Chapter 25
The Net
I thought, like the other priests, he would doubt me first.
But the healing priest only widened his eyes in surprise, then smiled gently.
“The eastern cape, you say. That’s a good walking distance from Lacuna Mare.”
It seemed his authority in the Temple of the Sea God was significant—no one dared to object.
Well… except for Alua.
[Paian, you’re late—why are you dawdling? We need to get to the eastern cape right now!]
“Um… is ‘Paian’ your name, sir?”
At my question, the priests stirred slightly.
Ignoring them, I looked at the healing priest, who nodded in amazement.
“I didn’t expect Alua to remember my name.”
[Hey, stop looking at me with those watery eyes and get moving.]
“He’s telling you to hurry.”
At that, Paian chuckled and took out a long cord necklace from his robes, pressing his lips to the pendant.
Immediately, Alua—who had been impatiently bobbing its head—paused.
[You’ll come?]
“This is a simple ritual to show obedience to the will of the divine. It’s an old custom, so Lord Alua likely recognizes it.”
“…Seems like it.”
When Paian repeated the gesture, Alua glanced at him skeptically but then dove beneath the surface first.
“Well then, shall we be on our way?”
Nodding without thinking, I followed Paian with Richard.
The priests trailing behind us came along as a bonus.
As we neared the eastern cape, Marcelo naturally stepped forward.
“Among the priests, Marcelo is particularly skilled at sensing divine and demonic energy. He’ll guide us to where Alua is.”
At Richard’s explanation, I nodded, but noticed his blue eyes studying me closely.
“What is it?”
“…Nothing.”
Shaking his head briefly, Richard offered me his arm to help me walk across the uneven terrain.
“Thank you.”
Smiling brightly, I leaned on his firm arm and climbed the black rocks.
It wasn’t an easy path, so I wondered if the elderly Paian—who Alua said was over eighty—would be alright.
When I turned to look—
“Haah, haah… Paian, please slow down a bit…!”
“Oh dear. You young ones not even forty yet, and your joints are worse than mine?”
He lightly scolded the younger priests while climbing the rocks like a professional mountaineer.
No wonder he had been ready to swim in the sea earlier.
Then Paian met my eyes and smiled warmly at Richard and me.
“Oh dear, this old man is making a finely raised young lady suffer.”
“Actually, I feel like I’m getting healthier.”
Mihail—who always nagged me saying I’d die if I stepped outside my bed—should’ve seen me now. I’ll definitely tell him later.
As I replied with a cheerful smile, Paian blinked slowly and said gently:
“Your reputation doesn’t do you justice.”
Ah. Right. I’m still a contract villainess.
‘I should act a bit more obnoxious to keep up my reputation buff.’
I glanced at my employer beside me and snorted deliberately.
“Hmph. That’s because you’re different from those priests who dared to doubt me.”
I said it loudly on purpose, and several priests behind us flinched visibly.
Paian, however, simply laughed.
“Is that so? Still, thanks to you, this old man avoided drowning.”
He joked that he thought he’d end up “in the Sea God’s embrace” this time, then looked at me kindly.
Between his words and tone, I felt oddly ticklish and replied gruffly.
“What if I was lying because I couldn’t understand anything?”
“Even if you were lying, I wouldn’t mind. Indulging a young person’s mischief is part of an old man’s joy.”
“….”
Hmm…
It didn’t seem like this old man would try anything like touching Richard.
‘Then this should be okay, right?’
“…Thank you.”
I mumbled softly.
It was quiet enough that the other priests probably didn’t hear—but Paian did, judging by the gentle wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes.
Feeling awkward about how to respond, I turned my head away—
just as Marcelo, who had been ahead, announced:
“It’s below here. The path is rough, so I’ll go down first.”
Marcelo carefully climbed down the wind-eroded rocks.
Looking toward the destination, I saw a large white dolphin lifting its head near the rocks.
[Paian, I wasn’t sure, but you really came?]
As I translated Alua’s surprised voice, I tilted my head.
There was no one on the flat black rock large enough for five or six adults to stand on.
“Since you said you needed a healing priest, I thought someone was injured… ah.”
In the water between Alua and the rock, I spotted a small brown-furred animal.
“A baby seal. It looks like it got caught in a fishing net.”
At Richard’s words, I noticed strands of something like rope flickering in the water whenever the seal’s body rose with the waves.
“We should go down.”
Paian descended the slope, and Richard followed, holding my hand firmly so I wouldn’t slip.
When Paian reached the bottom, Alua gently pushed the baby seal toward the shore.
[Careful now, that’s right.]
As Paian lifted the seal, my expression stiffened.
Its condition was clearly serious.
A tight net had wrapped around its entire body, digging deeply into its flesh—especially around its neck, making it hard to breathe.
It lay limp, panting weakly.
[This little one was playing with the net at dawn and got caught like this. I found it in the morning and tried to help, but I couldn’t untangle it…]
I relayed Alua’s words to the group, raising my voice over the strong sea wind.
“It would be best to remove the net first, then treat it. Does anyone have a blade?”
“I’ll do it.”
At Paian’s request, Richard took a dagger from inside his jacket.
But as he approached, the baby seal began thrashing violently in panic.
‘If it moves like that, the net will dig in deeper… why is it reacting like that? Does it think he’s dangerous?’
Richard seemed to think the same, hesitating and lowering his dagger.
But the seal didn’t calm down—it kept struggling and crying.
At this rate, it would be difficult to cut the net safely…
“Oh dear.”
Paian adjusted his grip and turned slightly toward Alua.
The seal calmed a little.
[…Oh dear.]
I focused on Alua’s voice.
Even if I couldn’t understand the seal, maybe Alua could explain.
[That little one follows me often, so it’s sensitive to demonic energy… It’s afraid of his hand.]
There was a hint of awkwardness in Alua’s voice as it looked at Richard.
“My lady, what did Alua say?”
At Marcelo’s question, my mind went blank.
What should I say?
“[It’s afraid of his hand.]”
“[Afraid of his hand.]”
The priests above had already started mimicking the divine language without understanding.
I glared at them unconsciously, then clenched my fists.
Richard’s blue eyes met mine.
“Kalia?”
For a moment, I looked at his gloved hand—completely covered without a single gap.
I couldn’t translate Alua’s words directly.
Not just because of the confidentiality clause in the contract…
“[Afraid… of demonic energy.]”
“You there. Please be quiet.”
Snapping irritably at the priests above, I turned to Paian and Marcelo.
“Richard’s physique is quite imposing, so I think the seal got scared. Marcelo, could you do it instead?”
“I see. Admiral, if you don’t mind, may I borrow your dagger?”
“Go ahead.”
With a curt nod, Richard handed it over.
As Marcelo stepped forward, the seal became calm as if it had never struggled.
“……”
Under careful hands, the net binding the seal was cut away thread by thread.
Meanwhile, Richard stepped a few paces back—
away from Paian, Marcelo…
and from where I stood.
For some reason, my chest felt tight.
The man standing alone near the sharp rock wall—
his calm face, his hand hidden behind him—
made it seem like he had realized the truth I didn’t say.
“Are you sulking because a cute seal got scared of you, Richard?”
I approached him deliberately, speaking playfully.
“…There’s no reason for it to be afraid.”
As always, he showed neither sadness nor bitterness.
But perhaps because of the shadow cast by the rocks, his blue eyes seemed dimmer.
I didn’t like that.
So I stepped closer, right in front of him.
Grabbing his arm as he tried to pull back slightly, I looked straight into his eyes and grinned.
“That seal doesn’t know how to appreciate a handsome man. I’ll just admire you instead.”
