Corridor Riot

“No, what on earth is going on? Why did the cargo hold suddenly blow up!?”

“You still have time to ask? Go fetch two more buckets of water!”

In the ship’s corridor, Siren crew members were rushing back and forth, desperately transporting water to put out the fire.

“Who left this trident in the middle of the road! Move it!”

“Don’t f*ckin’ come here just to get in the way, put your things away before joining!”

The explosion was too sudden. Many Sirens didn’t even have time to store their weapons before being rushed inside to fight the fire.

This left the entire corridor in a mess, with weapons and armor strewn all over the floor.

“Stop throwing things! The whole path is blocked!”

To keep the way clear, a few crew members had to be assigned just to clear obstacles.

But how much discipline could a band of pirates have? Even with loud shouting, the situation showed no signs of improvement.

“Stop yelling, it’s useless.”

Looking at his angry companion, one Siren gave up resistance and spoke helplessly while picking up a trident.

“Isn’t this just adding to our trouble? Are we supposed to just leave it?”

Speaking indignantly, the Siren working to clear the road shook with anger.

“Just say less. After such a huge disaster, who knows what will happen to us later…”

“That’s exactly why I have to say it! Everything was fine before our shift. It’s all because those guards were negligent that this happened!”

His companion’s words hit close to home, causing the Siren’s emotions to explode instantly.

However, although he spoke sharply, his companion beside him gave no reaction at all.

The Siren stopped mid-sentence and turned toward his companion with a dissatisfied expression.

“What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

The companion was currently leaning sideways, staring toward a corner in the distant corridor with a serious expression.

“I say, did someone just run past there?”

“…You’re being paranoid.”

The Siren looked in the direction his companion was pointing, but in his foul mood, he had no patience for careful observation. He gave a casual glance and spoke dismissively.

“What’s there to see? Everyone is busy fighting the fire right now. What’s so strange about a few people running past in a hurry? By the way, if you have time to daze off, hurry up and help me.”

“…”

‘But just now, did I hear footsteps?’

He muttered in his heart, but thinking that the most important task was clearing the corridor, the Siren could only temporarily set aside his doubts and return to work.

Huff… hah!

Right in the shadows of that corner, a low-voiced panting sound could be heard.

Twitching her furry ears, the s*ave girl—dressed in s*ave rags and covered in filth—was tensely capturing the subtle sounds in the air.

She was analyzing her surroundings.

‘Good, it should be safe now.’

Despite the distance, upon hearing the sounds of the Sirens moving objects, the girl immediately rose.

She secured me firmly on her back and once again turned into a silent gale.

Yes, at this moment, the girl and I were still weaving through the ship’s cabins, exhausted from avoiding the Sirens’ eyes.

From the start of the escape until now, I had been secretly feeling fortunate.

Fortunate for the bond I formed with her, and fortunate that I had saved her.

The Nako tribe truly were natural hunters.

I never imagined that she, who usually seemed so clumsy, would show such outstanding performance in this moment of crisis.

Listening in all directions, she could judge the situation of the path based only on subtle sounds.

With incredible strength, she carried me and the suitcase on her back while maintaining speed.

She even managed to move almost silently.

I had heard her talk about their hunting before; it seemed the words were true.

“Leni-chan, this way?”

Lowering her voice, the girl looked at me to confirm the direction.

“Mhm.”

I didn’t say much, only nodding. Her sense of direction was even better than mine.

In fact, to avoid the Sirens, we had largely deviated from our original route.

I was barely managing to draw a rough map in my mind based on our movement to judge our destination’s location.

Yet she had almost no hesitation.

Once her ears caught the Sirens’ movement patterns, she could immediately sense the shortest path forward.

It left me, who was struggling to track our route and only realizing things after the fact, in awe.

Indeed, if she didn’t have such skill, how could she have returned to the cargo hold alone to save me?

“Ugh…”

Now, I was the one dragging her down.

The high fever hadn’t subsided, and new injuries had been added. The pain, like a raging fire over my entire body, was ruthlessly tearing at my consciousness.

My senses were dull and numb, my limbs heavy as lead.

My fragile nerves… it felt like a tiny stimulus would snap them.

My body was in such a state that even though I tried my best to endure, a pained whimper escaped through my teeth.

“Leni-chan, are you okay?”

The girl slowed her pace and whispered an inquiry, not forgetting to listen to the surroundings to ensure our safety.

I could hear the anxiety in her voice, yet she tried her best to stay steady.

“Keep going.”

Enduring my physical weakness, I forced out those few words.

Though I said it, I knew in my heart I was just putting on a brave front.

“But…”

She wanted to say more, but I slightly tightened my hold on her, interrupting her.

Now was not the time to worry about me; every second was full of danger.

The girl understood this well, so despite the light shimmering in her eyes, she pursed her lips and continued to move stealthily with me on her back.

Somehow, I saw all of this clearly.

In fact, along this way, her trembling arms, her tensed shoulders, and even her carefully controlled breathing… were all deeply seared into my mind.

Though my frail body was light, the suitcase and toolbox full of various tools and clothes behind her were not only heavy but also easily made noise from collisions.

In fact, even if she had asked me to abandon some luggage, I would have found it reasonable.

Even if I was loath to part with them, what was more important than staying alive?

But she never complained.

Not only that, she gritted her teeth and used all her strength to stabilize me and my luggage, sprinting silently.

Not for herself, but for me.

‘Why…’

‘I’m clearly just using you, so why… can you do so much for me…’

Somehow, while keeping my head low, my eyes shimmered, and I felt a lump in my throat.

No, that’s not right.

This isn’t like me.

‘What’s wrong with me? Why do I… care so much about you?’

The more I questioned myself, the more deeply the girl’s sacrifices for me surfaced.

I felt something in my chest stir slightly; a strange thought quietly spread through my mind.

The girl, unaware of my thoughts, remained fully focused on every stray sound in the corridor.

She carefully carried me around every corner.

In my blurred state, not knowing how much time had passed, I suddenly heard a call.

“Leni-chan.”

Only then did I realize the destination was right before us.

I slowly opened my heavy eyelids. The corridor before me had somehow become more than twice as wide.

Perhaps because of this, the filth and mess here seemed even more obvious now that the field of vision had opened up.

Piled wine barrels were scattered everywhere, and several oil lamps for lighting had been knocked over.

It was truly a mess.

After a quiet sigh in my heart, my gaze fell upon the end of this corridor.

Standing there was a door several times wider than a normal room door, taking up nearly two-thirds of the narrow passage.

“Are we… there?”

The girl was panting heavily, and her hands supporting my thighs trembled slightly.

“Should be… yes.”

I nodded my heavy head and carefully examined this door and the surroundings.

Out of place with the randomly piled junk and small cages nearby, the thickness of this door was hard to imagine.

It didn’t seem to belong on a pirate ship, but rather looked like it came from a fortress.

The Siren race didn’t have the ability to build large ships.

According to information the Sirens let slip during their idle chatter, this ship was made by the Giant race.

In other words, this was where those Giants stayed.

“Is it… okay to just go over like this?”

Fear was hidden in the girl’s voice.

I could understand. After all, the Sirens were only a head or two taller than a normal person.

In comparison, the Giant race…

I glanced at the corridor, which was even larger than the one near the cargo hold, then swallowed hard.

If we really ran into one, it would be no joke.

“It’s fine.”

To dispel the girl’s worries, I said decisively, “Those Giants are all at the tavern in the harbor right now. No one is here.”

This was what the Sirens on guard had said; judging by their complaining tone, the information should be accurate.

“Okay!”

Receiving my confirmation, a hint of hope appeared in the excited girl’s eyes.

She carried me and sprinted toward the door.

But what was with this path? Oil was flammable.

If there was still high-proof alcohol in those barrels, it would be a disaster.

Reasonably, if someone saw this, they should have cleaned it up, unless they had no time… or…

I thought of the explosion I caused in the cargo hold not long ago; it was enough to make the whole ship shudder.

But why were so many wine barrels piled here?

And they swayed with the ship’s movement; there shouldn’t be much wine left inside.

With these questions, we arrived at the door in a short time.

Perhaps because we had been too cautious along the way, a strong sense of exhaustion hit my brain the moment we reached the door.

For a moment, I could hardly control my eyelids, nearly closing them to fall into a deep sleep.

Setting aside other matters, I finally had time to let my heart settle.

Having reached the maintenance room, although there was still much to do, it was much safer than hiding in the corridors.

Next, as long as I could find that roll of things, everything following would go smoothly—

Clack, clack… clack!

“…?”

At that moment, the strange sound of the girl twisting the door handle made me snap awake.

I forced my eyes open.

“What’s… going on?”

While carrying me, she stood slightly on her tiptoes and reached out to grab the handle above her head.

The girl tried again.

Clack, clack!

The strange sound remained.

At this moment, a heavy fact crashed down before us.

The door was locked.

“Put me down,” I said in a low voice. “I’ll pick it.”

“Is Leni-chan okay?”

The girl was clearly worried about my physical condition, but she didn’t stop me from sliding off her back.

As I landed unsteadily, she quickly supported me from the side to maintain my balance.

“Keep watch.”

Feeling the girl’s tenderness, I suppressed the emotions in my heart and spoke coldly as I quickly took out the tools hidden behind my braid.

My hands were heavy.

My focus was also hard to maintain due to the pain and illness.

My physical condition was even worse than when I was picking the lock in the cargo hold.

‘Damn it, hold it together!’

Cursing my body, I gritted my teeth and stood on my tiptoes.

I forced my hands above my head and inserted the pick into the keyhole, beginning the lock-picking work.

The girl didn’t say much, just quietly guarding me from the side.

Her upright ears shifted directions constantly, listening for any movement in the corridor.

Clack, clack… clack, clack…

Concentrating hard, with sweat dripping from my forehead, I tried to find the right position through the sounds from the keyhole and the feel of the pick.

But for some reason, perhaps due to the Giants’ size, the progress was very slow.

Some structures in the keyhole caused me to hit dead ends repeatedly because of their size.

The maintenance room and the cargo hold were at opposite ends of the ship.

First the riot, then the explosion in the cabin; the Sirens should still be busy with the rescue on the other end.

I comforted myself in my heart, telling myself there was still time.

In times like this, it was even more important not to lose my composure. Lock-picking was something where haste made waste.

But things weren’t going smoothly.

I had managed to use the riot as a distraction, only to run into enemies and have to detonate the cargo hold.

If one of the Sirens was smart enough to notice something was wrong, then right now…

I kept comforting myself just to avoid thinking about that terrible possibility.

‘Not this one either… damn it, which one is correct?’

While I was still having a headache over opening the lock, the girl beside me suddenly shuddered unnaturally.

“Le-Leni-chan…”

Speak of the devil. With her ears pointed in one direction and her tail trembling, the girl whispered in my ear, stating a heavy fact:

“Sirens are coming this way.”

Like a bolt of lightning, my body jerked, and even my lock-picking movements stopped.

“What did you say? That’s im—”

‘That’s impossible…’ I wanted to say that, but the fear in the girl’s voice made me swallow the words.

“It’s… it’s okay, maybe they’re just passing by, don’t worry Leni-chan…”

No, the situation was very bad.

Although the girl spoke to comfort me, I knew the outlook was grim.

Among the Sirens, someone had realized something was wrong with the cargo hold explosion.

If they knew I was the one who did it, then the possibility of me still being hidden on the ship…

Gulp…

At this thought, I swallowed hard. My head, already dizzy from the fever, felt even more swollen, as if struck by a hammer.

‘Damn it! Why design such a big lock! And this broken body—if I weren’t sick and injured, I would have picked it long ago!’

Cursing the lock, cursing my body, cursing everything, I gritted my teeth, wishing I could just use brute force to snap the keyhole in half.

But reality dealt me another cruel blow.

“Leni-chan…” The girl’s voice rang out again, with even more fear than before. “They… they seem to be coming exactly in this direction… only a few corners away.”

“…”

At this moment, my heart felt as if it had been seized by a cold wind, freezing instantly.

I had to accept a likely fact—I couldn’t pick this lock before the Sirens arrived.

Sweat had soaked my clothes at some point. I blinked; the lock above my head seemed even larger than when I first saw it.

The deep, invisible keyhole was like a chasm I couldn’t cross.

To stay alive, I had to do something.

The more panicked I felt, the more chaotic my lock-picking became.

If… if I really couldn’t pick the lock, to survive, I would have to…

Feeling the warmth from the arm supporting me, my frozen heart made a decision almost instantly.

“Like this… it won’t work…”

Was it self-reproach or guilt?

“Time is short, you…”

My lips trembled, my gaze shifted. I just pretended to be seriously continuing to pick the lock, forcing the words out through my teeth.

“Can you help me buy time, by lure—”

“Leni-chan, I’ll go lure them away.”

But before my words could escape, the thought in my heart came out of the girl’s mouth.

“What… did you say?”

I was stunned, for a moment even forgetting the imminent crisis. Even my hands stopped moving.

“Though I might not be able to stall for long, I’ll find a way… I’ll definitely buy enough time for you to pick the lock.”

Her voice was steady, and a kind of determination flickered in her eyes.

Thump, thump!

My heart skipped a beat.

In this instant, my dazed mind finally realized this wasn’t a dream, but reality.

Yes, the girl was willing to sacrifice herself for me.

‘Yeah, how great is that.’

‘You didn’t force her, it’s her own choice, you don’t even have to carry the mental burden.’

The voice in my heart spoke.

So selfish, so… rational.

If I just accepted it, she would surely buy me time. Regardless of whether she survived, at least I could survive this ordeal…

[Run, Rista!]

In an instant, a memory flashed in my mind.

[But Wright, you!]

[It’s okay…]

Those were the words I had said to her when I threw myself away to save my childhood friend’s life during the Hero War.

[You go first, Rista. I’ll meet up with you in a bit.]

“It’s okay, I have confidence in my speed.”

That moment was just like… this moment.

“After I lure them away, I’ll come back here to meet you, Leni-chan. Remember to open the door for me then.”

On her dirt-stained face, the girl forced a smile.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

I could feel her pulling her hand away from supporting me. I could see the fear hidden deep within her determined eyes.

‘Accept it.’

At this moment, the voice in my heart roared.

‘Accept her, accept her kindness! She’s willing to sacrifice for you, you don’t need to feel any guilt! Accept her, use her, abandon her! She’s your tool, she’s just your stepping stone. You still have to live, to take revenge on Rista and that b*stard prince Lester! You must accept!’

“By—”

The inner voice briefly controlled my body. The words to abandon the girl were about to come out.

[So-sorry… Wright… please forgive me!]

Thump, thump!

Rista’s words, spoken without any hesitation, rang in my ears.

I remembered the relief I felt seeing her turn and run, and how I had almost given up my life for her to survive.

Right now, I seemed to feel this emotion for the first time…

So, is this how it feels to use someone’s kindness?

‘No, what are you thinking? If you don’t agree, how are you going to survive!’

Thump, thump!

My heart skipped a beat, ignoring the selfish inner voice.

Anyone with even a shred of empathy could understand how much resolve it took to decide to face death…

Yet you talk about gratitude, then turn around and take someone else’s sacrifice for granted!

When you pushed me off the cliff, this is how you felt, wasn’t it, Rista—!

Rage filled me, yet my heart felt like it was being pierced by a knife.

Fury sweeping through my body and a bone-deep shame—these two emotions exploded within me simultaneously.

“You aren’t allowed to go anywhere!”

The selfish self deep inside was instantly torn to shreds. Before I could react, my body was dominated by these two emotions.

I turned and tightly pressed down on the hand she wanted to pull away. I commanded with a fierce tone:

“Tell me the Sirens’ distance at all times. Wait for me to pick the lock!”

“Le- but there’s not enough time! If we stall any longer!”

“If it’s too late, then carry me and we’ll run together!”

Even though I was sick and injured, a strength came from nowhere as I firmly held her down, preventing her from breaking free. At the same time, I went all out, putting my entire soul into picking the lock.

“Leni-chan, you…”

“Give me the position.”

Ignoring the girl’s voice completely, I questioned with a short but powerful tone.

“No! Leni-chan, you can’t do this! If we stay like this until the Sirens come, both of us will—”

“Is your life not a life too!?”

No one was supposed to die.

I knew that everyone was out for themselves. In this situation, wanting to live by letting someone else die in your place was the most “correct” choice.

But if I had to sacrifice someone else to survive… then what difference was there between me and those scumbags?

I, Wright, am not that shameless!

Lowering my voice, I was practically roaring.

“I won’t let you just die for me so easily! Find every way you can to stay alive!”

I didn’t stop my movements. While scolding the girl, the lock-picking continued simultaneously.

The order just now was left, top, bottom-right… I needed more time to open the lock.

I didn’t know how I was doing it. Despite my physical condition being so poor, I was able to manage two things at once.

The messy structure inside the lock—I could actually analyze and dismantle it while holding the girl back.

“Leni-chan… I…”

The girl was nearly in tears. I didn’t know if she was scared by my words or terrified because the Sirens were already so close.

“The position.”

I didn’t cower, nor did I lose my composure. The lock’s structure, even though it was high above my head, gradually mapped out in my mind.

Now, as long as I could have just a little more time, I could break through this damn lock!

“They… they’ve already passed the second corner and are coming straight toward the last one… Leni-chan, we!”

Her voice was slurred, and her expression was already panicked.

I could understand.

After all, right now, even I could faintly hear the sound of the Sirens flicking their tongues if I held my breath and listened.

‘Damn it, not enough time!’

I stopped my movements. Without time to look at the girl, I immediately turned to look at the messy corridor behind us.

My gaze fell on the corner of the corridor not far away. Just thinking that Sirens would run out from there soon made me anxious.

Is there anything I can use, even if it only buys a little bit of time!

The oil lamps on the walls on both sides flickered. Wine barrels were scattered everywhere, rolling left and right.

Wine… barrels…

In my anxiety, my gaze swept across these barrels. I sniffed, reconfirming the scent of wine permeating the air.

This scent seemed to be like malt liquor, and the concentration wasn’t high…

Creak!

As I was deep in thought, the ship suddenly jolted violently.

My physical condition was already bad; this jolt made me feel like I was thrown into a whirlpool, tilting sharply.

Before I could react, my vision flipped as my body lost its balance.

“Leni-chan, watch out!”

Just as I was about to fall, with a call, my arms were tightly caught by two hands. My swaying body finally regained balance with this strength.

“…”

However, despite instinctively relying on the girl to stand up, my gaze remained focused on the corridor.

After what just happened, the already messy corridor became even more chaotic and disorderly.

“W-what… should we do?”

The girl was sobbing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her upright ears.

Surely, she understood the coming crisis better than I did, and her heart was even more anxious.

Rumble…

Hearing this sound, however, I showed an expression completely different from the girl’s.

As if finding light in this dark corridor, I widened my eyes and said:

“I have it, this is it!”

Not far away, before the last corner of the corridor.

“Do you think it’s possible?”

Two Sirens were rushing together; the voice came from the one in front.

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t participate in the last Great War, but I heard the Brigadier did. I remember you’ve been following the Brigadier for a long time, haven’t you?”

“So?”

“No, it’s just what I said before…” Swallowing hard, the Siren following behind asked, “Senior, what exactly is that human like? Is it really possible… that he was waiting for us to reach the shore all along?”

When asked this, the senior Siren’s serpentine body jerked, and even his speed slowed a bit.

“I don’t know.”

Resuming his speed, the Siren called “Senior” spoke.

“What kind of answer is that, Senior…”

“I don’t know because I don’t know. Because…” Pausing, the Senior suddenly changed the subject, “Human cunning almost never repeats itself.”

The Senior seemed to be remembering something. Even as a junior, the other Siren could faintly hear something wrong in his tone.

“If… during this human’s time on the ship, the reason he was so weak was to trick us into sailing the ship to the shore,” the senior Siren said while tightening his grip on his trident, “then I think you’d better pray we don’t run into him.”

Otherwise, we’ll die.

There was no need to say the last sentence; the junior Siren already understood the hidden meaning.

Creak—!

At that moment, the ship jolted violently again, forcing the two Sirens to stop.

“W-what’s going on?”

“Might be because of the explosion in the cargo hold… I hope it’s not the worst-case scenario.”

The Senior’s voice carried a hint of unease. After all, if an explosion happened in the cargo hold, the worst case was the ship sinking.

“Don’t think too much, let’s keep moving.”

“Mhm.”

The Siren nodded and intended to continue following the Senior without further thought. They weren’t far from the corner ahead. Once they passed it, it would be a passage left for the Giants; the path there would be more comfortable to walk.

As the Siren thought this, a sound reached his ears.

Rumble…

The sound… of a barrel rolling?

At first, the two Sirens didn’t pay attention to it. But as they got closer to the corner, the sound grew louder and louder, and there seemed to be more of them.

“Senior, I feel like something is wrong—”

Bang!

Before the Siren could finish, a loud noise broke the silence of the corridor.

“Something’s wrong!”

The Senior in front was also startled. He suddenly swung his trident and ordered: “Prepare for battle!”

“Yes, Senior!”

The junior responded immediately, but his body was stiff as he gripped his weapon and remained on guard.

‘Is it true… like what the Brigadier said… that human is still hiding on the ship!?’

Flicking his tongue while swallowing, the junior Siren’s heart was in his throat.

The two Sirens stopped less than a meter away from the corner, moving forward cautiously and slowly.

Because they were both holding their breath, the sound of the barrels rolling became clearer and clearer.

Finally, when the sound was almost right there, they reached the corner.

Rumble!

A rolling wine barrel flashed past at extreme speed and crashed straight into the wall beside them.

‘What was that?’

Bang—!

Before the Sirens could react, the barrel suddenly exploded for some unknown reason. The loud noise erupted in their ears again.

Swoosh!

“…!”

The sound of something slicing the air. The Senior in front dodged, as if avoiding something.

‘Oh no!’

Then, having been half a beat slower to dodge, before his snake body could even twist, the junior’s vision suddenly spun.

Thud!

The Siren fell heavily to the ground, landing in the culprit… that puddle of wine. The projectile the Senior had tried to dodge also fell; looking closely, it was just a wine barrel’s cork.

“What is this…”

Picking up his trident and feeling disgusted by being covered in wine, the Siren stood up with some displeasure.

He thought it was something serious, but it was just because the ship jolted, causing these barrels to hit the wall and explode.

This kind of thing was common; if a wine barrel took a heavy impact, it would explode like this, though he didn’t know why.

There was no battle. Sigh, scared me to death… huh?

But when the Siren looked up, he saw the Senior already at the corner, looking forward with a serious expression.

“W-what is it, Senior?”

Seeing this, the Siren cautiously approached and asked tremblingly.

“I remember… your dormitory is right across from this direction, isn’t it? You’re on the first night shift?”

“Y-yes.”

“Then on this path, have you seen those masters passing through?”

The Senior’s words clearly referred to the Giants responsible for ship maintenance. When the Captain acquired the ship, she negotiated to get a few Giants as well. Since they built the ship, it was more efficient to let them fix it.

“I have… but they should have walked out of the ship through the main road.”

He peeked out with the Senior and was instantly stunned.

On the main road outside the maintenance room door, some piled goods were tumbled over, wreckage of wine barrels was everywhere, and wine was spilled all over the place. It was a complete mess, as if a gale had passed through.

“Those guys…”

Seeing this, the Senior’s lip twitched.

“Sigh.”

The junior said nothing. Everyone knew how those Giant masters were treated on the ship. To ensure the ship’s normal operation, the Captain treated them almost like honored guests; they could do whatever they wanted as long as it wasn’t too outrageous.

This mess was surely because they were annoyed at having to stay until night to go drinking after reaching the shore, so they trashed the place on their way out.

“Forget it, let’s go.”

Shaking his head, the Senior chose to ignore it all and continue forward.

Though he was annoyed, investigating was the priority.

With this thought, the senior Siren intended to move toward the next location to be checked.

‘Hm?’

However, the response that usually came immediately didn’t arrive. The Senior looked back in confusion.

“…”

The junior was currently facing away from him, his gaze fixed on the maintenance room door at the end of the corridor.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Senior.”

Turning back, he spoke with some displeasure, “Thinking about how we always have to clean up after these Giant masters, I want them to taste this feeling too.”

After all, with such a big mess, it wouldn’t be strange if the maintenance room was attacked, would it?

“You…”

Hearing the hidden meaning in his junior’s words, the Senior didn’t scold him. He just said “Let’s go” and turned around again.

This time, the junior didn’t delay and hurried to follow the Senior. After a while, the two Sirens’ figures faded away. The corridor was silent once more, with only the distant, faint shouts of Sirens fighting the fire.

Behind the door of the maintenance room.

“…They’ve gone far.”

Finally… the girl, who had pressed her entire body against the door, spoke with a mix of relief and lingering fear as her heart finally settled.

“Good…”

Upon confirming this, my tensed heartstrings finally relaxed.

Thud!

The pain I had been ignoring rushed back. My body, which had been holding on by sheer will, collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.

“Leni-chan!”

The girl practically pounced over to hold and support me, her face full of worry and anxiety.

“What should I do? What should I do now!”

Speaking so desperately, she was almost in tears.

To be honest, nothing would help right now.

I had been holding onto my last breath, sacrificing everything to focus.

In fact, when I heard the Sirens were right there, I was already prepared for a final stand.

Luckily, the wine barrel effect was surprisingly good. It distracted them and bought me those last few seconds.

Click.

Finally, I picked the lock. That crisp sound brought hope.

We rushed into the room immediately, closing the door before we could even stand steady. We controlled our strength during the closing to avoid making noise.

Then, my heart was in my throat as I watched her listen to the sounds outside, waiting anxiously.

So when I learned it was safe, the last breath I had been holding suddenly escaped, and my broken body could no longer support itself.

“I’m… okay…”

Lying in her arms, I spoke with a smile.

“You’re… lying… you big liar…”

As she spoke, the girl gradually began to sob, her eyes blurred with tears.

‘What are you thinking?’

‘Are you excited that we survived? Or are you angry that I pushed my body so far that I ended up like this?’

Looking at her, although the situation was still grim, my heart was gradually filled with a certain emotion.

I made the right choice.

A choice I wouldn’t regret.

This feeling wasn’t bad.

“Cough, cough!”

“Leni-chan!”

But my physical condition was truly no joke.

Now, I needed to rest.

No matter what, even if only for a short while, I had to rest.

Luckily, the situation was a bit more optimistic now, and there was a very important thing to do.

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

I grabbed the girl’s hand and looked at her seriously.

It was something that would definitely be in the maintenance room, and the key to our survival.

“Listen closely…”

Holding onto my last breath, after informing the girl of what I was looking for, an irresistible drowsiness suddenly hit me.

“Leni-chan… Leni-chan!”

“I’m counting… on you.”

‘You must find it.’

With a final squeeze of her hand, darkness swallowed all my consciousness.