Chapter 47
Chapter 47
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: White Flame's Hand
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The mermaid bobbed up and down above the hexagonal wooden statue, endlessly swimming in place in midair.
Having left the items just sitting there, Mayches's friends showed no intention of budging anytime soon.
I gripped the microphone tightly in my hand and anxiously stared at them.
"Alright, then let's do that."
Finally, whatever discussion they'd been having wrapped up, and they lifted their heads!
"Bamper hyung. It's just you—the one who hasn't done his share yet—me, and those two left. What do you say?"
Calipan asked Bamper.
But Calipan was already rolling his shoulders in preparation, so Bamper chuckled once and elegantly yielded the turn.
"Sure. I'll be right back."
Calipan wrapped the mermaid compass tightly around his arm with rope. And then.
Splash—
He hurled himself straight into the cobalt sea without hesitation!
Seeing the sparkling water droplets spray up as he leaped, I gaped in shock.
Hey! You need to take the conch shell to breathe inside! More importantly, why wasn't anyone stopping Calipan? Why were they all just standing there so casually?
They hadn't examined it closely right after finding it, but the mermaid was wearing a conch shell necklace around its neck.
"Following the mermaid's dance" wasn't just about going in the direction she indicated—it meant imitating her actions.
In other words, the correct answer was to sail to the point indicated by the compass, grab the conch shell, and swim down into the sea.
"Oppa! We need to stop the game!"
Mayches watched me clutching and shaking the hem of his sleeve, then smirked.
"You get what Calipan meant now."
"What did he mean?!"
"That you see him as too much of a weakling."
Me? When did I ever call Calipan a weakling? More importantly, Calipan might drown, so stopping the game took priority.
"Oppa, hurry…!"
That was when it happened. Something burst out of the screen with a whoosh!
It was Calipan, who had gone into the sea!
He shot up into the sky, something tucked under his arm, and landed lightly on the deck.
My jaw, which had dropped following him upward, now fell back down. He was totally fine?
Calipan swept back his wet, clinging hair and handed his friends the treasure chest he'd brought from inside.
No use saying it out loud, but... it was the wooden box that had originally been embedded in the rock.
Opening it revealed five pearls, and dividing them all up would advance to the next stage.
"This must be the key to the next stage."
"Oh, got it. Good work."
They knew that—why weren't they moving on? Why say good work and just set the box down?
I couldn't grasp how the situation was unfolding at all and just kept rolling my eyes.
Daluh glanced up at the sky and asked,
"How many minutes left?"
"Five."
"Perfect. Mayches, bring Aiel in. Let's play for four."
My eyes met Mayches's in midair. What... kind of development was this?
"Whoa!"
The boat shot across the vast ocean like an arrow.
The wind whipped so fiercely it tousled my braided hair, but I felt amazing.
On one hand, I was deeply moved.
It felt like just yesterday I'd gone out to the garden for the first time, gotten some fresh air, and passed out cold... Now I could even handle sea breeze (fake)!
With only four minutes to play, even this speed felt insufficient—I was tempted to ask Bamper, who was having the spirits push the boat, to go even faster.
As I gazed down at the waves parting beneath the boat, Calipan must have noticed. He dropped the anchor over the side.
Boom—!
The sea erupted in the middle like a bomb had gone off, sending a massive spray shooting up. It broke into tiny droplets, wrapping coolly around my body like mist.
"This is awesome!"
I shouted at the top of my lungs, like someone yelling from a mountaintop.
My voice scattered behind us on the wind.
My throat already hurt, but it was still great.
"Once your sister's healthy, real water play sounds good."
Before Mayches could respond to Yan's words, I nodded vigorously.
Mayches watched me and smiled silently, but was it the reflection off the seawater? His eyes sparkled intensely.
"Yesterday when we tested it alone, you didn't have that expression."
"Yesterday you guys weren't here. Playing alone is no fun anyway."
I smiled gratefully at Jayhan, who was holding me so the wind wouldn't sweep me away.
Normally, Jayhan would give me that inscrutable look in moments like this before looking away, but for some reason, this time he kept meeting my eyes.
I cupped my ears, deafened by the wind, and shouted,
"Jayhan, isn't this super fun?"
"......"
Jayhan gazed down at me a bit longer before nodding.
I froze. I could read his lips.
"You look like you're having fun."
"......"
My chest tickled oddly, and I looked away first.
Why... why did this feel so gratifying?!
Kay wanted to whoop at the top of his lungs. He felt as good as if he'd gotten the sea breeze himself.
With no one around the party hall entrance, he even wriggled his body a bit, oblivious to the wallpaper rippling.
Humming to himself inwardly, he scribbled in his notebook.
Kay was the type to infuse emotion into his usual reports, often getting scolded for it.
He'd tried to fix the habit but couldn't, sometimes feeling down about it—but right now, it felt different.
He was utterly convinced he was the perfect person for this job.
More than who used what power or said what, the guildmaster surely wanted to hear this most.
After writing fluidly and scanning it over, Kay paused at one part, hmming thoughtfully.
He struck through [Count Rudelriz] and [Count Rudelriz and his sister], rewriting them.
[Rudelriz Siblings]
On the screen, Lady Rudelriz sneezed. "Atchoo."
Looks like I got too much wind after all. Feels like more than four minutes passed...
No? Mayches must be keeping track.
As I sneezed, Mayches quickly shrugged off his outer coat and draped it over me.
I'd properly fastened it to block the wind and lifted my head when, for some reason, everyone was awkwardly clutching their own outer coats.
Oh, no way—were they all about to give me their coats too...?
Daluh slowly scanned his friends and drawled,
"Let's all do some 'don't become Mayches' training. You're all way too much."
"Comes from you, Eclipse... to say that?"
"That's not what I meant."
Mayches checked my temperature and pulse, then turned to his friends.
"We've got the pearls, so let's head to the next stage like this."
"You too, hyung and sis?"
Instead of answering, Mayches extended his arm and cast a spell.
We'd been speeding across the vast sea moments ago, but now we stood with both feet on solid ground.
"Huh?"
Looking around in confusion, I was puzzled.
We'd arrived at the Rudelriz garden. That much was as planned.
For some reason, Mayches had insisted on making the final stage there, and since we could play the game, I'd agreed it didn't matter.
But... the garden looked completely different from how it had that morning.
As I scanned the surroundings with baffled eyes, Mayches's friends burst into laughter again. They were awfully laughy today.
"Oh, I think I get what answer he's after."
"Pfft. Good thing you're last, Bamper hyung."
"Whoa... Hey, Daluh. No need for 'don't become Mayches' training. Who could keep up with that guy?"
"Right? He really prepared this..."
"One minute left."
At Mayches's stern warning, Bamper walked toward me with steady steps.
He smiled kindly and extended his hand to me, just like offering a dance at a ball.
"White Flame, will you help me? It'd be meaningless without you."