LIFE AND HOPE

As a pack of Dustbin Diggers plodded past, two eyes secretly and patiently peeked through the gap in the clinic's partly-open door until those men took a sharp left into another street. Soon, the door opened fully, and a young man dressed in a jerkin stepped out, a foul cauliflower in hand. The hood partly hid his face, though part of the facial scar was still in the open. "Just how long are they going to search for me? Don't their legs get tired? It's as if they are bred for long walks and composed chores—just like the walking water-thief[1]."

As he walked, the silence, that annoying silence that filled the streets uneased him, for he felt like anyone could step out onto the streets at any point, and his cover might get blown. If the Drill Hall hadn't been vacated, the pathways probably wouldn't be so quiescent.

Just then, two people entered through the corner. Judging by their clothes, he could immediately tell that they were part of Dustbin Diggers, a gang that was part of the plunderers guild. Seeing that they were coming in his direction with doubtful looks on their faces, the youth began to sing a song as if he was passing the time.

"O dear Jay

In the skies I say

There is a bird of prey

Why don't you stay

For just another day

So we can play

Better than yesterday

This is the best I can convey

So what do you say

My dear morning jay."

"A wonderful piece of poetry," those two men began to clap as they approached the youth. "There are no birds here, and the sky is hidden from view, too, but your verses touched our hearts. Here, take this squirrel-bitten apple."

"N-No, thank you, but you can have this," the youth tossed the cauliflower at them and quickly walked past them.

"By the way, little brother," one of them asked, "did you perhaps come across a purple-haired young man recently?"

The youth was a little surprised, but he shook his head without looking back and then continued to walk away.

"Okay, sorry to bother you, and thanks for this vegetable," they waved their hands. "Have a nice day."

Soon, the fading sound of their footsteps made the hooded youth slow down his pace. This young fellow in the brown hood was none other than Lirzod.

"Whew, that was close. Duera's poem really came in handy there," he breathed a sigh of relief. The poem 'Stay—Jay' was authored by Duera when she had sheltered an injured blue jay for a few weeks, during which Gouse had tried to eat the bird many times, but eventually, Gouse and Mojay became best friends. The name Mojay was given much later after this poem was made. "But wait, I thought they were looking for me. Instead, they asked for a purple-haired dude." He blinked twice. "They weren't talking about Brainass, were they?" He slightly shook his head. "No. Knowing him, he doesn't like to stay in one place for long. He'd have already left this deck."

Now, the street went quiet again, not counting Lirzod's footsteps.

"Mm?" he saw a dried onion at the edge of the street, so he picked it up. "This should come to use if they were to bother me again."

A feral cat skidded at a corner and burst into the street. A filthy stray dog was on its tail. The cat came right in Lirzod's direction, and it even seemed like it knew what it was doing, for it soon hid behind him.

Lirzod, having understood its intentions, barked at the top of his lungs, and the dog stopped in its tracks just in time. Separated by only three, or maybe four meters, the dog howled in anger as if warning Lirzod to step away. The cat had its hair all puffed up, and it didn't back down either.

"Calm down, you two. Take it easy. My ears are hurting," Lirzod yelled, but the commotion of the animals only grew on his ears.

MEOW~~!! BOW~~!!

The two animals were at it like their lives depended on it.

"On a second note, I prefer silence over your babble. I'll make this street silent again, and you two don't even have to thank me for it." Though Lirzod said those words, the dog and the cat weren't even paying attention to him.

The dog abruptly lunged in for a quick grab of the cat.

"Cut it out!" a sweet sound rang in the cat's ears as Lirzod's foot landed a solid blow in the dog's face and smacked it back to its place.

The dog shook its head and growled at Lirzod.

"What? Want more?" he stomped on the floor, startling the dog, and it shied away a bit. Just as it was considering leaving, a faint smell flowed into its nose, and it lowered its head and began to sniff the floor again and again at different spots. "Mm?" Lirzod raised his brows, for the cat also seemed to be doing an impression of the dog. Sensing that something was off, Lirzod stepped back a little, and the scent the animals felt faded off a little, but when they took a step toward him, the redolence strengthened again. In no time at all, the cat and the dog now got their eyes on him.

"Eek, don't tell me…" Lirzod's heart skipped a beat.

Just then, he realized what was happening, but by then, the dog had already jumped at him, its mouth wide open and aimed at his crotch for a gripping bite.

"No!" Lirzod reflexively turned back, and the dog ended up biting his butt.

"Ahwoo!" he screamed and jumped and rolled around on his butt in pain. Thanks to that, he suffocated the dog and forced it to let go of his bum; however, the cat gnawed at his crotch commandingly, sending a jolt up his spine and to the brain, which rendered him motionless for a moment. He then bawled.

The dog had recovered in that time and tried to take its bit of digging into his crotch. "You darn things!" he kicked in the dog's face and sprang to his feet and fled from the spot in a weird running posture, for the cat was hanging between his legs. "Let go of my family jewels!" he tried to shake the cat off, but the situation was delicate, so his heart was in his mouth. "Let go of them I say!" He felt powerless at that moment. As if that wasn't enough, the dog was already back on its feet and was charging straight at him. Before he realized that, the dog leaped and caught the cat by its mouth as it slipped between his legs.

To his deliverance, the cat let go of his crotch, but the dog's bite was enough to inflict a grave wound on its back and stomach. With a vicious shake of its head, the dog dug its teeth further deep into the cat. After about ten quick shakes, it tossed the cat away and licked its bloody teeth and lips. Blood poured out of the cat as its stomach expanded and contracted from rapid breathing. It was clear that the cat was doing its best to survive, but right before Lirzod's eyes, the movement of the cat's stomach had significantly slowed down in a matter of a few seconds. The dog went to the cat and started sniffing it and kept moving it around as if it was playing with it.

"That's enough," Lirzod clenched his fist and stepped in. Antagonism was rising in his face. The dog let go of the cat's throat and bared its teeth at him now. A loud bark and then a robust leap followed. Just as its jaws reached up to his face, a mighty fist thundered into its chin from underneath and shut its mouth. Multiple teeth cracked as they squeezed against each other and eventually broke. An unpleasant yelp echoed throughout the street as the dog's eyes whitened, and it crashed onto the floor and slid into a screeching halt. Though its senses were smashed into oblivion, its tail was still subtly moving.

He stooped down and checked for the cat's pulse, but he couldn't feel it. A faint breath escaped out of his mouth.

"Oi, what's happening over there?" a group of two men hurried over. These were the same guys Lirzod had conversed with only a couple of minutes ago.

(Why are they coming back? Did they see through my cover?) Lirzod hastily, but without much movement, pulled his hood down so his face wouldn't be seen. (I hope another poem will divert their attention from knowing my identity.) He quickly chose a poem to put to use and let his tongue work.

"A lone kid

Named Sid

Tossed a stone

At a chicken—"

Lirzod's expression suddenly froze. "Ah, crap," he muttered under his breath and frowned, "I can't remember the rest!"

However, those two men picked up the poem from where he seemingly stopped.

"—Without batting an eyelid

But straight away

Feeling the chicken's fury

He bailed not so beautifully."

"Hahaha," those two men laughed as best as they could while wearing the masks, but they soon pulled the masks down and breathed freely. "It's been a while since we've sung the 'Silly Sid' poem. It surely took us back to our childhood days. I'm sure every child who heard this poem often dreamed of riding a chicken into battle."

Lirzod faintly breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried that he forgot the poem midway, but luckily, these guys voiced the rest.

"The dog and the cat must have been brawling." One of the two men asked as they observed the scene, "Is the cat dead?"

Lirzod nodded with difficulty and stood.

"Okay, then we'll be taking it," they picked the cat and tossed it in one of their baskets, and their eyes fell on what was in Lirzod's hand. "And that onion looks past its age."

Lirzod handed it over.

"Thank you, little brother," they looked pleased.

"What about the dog?" Lirzod asked.

"Ah, we don't eat dog meat," they said. "Besides, it's still alive."

Lirzod was startled and was even taken back a little, "Y-You are going to eat that cat?"

"Yes, is there a problem?" they casually asked, but he stayed silent. "It's not your pet, or is it?"

"No," Lirzod slightly shook his head. (But...)

"Then we'll be taking it. You can do whatever you want with that dog, though."

Lirzod grudgingly said, "So you guys take scraps—just like vultures."

"Vultures, huh… you can say that." They smiled a little, and one of them let out an egregious burp, so appalling that even Boksa would have trouble ignoring. This sort of unbearable smell would only come from the mouths of those who had followed one of the worst diets ever. "But we are more warm-hearted. Because of the rules, we won't be eating this cat on this deck. So there's no issue at all. By the way," they asserted through their voice, "be careful if you come across the purple-haired youngster. The word is that he's a bad guy. His actions sparked conflict in this locality and will soon surely engender debates and disputes all over this sector. Some will initially galvanize support for child booths, but in time, the purple-haired fellow, the root cause of all of this trouble, will be ostracized by everyone he comes across until he pleads guilty and begs to be directly punished by our boss. Anyway, thanks for your cooperation." Saying that they left, quarreling among themselves as to who would get to eat the cat.

"There are no warm-hearted vultures I know of," Lirzod murmured, waving his hand before his nose as the horrid smell of the burp still lingered in the air. "Only vicious ones that don't even leave the bones for the family of the dead to grieve over their loved ones."

Xiao was the name of one of the cows Lirzod's family raised. Some years ago, her mother, Abby, was mercilessly dragged away and brutally eaten alive by wolves. By the time Picazo tracked down her location, not even bones or horns were left, thanks to the vultures that often accompanied the wolves. These were no ordinary vultures but ones with long red beards, infamously known as Bloodbeard Vultures, whose 75 percent of diet contained bones, horns, hooves, antlers, and so on. There was nothing Picazo could bring back to Xiao, who was only a calf back then. That incident left a big impression on Lirzod because that episode sparked the beginning of a long-standing conflict between the townsmen and the wolves & vultures.

Lirzod felt powerless back then because he couldn't save the many livestock that fell prey to wolves. For some reason, the explosion that happened during his fight with Hardy came to his mind and how he couldn't save many cats, especially Leggy, and even brought harm to many bystanders. All of this caused him to clench his fist so hard that his nails dug into his palm. "There are people waiting for me to come back home. There are all kinds of individuals here, but losing was never my intention. I should've bested Hardy, but I couldn't because I was indecisive. I played into his hands and let him do as he pleased." He stood silently, lost in thought for a good ten seconds. "Whatever happened has happened. I can't change that, but from now on, I'll try to never put myself in such a situation again."

A second of silence passed.

His gaze then shifted toward the dog on the floor. His hands soon reached out to the dog, and then he picked it up into his arms.

Meanwhile, inside the Drill Clinic, two patients were in a raised discussion.

"Hey, darling," the young fellow fervently whispered, "am I the first person you ever kissed?"

"Yes, dear," she pinched his cheek and tickled his ears with her words. "Why do men always ask the same silly question?"

Mulyk was sitting in a chair. She woke up from light sleep, only to see two teenagers romancing on a bed. She jumped out of the chair in stupefaction. "You two found no better place to romance than my clinic?" With a lunge, she attacked them right away with her kicks. "Get the hell out of here-fu!"

"Uwaah, what's wrong with you, woman!" the teenagers cried out in fear as they got kicked out of the bed. They had come to the clinic to get the girl's cold treated, but after seeing the fiery look on Mulyk, they changed their minds and fled, while scolding her and saying that they should've never come to an elf's clinic.

"Tch, what's wrong with me?" Mulyk blew hot air through her nose. "I can't believe they had the guts to exercise their exaggerations here. How flighty. If they come again, I'll rub their noses with Red Rash[2]."

Just then, Lirzod came into the clinic and put the dog on the same bed where the two teenagers were before.

"What in the world are you doing bringing a dog here?" Mulyk was bewildered.

"You don't need to do much," Lirzod said and waved his hands in a strange motion, "Just apply some salve around its mouth, and then cover it loosely with a bandage."

"What?" A nerve in her neck popped out. "I'm asking you why you brought that thing into my clinic!"

"Why ask," Lirzod exposed his palms, "when you know it can't come to the clinic by itself?"

"Huh?" Mulyk's jaw hung open.

"Treat it, please," Lirzod urged. "I don't know if it will get its teeth back. I can only hope it does. Also, after the treatment's over, give it a piece of the fish meat I've given you. Of course, only if you still have it."

Mulyk's eyes turned icy, and her shoulders almost touched her ears, "You are unbelievable!"

"Ah, and one more thing!" Lirzod patted his butt a couple of times. "This dog ate my pants, thinking I have meat hidden in there," Lirzod said, considering how even though he had taken a bath, he had to wear the same underpants that carried the scent of fish with them. "Do you have another pair of—"

As he was saying, she walked over and elbowed him in the face. "Shut your trap." She folded her arms and looked down on him. "You've tried your luck with me enough times already. Don't you dare do it again! Besides, why should I even listen to a pervert in the first place, eh?"

Lirzod removed the hands off his face and rubbed his nose to ease the pain, but at the same time, sparks flew out of his eyes. "Who are you calling a pervert, you elf-imposter!"

"Ho…" the corner of her lips curled up. "You think you can run your mouth as you want in my presence?"

"That's my line," said Lirzod, not backing down. "Take back what you said."

"Hmph!" she paused for a moment and then smiled before continuing, "Alright, let's see who's the boss! If you can get past me and touch any cloth in that closet," she pointed her thumb backward over her shoulders, "that's yours."

"Are you sure about that?" Lirzod teasingly said, "Your closet may very well be emptied, you know."

"Humph, let me see you try," she confidently spoke. "I'll give you a two-second headstart."

"That's kind of you. Then here I go!" Lirzod dashed past her, and in the next two seconds, he took five long steps and almost reached the closet. Mulyk then swiveled around and launched herself at a terrific speed. Just as Lirzod opened the closet and his hands got to a touching distance to a dress, Mulyk grabbed his collar and pulled him away. Her brute strength was enough to pull him back a step, but he kept stretching his arm, trying to reach a dress.

"It's no use," she said with a glowing face. "You lose."

Lirzod struggled for a couple more seconds and then stopped.

"Finally stopped, huh," she somewhat snorted.

Lirzod turned his head a little. "Oh, no, look! The dog's pooping on the bed."

"What?" Mulyk instantly turned her head to take a look, but her hand was still holding on to his collar; however, Lirzod stretched his neck forward and then extended his lips and planted a kiss on her cheek, startling the heck out of her. She let go of the collar without herself knowing.

"Hehe." Lirzod then pulled a pair of clothes out of the closet and laughed. "You lost."

Mulyk's face turned red and pink at the same time, and a few other strange shades also crept up from the corners. "You vile vulnir..." She jumped and kicked hard in Lirzod's face repeatedly with both the legs and sent him into the closet, but her kicks didn't stop. "Nobody has ever kissed me before. How could you do this to me? You should be executed for this felony!"

"Bi~ba~bu~be~bu!" Lirzod wasn't even given time or freedom to talk back, and kicks continued to storm his face.

Meanwhile, on the tenth deck, there was a serene atmosphere.

Stussy was moving the ship with her own strength because they were in the doldrums, the windless weather belt. The waters around Exvo were calm, and the winds Stussy set in motion were soft and gentle. This was a perfect time to take in some sun and fresh air, and that was what some workers were doing after they finished hauling on a line, gathering exports that would get unloaded at the next stop. There was enough sunlight to warm the water in the tubs, enticing men and women alike to take a barrel of water into their cabins and take a bath. All in all, so much hustle and bustle were going on.

Stussy just let the workers relax and even play little games like, "Tag, you're it!"

However, after seeing some workers repeatedly splash water on each other, she couldn't just stand by. She made her way, and before she even spoke a word, they stopped their play and stood stiffly. "I get that you want to have some fun, but please do it without wasting fresh water. Keep in mind that we're traveling on seas, so every drop of freshwater counts."

"Yes, Captain Commander!" they all bowed and replied in unison. "We'll be careful from here on out."

After confirming the location the ship was at using a wooden sextant, Gerett, the fat man in short gray hair, was hurrying toward Stussy, but he hit his foot and fell flat on his face, revealing how thin he was on top. At least, the sextant didn't break. "Ochochouch! I think I just broke my nose. Maybe I need some break."

"Cut your act," Stussy said. "Not a drop of blood spilled on the floor."

"Haha," Gerett embarrassingly laughed. "Since dawn, I've been working hard with the sextant, so I tried to play a game. I hope you understand that, Chief."

"I will give you a break when you can tell the location without the need for such tools," she said.

"Uh, sorry, Chief," he hid the sextant behind his back. "I don't think I can achieve that anytime soon."

"How's the progress with the kids?" she asked.

"There are no visible torture scars on any of them, Chief, but when we used black light, every one of them had dozens of scars."

"So either they have been held captive on this ship for some time," Stussy bit an end of her lower up and involuntarily shook her head, "and nobody noticed, or they might have been brought in recently through an underhanded way. The latter case seems likely as they wouldn't risk trafficking under my surveillance when they could have chosen some other route."

"Those children didn't know who their parents were, and they didn't register in any of the child booths either, so we don't have their birth record. No wonder none of us noticed."

"That's why they became perfect targets because they looked expendable. Nobody cares when an orphan or a homeless person goes missing. How is their psyche?"

"Nothing bad, but they are acting strangely in some ways. From what we've evaluated, they are smiling when subjected to simple mildly painful things like pinching."

"Smiling?" Stussy narrowed her eyes into the distance. "Plain is a pleasure for either a sick or a shattered psyche."

"How should we proceed with them, Chief? To me, everything else about them looked normal and natural. They are asking for food and toys, and they are even sad that their masters left them."

"Masters? You mean those nine?"

He nodded.

"The kids missing those traffickers looked natural to you?"

"Uh, that…" Gerett didn't know what to say. "I thought some of them probably acted as their caretakers while the rest tortured the kids. So I was thinking, maybe, they used to work at casinos or something, or they could be part of a nasty groomer gang, given how good they were at fighting."

"Those traffickers weren't groomers. They had a different air about them, one that smelled far worse. They put children through the torture that most adults would rather die than go through. You need to understand that you could get severely beat up, lose an eye, get an arm cut off, or get stabbed or shot, but these wounds don't go much deeper than your eyes can see. The worst wounds are mental." She clenched her fist. "It hurts me to say this, but those kids were scarred for life. Right now, all we know about those nine traffickers is that they all worked as florists in neighboring decks, but we must get to the end of their case sooner rather than later. Regardless, it's not good for these kids to be on this ship where their worst memories lie. For now, give them proper medical and hospitable care. We'll drop them off at Shepherd's Town."

"Yes, Chief."

"So they've decided to bother us," just then, Stussy looked up toward her left, and a flying ship—driven by solar, wind, and a few other free energy sources—that somewhat looked like an owl in flight came into their view and was tagging alongside. Compared to Exvo, that flying ship looked like an ant. It had platinum armoring done at the front that resembled the face of an owl. Though it had wing-like designs extending from the sides, those wings presently stayed still. Hundreds of people in white uniforms were on the ship, all of them, seemingly ready to act at notice.

"What the..." Gerett was unnerved. "Is this an attack?" His face lost some color. After all, no ordinary group would dare to even taunt those on Exvo.

Someone threw a shield from atop the flying ship. A figure then jumped off of the flying ship and landed on the plummeting shield, surfed through the skies and burst their way through the air barrier, and picked the shield into a hand before landing only a few feet away from Stussy, greatly startling Gerett and everyone around.

A silver-haired woman, dressed in a long white jacket with colored collar and linings, was what they saw. She was as pale as winter itself. Her hair fell well below her knees and almost touched the bottom of the jacket. Her hands were hidden in white gloves sprinkled with gold dust. There was a longsword, resting diagonally on her back. Her six-and-half-foot tall figure was a sight to behold. Upon seeing the badge on her chest, Gerett's eyes enlarged to the max, and his heart pounded against his chest. It was a badge made out of crossing swords resting atop a thick feather that looked like a rod, and under that feather stand, six golden feathers were hanging. "T-That badge… She's a Marshal!"

"Eh?" every other worker was taken aback and was gasping.

"Forgive my rudeness for boarding without permission," she was staring right at Stussy as if she already knew that the rest wasn't worth a glance, "but since you are sailing through a squash zone, I found such formalities rather time-wasting."

"What do you want?" Stussy asked right away, her voice sounding neutral at the moment.

"So straightforward. That makes things easier," she said, and then faintly smiled. "You must be Stussy Junksman, the one who got her name engraved on Diggs Stone as the most aesthetic scribbler of the millennium at a mere age of eleven, and you are also the one who built 'that' world-famous bridge. It's an honor to finally meet you, and I must admit, you are a looker, fufu." She casually looked around. "I must also say—this is one monster of a vessel. The oldest ship in the world, or so they say," she tapped her foot once. "Top-grade wood to boot. Absorbs shock like rubber. It has no paint, but there's no rotting from exposure, at least as far as I can see. I can't help but wonder how this thing was even made." As far as her experience told her, every exterior surface on ships had to be scrubbed, tinted, varnished, oiled, tarred, or greased as often as per the boatswain's orders, so this Exvo's existence was like a massive puzzle she couldn't get her head around on first sight. "But, too bad, it has no sails. So, things like punishing with belaying pins for any misconduct isn't possible." She laughed a little, and then upon reading the mood, she cleared her throat. "Ahem, anyway, I've come here looking for someone, a member of Elfall, that folks from the Dawn Order are after."

"Why?" Stussy asked, and she didn't blink in over a minute or so.

"The word led us here," her voice sounded majestic. "You may have heard about this person they call the White Vizard."

"I'm not asking how you got here," Stussy squinted her eyes, "but why are you interested in that person?"

"Ah, regarding that…" a corner of her lips slightly curled up. "I'm just interested in the bird that has raised many eyebrows all over the west."

"But, at the moment, I'm not interested in seeing other's interests through," Stussy said bluntly. "You can go back to your baby bird and save me time."

She narrowed the windows of her view, "Are you taking me for a joke?" A burst of energy leaked out of her body and sent everyone in the vicinity flying away into the objects, walls, or to the edge of the ship. Even the trees swayed madly. Only Stussy was still on her feet, unaffected by the shockwave. As she stepped forward, the heavy objects in her path slid to the side as if making way for her.

(A freakish burst of energy! Glad that I didn't fall into the ocean.) Unlike other workers, Gerett tried to get back to his feet, but he and every other worker around suddenly got squashed to the floor by some invisible force. The pressure was so potent they couldn't breathe. Blood leaked out of their noses and ears. The weaker workers even got blood-shot eyes and cried out from the burning sensation in their heads. The wooden structures around them were cracking and breaking. The metal objects got bent out of shape. The haystacks caught on fire. Their clothes started to tear, and their bodies began to lift into the air. Even the big trees began to get uprooted. (Are you kidding me? What's this? A mental ability?) Gerett couldn't believe what was happening, and he felt like his heart was on the verge of exploding. (Someone, please get me out of here!) He literally shed tears.

Stussy snapped her fingers a little, and all the choking pressure in the neighborhood passed away almost instantly, and the wind around them settled again. The fire in the haystacks, too, was gone. Every worker and the object fell back to the floor; however, most of the people on the flying ship felt dizzy and went unconscious.

"Hoh," the silver-haired woman stopped. A teeny spot of blood surfaced at a corner of her mouth, but she faintly smiled. Her gaze was still fearless. Both she and Stussy kept staring at each other for a few seconds, and the air between them crackled now and then.

"Elfall isn't even listed in the Nox Order," Stussy indifferently said. "I won't feel the least bit guilty for ending your uncalled-for adventure and sending you back the way you came. So I advise that you turn and find your way back to your ship, and the weather will be fair as you leave. If you want to make a scene, though, I can't guarantee if your people will recognize you from what will be left of you."

However, there was no vocal response, other than a bold smirk.

Stussy forthwith lifted one of her fingers, and the sky suddenly turned dark, and the clouds rumbled together like a ferocious sky-beast letting loose its fury. A streak of lightning snaked down from the heavens and bolted onto the silver-haired woman. With a sweep of her sword, she sent the lightning bolt into the ocean, vaporizing a vast amount of water almost instantly.

Gerett and every other worker were stunned to the core from what little they comprehended. (S-She redirected a thunderbolt! Just how fast can she move?) Just the after-effects of the vibrations that lightning had set off, such as sound and heat, were oppressive enough that their spines shook uncontrollably.

"Flashes are but delicacies for someone like me who roams the skies all the time," the silver-haired woman said and grinned. "Don't tell me that was the best shot you've got. You've ruined good weather for nothing."

"Fret not. That was just a warning for what you did to the ship and my subordinates," Stussy's voice grew cold. "Next one won't be so easy to deflect." She raised her hand, and thick darkness covered the skies apace and blurred the shadows of men as black clouds congested and rumbled unrestrainedly, a lot more viciously than before. The sounds the clouds made this time around caused men and women in many decks to pause their work in surprise and trepidation, for they felt something ring in their hearts. On the twelfth deck, Burton, who was resting on the back of a twelve-feet tall elephant being ridden by a mahout, opened his eyes, while he casually chewed gum; his dress was drenched in sweat like a farmer who had worked all day under the sun. The elephant got scared and began to shake its head and stomp its feet, but the mahout controlled it with the hook, albeit with some effort. As for Gerett and the other workers who were in the open and who were witnessing everything with their own eyes, they felt like the clouds were rumbling right above their shoulders, giving the impression that their lives were so insignificant. However, Stussy then suddenly stopped all the rampage and made the environment calm again. After all, had she continued it, someone in the vicinity might have died from heatstroke.

But the silence that formed afterward felt even deadlier, for nobody moved an inch. Gerett was extremely tense and scared, for he knew that the next few seconds would determine whether a real fight would break out or not. As for other workers, some of them long emptied their bladders, and the rest were on the verge.

After a momentary silence and some stare-off, the silver-haired woman, upon hearing the rising heartbeats of her underlings on her flying ship, smirked before sheathing the sword and then turned around. "Whatever… I'm going empty-handed because you're right about one thing. I don't have a good enough reason to cross swords with you, but when I do, expect your dead body to end up in the depths of the ocean where none, not even your parents, can hope to pull you out of." She suddenly swiveled and shot the shield at Stussy at speed faster than a bullet, and the shield bolted through the air even faster, but it got repelled before it reached Stussy. The silver-haired woman jumped and landed on the flying-away shield and surfed through the skies with it. This time the air barrier did not provide any resistance. "If I can't see the bird here, I can go live near the flock," she muttered to herself. "Then again, I wonder if waiting there will be worth it."

Moments later, after the smaller ship flew away into the distance like an owl streaking through the sky, all the workers and Gerett felt at ease, for they knew that if those two were to fight seriously, then a nightmare would have been upon them.

Stussy, however, narrowed the windows of her view as she looked in the direction of that flying ship. (She works for an organization that says it wants peace, yet they rejoice in destruction. Such hypocrisy and evil! At least, she's not too far gone and knew when to hold back, unlike most of those she works for.) Her attention then shifted toward the workers. "Get back to work," Stussy's voice made them all get back to their positions and continue from where they left off.

"Quickly repair the damaged things!" Gerett also barked at other workers. (Whew, nothing major happened. If those two had fought seriously, even a thousand lives wouldn't have ensured my survival. Luck returned to my side before it was too late, haha.) He laughed a bit nervously, which only made him aware of the pains growing all over his body. (That woman—I should have known the moment she came down on a shield when she could have just flown her way here. What a showoff! That said, even though her ability only lasted a few seconds, my mind and body have taken more damage than I thought. So this is what a marshal is capable of doing. No, what she's shown is probably just the tip of an iceberg.) He then glanced at Stussy. (Luckily, we have a monster on our side as well. Otherwise, I can't even imagine what could've happened, especially given the zone we're in.)

Stussy, meanwhile, started to walk in a specific direction. "Parents, huh…" though she was casually walking, she seemed to be lost in a flashback of her childhood.

"Darling, if we give Pinky to this rich couple, they promised that all our troubles would be taken care of."

"Honey, but she's our eldest daughter. And we found her only a week ago."

"I know, but Pinky is whom they've asked for, and they are willing to give us three cows and some more coins for her. Not only is she born beautiful, but she's also excellent at studies. It must've been hard to find someone as rare as her."

"But…"

"Look, it's not like we're never going to see her or anything. The rich couple even promised that we could visit their home once a year."

"This… how do you think Pinky will take this?���

"She will feel bad for a few days, but we are doing this for all of our good. I'm positive that she will understand that as well."

As the father and mother were discussing in the middle of the night, Pinky, an eight-year-old, who was sleeping on the floor right beside her parents, had to act like she was asleep, but she still couldn't control her lower lip, which quivered uncontrollably. All this while, her eyes were open, and tears streamed down her face and soaked the old bed sheet that her hands clenched tightly.

A few 'rough' days and 'rougher' nights later, she was taken to the rich couple's home, and the first words her father-to-be spoke to her was, 'Though I wanted a son, you're all I could find. From today, your name will be Stussy, and you shall never show a trace of Pinky again either in the house or in the world outside. Otherwise, I'll be disappointed."

Pinky nodded hesitantly, but then voiced her mind, "What about meeting my parents?"

"Your parents?" His cold and indifferent voice echoed in her ears. "Both your father and your mother are standing right before your eyes."

At that moment, Pinky, for the first time, tasted the barefaced lie of a rich man, and all the anger and hate she had developed on her blood parents till then seemed nothing compared to how she felt about her new father. Even though her original parents gave her away, she still found it hard to digest, not being able to see them even once in a year. Her first experience with her new father began with the breaking of a promise. As if that wasn't enough, her mother-to-be then opened her mouth. "Look at how ugly you are. Till now, you've worn clothes with holes and ate spoiled food and slept on the floor every day, pretty much like a slave. Habits are hard to change, the childhood ones, even more so. But, as your father said, you're Stussy now. Without sacrifice, there can be no success. Now, be a good girl and go to your room. Discard your old self, and find your new self. Do not come out until you've buried Pinky, which more smoothly means you've just given up all hope on her, your poor self." She then leaned closer and said in a low voice, "I saw your face warp when we weren't willing to hold your former parents' hands, but we have a good reason to do that. The rich and the poor never shake hands. It may all seem confusing right now, but you will understand everything in time." She patted on Stussy's shoulder. "Go to your room and relax."

After standing uneasily on her feet for many seconds, Pinky nodded. She wore a shocked and saddened face as a maid guided her to her room, or rather she couldn't hide her emotions at the moment. These new parents didn't bring up her siblings at all, so she could already guess how they would treat them if she ever were to bring them home. Would they even let her meet her siblings? Probably not. All of these apprehensions made her feel sick. To add to her miseries, the maid stared at her with an expression devoid of warmth, as if she was looking at an empty, spiritless doll. Pinky, wearing an emotionally-strangled mien, stepped into her room. That was all she could do then.

"You think she has what it takes to shine?" the mother, a brunette with a lovely face enhanced by make-up, looked at her husband as if to reinforce her beliefs.

"Kids think the world revolves around them, so oftentimes, they only worry about what affects them," the father, an elegant brown-haired man with a thick mustache but no beard, replied in knowing tongue. "They live in this box that doesn't breed consequences until they come to a certain age and start seeing how their actions affect those that are outside of that box."

"The sooner she steps out of that room, the better it is for us, huh."

"In search of an heir, I've met thousands of youngbloods, so I've learned to estimate their capabilities from their eyes alone. I believe she is worthy of achieving great things, which is why she's here, but we can't be certain until we see the results. If she comes out tomorrow morning, it's all good. Otherwise, it's best that we consider that her psyche got cracked from getting kidnapped first and later getting sold by her own parents right after she found her way home. If that's the case, then we can't keep her."

"Fine by me," the mother said. "Given how neatly she writes, she'll make a fine calligrapher even without us, but to reach the top, she will need help from those who know the ways that lead them to the zenith of glory. But then, I only want a daughter who gives us her hundred percent, not even ninety-nine something."

Coming back to the present, Stussy stopped by under the shade of a tree. She rested her back on the wooden floor, with her hands placed under her head. "While there is life, there is hope… Mom." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

....

[1] Walking Water-thief: A legendary thief who roams the seas on foot and steals wealth from second-rate people, mostly from pirate, ill-famed marine, or rich private ships. Nobody has ever seen his face till date.

[2] Red Rash: A plant with leaves of three, which causes itchy sensation upon touch. This was one of the most hated plants among the itchy-type species, for many people lost their limbs, and some even scratched themselves to death.