CH 24

Chapter 24 – Escaping Helos (4)

“Captain! A bunny visiting our ship says that she has something to tell you!”

The pirate standing in front of the captain’s room shouted out loud.

“A bunny? How can a bunny talk?”

I heard a voice of a woman who seemed very relaxed.

She’s a walking rabbit!”

Anyone would say that I am a human with rabbit ears, but the pirate called me a bunny who could walk.

“Really? Let her in.”

Mary seemed to be interested in the fact that I was a bunny and told me to come inside.

“Go inside. Give me the weapon you are holding.”

The pirate let out his hand.

“My sword? It will be best if you don’t take it.”

I suggested that he does not take the sword, thinking about what happened to Banu.

“Stop that nonsense and hand it over quickly.”

He was so affirmative that I couldn’t help but hand over the sword.

“When it feels hot when you hold it, “

Tsseeeek!

“Ahh! Hot! Hot!”

The pirate threw the sword with a scream as soon as he grabbed the handle.

“I told you! It’s better to not take it. Why didn’t you listen to me?”

I then grabbed the sword on purpose.

“…Just leave the sword by the door.”

The pirate who burnt his palms finally suggested a better solution.  I placed the sword by the door without saying anything.

“But Aris, if you become unarmed…”

Arje seemed nervous that I was leaving without the sword, but

“I’m good as long as I have you, Arje.”

Since Arje could use magic with her bare hands, I felt okay leaving the sword.

Keeeeek.

When we entered after opening the door, the room of a typical captain appeared. A map on the wall, the captain hat on the hook, and a desk with bed inside.

“It was quite a ruckus out there; did my kids play too rough on y’all?”

In front of the desk was a pretty woman, with red hair up to her neck, staring at us with her hands on her chin. She must be Mary from the novel.

“Play?”

Arje got angry at Mary naming it as horseplay.

“Yes, My kids play a little too naughty.”

Mary talked as if it was nothing.

“If we were ordinary women, it would not have ended at horseplay.”

From Arje’s comment, Mary shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, they may play too rough, but they are all people with a kind heart.”

Since I thought that their conversation will not meet at agreeable ends, I decided to end their conversation. 

“That’s not what’s important here, Arje.”

When I calmed her down, Arje took a deep breath.

“I didn’t come outside to be treated like this.”

Although Arje was still upset, after checking that she was calmed down, I looked at Mary.

“I came here to tell you about the treasure.”

Mary didn’t seem interested in the treasure, however.

“Oh, this is the bunny?”

Mary freaked out as if she had just seen me.

“Such a cutie as her got on our ship?”

Mary got off from the desk and then ran over to me.

“Huh?”

Arje was going to use magic, but she had to stop after seeing what Mary did.

“Wait! I’m choking!”

“Wow, you are so soft! You are like a doll!”

Mary rubbed me with her cheeks while hugging me, as if she could not just sit still from cute things.

“Wait! I’m not a doll!”

I tried to push her away, but what strength she had. Even I couldn’t push her. It was hard to even breathe because she buried my face in her chest.

“Can I touch your ears? I can, right?”

From those words I had to stop her right there…although she wouldn’t listen to me.

“Not the ears!”

Arje stepped in.

“Please stop! We don’t have time to be doing this!”

Mary tilted her head and stopped touching my ears.

“What do you mean we don’t have time? You must be in a big rush?”

Mary finally let us go.

“Hoo…ha…”

From the sparks I felt from each touch of the ears, I could barely breathe. Should I get some ear protection gear?

“Anyways, bunny. Do you want to be part of the crew? I will let you be the vice captain.”

I was iffy about how easy she would let me be a vice captain, but mostly I had no intentions to become a pirate.

“No, I will refuse.”

On top of that, if I were to be in this woman’s ship, I would suffer all day like this.

“That’s unfortunate. So, what’s the relationship between the treasure and having to go in a rush?”

Mary finally seemed ready to listen to us, so she sat back down on the chair and crossed her legs.

“Aris, please explain.”

Arje put me in charge of the talking.

“We are being chased by some crazy elf.”

“Aris?”

Arje was shocked at my bluntness.

“I will take care of this, since you put me in charge.”

I calmed down Arje, and then spoke again.

“If you help us escape this city, I will lead you to a place with great treasure. I know the location.”

Mary almost had no reaction as if she didn’t hear what I said, then laughed.

“Hmm, so getting chased is the truth and knowing the treasure location must be the false part.”

Mary seemed to be in disbelief about the treasure.

“Ordinarily, I would make you into fish food for lying, but since you are a cute bunny, I will give you a ride to the next port.”

She still was willing to give us a ride.

“Thank you, you are nicer than you seem.”

Arje was excited, but I couldn’t get excited.

“It’s not a lie.”

For my pride’s sake, I didn’t want to get helped as if the captain was doing me a big favor.

“Bunny, even though you are cute, if you keep bullshitting, you can get hurt.”

Mary changed her tone into a cold one.

“Aris! Stop. She said that she will give us a free ride!”

Arje was also going along with this. But that treasure. It was something to lure in Mary, but more than anything, I wanted to find it before Jarrod.

“You should believe my words, since it’s the truth. If you don’t believe me, I will tell another pirate. For example….”

I pretended to think. And then I remembered the rival pirate of Mary.

“Bonnie.”

Bang!

As soon as Bonnie’s name was mentioned, Mary hit the table with her fist.

“To say that name on this ship! You must be eager to die!”

Then Mary stood up with her sword after not being able to control her anger.

“Come to think of it, it’s not a bad idea to kill me here before I can tell Bonnie.”

I felt that the air suddenly froze up, but I still looked at Mary calmly. If I hadden gotten scared, shown any kind of surprise, shook a pupil or even slightly flinched my ears, the plan would end.

“Yes, it will be easy to kill us here, but that would mean that you would have to give up on the treasure that would make Bonnie unworthy of comparison.”

“And, we wouldn’t die so easily.”

Arje still seemed to be confused, but to help she raised her hands, and then made a figure of light on top of her palms.

“You in the mask. You were a sorceress?”

And Mary didn’t seem to have expected that Arje could be a sorceress.

“Yes, so make your decision.”

Mary stared off into space for a bit, with my logic and Arje’s threat, and then placed her sword back inside. 

“Fine. Since you reject my kindness and mention his name on my boat to talk about that treasure, you must be telling the truth.”

Mary agreed. My talking skills are the best in the world!

“Fine. Since I just said that I will give you a ride, I will keep that promise. And you are sure about the treasure, right?”

I smiled right away. There was no need to show over-excitement.

“Of course. When we find the treasure and we get what we need, you can have everything else.”

Then Mary came over and reached her hand out while smiling.

“It’s a deal.”

“A deal it is.”

I shook Mary’s hand.

“So, what is our bunny’s name?”

“Aris Wafer.”

“Aris. What a cute name! It’s like a cookie.”

Then Mary hugged me again.

“I said, you’re choking me!”

Then when I struggled in her arms, Mary let me go while smiling and then looked over at Arje.

“How about the one in the mask who always gets angry?”

“What did you say?”

Arje got mad again, as Mary said.

“Look, there she goes again.”

Mary laughed, and Arje sighed out loud.

“Arje. Just know it like that.”

Then Mary became pensive for a while.

“Arje? It’s a familiar name.”

Was it because it was similar to Arberaj? Mary seemed to be suspicious.

“No need to worry. More than that, let’s head over fast. Before the elves chase us down.”

At that moment, noises came from outside.

“What’s going on?”

Mary went to the door right away.

BANG!

But before Mary could open the door, one pirate came in through the door as if he was falling.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“It’s an attack!”

The pirate announced the attack in his dying voice. 

“Who is it? The imperial army? Pirates?”

But the reply was unexpected.

“It’s an…elf.”

Suddenly, I was reminded of Peter. No, Peter should be safe. He should be, since most of the elves followed his carriage.

“Elves? How many are there?”

From Mary’s rushed question, the pirate coughed, and then pointed outside.

“It’s just one..one female elf.”

When I looked outside, everyone on the ship was suffering in pain. As in the colosseum.