Whooosh—
The refreshing sound of waves.
A salty, fishy scent drifted in, and when I poked my head up, the pale-blue sea greeted me...
"Shasha."
"Y-yes!"
A sharp voice stabbed into my ears, and I flinched, dropping the rag I was holding.
The captain, wearing a black eyepatch and leaning on his crutch, came striding toward me.
I hurried to snatch the rag back up.
"Is the deck finished?"
"I-I'm still cleaning it, sir!"
Under his scorching gaze, I quickly bent down and scrubbed the deck.
"Where do you even find the time to slack off?"
I only rested for a moment, Captain!
I'd been working nonstop just a second ago, really!
But no one here would hear my grievance.
At least, my frantic scrubbing seemed to satisfy him, since the sound of his crutch tapping faded into the distance.
Phew... or not.
How was I supposed to clean this whole wide deck alone?
I was the only crew member on board!
But what could I do? Orders were orders.
Even if the employer was a tyrant, he was still the employer.
This is why people always say, read the contract carefully before signing... Wait.
'Hold on. Why am I even on a ship?'
Wasn't I supposed to be at the Vermanion Duke's mansion?
Just as I realized something was off—no, terribly wrong,
a faint singing voice drifted over the sea.
"☐■?☐☐☐■■?☐■"
"☐☐■?☐■☐■?☐■"
And that voice was... horrifying.
I clapped my hands over my ears and collapsed onto the floorboards.
The ship suddenly swerved, throwing me off balance. I rolled and barely caught the railing.
Something was wrong. That dreadful singing was getting closer.
"We'll head toward them..."
You've got to be kidding me!
Since when had the captain taken the wheel?
He'd been steering straight toward the sound the entire time!
The once-calm sea began to churn violently.
If we made a wrong move now, we'd be swept straight into the waves.
As if that weren't enough, the hideous voices only grew louder.
"☐■?☐☐☐■■?☐■"
"☐☐■?☐■☐■?☐■"
'Why... are we going there?'
I swallowed hard.
The lyrics weren't just unpleasant, they were practically threats.
Something like, "We'll devour you alive."
Why on earth would anyone head toward that?!
As the song drew nearer, towering cliffs appeared ahead.
Perched on them were two creatures, half-bird below the waist, half-woman above.
And why were they glaring at me with murderous eyes while singing?
I was just an innocent sailor scrubbing the deck... wait.
Actually... their faces looked kind of familiar?
But I never got the chance to figure out who they resembled.
"H-huh?"
A massive wave loomed before the ship, easily twice its height.
And inside the wave... a shadow.
Something huge.
Then, bursting forth,
a colossal tentacle.
It rose high, ready to smash the ship to pieces.
...Dear god.
For the first time in my life, I prayed.
Clutching the railing like a lifeline, I squeezed my eyes shut.
"☐■■!☐■☐■☐■!☐■!!!"
A thunderous voice boomed, winds whipping my hair into a frenzy.
And in my mind, the words translated themselves.
"Head Maid... I'll kill you?"
Head Maid?
Huh??
I opened my eyes wide.
The tentacle that had been poised to crush the ship was still frozen in midair.
And in front of me...
"A snake?"
Snaaaaake?
When I opened my eyes again, it wasn't the ship I saw, but a white ceiling lit by a lamp.
'What was that?'
A face suddenly appeared above me.
"Did you have a nightmare, Shasha?"
It was Eki.
Ah... it was all a dream.
Thinking it over, it had been the most ridiculous nonsense.
Why would I dream of meeting another cruel boss, scrubbing decks, and then nearly getting killed by monsters?
"...I think so, yes."
I nodded slowly, wiping the sweat from my forehead and pulling the blanket tight around me.
The clock by my bedside read 3 a.m.
I must've screamed or whimpered in my sleep, and Eki had woken me up.
Thank goodness.
If not for her, I would've been eaten by that octopus, or drowned.
Even if it was only a dream, dying like that after scrubbing decks would've been too unfair!
"Thank you, Eki."
"Think nothing of it."
Eki smiled, hugging her beloved stuffed toy tightly.
Come to think of it... the snake I saw at the end of the dream.
'Didn't it look just like that stuffed toy?'
I carefully studied the doll in Eki's arms.
I remembered patching it up on my first day after work.
The seams had been torn open so badly I couldn't even tell what it was at first, but with Eki's instructions, I sewed it back into a snake.
A gaudy snake, pink and green mixed together.
Meanwhile, Eki gently touched my forehead and cheek, checking my condition.
"Shasha, are you alright now? Not scared anymore?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
It was just a dream, nothing to fear.
But the way she worried about me made my nose sting.
She'd been so shy at first, yet now she cared for me this much.
She didn't even mind touching my sweaty face.
Eki squeezed my hand one last time and murmured softly,
"Good. You'll be fine now. Go back to sleep."
"Okay. You too, Eki."
"Sweet dreams, Shasha."
...Though I felt wide awake now.
Or maybe not?
As I met her steady golden gaze, my eyelids grew heavy, and I drifted back into slumber.
Golden eyes lingered on Shasha.
Once she was fully asleep, Eki's black pupils slit vertically, reptilian.
The smile she had worn just moments before vanished, leaving only a cold, emotionless mask.
Even with the lamp still on, half her face looked swallowed in shadow, pink scales briefly glinting along her cheek.
Clutching the doll in one hand, she moved to the door.
Ssshhh—
Her steps were calm, but her anger could not be contained. Her lower body warped, shifting into a snake's tail.
A massive shadow devoured the room, tearing apart everything it touched,
cupboards, lamps, shredded into scraps.
But the tail vanished the moment she stepped outside.
Leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, she waited.
A group of monsters shuffled nervously before her, heads bowed.
Her lips parted.
"If you ever trouble the Head Maid again..."
Her voice was nothing like the gentle one Shasha heard.
It scraped like claws down a pane of glass.
"..."
"I'll shred your souls into ribbons."
"S-sorry! Forgive us!"
The monsters trembled, whispering in panic.
But nothing happened to Eki, despite breaking the First Rule.
Then they realized.
The corridor lamp gave off a faint glow at night, yet no shadows touched the walls.
Because Eki's shadow covered the entire mansion.
The monsters bowed again and scurried off.
One of them, catching sight of the intact snake doll in her hand, paled, realizing something too late.
Eki glared after them until they disappeared completely, then reentered the room.
She dragged a chair beside Shasha's bed, propped her chin on her hand, and watched her sleep with a soft grin.
The wreckage of the room didn't bother her.
After all, now that her true form had returned, fixing the destruction was as simple as a thought.
And then,
[[Echidna.]]
'...!'
At the echo of the clear voice in her mind, Eki stiffened, dropping the doll from her hand.
---
End of Chapter 6
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