Fleeting Tranquility

[……！]

My body jerked, and I snapped my eyes open.

Everything around me was dim, and above me was a dark, unfamiliar ceiling.

This is… ow!

As my consciousness cleared, the stinging pain from my wounds immediately rushed in, forcing me to grit my teeth.

However, what I felt wasn’t just pain, but also a wave of coolness.

It was ointment pressed tightly against my wounds under the bandages, suppressing the ache and healing my burns.

What’s going on?

Looking at the neatly wrapped bandages on my body, my face showed confusion.

“Leni-chan? Leni-chan!”

Soon, likely because of my movement, the girl’s familiar voice drifted over, followed by hurried yet light footsteps.

“How are you feeling!”

Then, she appeared before my eyes once again.

“Is this… you?”

I raised my hand with some difficulty, using my eyes to gesture toward the bandages on my arm.

“Mhm!”

The girl nodded.

“I found some burn medicine here and applied it for you. I wasn’t sure if it would work.”

“Is that so… I see.”

I tried to clench my fist. Though it trembled slightly, I could finally exert some strength.

I wasn’t sure if it was the short nap or the potion I had swallowed earlier taking effect, but my head didn’t feel quite so heavy anymore.

Every bit of recovery added another chance of survival for the escape that was soon to come.

“How do you feel?”

“Mhm… a bit better. How long was I out?”

“For quite a while… hm, about half of our planned resting time?”

So, nearly thirty minutes.

“Help me up… and tell me the current situation.”

“Okay!”

Seeing that my mental state seemed decent, the girl was all smiles as she supported me, her tail wagging along.

She really is pure-hearted.

But… whatever, this is fine too.

The girl then briefly explained the situation.

Everything had gone smoothly. Ever since those two Sirens left, there hadn’t been much movement outside.

A squad of Sirens had hurried past midway through, which was the only minor incident.

The focus now was this place—the maintenance room.

When we arrived, the door had been locked, so naturally, the craftsmen were away.

From the Sirens’ conversation, I learned the craftsmen were hired by them, and since today was a rare day on shore, not a single one of the alcohol-loving craftsmen was willing to stay behind.

The Siren race likely lacked the technology to build ships.

This ship was probably purchased through some channel, and these craftsmen came with it.

On long voyages, craftsmen were the ship’s lifeline. The Captain didn’t dare do anything to them; in fact, they had to be treated very well.

So, it was no wonder this place was empty.

‘The Giant race, huh…’

Muttering to myself, I straightened my body slightly and surveyed the room again.

I had suspected something was unusual when I saw the door exceeded two meters in height.

While Sirens stood nearly two meters tall, other doors on the ship weren’t this large.

Since Sirens leaned forward when moving and space was limited, there was no need to build doors so high.

But for the Giant race, it was a different story.

Standing in the room, I felt like a tiny person entering a giant’s home. Everything within sight was massive.

The ceiling was towering, the walls were thick, and there were faint patches of rust in the corners.

The entire layout was grand, almost like a palace.

On the inner side of the room, a massive forge had already gone cold.

Beside it was a storage cabinet with heavy doors, carved with simple symbols and patterns.

Spare parts and materials were stored inside, all neatly categorized.

Next to the cabinet stood a huge workbench, its wide surface scattered with various tools.

From massive hammers to wrenches, every single one was several times larger than a normal person’s tools.

Specifically, that glass bottle of fire oil was half as tall as I was.

On the other side of the room was a giant table, which was our current hiding spot.

Even if I stood up, my line of sight would only just reach the tabletop.

Even if the door were suddenly opened, an intruder would find it difficult to spot us immediately.

From here, just by tilting my head slightly, I could see the fireplace across from the workbench.

Pressed against the piled firewood, a small flame still flickered inside the fireplace, heating an iron pot above it.

Though it was covered with a wooden lid, the overflowing scent of alcohol couldn’t be hidden.

The whole room looked like the casual living quarters of an unkempt craftsman.

‘Giants like to brew alcohol? They didn’t even extinguish the fire when they left. They really aren’t afraid of accidents.’

My vision caught the rug in front of the fireplace. Under the flickering firelight, metallic glimmers occasionally drifted from there.

A normal person might just admire the brilliance, but I frowned slightly.

Craftsmen and fire were inseparable.

Fire forged everything, but it could also consume everything.

A skilled craftsman couldn’t possibly be ignorant of the danger of fire.

Unless they had absolute protection against it.

That was definitely high-grade fireproof material, though I couldn’t identify exactly what it was.

Come to think of it, the toolbox in my luggage originated from the Giant race.

With that thought, I surveyed the room once more and made up my mind.

If I get the chance… I must visit the Giant race.

However, there are plenty of things here that can be used. I should snag some before we leave.

“Leni-chan, what… should we do next?”

The girl’s worried voice pulled my thoughts back to reality.

Even though we had survived a disaster, we couldn’t relax until the final moment.

“We’ll stick to the original plan.”

I looked at the girl.

“By the way, how was the search? Did you find it?”

“Ah…”

The girl was startled, her cat ears perking up slightly before drooping again.

“I… I did go look, it’s just…”

Looking at her shifting gaze, I already knew the result.

“It’s just what?” I asked, somewhat annoyed.

“It’s just that some places were locked and I couldn’t open them. Ah, but I looked everywhere that could be opened!”

“……”

It was a key item that was bound to be in the maintenance room.

“Take me there.”

There’s no way that thing isn’t here. I have to find it if we want to survive!

“But…”

“Hurry!”

“Yes!”

Under my sharp command, the girl didn’t dare delay and immediately helped me up.

Soon, after she pointed toward a drawer in the table nearby, I took out my pick and immediately went to work on the lock.

Clack, clack, clack…

Giant locks were different, not just in size but in internal structure. It was a bit tough with just my pick.

Frowning, I concentrated and used the pick to carefully test all the possibilities within the lock.

Click.

It wasn’t until I heard a crisp sound that my brow relaxed, and I impatiently pulled the drawer open.

Fortunately, my pick was still useful.

Looking at the large roll of parchment in the drawer, my tensed expression finally softened, and the corners of my mouth curled up slightly.

“Leni-chan…”

Then, the girl who had been silent by my side spoke up, and I finally noticed her fidgeting.

She was looking down, peeking at me like a child who had done something wrong.

“Sigh.”

I let out a long sigh.

I knew, of course, that she had been standing silently by the side to avoid bothering me.

“I say, don’t you want to escape sooner?”

“I do!”

The girl answered decisively. Her gaze was so pure that I was momentarily stunned, but I quickly focused and continued:

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you wake me up? I told you we absolutely had to find this, right?”

If we couldn’t find this, we wouldn’t be able to move an inch.

“I…”

Remembering my instructions, the girl lowered her head again.

At the time, I had told her to wake me immediately if there were any problems.

“I just wanted Leni-chan to rest a bit longer,” the girl said, hanging her head. “After all, I can’t think of anything, I can’t even help…”

By the end, her voice became smaller and smaller.

“……”

Looking at her dejected appearance, I went silent.

‘Do you really think that?’

The question, full of doubt, almost escaped my lips, but I quickly swallowed it back.

“That’s not true.”

I shook my head and looked at her earnestly.

“You’ve helped me a lot. Truly.”

“Really…?”

Her voice trembled slightly, as if she thought I was just comforting her.

“Why would I lie?” I said firmly. “If it weren’t for you, I think I’d be dead by now.”

Setting aside avoiding the Sirens in the corridor, just surviving those thrown tridents would have been impossible on my own.

“No way!”

To my surprise, the girl immediately disagreed with me.

“Leni-chan is so smart, there’s no way you would die.”

“What are you talking about…”

I didn’t take her words to heart. Instead, I stood on my tiptoes, spread the scroll out on the table, and casually asked her back, “If you really thought that, why did you come back for me?”

My gaze was locked onto the unfolding parchment. However, despite the firelight from the fireplace, it still lacked some brightness.

Seeing this, I naturally reached out for the oil lamp nearby. But before I could reach it, another hand appeared.

“Because… I want to leave with Leni-chan.”

The oil lamp was lit.

The light flickered, and under her messy hair, I saw that dust-covered face clearly for the first time.

Shadows of fatigue and terror still lingered on her dirty features.

However, her clear, bright eyes were like a spring, looking at me with a gaze that was pure and simple.

“Wh… why?”

This time, I didn’t understand.

Why would someone be kind to another unconditionally?

Why could someone trust another so easily?

‘Aren’t you afraid I’m using you? Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn around and betray you?’

“What do you mean ‘why’?”

The girl obviously didn’t know what I was thinking. She just blinked and tilted her head in confusion.

“Aren’t we friends?”

Thump, thump!

That simple sentence struck my heart like a bolt of lightning.

Suddenly, I felt a jolt through my body, my pupils contracted, and an expression of disbelief appeared on my face uncontrollably.

“I…”

I had done absolutely nothing for her.

Exchanging food every day was only to learn the language.

Getting close to her was nothing more than an attempt to fish for more information.

Someone like me… was clearly just using you…

“Leni-chan?”

The girl’s voice snapped me back to reality. I immediately turned my head away, pretending to be busy again.

But my nose felt sour, and my vision was already blurred with tears.

“Are you okay? Do you still feel unwell?”

The girl leaned in slightly.

“I’m fine.”

I blinked rapidly and shook my head, pressing my surging emotions back down into my heart.

But.

“Thank you.”

I whispered my thanks, making a silent decision.

I will definitely get you out of here.

Without a doubt.

Quietly, in the depths of my heart where I hadn’t noticed, a block of ice was beginning to melt.

Scratch, scratch…

My fingertips slid across the parchment, and my gaze followed.

“Leni-chan… can you read it?”

Standing beside me, she gently held the oil lamp, moving it along with my finger.

“Mhm.”

If the maintenance room of this ship was managed by the Giant craftsmen who built it, there was a high probability that the ship’s design blueprints would be kept here.

And now, those blueprints were spread out before me on the parchment.

“We are here right now…”

I pointed to a spot on the ship’s cross-section and then used my other hand to search for a target on the side-view diagram.

“And here is where the spare escape boats are kept.”

I lightly tapped the destination, then stood on a chair to take in the entire massive map.

This wasn’t just a map; I needed to combine it with the floor plans to deduce the correct route.

“Hm…”

I closed my eyes, and my brain began to work at high speed.

Although I wasn’t a shipbuilder, since I had the design blueprints in hand, assembling the ship structure in my mind wasn’t difficult.

Good.

Feeling every component fit perfectly in my mental workspace, a massive pirate ship gradually emerged.

Of course, I didn’t need to know every single detail of the ship; I only needed to escape this place.

So, when I opened my eyes again, I was confident.

“Get ready to move.”

The escape route was now etched into my mind.

But before leaving this place, I had to snag some useful items.