It was almost time.

Soon, the many storms brewing on the ship will reach their peak. It was inevitable. Remina sat on the ground, checking everything in her bag. Remina travelled light, so she didn’t have anything to worry about.

She looked towards Kalaman, who sat on the bed, absentmindedly staring at the ground. She’s never seen him in this state before. Even as the thunder began to clap, he remained unfazed, as if everything in the world no longer mattered to him.

No, that wasn’t the case. Nothing ever mattered to him before. But now, things were different. Things had changed.

Change. That was a word she’d never thought would apply to Kalaman Kampus.

Suddenly, she found her own hands shaking. That’s right. It was almost time. It was today. Within today, she’d...

Remina shook her head. It’s too late now.

Among the many items inside her bag, one of was utmost importance to her in this moment. As long as she had that, everything will work out.

The door opened. Armei stumbled inside, looking more tired than usual. The days have not been kind to her, not since Nentonia came. Remina felt bad for her, though she never really had a chance even back then. Soon, it won’t matter.

“Oh, hey, Mei!” Remina gave her standard introduction, and went back to her preparations. As she expected, Armei ignored her and went straight towards Kalaman.

“Kalaman, you look awful right now. Is ... is the assassin problem getting to you?” Armei asked. Funny. Armei herself looked awful as well, if not more so than him.

“Does it look like it’s getting to me?”

Armei looked defeated, even as she chuckled weakly. She probably knew the answer already. “No. I figured. Well, if you need me, then just ask.”

She continued walking to the bed, her gait heavy and slow.

“Hey,” Kalaman suddenly called out to her.

“Yeah?” Armei turned around, and a bit of that heaviness dissipated. What a fool. She still clung on to hope? Even after all this time?

“Do you know where Nentonia went?” Kalaman asked.

Armei froze in place. Remina was shocked as well. To her recollection, Kalaman has never used anyone’s direct names before. This was likely the first time Armei’s heard this, too.

“...You’re looking for her? Why?” Armei’s voice was weak, but laced with toxins.

“Just curious.” When Armei stayed silent for a while, Kalaman raised his head and put more force into his voice. “Elf, answer me.”

“...I don’t know, sorry,” Armei finally replied. She took a deep breath, and started walking for the door.

All of this didn’t sit well with Remina for some reason. This was a predictable outcome. She knew this was going to happen. In fact, she was what she was hoping for. But her heartbeat was getting faster and faster, and she felt panicked for the first time in years.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Mei? Where are you going?” Remina called out. Even her voice was shaking already.

“The upper deck. Just gonna watch the storm, that’s all.”

Armei closed the door behind her.

Most likely, she was going to go find Nentonia and confront her. Remina knew what Armei was about to do.

She continued rummaging through her belongings, looking for that one item. Then, she finally found it: a small wooden box. It was one of the magic items she hid from everyone else. She even took care that Jarvarax wouldn’t find it when he was doing inventory management.

The magic item was a Folding Boat, a rare item which could unfold into a boat, as the name suggests. This would be her ticket out of this doomed ship.

Her stomach began to churn, and she knew it wasn’t because of the storm outside. The look on Armei’s face flashed in her mind.

“I-I’ll go talk to Armei!” Remina said to Kalaman, though he probably wouldn’t care even if she said nothing.

She stood up, leaving her bag behind, and ran to the door. She dashed through the hallways, her tiny feet pounding only lightly on the floorboards.

Then, she stopped. She was breathing heavily, and supported herself on the wall. But that wasn’t why she stopped running.

She was confused.

Then, she laughed.

“What in the world am I doing?”

She never used to be like this. She could do what she had to do, and she did it well. And yet, she wasn’t acting like herself at all.

What was she doing? Why was she chasing after Armei? By now, she should already be rowing away from this ship; use the storm to sneak away undetected.

She heard a crash of thunder. The storm was getting worse.

There was little time left.

“...Hah.”

Remina gave an exasperated sigh and continued running.

†

When Remina regained consciousness, she found herself on top of a bed. She saw the familiar wooden ceiling of the ship’s rooms. Her eyes focused even more, and she saw Nentonia by her side, her palms glowing a faint green glow.

She remembered now. Remina interfered with Armei and Nentonia’s fight, and as a result, she got hit by a particularly nasty spell.

Honestly, it was a miracle she was still alive, considering she took that attack head on.

“Nen...” Remina tried to speak, but her throat was sore.

“Are you awake now?” Nentonia replied calmly. Her face’s expression did not shift even one bit. “Just a second, I’m almost done healing you.”

Remina looked down on her own body. Her left arm was gone entirely. All that was left was a tiny, bandaged nub that connected to her shoulder. The pain was mostly gone by now, but it still stung really bad.

Perhaps noticing her wince, Nentonia said, “Sorry. I’m not a very good healer, so I can’t fully heal your wounds. I think you’ll survive, though.”

“...What about Armei?” Remina asked. “Is she alright?”

“She’s fine.” Nentonia finished her healing and breathed a sigh of relief. “What were you thinking, jumping in front of her like that?”

“Because ... she was going to hurt you.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. It was fine.”

“It’s not fine,” Remina raised her voice, even though it hurt. “You’re my friend. Of course, I need to protect you.”

Nentonia smiled. “That’s sweet, Rem. There haven’t been many people who’d do that for me. But like I said, it’s fine. ”

The ship creaked as the storm continued to throw a tantrum. A moment of silence amidst the chaos.

Certainly, Remina had made a humongous blunder, one that cost her an arm, and possibly her life. Time was running out. Her glyph would activate soon, and she was still on the ship.

Why did she do that?

Why did she protect Nentonia?

She knew how stubborn Armei was. If it concerned Kalaman, she’d go through hell and back. And yet, she still did it. She tried to stop her, knowing it would end badly.

“Nen, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Do you consider me a friend?”

“Of course I do.”

“Why?”

Nentonia looked at her. “What do you mean, why?”

“...Nevermind. Sorry for asking that question, it’s really nothing.”

“Mm. It's fine.”

Remina stared at the ceiling. Even she didn’t know what she was asking. Perhaps, she wanted to understand what it meant to be friends; to have that connection with someone else.

Remina had never considered anyone a friend for years now. She’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone like that.

“By the way, Rem,” Nentonia said.

“What is it?”

“Your accent is slipping.”

“...Ah. You’re right. It is.”

The silence continued for a while. Strangely, Remina felt calm. Even after everything that happened, she felt peaceful. It was like a weight had disappeared from her shoulders, even if only a little.

Remina chuckled.

This whole situation was hilarious to her.

She really was slipping.

“Nen,” Remina turned to her friend. “Please kill me.”