Chapter 75

A being resembling a broken doll.

Cheshire.

Her limbs were shattered like a broken vase.

Great cracks marred her chest and body…

And,

One side of her face had a massive hole, pierced through by a rock.

Though she retained some human form, anyone could tell she was not human…

Cheshire, appearing like a ruined porcelain doll.

Seeing this, Auriel rushed towards her in desperation.

“No… No! Please… I can’t let it end like this… I can’t… I can’t send you away like this…”

Auriel, hastily trying to heal her using aura.

With a glimmer of hope from the faint magical power still seeping from her broken body,

She began pouring all her energy into the aura.

Her power, equivalent to that of a saint, was capable of saving even someone on the brink of death.

However…

“Auriel…”

“There’s still… still magic flowing out. This person… Cheshire is still alive!”

Auriel cried hoarsely at Lemain’s words.

In response, Lemain could only watch the situation with a dark expression.

Despite infusing her with high-grade aura, Cheshire’s body showed no sign of recovery at all.

Even in her poor condition, she was exerting herself to the utmost, but it was yielding no results.

Auriel continued to sweat profusely, not stopping her healing.

Watching her desperate attempts, Lemain furrowed her brow slightly and quietly spoke.

“Stop… It won’t fix her.”

“Cough!!”

Instead of responding to Lemain, Auriel began to cough up blood.

She had injured herself from overexerting her aura.

Ultimately, seeing Auriel like this forced Lemain to intervene, putting an end to the futile healing.

“Haah… Haa…”

“When someone speaks, you should listen! You know this! That being is…”

“Yes… she is not human… Therefore… she cannot be healed by aura…”

“… Ugh…”

She already knew the reason.

She had vaguely recognized it in the past and could confirm it from the sight before her…

The Cheshire she was aware of was not human…

No, she was something even beyond a mere living being.

But…

“But… still, she is my friend. Even if she’s a monster… I can’t let my friend die like this.”

“…”

“Please… step aside… I can still do more! If I use higher-grade aura just a bit more… Ugh!”

Auriel struggled, trying to approach Cheshire again.

However, her attempts were halted by Lemain, who punched her abdomen.

“Ugh… Wh-what… What are you doing?!”

Auriel protested against this situation.

She understood it was out of concern, but


what mattered now was somehow saving her friend…

At that moment.

“…Hah… Damn it…”

Lemain rubbed her head roughly, as if something displeased her.

Then, she spoke to Auriel in a cold voice.

“Hey, how much do you have?”

“… Huh?”

“How much do you have! You must have saved quite a bit working as a continental-level singer.”

“W-what are you suddenly saying…”

“Be clear! If you plan to let your friend die, then say so!”

“!…”

Lemain’s words hinted at something.

After a moment of hesitation, Auriel replied cautiously with what crossed her mind.

“I… I have 3000 Talents in the Pare Bank. I saved it for charity, but there was never an opportunity…”

“That’s… mine now.”

“?”

Auriel was momentarily at a loss, dumbfounded by the incomprehensible statement.

But before she could say anything,


Lemain bent over and reached for the battered Cheshire.

Then.

Boom!!

“!”

Bright light erupted all at once.

It shone with a deep green aura, much like aura but…

Auriel felt that it was something fundamentally different from her own aura.

If her aura was like a gentle moonlight…

This felt like a blazing sun.

Intense and brilliant.

At the same time, that heat wrapped around the broken body of Cheshire.

“Talitha coumi.”

The short phrase escaped Lemain’s lips.

However, her tone felt different from her usual self.

It was as if an irresistible power was embedded in her voice.

Immediately afterwards, a flash of light exploded, forcing Auriel to shield her eyes instinctively.

And…

As the light faded and her vision returned to normal, the scene that began to unfold was…

“A… aa…”

An overwhelming surge of emotion hit her all at once.

Unconsciously, tears welled up in Auriel’s eyes.

“Haah…”

As she watched, Lemain let out a small sigh.

Then, without observing any further, she turned and walked towards the pirates waiting on the cliff above.

With a bittersweet smile, she reflected on the fact that once again, her actions were for ‘money’.

*

She opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was…

A woman’s appearance.

The one she desperately wished to see…

Yet,

Someone she thought she would never see again…

The figure of that person.

Dressed modestly in a nun’s habit,

With hair shining softly like the moon.

Tears streamed down her eyes.

What was making her sad?

What terrible thing had befallen her to make her cry?

As she pondered this, she slowly reached out her hand.

“…!”

“Don’t cry… Auriel…”

The sensation at her fingertips.

What she felt from her tears was…

So warm, it made her heart swell.

But.

“Cheshire!”

“!”

At that moment, she felt her warmth even stronger.

The way she tightly embraced her.

Though she couldn’t fully understand it…

Still, she decided to stay like this for a while, without speaking.

Because she felt good about this situation.

Being hugged by a friend…

It was enough to evoke one particular emotion…

The feeling of happiness.

*

“Yawn…”

“Hey, stay alert or you’ll get scolded again.”

“Ah… I’m… sorry…”

Bark, a pirate from the White Shark crew, shook his head to fend off drowsiness at his comrade’s words.

He and his companions had been camping on the island of Sicilia for several days and were growing increasingly bored.

He wished desperately to leave this wretched place immediately.

The original goal of hunting the Pirate King had now completely slipped away, and Sicilia Island had no suitable place to plunder.

Spending time here was pointless; it would be better to head somewhere else.

However, Bark and the White Shark pirates well understood that this was not so simple.

The first reason was the Pirate King’s ship, which inexplicably remained docked.

The subordinate pirates had scattered, but the Pirate King’s flagship, the Golden Cross, loomed ominously in the port of Sicilia island.

In such a situation, making a wrong move could lead them straight into the jaws of the Pirate King, so their escape had to be as cautious and stealthy as possible.

Moreover, there was another reason that was perhaps even more important than the Pirate King’s ship.

It was the captain, who had been holed up in isolation for the last few days in the building they used as their hideout.

Because of Elise von Derland.

During their voyage, Captain Elise often secluded herself for days, engrossed in something inside her room.

Only Cheshire, Elise’s right hand, could attend to her needs.

Others were strictly prohibited from entering her room.

What was known was that she was engaged in some magical research of sorts.

The details were not well known.

However, this reality had long since become familiar, so Bark and the other pirates had no particular questions about it.

They simply hoped that whatever magical research or whatever it was would conclude quickly so they could leave.

At that moment…

“…! Who… who is it?”

“Hmm? Wait a moment. That person is…”

A sudden appearance of a figure.

Bark felt a momentary sense of alertness, but…

Soon, he and his comrades began to ease their tension.

“What’s this, it’s Cheshire!”

“When did you come out? Need something?”

With a beautiful appearance but a strong combat prowess as the captain’s right hand, she greeted them politely.

However…

“I’m sorry.”

“…Huh? What do you mean… Gahhh!!!”

“!”

Suddenly hit with a fierce pain, Bark and his comrades collapsed to the floor.

In their dying visions,


one final image began to take shape.

‘Th- that person… is the… Pirate King’s?’

‘N-no way… Is Cheshire betraying us?!’

*

The new ‘daughter’ began to move.

Not yet fully aware, she looked at her with a puzzled expression and asked Elise.

“Mom… what… am I?”

One of the questions daughters often ask shortly after birth.

Elise smiled warmly and answered.

“Didn’t I say? You’re my greatest masterpiece…”

“Shut up with your nonsense.”

“?!”