Wow, I’m actually riding on a ship!

Despite being a grown man in his late teens, he couldn’t help but let his inner child express such joy in his mind.

Seagulls flying in the air above him and heavy winds push the large sails and the ship travels through the endless bodies of water.

Shouya could feel the ocean breeze blowing in the air. There was no denying it; the feeling of exploring another country by ship was refreshing.

As he was enjoying the moment, the captain voiced out to him.

“I see you’re enjoying the ride.”

“I’ve never been on a ship before. This is my first time riding one. I’ve always wondered what it was like to be on a ship.”

“Well, glad to be enjoying yourself.”

Along with Shouya, she looks at the horizon with him. Her ship rips through the ocean’s current, traveling the seven seas. He wasn’t sure how endless the ocean could get until they reached shore. All he could do was to enjoy the moment of peace.

He looked at the feline captain and, despite her lewdy yet intimidating appearance of a captain, he asked her a question.

“I gotta ask, how long until we arrive at Silovilo?”

“Two days. That’s how long it’ll take us to get there. But if we are lucky enough, you all will arrive on the day of the burial.”

“I see— Wait, ‘if’?!”

“Oh you know, pirates, sharks, sea monsters, giant-sized man-eating whales, the kraken! Just to name a few. They come to the ocean and they either steal or destroy ships whoever enters their territory. Only few manage to live, but most would have their bodies floating on the water.”

“…”

After he heard what she had just said, Shouya was left with silence. He had thought that he had been safe if he had traveled on a ship and enjoyed the tranquility and the smell of the ocean blues, but he was dead wrong.

It doesn’t matter if it’s land or sea, no matter where he goes, danger will arrive and it can happen at any time and anywhere.

Shouya swallowed his own saliva after hearing the captain’s words, but as he gave a scared look, she bursted out laughing.

“You should've seen the look on your face! That was priceless!”

“What?”

“Don’t listen to her. She always says that to first timers when they enter her ship. She does this just for fun. But don’t take my word for it.”

A member of her crewmate entered the conversation and gave him some advice. Apparently this wasn’t the first time when the captain scares her passengers. She does this just to entertain herself.

That’s…good to know.

“Oi, don’t spoil the fun! Get back to work!”

“Aye, captain!”

She commanded her crew member and returned to his post. Then she looked back to Shouya.

“But he’s right about one thing, I was just messing with you. But I ain’t wrong about the pirates and monsters, either. You rarely see any monsters come out of the sea and start invading the ship.”

“Why’s that?”

“What do you mean ‘why’s that’? Gills, dumbass! They need water to breathe.”

“Oh, right!”

How did I forget about that?

It’s blatantly obvious that if they come out from the water, they couldn’t survive the dry surface air. They need water to survive. It’s basic common knowledge.

The captain crossed both of her arms and raised her chin high with a wide grin on her face.

“Besides, even if they come on to my ship, they wouldn't stand a chance against me nor my crewmates. What stands a chance against us boys?”

“Nothing stands a chance against the Maiden’s Marble!”

“That’s right! Wahahaha!”

She made a loud laugh after her crew shouted, proclaiming themselves that she and her crew can take on anything that comes to them.

Shouya made a wry smile after that proclaiment. But then, he noticed something and asked her.

“Wait, ‘Maiden’s Marble’? That doesn’t sound intimidating.”

“It isn’t meant to be.”

“Then why did you name it?”

“It’s…something that we coined from an old friend of ours.”

As she said that, she placed her hand above her visible scar from her missing arm. It’s probably something that had happened to her sometime in the past. Maybe it has something to do with her missing three of her limbs.

He wanted to ask her, but he didn't want to push her into answering further. So he decided to not ask further.

“Anyways, be at ease, tour the ship, and make sure you make your moment last, because it’ll be the first and last time I’ll do any favors for you guys.”

“Thank you so much Miss…uhh…”

“It’s Orgla. I forgot that we didn’t introduce ourselves. Nice to meet ya.”

“Shouya. Same to you.”

“Uurkk!”

The second they introduced themselves, they heard and saw Gin vomiting overboard on the side of the ship.

“Oi, watch where spittin’ your guts! I’ll toss you overboard if you stain my ship!”

“Can’t…promise… Urp!”

Even after her warning, Gin continues to toss his food that he had digested overboard. Orgla squeezes the bridge of her nose and sighs “You landlubbers are so weak.” before she walks away and heads to her cabin.

Shouya approaches the sickly Gin and tries to comfort him.

“There there. Man, guess that ale must’ve been too strong for you.”

“It’s not the ale that’s making me sick. I, urk, get seasick very easily.”

“Wait, seasick?!”

He was shocked to find out that Gin, the man who single handedly took out the leader of the Blue Sharks and former leader of the Silver Moon, is seasick. It’s unbelievably baffling, but sadly, it was true.

The motion of the ship continues to rock, and Gin upchucks another overboard from his mouth.

“If you knew that we’re gonna travel by sea, then why did you agree to go? I mean, aren’t there other ways to get to Silovilo.”

“I wish there was an easy way, urk, but it’ll take longer if we travel by land. And Vincilos doesn’t have a landing bay for anyone who rides wyverns. So our only means of transportation is this.”

“So I guess we’re stuck with it, huh?”

“I’m sorry if this isn't what you're expecting.”

“Oh no, I’m fine with it. In fact, I’m having a lot of fun traveling on the sea. And I’m glad to be by your and Alisa’s side. Speaking of which, where is she?”

He looked around and noticed that Alisa was nowhere to be seen. She came on board with both Shouya and Gin, but where did she hide?

This caught the attention of another crewmate, a dogman, and he approached him.

“Say, you’re friends with that fox lass, right?”

“Alisa? Yeah.”

“You need to follow me into the ship.”

“Wait, what’s happening?”

“You’ll see…”

“Huh?”

※           ※          ※        ※        ※      ※       ※

“Heyyy, Sho. You won’t belieeeve how much wine was stored in here.”

“What the?!”

When Shouya arrives in the storeroom of the ship, he sees the bridge of Alisa’s nose become beet red, as if she was intoxicated. In fact, she might actually be drunk.

“Your friend drank a bit too much of our wine.”

“How much did she drink?”

“About two whole bottles of it.”

“Two bottles?!”

“You wouldn’t believe your eyes how she drank the whole thing in one gulp.”

Several shots of glass is one thing, but two whole bottles is a bit extreme. What she did was impressive and dumb at the same time. Any normal human being would’ve died if they drank too much alcohol. How can someone still survive after drinking two whole bottles of wine? It was so outrageous that even Shouya was taken aback by it.

“Those bottles are supposed to be delivered to another country. This is gonna cost us our pay.”

“I’m so sorry about my friend. I’m sure that this won’t happen again.”

As he was apologizing to the crewmember, she wobbly walks up to him and hands him a bottle in front of him.

“Hey, heeyy, hey. You should try out thiiiis one. The flavor is sooo rich. You cannot believe how tasty this wine is.”

“I…think I’m okay.”

“Y-Your loss. Hey, you, hic. Arm wrestles me!”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yeah, you. Come on!”

She challenged a crewmember of the ship—a dog human with an above average build who wore nothing but a tank top and shorts—to an arm wrestling contest.

“Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, no offense, but I don’t think you’re gonna win since you’re a…well…”

“What, you’re afraid to be beaten by a Foxen? C’mon, don’t be such a hic coward. Let’s do it already!”

The man shrugged even after giving her a warning and accepted the challenge. Both of them placed their elbows on top of a wooden barrel, clasp each other’s hands, and began testing each other’s strength.

Shouya, along with the crewmember beside him, was sidelined as they watched them arm wrestling.

“You think she’s going to be alright?”

“Don’t worry. He’ll let her win easily…I hope. The better question is how am I supposed to explain this to the captain?”

“Ohh, you mustn’t need to worry. You mustn't worry, indeed.”

The voice was very seductive, yet chilling. Both he and the crewmember looked behind the rack of bottles and behind it, they saw a half-human woman who was sitting on a wooden chair with her legs crossed. Based on her appearance, she isn’t a crewmember of this ship.

She was tall, slim, and very attractive; she had beautiful fair skin with long hair that is the color of ruby and wore a exotic long violet dress that was as dark as the night sky. Her hair was so long that it only covered half of her face, only for her clover-colored eye gazing at him, smiling at him. Her entire presence gives off an lavish aura so powerful that it would make men high over heels and trample under her feet.

The only part that was odd to Shouya was her long animal-like ears with odd strands of white highlights. Her long bushy tail means she must be in the canid group of demihumans. But what animal does she represent? A dog? A fox? A wolf? A coyote? He wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be. Her ears would think that she might be in the rabbit family, but it didn’t feel like she was one.

He turned to look at the crewmember that was with him, but when he looked at him, he was so mesmerized and dazed by her appearance that he began to drool over for her.

What’s with him?

“I’m surprised that you’re not affected. It’s a shame, really.”

“W-What did you do to him?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that men are so drawn over by how I look that they became hypnotized and became my slave.”

“Then you must've done something to Alisa as well?”

“Heavens no. I’d merely offered her a drink. No magic involved. After that, she became what she is now. You wouldn’t mind if I helped myself, pirate boy?”

“Yes ma'am!”

“Huh?!”

Shouya couldn’t believe what he had heard. One moment, he said that the wine was supposed to be delivered to another country. But he did a complete one-eighty and allowed her to have one bottle.

Wait, is he…horny?

Given the expression of the crewmember—with his heavy rapid breathing, saliva profusely leaving from his mouth, and cheeks turning red—he is visibly pent up. Shouya wasn’t sure why or how this was happening before his eyes.

There’s no way that he’s horny, is he?

He doesn’t want to believe. This couldn’t be possible. Is there an ability that can make someone horny in this world?

To make sure he was right, he had to dig deeper—

You know what? No. Not even gonna attempt it. I refused to believe that he’s horny, and don’t go that way! Not gonna do it. Nope!

He quickly looked away and shielded his eyes after he took a quick glance of his bulge. He didn’t want to do it. He refused to examine any further. He can already imagine what was inside his pants and he doesn’t have the courage to do it. He didn't want the image of “it” to scar him for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile this woman, who was able to manipulate the dogman crewmember’s mind, let out a soft chuckle as she poured herself a glass and said “But I must say. You, on the other hand, are a rarity.” before taking a sip from it, leaving the rim of the glass printed with her indigo lipstick.

“What do you mean?”

“When virgin men see me in their eyes, they usually do my bidding. I can tell that you are a pure virgin. You came here by choice, curious to see what it is, yet you’re not affected by my scent. You are a rare specimen.”

“Scent?”

He had smelt the air around him and there was nothing indicated that was out of the ordinary. It’s true that he is indeed a virgin; he had never fallen in love or ever made love in his life before. It’s easy to say that this woman’s “scent” has no effect on him.

Still having no clue what she was talking about, the sorceress playfully caressed the neck of the bottle with the tip of her index finger.

“Tell me, was there someone else that you are in love that you have set your sights on, or was it someone that has eyes on you? Or maybe…”

In a flash, the woman that was talking to him suddenly appeared behind him.

“—Was it someone who enchanted a spell on you?”

“Bwah!”

Shouya quickly turned away from the woman who magically appeared behind him, only for him to stumble and fall into the wooden plank floor bum first, and then she mildly laughed afterwards.

She was toying with him, playing with his mind with all the talk of love and sorcery. He wasn’t sure how to handle situations like this. He doesn’t know how to fight and he doesn’t know how to use magic. It’s like being tangled in a spider’s web. There's no way to escape this bewitching enchantress.

“Men like you are so easy to toy with. Easy to manipulate. Easy to…get aroused.”

She looked and placed her hands on the crewmember’s body. He was too zoned out and intoxicated by her mysterious magic that he had paid no attention to this woman touching him.

“A man’s mind is like pastry. You get all the ingredients to bake a simple cake. Once that cake is done, you get to control what frosting you want, what topping do you desire. Then eventually…”

She licks her lips as she continue to talk with an erotic yet eligant tone of her voice. Then she eventually caressed his face, then slowly making her way to his chest, then below the belt area, until she reached his long, hard—.

“Hm. But you, on the other hand, are like an unfinished cake.”

Before he could reach the climax, she pushed him away and made the crewmember flop to the floor like if he’s a plank of wood. Despite being drunk with excitement, the aroused dogman didn’t feel anything that was around him. He was spaced out.

With the sound of her high-heel shoes clicking and clacking on the hardwood floor with every step she takes, she returns to the table with the bottle wine on top.

“You’re undercooked and needed more time. You do not have any frosting or topping. You don’t have a flavor that can go with my tea. You’re like a fruit that is not ripe enough to pick.”

Cake? Tea? And now fruit?

Shouya couldn’t wrap his head around what she was saying. Why is she spouting out these odd riddles? What do they mean? Why is she here in the first place? All of these things are questionable that it doesn’t make sense to him.

He asked her.

“W-What do you want with me?”

“I came here with a fortune.”

“A…fortune?”

He didn’t understand what she was saying. A fortune? Is she a fortune teller? If that’s the case, didn’t she just blatantly say it instead of being risque? Nevertheless, he was curious about his fortune.

“What kind of fortune?”

“You would go on a path of your future. Paths that could lead you to your destiny. Some paths that could lead to your fate. One path that could lead you to your true purpose. The other could lead to your, let’s say, misadventures.”

As she was telling him this, she rotated the bottle, showing Shouya the label from the bottle. The picture is in black and white, and while he couldn’t understand the bottle’s brand name or where it originated from, the picture shows a castle on top of a mountain and a crescent moon on the side.

“What…misadventures?”

“You’ll see.”

What could this mean? He wasn’t sure. All the things she had said to him were rather vague instead of giving him a definitive answer.

He asked him one more question:

“Who are you?”

The mysterious woman turned towards Shouya and bent both of her knees to make eye contact. She then placed her hands on his cheek and drew her lips close to his ear and, in a quiet tone, she softly told him her name.

“My name…is Cassadora. Welcome to the new world…Anomaly.”

“—!!”

When she told him what he actually is, his heart raced. Shouya’s body turned pale when this lustful sorceress, Cassadora, knew what he actually was. If she knew who he was, does this mean that she knows what a human is? There’s no doubt about it. She knows that Shouya was from another world.

He wanted to ask her, he wanted to pursue her to give him more answers. When he opened his mouth—

“Yaow!”

Before he could let out a voice, the table slammed behind the rack of bottles and someone cried out. Shouya looked between the rack of bottles to see the source.

“Haha! I won!”

“How?”

“Wanna go again?”

“N-No thanks!”

The dog eared half-human quietly said “Seriously, that hurt” as he shook his hand to ease the pain. Shouya was so distracted by the woman that he had completely forgotten about their arm wrestling.

After Alisa’s victory, Shouya looked back to see the woman’s face.

“…!”

But before he could, Cassadora magically disappeared from his sights. He wanted to ask her more questions; he wanted to know how he was summoned or who summoned him. But it was too late. She was already gone.

“…Huh?”

He looked at the crewmember on the floor, who was still zoned out by Cassadora’s magic.

Hmm… Now that she’s gone, does this mean the effect wears off?

He wanted to test out that theory by slapping him in his dog-like frame and he continued to slap him for a short bit until he snapped back to reality.

“Huh? Ow! Hey!”

“Oh, it does wear off.”

“What wears off? Did you do something to me?”

“What? No!”

Shouya shook his head as he did not do anything to him. However, something seemed off.

“Wait, did you not remember?”

“Remember what?”

“You know, the woman that was here who hypnotized you!”

“What woman? There’s no one here.”

The dogman has no recollection of meeting Cassadora, even though Shouya was the witness. It seemed like the memories of Cassadora were erased from his mind and thinks that it was only both him and Shouya.

He got up from the floor and wiped the drool from his mouth.

“Ack!”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine… Say, be honest with me. Are you sure you didn’t do anything to me? I mean, I ain’t judging you or anything.”

“I DID NO SUCH THING!!”

“Okay, okay, just making sure.”

With Shouya’s exclamation, the dog-faced man acknowledges it. After that, he quietly said to himself “Mhn! Man, why am I hard?” as he adjusts his pants and walks away weirdly.

Yup, he’s horny.

After he was out of view, Alisa, who was still drunk, walks in front of Shouya.

“What’s with him?”

“Trust me, you have no idea.”

Alisa looked at the dogman who was talking to the half-human that he beat in arm wrestling and then looked back at Shouya, who was still on his knees. When she put two and two together, she looked at Shouya with a cat-like expression.

“Sooo…?”

“So, what?”

“What is it like?”

“Like…what?”

“You know…”

“What are you…”

Shouya stopped midway and took a moment to think about what she had said. Then, in a split second, he realized and his cheeks blushed beet red.

“H-Hold on! You think that we—”

“Mmm hmm~.”

“You got the wrong idea! We did no such thing!”

“Surrrre you didn't.”

“I'm being honest!”

“C'mon, you don't have to pretend, Sho, you devilish dog.”

“I'm not! And who are you calling devilish?!”

“It's alright. You don’t have to keep it a secret from me. Hic. You don't have to hide that you're—”

“Oh, hey, is Gin calling for us? Let's head up to check on him!”

“What? Heeey!”

To prevent this awkward topic from going any further, Shouya quickly ends the conversation by grabbing Alisa’s arm and both of them head up to the deck.