LOTM: Seekers

58. Thralled

"So, Chris. How long do you plan to stay with us?"

In the brief break time, Neph had already devised several strategies for moving forward—but all of them hinged on the young man before her.

Unlike herself, Sunny, and Cassie, she sensed that his motivations diverged from theirs in subtle yet significant ways.

His decision would profoundly alter their course. Adding another person wasn't just simple arithmetic—not merely a 'plus one' in battle. And losing someone wasn't just subtraction either; it could unravel everything.

Evaluation: 39 (Low)

Countdown: 18 days, 13 hours, 3 minutes remaining.

"My vacation's almost over, so... about two weeks, I think," he replied, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

She had anticipated the answer, yet it still caused her expression to tighten with concern. It was earlier than she'd hoped.

"Then I guess we'll have to take the boat," she said, trying to mask her unease behind a practical suggestion.

"Wait, are you insane?" Sunny burst out, unable to contain himself. "You've seen it too—whatever abomination lurks in the dark sea… and you still want to go by boat?!"

"And what do you suggest instead?" Neph's words sliced clean through his panic.

"Ugh… We could walk around it," he muttered, offering the only other option—but even he knew how unlikely that was…

"It's not possible," she said coldly, her tone laced with unwavering logic. "We're holding up only because of this member. If we lose even one… we won't survive another Demon."

Sunny fell silent. He knew she was right—there was no way to argue against that.

Maybe, just maybe, the two of them could have made it on their own. But with Cassie in the equation, survival was no longer a realistic option without Chris.

Leave her? That wasn't even a question.

She might be a burden in a direct fight, but it was her foresight that guided them. Without it, they'd be stumbling around like headless chickens.

He might've come from the outskirts, but that didn't mean he didn't understand basic gratitude.

And so, all he could do was shift his gaze to the one who had forced this situation into motion—Chris.

"I get why you want to go by boat, it would let us cover a lot of ground quickly. But… we don't even have a boat," Chris pointed out, voicing the one issue that had been bothering him.

"We'll just have to build one," Neph replied without hesitation, leaving everyone around her stunned.

"Build one?" Chris echoed in disbelief. "You do realize a flimsy little raft won't cut it, right?"

"Yes," she nodded confidently. "I have the knowledge to build a proper one—and we've got just the right materials for it."

She turned her gaze toward the carcass of the Carapace Demon.

"Its shell is broad, lightweight, and sturdy enough to carry us across the dangerous sea. And for propulsion… we have Cassie's wooden staff to generate wind."

Whiiu

Chris let out a low whistle at her explanation. "You really have everything covered," he said, raising his hands in resignation. "Then I've got nothing more to say."

With Chris on board, Neph turned to Cassie, who nodded without hesitation. Finally, she looked to Sunny.

"Any other choice left?" he muttered with a shrug. "I'm in."

***

Even though I said I trusted Cassie, a part of me—deep down—remained cautious. Just as I still had a connection with Uriel, there was no guarantee that other gods couldn't interfere with my system.

The seed of doubt had already been planted.

The Demon-like Judge of Fire confirmed that there was nothing amiss within her. Despite Uriel's assurance that nothing had changed inside Cassie, I could no longer fully trust it. After all, even Uriel had never met the Kings of Angels before.

"Thanks, as always," I muttered to myself. There was no way for me to be certain that no clone of his was lurking nearby. For now, this was all I could do.

Why did I even tell Cas about my fears for the future? It didn't seem like something I'd admit—even down the line.

Was it because of today's prank? Maybe because she already knew, so I didn't feel any resistance to explaining it. But if the prank hadn't happened, would I have said anything at all?

Ugh... this kind of time paradox, the classic chicken-or-egg dilemma—is enough to give my brain a headache.

Better to just focus on what's right in front of me.

….

It had been three days since Neph told us the plan. With nothing else pressing, our routine settled into a cycle of building, resting, building, eating, then more building, resting, and finally sleeping.

At least, that's how the first day went… but now, I clenched a piece of Carapace tightly in my hand.

"Why the hell am I alone here?!" I smashed the carapace to the ground, 

*Clang

It sounded nicely as it hit the base of our boat. 

That's right, the first day was fine, but the second day, Sunny came to me asking about weaving, so I shared with him some of my threads and taught him a bit about weaving just like how Mother taught me the basics. 

Neph sat at the edge of the slope, staring blankly into the sky. As for Cassie, well—she wasn't exactly able to be much help in the first place.

Lazy kids, really! No wonder everyone says the future is doomed. These new generations have so little focus; their attention flits everywhere.

…Hmm? What kind of thought is that?

Neph had shared the blueprint with us, and we spent the first day shaping the parts. Since it wasn't too big, the three of us managed to finish it quickly. All that remained was to patch everything together. And you know what? We had an infinite thread to bind it all—yay!

Damn it! That means I could have finished it alone, but still… you guys could have helped!

When lunchtime arrived, what had been prepared? More fruit—again!

"Yah! I knew it'd be better if I handled the patching since it concerns our safety and needs to be done perfectly. But what is this? Fruit again? At least go hunting or something!" I shouted, but my protest was ignored as they continued replenishing themselves with the fruit.

"Khhh, haaa... calm down, me," I muttered. If I lost my temper now, I'd lose the battle.

Munch

I bit into the fruit again.

+1 Point

If it weren't for this bonus, I'd be kicking their asses right now.

Suuu haaa…

I took a deep breath and grabbed another piece of fruit.

"Tch, it's tasty and filling, but eating this every day for lunch and dinner really gets me fed up," I grumbled. "It's all because of this." I took another bite.

...

The fruit fault?

Could it really be the fruit's fault?

I scanned my surroundings again—the ashen, ominous ground, as if all life had been drained from it; the dark, black bark; and the ominous blood-red leaves.

"Hey, Neph. It's almost done. Do you think we should go?" I asked, directing the question to the one among us most obsessed with moving forward.

"Go? Why should we? Isn't it better to stay here?" She smiled—a rare expression for her. A sudden realization struck me: something was definitely wrong.

Do you finally realize it?

The voice echoed in my mind, swiftly followed by a familiar headache. It was Uriel.