Going on Vacation (3)

On the deck, taking in the scenery. As the sun started to dip low, we headed back to the room. The crew brought dinner once again. And even a whole bottle of wine to boot.

The wine's taste... honestly, I have no clue. My sense of taste is sharper than a normal person's, but sadly, my main body's a total picky eater.

Their reactions were pretty lukewarm too. Shin-nim hated the strong land smell, and Go-seo turned up her nose at how cheap it was. In the end, I polished off the whole bottle myself. No matter how much I drink, I don't get drunk. It was pleasantly sweet—decent as a beverage.

"They've got tons of shows and events. Wanna go check 'em out?"

From what I'd looked up online, cruises ran big and small events every single day. You could do one a day and still not get through them all.

There was a bit of petty bickering, but in the end, all three of us left the room together. That night, we hit the welcome show, the club, the bar, the game room. We even took a midnight stroll before crashing at 6 a.m.

After that, we kept enjoying the cruise to the fullest. We joined every event there was and got friendly with a bunch of people.

"Whoa, that's some transcendent-level commentary."

Shin-nim had a blast, no surprise there. The unexpected part was Go-seo, who'd been grumbling hard at first, actually enjoying it too.

"You're really getting into it, huh?"

And just like that, five days of frenzy flew by. Before we knew it, we were hit with burnout. We'd done pretty much everything the cruise had to offer, save for the staff-only restricted areas.

"...."

With the excitement gone, our true natures emerged. If we wanted, we could hole up for a month straight. Zoning out is our specialty. I was sprawled on the bed, the stone slab on my stomach. Go-seo leaned against me, reading a book to pass the time.

"A book reading a book."

She was manipulating her book tendrils freely to flip pages. She could just devour it whole, but this seemed to be her hobby. Like Shin-nim pulling out tentacles to play games. Gods' hidden pastimes or whatever.

"Where to?"

We were just rolling around like that when Shin-nim apparently couldn't take it anymore and headed out. Worrying about her was ridiculous on my part. More like, I was concerned she'd end up in the lost and found in that state.

"She'll handle it fine, right?"

"Why end with a question mark?"

With mild concern, 30 minutes passed. Suddenly, a familiar presence approached and snuggled right into me. And then she said:

"Sigh."

Called it. Our idiot Shin-nim had gotten into trouble. Better clean this up quick before it blows up. If I screwed up, a pissed-off Shin-nim might summon tentacles and flip the whole cruise ship.

Shin-nim and I are husband and wife. We love each other, cherish each other, think of each other always. That's a given. But personality-wise, we're a bit different. Put it like this: Shin-nim's the accelerator, I'm the brakes. This time was like a car with no brakes speeding into a guardrail.

"Why'd you come in here this time?"

I was walking through a staff-only restricted area right now. Not the usual passenger corridors, but the dim back passages for crew and logistics. Tracing Shin-nim's path in reverse.

"Obviously."

Obviously, I had perception distortion magic up. Crew passed by occasionally, but they didn't see us—just brushed right past. If Shin-nim had thought ahead, she'd have cast it too.

...And yet she still got caught.

"Who was it?"

"How many of those are there?"

Half the creeps lurking in the world's shadows dressed like that. Getting anything useful out of Shin-nim seemed hopeless. Best to check it out myself.

"This way, right?"

"...."

Ten minutes of following Shin-nim's guidance took me deep into the cruise ship's bowels. The engine's roar was getting louder. Not far now. And with hardly anyone around, perfect spot for shady dealings.

"Something's really here."

We'd arrived at the spot Shin-nim mentioned, and sure enough, someone was there. They hadn't noticed us, but my senses picked up every hair on their head. A hairy guy. Dressed like regular crew, but the crystal orb in his hand was definitely out of place.

"Everything you commanded is done, sir. We can execute the operation tomorrow if needed."

Looks like the crystal was for communication. Eavesdropping, it sounded like a cult. Cheon-do Association, now this—why do I keep running into these nuts?

"Time to head in..."

Situation grasped. Go in, beat the guy down, retrieve the slab. Done. I rolled my shoulders to charge—

Then he uttered that language.

He ended with that and shut off the crystal. Probably their passphrase. The problem? That language was way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too familiar to me.

"Urk?!"

"Let's have a little chat."

I burst into the room and subdued him fast. Grabbed his throat with one hand and hoisted him up. He tried magic to shake me off, but I stirred my energy to disrupt his mana, and he lost the will to resist.

"You... one of the land vermin's lackeys?"

"Khgh...!"

The deep sea—anyone who knows, knows. Uncharted by humans, birthplace of countless anomalies. Most folks I'd met figured I was deep sea folk, which wasn't wrong. Just that their idea of the deep sea and the real thing differed a bit.

Knowing deep sea tongue means knowing the real deep sea.

Only two types know it. Those who stumbled into the deep sea by chance, got hooked, and became Shin-nim's followers. The other? Lackeys feeding info to those filthy land vermin.

"Show me everything."

"!!!"

I hit him with interrogation magic. My strengthened deep sea magic let me see memories from way before a month ago. His whole life, his thoughts—like timelapsing an ant's existence.

"...Huh?"

After a quick scan, I froze in confusion and loosened my grip on his throat. Simple reason: no connection to the land vermin.

"Really just a coincidence?"

The man with the snapped neck before me. Bad guy prepping terror, sure. But zero ties to land vermin. He didn't even know what the deep sea tongue meant.

"Doesn't seem like it."

Deep sea folk gag at the mere whiff of land vermin. But seeing the cult leader in the guy's memories? No reaction. If the leader had any link, murderous intent would've surged on sight.

"Oh, the slab."

As I dealt with the body in disbelief, Shin-nim timidly spoke up. Right, we came here to rescue the slab. The absurdity had almost made me forget.

"Lemme see. Where's the slab..."

I scanned around for it. Supposed to be nearby, per Shin-nim. Casually searching at first, but unease grew. After tearing the room apart, I froze.

"...."

Searched everywhere—no slab. Instead, I found a portable teleporter. Sized for something slab-shaped, still warm like it'd just been used.

This... had to be it, right?

"Uh... wanna buy a new one?"

Looks like the slab got kidnapped somewhere. Absurd all around.

A tiny island in the middle of the Pacific. Jagged rocks like knife blades jutted up, shipwreck debris scattered everywhere. On this isle whipped by ill winds, a dozen or so people gathered, conversing.

"Soon. No need to rush—wait patiently."

"Who doesn't know that? Help or shut it."

Cultists in deep black robes. Devout priests beyond all else—commonly called a cult by the world. Sacrificing thousands? No normal religion there.

"In contact with brothers infiltrated on the ship."

"Preparations nearly done."

Not a sane one among them, but the leader was the craziest by far. No trace of human heart. Awakened to otherworldly knowledge, willing to do anything for his god. The followers respected him—and feared him.

"Leader's here."

"What's he carrying?"

From the deep cave at the island's center—his chamber and prayer room—the leader emerged. Something in his hands. Looked like a plain stone shard at first, but up close, it was clearly the stone slab.

"Show us closer!"

The cultists jumped at the leader's words. A slab with their worshipped god's prophecy? Practically a holy relic. Skeptical at first, but crowding around confirmed it.

"Even the ship's name!"

"This is the prophecy slab—no doubt!"

What followed was pure madness. The leader wailed to his god and held sacrifice. The cultists read the slab, absorbing otherworldly knowledge. But they had no idea what it said, or why a cruise ship was on it.

...The so-called deep sea cultists truly had no clue.