HTWBB Chapter 30

The voice that settled much lower sounded almost seductive. At the instinctive chill, Rietta quickly raised her head. Something had gone wrong.

The problem wasn't just that his form hidden in the fog had changed. The atmosphere emanating from him had completely transformed.

Even the mutant fish that had been thrashing without knowing their place of death stopped moving and fell quiet. Rietta sharpened her senses keenly.

"How long has it really been?"

Abel, muttering that, lightly stamped the floor with his foot. Suddenly her ankles felt cold. A chill too pronounced to dismiss as imagination.

Rietta realized the surrounding temperature was rapidly cooling from below. Another anomaly appeared nearby.

As she slowly blinked, very tiny whitish specks passed before her. Rietta raised her hand carelessly to catch one, but rubbed her empty fingers at the sensation of it disappearing as soon as she touched it. Cold. Not specks at all.

'Ice?'

Crack, a sound similar to rock splitting came first. By the time she recognized it, winter had already begun.

The small freezing that started from Abel's toes soon left lightning-like traces, becoming a path of ice. The destination was precise. The pure white ice lightning struck before the mutants sensing the threat could turn and flee.

The fish swarming in black masses froze together with the corridor. Abel murmured in the stillness.

"Since it's only a promise for now, this is my limit."

Rietta lifted her feet again from the frost-white plank floor. The sea was frozen in a straight line from where he'd erected the defensive barrier, as if cut.

Had she been just a bit farther ahead, she would have stuck to the ice together with it, unable to move her legs. She felt somewhat impressed by Abel, who had deployed this large-scale high-level magic without difficulty.

His words were right. Certainly and precisely, Abel had resolved the situation.

"Is it established?"

"Of course."

"What now?"

She had many questions to ask. He'd said 'this much' was possible with just a declaration of intent, not even a formal contract. And without even draining much of her magic.

What was his true identity, and why hadn't he used such power until now? Was he really connected to the boundary?

But Rietta set aside all her curiosity. If they escaped safely, she'd naturally learn the information. To her question, Abel answered calmly.

"We should confirm what you're looking for."

Then he knocked a few times on the solidly frozen sea like knocking on a door. Though the impact was weak, an ominous crack sounded, and the crack that had been drawn like a hairline spread in all directions.

It looked similar to the initial situation, but the exact opposite phenomenon occurred. Crack, crumble, snap—noises burst consecutively from near to far.

Then the ice that had been breaking into pieces like shattered glass crumbled down as powder. Embracing the trapped mutant fish and fog mixed with demonic energy, the ice that had sparkled like billions of stars melted into the seawater without a trace.

The fog that had been spread behind them also turned to water along with everything else. Finally, the corridor emptied as if nothing had happened.

"Rietta."

The violet eyes meeting hers were deep. The shipwreck, with the veil obstructing visibility completely removed, was larger than expected and less shabby than its exterior appearance suggested.

However, claw marks scattered here and there on the walls remained ominous. If not for the man before her eyes, it wouldn't have been this severe.

He existed elegantly like paint stamped wrongly in a picture, or like a glass shard in muddy water. Utterly out of place in this worn location, Abel gazed at her.

His black hair rippled long on the currents. According to her memory from before entering the interior, it should have been neatly arranged at the nape of his neck.

"Now there's only one closed door."

Sound in water differed from resonance in air. Therefore, the reason that now-familiar voice sounded even more captivating must be no different.

Rietta pulled her gaze from Abel. As he said, except for only one cabin out of ten, all the doors were either broken or open. The work of mutant fish that had caught the scent of blood.

She moved her heavy steps to the end of the corridor. With each movement, lights that had served their purpose followed like chasing their master.

"Where did you come from?"

"That's an ambiguous question."

"I mean where are your roots."

Moving slowly wasn't necessary, so reaching the end was quick. Rietta stood before a door about thirty percent narrower than the other rooms.

Unlike the other places where locks couldn't be found, this small cabin had an incongruously large padlock attached. Blackened with discoloration, it was questionable whether it would open even if there was a key.

There was more than one way to open it. Choosing to break it, Rietta immediately reached out her arm, but a large hand blocked her path.

"I came from far away."

An answer fell quietly from above her head. The hand that appeared to envelop her from behind touched the rusted padlock instead of her. Tap.

The thing that had bloomed white as frost instantly lost its original color and was encased in solid ice. Truly remarkable control ability.

Having finished his task, he retreated without lingering. Rietta immediately struck the cold padlock with the handle of her dagger. Though she used little force, the clasp snapped clean off.

"Then when did you arrive here?"

"Well, more recently than this shipwreck at least."

An answer that included the meaning of years long enough to use the shipwreck as a reference point. Rietta completely removed the broken padlock. Even then, the small door kept its mouth tightly shut.

"Where was the first place you saw after coming here?"

"The sea."

"The sea?"

She turned her head back. Abel blinked slowly. His face looked as if seeing a distant place.

"It was the southern sea..."

South. Rietta, who had hesitated briefly, tossed aside the broken padlock carelessly.

"I think it was around winter."

"Not very precise."

"I didn't wander around. But Rietta."

Rietta grasped the blackened, corroded handle on the door and pulled. Thinking it might have an internal locking mechanism or other magic since it was firmly shut, fortunately the door opened with only slight resistance.

Had it been exposed to air, thick dust would have risen. Like a puppy meeting snow, the light orbs quickly squeezed through the gap. Abel bent his waist slightly.

"Are you curious about me now?"

"You said you'd become my familiar."

It was a contract that the proposer couldn't forcibly reverse or cancel if unwilling. Since Rietta had also declared her intent, she needed at least minimal information about the other party.

"I did."

Abel, answering calmly, followed her into the cabin at a distance neither too far nor too close.

The interior, where only the shapes of objects could barely be distinguished in the dimness with minimal light, brightened as if a fireplace had appeared. The remaining lights clustered around Abel's back.

'This place...'

As the door had been small, the space it hid was also extremely narrow. It seemed like a place originally used as a storage room for cleaning tools.

In the very center of the cramped room sat a small, neat table. Qualitatively different from the cheap side tables for show in other rooms.

From the top radiating a gentle glow with a pale blue tint to the thin gold trim wrapping around the legs—a high-grade item difficult even for those of high status to obtain, though its maintenance condition was poor.

No matter how fine the quality, it was merely a pedestal for the dazzling jewel box placed upon it.

"Is this what you were looking for?"

"I don't know."

"What are you searching for?"

"A mermaid's heart."

Abel pretended to know.

"That's the name of liquor."

"No. I mean an actual 'heart.'"

Without adding unnecessary words, she strode closer to the table. Jewel boxes were generally clean in appearance without much decoration, perhaps because the jewels placed inside were splendid.

However, the object before her eyes occupying the entire storage room alone was so magnificent that ordinary people would feel honored just looking at it. Even the transparent gems decorating each corner were extraordinary.

Among the treasures Rietta had searched for, few possessed such delicate decoration. Moreover, the lid even had a topaz that scattered different light from every viewing angle attached as a handle.

Whatever might be inside, it seemed either intended as an offering to someone of high status, or something the captain himself had treasured.

'Surely immortality, no?'

'They say it's true—that it grants a body that never falls ill.'

She didn't believe everything she'd heard from merchants. Legends were just legends. But occasionally, one truth would be mixed among those groundless rumors.

Rietta didn't delay further and firmly grasped the expensive handle. About to open it immediately, she suddenly discovered a small box hidden behind the jewel box.

Made solely for storage, it was utterly crude. From every angle the magnificent one looked far more important, so it could have been ignored.

But somehow bothered, she grabbed its edge first and pried it open. With slight resistance, the lid separated somewhat roughly.

"There's nothing inside."

The interior was completely filled with wood of the same material except for a space in the center about two finger joints long. It seemed something thin and cylindrical had been stored there. Nothing could be guessed from this alone.

"They must have taken it before the ship sank."

Rietta lost interest and set down the lidless box in place. Instead, she gripped the handle of the magnificent jewel box and this time tilted it back without hesitation.