“Yo!”
After a brief moment of surprise, Diavolo relaxed and sighed seeing that it was Shin. “Oh, thank goodness it’s you.”
“What, you missing me so much? You’re gonna make me blush, hehe!” Giving a wide smile and rubbing his nose, he entered the room carrying a plastic bag of goods.
But suddenly, he noticed that Diavolo’s hands were under the sheets in a really awkward position and so, stopped in his tracks. “Diav, you… Sorry, I’ll leave. Take your time,” and turned around. “I’ll get a new tissue box just in case as well, okay?”
“That’s not it, dumbass!! Get back in here!!”
Shin shuddered.
“S-sorry, I’m… not into that sort of thing, okay? Could you leave me out of this, please?” he awkwardly smiled.
“I. Said. That’s. Not. It. Didn’t I?!” But seeing Shin totally ignore his words and closing the door, Diavolo instantly swiped his hand out, grabbed his sword lying beside him, “You want me to char your face?!” and pointed it towards him, making a really contorted face.
“Okay, okay, I got it! Put that thing away, we’re in a hospital, you know?” Shin shook his palms horizontally and turned back in.
Using his sword as a support, Diavolo slid his legs out and placed them on the ground, “Help me get out.”
“Hmm? What happened, you look frustrated.”
“Yesterday was Yukio’s shift, right?” he placed his palm on his face and sighed. “I swear, I had no idea he’d be like that. I actually feel suffocated after all that.”
Diavolo recalled the previous day where Yukio excessively took care of him. With every little task, he would get up and ask and ponder if a doctor would be necessary for the task and figure out numerous ways to make things easiest for Diavolo. He would make such a fuss over the simplest of things that he almost seemed like a nanny than a nurse.
If any other person were to take care of people in the same way, it would be frustrating for both the patient and the caretaker. It was understandable why Diavolo wished for a dose of fresh air right now.
“Ehehe, yeah, I kinda heard. Don’t let it bother you too much. Although Yu wouldn’t normally behave like that back home, I’d say it was mostly because of the doctor and Hannah this time. The two made such a huge fuss about how critical and dangerous your state was.”
“Speaking of Hannah… It’s today, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Although we’re part of the house currently, non-Rose members aren’t allowed to attend, so Yu didn’t go either. He’s probably back at the mansion with Marvin or something.”
Diavolo finally put weight onto his sword and lifted himself up. “Ugh!”
“Easy there. I’ll help you up,” and he rested Diavolo’s arm around his shoulders.
He gave off a faint giggle. “Hehe, I’m surrounded by worrywarts. Please, you understand my feelings, right?”
“Of course! If I don’t understand my rival’s needs, then who will? The doctor gave me a lecture about your state too, by the way. To be honest, it all sounded like a pain in the ass. Would the rooftop be an okay destination?”
“Yeah, it’s perfect,” and they made their way.
Actually, Diavolo’s situation really was bad. Shin simply could not comprehend the degree of the injury.
Personally, Shin had never experienced an injury like so and neither had Diavolo in the past. But whatever injury they did have, it never took too long to be healed; or at least healed ‘enough’ to move normally again.
In his eyes, Diavolo was a really strong guy. As a rival, he wholeheartedly believed that whatever problems he faced, it wouldn’t be hard for Diavolo to overcome them. He looked up to Diavolo. Of course, the reverse was also true, that’s a different issue.
Any normal human wouldn’t be able to stand up so quickly after an injury like that. It was simply that Diavolo’s restorative capabilities were profoundly high. But such a thing would not occur in Shin’s head. In his eyes, the others were just thinking way too much. If Diavolo could stand like this, it would be fine to let him move around if he feels like it.
Since it was absolutely restricted for Diavolo to leave the bed, Shin had no choice but to be very careful as he snuck Diavolo up. Since the elevator was off limits, it was quite tiresome and time consuming to actually get up there.
Luckily, since they were new faces in the city, nobody greeted them with familiarity if they were ever spotted. If they were known, then the main doctor would not simply be their most dangerous enemy at the moment.
Upon reaching their destination, they let out cold breaths. Since the season was reaching its final stages of winter, the weather was slightly chilly, just enough to be comfortable. Under the cold breeze, numerous white clothes were left to dry all across the rooftop.
Taking a moment and leaning on the wall, Diavolo looked down under his robe at the bandages around his abdomen, “I think… all that hiding actually made it hurt more than the actual walking,” and bitterly smiled.
“Right? Made me really tense. Kinda reminded me of the times when we used to sneak around in the village.”
With a hint of nostalgia striking his mind, Diavolo walked near the edge and rested his elbows on the railing and looked up at the sky. He took one final deep breath as if to release all the pent up stress he had.
“It’s been five days since then, huh?” he muttered under his breath.
He pondered on all that’d happened and recollected his thoughts. He had been unconscious for three days, and although because of it he should actually be feeling as if not much time had passed, when the thought of three days passing by in a flash actually sunk in, he felt like it had been a really long time instead.
Looking towards a great distance he could hear a faint sound of many voices coming from that direction.
“It’s taking place over there, right?”
“Yeah, I wish I could go see it, though; our Prez at work. You might not know but a whole bunch of people flocked in front of the mansion while you were out, demanding an explanation of the spectacle.”
“I heard it from Yukio. Hannah apparently told you two to sneak in from the side so they don’t end up bothering you.”
“Yup, hehe! She had a really long discussion with Mr. William yesterday about all of it. Even if Suzume wants to involve as little people as possible, it isn’t possible anymore. And Hannah understands very well that with her current position, she won’t be able to handle everything without her grandfather’s help.
Once everything was done, it was decided that the people needed to be fed with at least some sort of information for them to be at ease and so announced a public meeting for the next day, immediately.”
“I take it that Suzume’s case won’t be made public, right?”
“That’s a given. With the amount of power Rose has, it shouldn’t be too difficult to come up with something. But man, although fights might happen sometimes here and there, yours was just too flashy to ignore!” Shin chuckled.
It was true. Using Claude as an example, random battles or duels occurring here and there weren't uncommon. If it were in the scale of Shin and Yukio’s battles, or maybe even the first assault Diavolo faced, even if several people were to witness it, nobody would make a big fuss about it.
Collateral damage may also occur, but it was usually within the constraints of the government’s ability to fix it.
Even if some blood were to be shed in the battles, as long it wasn’t too great, the most that would happen was that it would be the gossip between people for a few days.
Compared to all that, Diavolo’s bout was indeed too high profile. A huge fire pillar suddenly appearing under the gradually dimming sky is simply asking to be noticed. And not to mention… Diavolo also ended up killing his assailant.
“...He died, didn’t he?” Diavolo asked in a low voice, taking a gulp of saliva.
“...Yeah… he died. After you were brought here, Hannah immediately ordered for the body to be taken away. She expected the other two to have escaped along with the body by then, but it turned out that they just left him there. Talk about heartless!”
“But his body was out in the open between that time, right? How does Hannah plan to deal with that?” he said in a gloomy voice.
“... No clue. Mr. William said to leave it to him, and I have no idea about the details. He even told Hannah not to bother about it. Sounded like he had a plan.”
Diavolo stared down at his hand; the hand that held the sword that ended a life, “But… I killed him, didn’t I?”
“You’re saying that now? Does it really bother you that much?” Shin asked, leaning on the railing beside Diavolo.
Diavolo shook his head, “That’s not it. Back then, I didn’t think anything about it. It was a kill or be killed scenario, you see. So I didn’t even think of him as a person then. To fight a beast, you need to become a beast, just like how we hunted back in the forest. But now that it hit me, that I killed a human this time…”
“You feel guilty?”
“No. It’s just… a strange feeling...”
Shin sighed, “Well, I guess it is. It’s your first time after all. There’s bound to be some confusion… probably,” he too stared into the sky.
“What about you? How were things on your end?” Diavolo turned towards him.
Shin made a bitter face, remembering his fight. Although he won the fight, he wasn’t satisfied.
“Tch! Don’t remind me. I won, and I also didn’t kill anyone, but a victory like that… I just can’t accept it!”
“What happened?”
“It’s the weapon. I wanted to test it out… but it absolutely wouldn’t listen. And when I lost my cool, it went berserk. Unlike you who can release so much Raze, all the way up to the sky, I’m still really weak.”
“What, you’re depressed just because of that? I had no idea my rival was such a softy!” Diavolo taunted.
“As if! It’s just frustrating! You know… if something like my lack of strength were to be the cause of misfortune again, then…”
Diavolo understood where Shin was getting at. If perhaps, he himself was strong enough at ‘that’ time, he might’ve been able to save the villagers, or at least, his mother.
“I get that fact that first generation weapons don’t really have a synchro rate, but since it activated itself, it means that it saw something in you and decided to lend you its strength. But.. that’s not the case for third generations. I’m absolutely sure that there was no issue with my synchro rate with that thing! So then why?!” Shin frowned and looked down at his clenched fist.
“Something in me…” Diavolo thought back and decided to ask, “Say, Shin. When you’ve been in huge peril… or when you’re under intense mental stress, or maybe even when you’re asleep, have you ever found yourself in a realm in front of a giant gate?”
“Eh? Hmm…” Shin folded his arms and pondered on the thought with his eyes closed.
Great peril, mental stress or when not awake. He couldn’t recall anything like that. Thinking back, there were only two instances when he felt something strange: one was when the disaster occurred and the other was when he recalled the disaster during his race with Hannah.
Back then, when he saw the despair in the little Diavolo’s eyes, numerous feelings were induced and as a result of that storm, he ended up feeling utter emptiness; complete void, but only for an instant. The next instant when he returned from it, he felt that feeling to be so scary - and combined with the sorrowful atmosphere - he ended up crying in Diavolo’s stead.
Similarly, during his race with Hannah, under the moment of desperation, the bottled up feelings had resurfaced again, inducing the same feelings as before.
However, never once, had he ever experienced a phenomenon as Diavolo described.
“... Let’s see… door, door, door… nope. Doesn’t ring a bell. Why do you ask?” he asked in a confused tone, “Hmm?”
He noticed Diavolo was no longer paying attention to his words and simply stared deeply across the horizon, witnessing the final moments of the sunset. Driven by his gaze, Shin too diverted his eyes to look in the same direction, both of them soaking in the view in silence.
“... If you don’t know, then forget it. Let’s return,” Diavolo broke the silence as he turned around and started walking towards the door.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Eh? That’s it? You sure you don’t want to do some running and stretching while we’re still here? The meeting will probably be over soon and Hannah will come running here. You won’t get a chance then, you know.”
Diavolo smiled wryly, “Even if I have fast self healing, running and stretching at this stage is beyond me. I’m way too aware of the pain right now, so I’m good with this,” and facing Shin, “Besides, the temperature’s also dropping. If I were to catch a cold, we’ll be caught red handed won’t we?”
“Hehe! Makes sense. Then, let’s go.”
On their way back, it was absolutely impossible to sneak. With the sun setting, numerous patients who regularly take a stroll or some time outside or somewhere else had started to return to their respective cabins. Also aided by doctors, the hallways gave no room for any form of sneaking. They could simply leave it up to luck.
Unfortunately, their assigned doctor did happen to fall on their path back. Cold sweat dripped down as they prepared for the worst. They could turn back and circle around the building, but that would be way too much hassle.
Not to mention if the doctor was here, then there was a high chance his nurses were also somewhere near. If they were to take a detour, even if they avoided the doctor, there was a possibility they’d end up meeting one or several known nurses. The best choice would be to simply face their end right now.
But after a few seconds' passing, they realized the doctor hadn’t noticed them yet, as he was busy tending to a different patient on a wheelchair. Taking their chance, went straight ahead, as swiftly and as quickly as possible. Sudden movements occurring at the corner of one’s eye would surely catch the attention of the person, so they made sure they made no jittering and fidgeting movements on their way.
With relatively great difficulty, they managed to safely reach their own cabin and finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Huff...huff... Diav, how long till you get discharged? I don’t think I can take much more of this…” Shin complained as he let his entire weight all onto the chair beside him.
“I’m the patient… huff… it’s even harder for me, you know… huff…”
------------
“Phew! Sorry I’m late!” entered the red haired young mistress into the cabin and immediately removed her muffler. Compared to the chilly atmosphere outside, it was rather comfortably warm in here.
“Ah, Hannah! Good work! We’ve been waiting,” greeted Shin as the two turned to face her.
As she was greeted, Hannah noticed a receding aura around them and quickly realized what they had been doing. The boys must have been refining their aura control as they waited.
Although she mentally pouted, she was slightly happy that her students were diligent enough to train even as a pastime. Doing so in the hospital might bring trouble, but as long as it was done in moderation, she thought it was fine.
“It makes me happy that you guys still want to train, but this is a hospital, you know? And Diavolo is a patient as well, don’t push yourself,” Hannah still stated. No matter how glad she felt, she still had to uphold rules and act as a responsible figure. However, her tone was still quite lenient as she let out a deep sigh and sat down on a chair with a plop.
“Well? How was it?” Shin asked.
“It was quite nerve wracking to be honest. If I hadn't occasionally looked away from the crowd, I might’ve ended up stuttering. Thank goodness Grandpa was there to help. It really put a lot of weight off my chest.”
“No matter how experienced you are, as expected, speaking in public is still quite nerve wracking after all, huh?”
“Experienced…? Ah, no you’ve got it wrong!” Hannah waved her hand in front of her face, “You could say this was my first time giving a public speech. Till now, I’ve only attended public meetings and occasionally gave out scripted speeches. But this was completely different. I’m not as amazing as you think I am, really!”
“Most people never even get a chance to speak to an entire city while still in highschool though…” the boys thought awkwardly smiling.
“Well, anyways, how was it? As in, how’d you handle it?”
“Right, you guys deserve to know too, huh,” she nodded and began explaining, “In short, it was all actually pushed onto our family, really. About how there were groups that were against the Rose rising in power. Since it’s about political strifes, not much detail was needed to make it believable. We just took an already existing setting and used that to our advantage. Since you were seen with me quite often, the group had assumed they could somehow use you in some way and thus also attacked you.”
“Ohh~, I see, I see…”
“And also…” she suddenly embarrassingly scratched her cheek, “Because of the attack, since the entire city now knows that you’re connected to me, there might come times when you’re secretly followed or asked questions.”
“Hmm? I don’t really mind it. It’s just talking to a few people. Right, Diav?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t really bother me. And I think we can take care of it if they follow us around too much.”
“Well... that’s where the problem is. If they follow you, they’ll know you live in my house. You see, you might not know but, we’re actually in a critical time period. If people got to know a bunch of boys with unknown backgrounds were living in the Rose House, it may cause unnecessary suspicion and doubt.”
“Eh? But didn’t you say it was fine if we stayed over?”
“I did bring over people in the past, but in all cases they were people of the city and once I was done helping out, they would return to their own residences. You guys are different. Not only are you not from here, but your background is weak. If coupled with the fact that I simply let you in out of good intentions, then people may suspect that you set us up in order to gain my trust.”
“That’s quite troublesome.”
“I know, right. And because of that…” after hesitating a while, she awkwardly smiled, “You’ll… kind of have to pretend to be our employees under the guise of being students. If it’s simply bringing you in, then people might have doubts, but if the story went that we personally recruited you, then it’s understandable that your backgrounds are kept secret.
Ah, but you won’t really have to do anything, so don’t worry! I won’t make you work just to make things look convincing. It will simply be a public face, so you can continue your lives as you wish. And since you’re exceptionally talented and powerful, it will automatically be more convincing that we hired you for a reason. But things ending up this way, feels a little….right?”
Hannah was feeling really awkward. Although things were settled nicely, she yet again had to give more trouble to them. Even if it was just pretend, keeping such a thing as a public word would still attract attention.
Thinking back, ever since the boys had arrived, they had experienced nothing but danger. On one side it was Suzume’s case and on the other it was her.
Right after a decisive fight against Claude, they experienced a life threatening situation. Hannah was feeling uneasy that Claude might continuously cause massive uproars in school from then on. However surprising enough, Claude had actually calmed down.
During the three days Diavolo was unconscious, none of them had attended school. Only Hannah, due to her position, was needed to occasionally drop by to gather reports and provide necessary commands. To her surprise Claude actually hadn’t caused any problems whatsoever.
But there was definitely a change. Naturally there were students who wished to tease Claude for his ‘loss’ and thus approached him accordingly. But they would always stop before they could even finish saying their first word.
No they weren’t physically told to shut up or anything. Although Claude had quieted down, he had started to emanate a deathly feeling off of himself. It was so strong that many students couldn’t even approach him. Even several teachers felt slightly uncomfortable when exposed to the feeling, making them not even dare to question the problem.
After Diavolo had returned, it was decided that they would tend to him in shifts. When it was not their shift, they would attend school normally. Since on the fourth day after the incident it was Yukio’s shift, Shin and the rest, naturally, had to go to school.
Hannah had originally thought none of them attending school was the reason Claude stayed silent; she was expecting a storm to be cast as soon Claude saw the first glimpse of any of them. All of them felt uneasy when they got to know Shin and Yukio was returning. Yet still, no reaction from Claude.
Although they were glad things were peaceful, a completely silent Claude simply added suspense with every passing moment. Every single time one spotted him, they’d think he was an extremely violent volcano, lying strongly dormant, ready to burst out. The worst part was that they had no clue when or what could cause him to burst out. Some students even felt themselves aging faster due to all the stress.
“As expected, would only Diavolo be the trigger?” Hannah had thought. After all, it was with him who he had battled. And by now it was common knowledge that he was hospitalized.
A school issue, a family issue, a political issue. These three don’t seem to get any rest. Hannah was honestly starting to feel sorry for them. Nobody planned anything out. These events all seemed to just unfold and occur naturally, as if they were all meant to happen.
The train of thoughts lead her all the way back to their first meeting. Should she really have invited them to stay over. Was it perhaps her fault that these sequence of events took place the way they did?
Hannah was starting to feel repulsed by the idea of making them pretend to be subordinates. If she herself felt so disgusted by it, it was simply obvious that they too would reject it. They already have it bad enough. Who would want to add further problems by putting themselves into political strife?
“What, is that it?” Shin folded his arms.
“Eh?” startled, Hannah’s eyes widened.
“You were hesitating so much I almost thought you’d tell us to leave or something.”
“Hehe! Now that I think about it, Hannah was like Suzume at first too, huh Shin?” Diavolo giggled, “About not wanting to get us involved with Claude and whatnot. But now she seems to have warmed up quite a lot!”
“I get what you mean! If it was her as she was at first, she probably would’ve arranged a different house for us even without us noticing!”
“But this actually works out to some extent. If we’re under you, then those girls at school will stop trying to recruit us. I felt like they wouldn’t stop after just that one day,” and the two of them laughed together.
Now that they mentioned it, if it was her previously, she definitely would’ve arranged a different abode for them right away. Just why didn’t such a thought cross her mind? It was almost as if…. She had wholeheartedly accepted them to be part of the household already. Them living there, it had started to feel natural.
“These boys…” Hannah smiled and gave a light sigh.
Friends through political connections and friends that occur naturally really was different. Elaine, Fiona and Teresa have been her longest friends, especially Elaine; they were childhood friends. Although they were close, there was always some distance.
But these boys just fell into her life out of nowhere and she had started to see them as close, if not even more, than a friendship that lasted for years. They just suddenly appeared, yet now it all felt too natural. Just why was that?
Then it suddenly hit her. Shin and the others came from a very small place. Not only that, but they were basically an isolated existence. If people lived in a closed off area where the total population numbered to a few thousand, it wasn’t unnatural for people there to become very close knit.
That was it. Their closeness felt natural because the boys made it feel natural. They were treating her the same way they had been treating the residents back in their home island. It was simply part of their upbringing.
Usually, if a person who is exposed to millions of people met and greeted new people, even if they got along, experiencing too much trouble would simply annoy them resulting in casting off. There was conflict, suspicion and hidden intentions. It becomes risky to express oneself too much.
But if one is from such a small place, one person’s problem becomes everyone's problem. There was no problem in expressing oneself wholly. Even if conflict arose, it would only be momentarily. Even if one were to hate someone, if that person’s intentions were known, that person could be trusted in case of a strife. That was the kind of place the boys had come from.
Feeling her heart swelling up, Hannah decided. No matter how far circumstances caused her to be distanced from them, she would always treasure these people. She would welcome them with open arms in the future.
“H-how rude!” finally, she comically let out, “I would never cast aside you guys for something like that! You guys are already part of our house! It has been so empty for quite some time now, so the liveliness feels fresh! Marvin enjoys the company, and even Grandpa has accepted….huh?”
Hannah’s nose twitched. She smelt something funny lingering around. Coming from outside, her nose was quite cold at first. Plus, with all the talking she hadn’t noticed till now, but there was a familiar yet odd smell in the room.
Familiar yet odd…. The smell of something…. Burning. Burning...meat?
“This smell…” Hannah muttered, sniffing the air.
The boys instantly twitched and shuddered. Noticing this, Hannah’s face immediately turned into a frown.
Entering this cabin, Hannah was sitting in front of the desk to the right of the door. From this corner of the room, her view fell on the opposite corner, where Diavolo lay in bed, and Shin was seated right next him on a circular stool.
Where they sat, there were several instances when they changed their posture to make themselves more comfortable. However, not even once had Diavolo brought his hands out of the sheets.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be unnatural. A patient lying in bed would definitely wish to keep himself warm as much as possible on a chilly day as this. But at this moment, for some reason, Hannah had unrestrained suspicion and doubt.
“Diavolo…. Show me your hands,” she ordered in a straight tone. Her eyelids had already dropped.
“E-eehhh~? But it’s cold… More importantly, tell us about what you were about to say. What about Mr. William were you saying?” Diavolo stuttered with cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
“That can be said later on as well. I’m telling you to show me your hands, am I not?”
Diavolo froze in his place unable to speak. Shin gulped and rested his hand on his shoulder, “Give it up, Diav. there’s no way we can escape from it now. It’s better if you just show it.”
“Y-you’re gonna abandon me now?! What happened to ‘I’ll cover you’?! This is why I told you to leave the window open! But nooo~, it’ll all~ be alright, huh?!”
“How can I help it! It’s freaking cold outside!”
“Now you’re giving excuses!”
“Leave me alo—!”
During that childish exchange of words, Hannah had silently walked right in front of the two. Noticing the demonic presence, Shin’s words immediately froze.
“Right now…. I gave you an order, didn’t I?”
Their faces quickly went blue. In their eyes, the entire background behind Hannah seemed to have darkened and blurred. Even in her petite body, she appeared as though she was a demon demanding compensation for a deal: their soul. They even thought her eyes contracted into vicious slits. The imagination was quite vivid.
“Y-yes, ma’am…” Diavolo slowly took his hands out from under the sheets.
Hannah grabbed his wrists and observed both sides. They were clearly burnt. Seeing this, her face went dull.
“Sorry, Hannah. I was trying to practice Material Raze, but… I just can’t control the flames yet. During my fight with Claude, I simply tried out and technique and it worked in my luck. But if I try to hold out the flames for too long, I end up burning myself…”
Nothing Diavolo said was being processed in her head. She was simply flaring up inside.
It all made sense. She had thought they were practising in moderation, but she was stupid to think so. Just who was she dealing with here? She should’ve known they went overboard. The aura she saw when she entered was simply a cover up for the blunder they had done.
She couldn’t understand it. Just why were they treating this so recklessly?! Diavolo’s injury wasn’t a joke! His abdomen had been completely cleaved open! When she first saw that injury, she was shocked to no end! She had felt her blood run cold and her skin turn white.
Diavolo surviving that was a miracle of its own, let alone recovering from it at this pace! Miracles don’t happen that often, that’s the whole reason they’re called miracles. Yet still, treating your body like this, is just plain torturing yourselves!
She honestly felt like crying and throwing a tantrum. How could they treat this so lightly?! Sadness, anger and frustration filled her heart; but she held it all in. This was a hospital.
“Shin…” she gently let his hands down and stood upright.
“Y-yes?”
Ever so slowly turning her head towards him, “Why didn’t you stop him?”
“H-hiii!!” he shrieked and his body leaned diagonally on the wall.
“Diavolo is reckless, that I completely understand. And after over four days of bedrest he was bound to feel like moving about beyond his body allowed. But you? Wasn’t it your job to prevent that? Didn’t I repeatedly tell you to absolutely not let him do whatever he wants?”
“B-but, you know…right? Th-those guys could attack at any moment, so...wouldn’t it be better if we practised whenever we f-found the chance?” Shin fumbled with his words as he gave out excuses.
But Hannah ignored anything he said, “I also understand and both of you are of the same blood. But really? Are you really that irresponsible? You want to kill your friend? You want to see him die?” and she slowly raised her fist, “That’s right, I know! I should make you end up in a similar situation! That way you’ll know exactly how hard it is to get up and go overboard! Ufu...ufufu...ufufufufufu!”
“N-no, please! Hannah! Ma’am! Master! M’lady Hannah!” but it was no use. The shadow that loomed over him, simply grew larger and larger, “GYAAAAHHHH!!!!”