhat ignored his surroundings, but he was aware of the current mentality of travelers .
After the catastrophic storm that had just passed, which had almost taken their lives, in the early morning, it was almost impossible for them to regain their composure quickly .
Under normal circumstances, such a rule would apply only to ordinary people accustomed to a peaceful life .
" ... Welcome ? "
He returned the greeting while turning his gaze towards the unexpected visitor .
She was a very beautiful girl .
He could only describe her with those words, any superfluous description was useless .
Too much description would have been considered an insult to how beautiful she was .
Beauty always lies in simplicity, and that girl was beautiful enough to compare with the nymphs on the mainland .
A young man might consider her the most beautiful person he has ever met in his life .
Long silvery white hair that shines in the sunlight .
She had enchantingly shiny eyelashes, not to mention her pure white skin .
But the most striking feature is the eyes .
The boy had done his fair share of traveling the world, so he had seen quite a few people .
Whether they were ordinary people or exceptional, each one of them had something that made them stand out from the others .
He even met the strange-looking half-humans in the north of the continent .
Stories of human-monster mating were not uncommon, but of course they were not very common either .
You may live your whole life and never meet someone, or you may live until you see them .
It depends on your luck in life .
This girl doesn't look like she's half-human, though they're not common, half-humans have distinct features that accentuate their appearance .
Whether it's the long ears, the tail, or even the sharp eyes and fangs that are slightly visible in the mouth .
They were a people who lived between the edge of human and beast identity .
Anyway, this is the first time he's met someone with mixed-colored eyes .
Yes, her eyes had a unique feature that made her stand out in the environment .
Her eyes are mixed color .
The violet and blue colors intertwined in her eyes as if forming a unique field .
The colors overlap and mix, yet remain independent of each other .
Every time she closes and opens her eyes, they shine like sparkling stones .
There was a strange coldness in those eyes, in contrast to the warm smile of the young girl .
It was only a moment before the boy organized his inner thoughts .
" My young lady, how may I help you ?"
The boy responded to the young woman standing in front of him with a welcoming smile in return and did not show his confusion .
This is not the time to deeply analyze someone you just met .
Maybe everything he thought about was just nonsense, or maybe it wasn't .
It was just a habit he had acquired over the years .
" It is good to see you, young sir. If you will excuse me, may I accompany you for the rest of the journey ?"
The girl was inwardly surprised by his response, yet outwardly she looked as if she were starting a routine conversation with a friend .
' Rebecca? Hehehe what nonsense,' the boy snorted inwardly but said nothing .
He looked like he was thinking about whether to agree or not .
"... Sure, no harm in chatting a little since we're almost there ."
As if that was all he had to say, he made a silent gesture to urge her to talk .
"... this storm was really unexpected, I was afraid of losing my little life "
" Oh? Me too, I was constantly shaking, I thought my journey would end here ."
Despite what they said, their faces did not lose their fake smile.
Anyone who saw them would think that they had not survived a disaster, but were on a relaxing vacation .
The people stuck downstairs are slowly starting to come out, it won't be long before the place is full .
" They seem to have made sure the place is safe ."
The boy said as he stared at the crowd .
There were those who laughed to ease their fears, and there were those who cried in the arms of their friends or family .
There are also what appear to be guards and servants for some of the young men and women .
" I think we can relax now ."
The girl gently put her hand over her mouth and laughed softly .
Those who remained alone were extremely rare, which was natural, as the destination the ship was heading to was an environment that one only enters once in a lifetime .
The surrounding environment is heavily populated with young people, their families, guards and servants .
Not to mention trying to leave them alone, the parents of these children couldn't guarantee their safety, so they naturally went with them .
There were those who were grateful that they had come to reassure their children, and there were also those who were completely the opposite .
After watching silently for a while, the young boy turned his gaze back to the young lady .
" Oh, where are my manners? I forgot to ask the young master his name. Would you be so kind as to tell this little one his name ?"
" I was so terrified that I forgot about it. May I offer myself as an apology, young lady ?"
He bowed politely while showing an apologetic smile .
He looked genuinely sorry, but for some reason, his manner was provocative .
The young girl's lips trembled slightly and for some reason she felt uneasy .
"... Help yourself "
" This inexperienced boy's name is Leon, Leon Evenius, would you please address the young man by your name, young lady ?"
'... but I'm sure I said my name before ?'
Slight veins appeared on her forehead from the silly question, but she hid her annoyance with a gentle smile .
" This little one is Lilith, Lilith Kronos, nice to meet you, young master Leon ."
The conversation was dry and boring, whether it was their initiation or their responses, they came immediately, as if they were programmed puppets .
The conversation took a somewhat comical turn, and an unspoken competition began to see who could speak in the most boring and polite manner .
' My suspicions were confirmed...' As the friendly and casual conversation continued, the two thought silently .
' This guy won't give up !'
" Um, young master Leon, I think we're doing something stupid, don't you think ?"
' Will he take the bait?' She looked at Leon with a furtive glance as she smiled .
" You are right, my young lady Lilith ."
The two smiled bitterly at each other, before bursting into laughter .
For the young girl Lilith, normally she probably wouldn't display such behavior in public and wouldn't even start this conversation with Leon .
But in the midst of such an impending catastrophe, although she kept her composure well, the shadows of fear of death crept into her heart and she began to panic .
In the midst of trying to calm herself down, after the violent and brutal storm had ended, she went out at dawn when the environment was a bit dark .
But she was surprised to see someone who had the idea before her, and unlike her, that person seemed comfortable and had a peaceful atmosphere .
His appearance from that distance was a bit unclear .
She ignored him and thought about the storm, she was feeling scared, this incident reminded her of how insignificant and unimportant she was compared to nature, it was just one storm, but she felt like she would die at any moment .
- ※ ※ ※
ـــــ
It was indeed an achievement to maintain her sanity in such a situation, yet deep down she wanted to complain and scream like the others to relieve her fear .
She wanted to cry without shame, she wanted someone to comfort her, she wanted someone to lean on and tell her that everything was okay .
But unfortunately, the only answer she received was the cold wind that hit her body .
Despite her fears, she did not lose her sanity. There had to be someone to calm the passengers, and she took it upon herself. The benefits of that were many .
Whether to get close to prestigious families, to enhance their image in front of others, or even to make them indebted to them, many interests can be enumerated in the matter .
Lilith was not a saint of goodness, and she did not care to help others without reason, but playing that role from time to time brought her benefits .
Even with such a reason as justification for her actions, she was still exhausted from it, no matter how strong she was, she was just a young girl coming into her life, let alone it involving her life or death, she hid it from people, but she was nervous .
I tried to lead the passengers to gather in one area and lock themselves in the safest place on the ship .
Fortunately, the ship was large enough to be called a steamer, which was a useful feature. If Lilith had been on a medium-sized ship or boat, the waves would have washed her away long ago .
No matter how much magical energy you have or how strong it is, in front of the power of nature, a mere storm or natural disaster is enough to crush it hundreds of times .
There was some opposition to her orders, but it was quickly suppressed after her identity was revealed .
There are even a few people who kept their cool even in the midst of that disaster .
These people, led by Lilith, organized the passengers and had them bring all their belongings and luggage to the banquet hall, since it was the largest, they gathered in it .
Her idea was that all the weight of the ship should be concentrated in one place to reduce the possibility of drift, even a little. Fortunately, the stateroom was in the middle of the huge ship .
She also ordered the crew to lower the sails and focus on rowing by hand with the current .
The work was hard and some said they might go off course, but she just shook her head at such thoughts .
There was no point in thinking like that, if they died, all their worries would disappear, but their hopes and dreams would go with them too .
As long as they were alive, they could worry about their loss and their destination as much as they wanted .
There was to be a deck crew to sweep rainwater and waves away from the ship, and all the windows were to be closed to prevent water from seeping in .
The repair crew was ordered to look for any cracks or fissures and repair them immediately, while the medical crew was to look for any injured or those suffering from problems with the sea and treat them immediately .
After saying all that needed to be said, she promised that anyone who did their job well would be generously rewarded by her family .
Of course, she wasn't the only one, the nobles united and promised to reward whoever worked to save them, of course, that was after her instigation and under her leadership .
All this is so that no internal disturbances or conflicts would spread. If that happened, no brilliant plan would save them .
The greatest source of pain always comes from within .
After explaining everything to the passengers, no one hesitated to implement it faithfully and everyone showered her with praise .
She was a truly wise leader .
There was also another aspect of her simple plan that she had not told anyone about, which was that keeping the passengers busy with something would make them forget their initial fear and panic .
Of course, that included her too .
There must be hope for survival, and their preoccupation with trying to survive is their hope .
As long as there is a goal, there is a way ...!.
At least, they wanted to believe it, any way, even a little bit higher, they wanted to do whatever it took to survive .
With such thoughts, Lilith directed the people, each one towards their own task. Little by little, the previously huge and noisy hall began to grow quiet .
Lilith had ordered her guards and servants to go and help, some of them wanted to stay but she refused them saying she needed some rest .
The number of people had dwindled and there were only two left, and of course, one of them was Lilith, the other was a young boy in the prime of her life, just by the looks of it, he seemed to be the same age as her .
That boy had no initiative, whether to help others or lead them, he did nothing, he remained quiet and did not make a sound .
No, actually, he couldn't make any sound .
A sleeping person usually doesn't speak .
And at such a moment, believing that anyone in such a disaster would not hesitate and would do anything to survive, she did not consider that someone would sleep .
It wasn't just her thoughts, anyone in that situation would have tried to survive, it was just common sense .
But it seems that this young boy does not have that common sense. He was sleeping peacefully, ignoring the chaos and the violent and disastrous storm .
Normally, Lilith wouldn't even spare a glance to see such an interesting thing, but after doing everything she could, there was nothing left to occupy her mind with, so she subconsciously stared at the sleeping person .
For some reason I felt calm and at ease after staring at the boy, his sleeping form undisturbed by the world was full of tranquility .
Sleeping alone without company, breathing gently with a reassuring expression .
Instead of looking like someone who doesn't realize his predicament, he looked like he was confident that nothing would happen .
Unlike everyone else, he didn't desperately try to survive or run, he just made a simple gesture .
Sleep peacefully away from the noise of the outside environment .
Unconnected to the world, as if he lives in his own world, full of peace and tranquility .
The current disaster was none of his business, whatever happened, it happened already .
This boy was ripe for such an atmosphere, she felt it honestly .
Whether it's because she's stressed, or because she feels lonely in the environment around her, or maybe because she's just tired .
For whatever reason, she unconsciously dragged her feet closer to the boy .
Humans were social creatures by nature, and the fear of being alone was innate to them .
While she gave herself such an excuse, she sat in the chair opposite the sleeping young boy's chair .
The table where the boy was sleeping had four chairs. In the silent environment, Lilith looked calmly at the boy who was breathing peacefully .
If someone tried to kill him, would he stay like this or would he respond ?
She silently thought of something random, even she knew how foolish her thinking was .
However, Lilith never expected that something like this would happen to her .
She, Lilith Kronos, never thought she would be soothed by a gesture from another person in her entire life .
There may have been many contributing factors, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a major reason for her calmness .
Perhaps this unaware boy did something no one had ever done before .
Despite her inner thoughts starting to delve into narcissism, she was slowly losing her physical strength .
Her consciousness began to gradually drift towards drowsiness .
A slight, if unconscious, smile began to appear on her face .
She muttered something in a low voice that piqued her curiosity .
"... How can you even remain unfazed by what's happening ?"
Her last words flowed slowly before she fell into a deep sleep .
"... I...really envy you ."
She still has a mountain of work to do, she will have to comfort and calm her subjects .
She will have to build common relationships with the prestigious families here .
Not to mention a chance to rest, it might take her a few days without rest .
Whether it is writing reports, developing business plans to open commercial income channels .
She even has to open a spy network and expand her information even more .
Just this once, just this once, like this boy, you can sleep in peace .
She won't think of anything, just let us sleep peacefully, she deserves that at least, right ?
A violent storm and huge waves, people screaming for survival, it seemed like a fairy tale, but it was a harsh reality for those who lived it .
The situation is noisy to say the least .
But amidst all the noise and the lively cries of people, deep in the ship being towed by the waves, there was a quiet hall .
The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the waves and the lightning that roared in the sky every now and then .
Unlike every other place on the ship, and perhaps in the entire stormy ocean, this place may be the most peaceful .
In this peaceful environment, a boy and a girl slept facing each other with expressions of calm and relief on their faces .