Gwen carefully took a dress out of the cupboard.
The dress was a lovely bright yellow, though it had faded from washing, yet it remained Gwen’s most treasured possession.
It was sewn by her mother’s own hands.
Gwen slowly took off her old clothes, which were already tattered and barely covered her body.
Then she put on the dress right away and carefully smoothed out its wrinkles.
She had wanted to take a bath and change into this dress while clean, but she was too weak—she probably wouldn’t last through a bath.
After putting on her prettiest dress, Gwen twirled a few times in place.
The dress was light and thin, like a butterfly fluttering its wings.
She was finally going to die.
Ever since her parents left, Gwen had been hiding in the house for nearly half a year.
She had never received any news of them, but instead, war had broken out nearby.
Soldiers came and went.
Fortunately, Gwen’s house was broken down enough that no one paid attention to it.
She hid in the basement, quietly watching through a small hole as the soldiers arrived and left.
This was once a small village with many friendly villagers and several of her good friends.
Now, she was the last living person in the village.
After searching everywhere and failing to find any food, Gwen looked at her wrist, thin as dry twigs, and knew she was about to reunite with her parents.
So, she put on her favorite dress and lay quietly on the bed.
Today was the day she was going to die.
It should be an important day.
Adults always celebrated important days, though Gwen didn’t quite understand it.
She had no food to celebrate with, so she gathered some wild grass and placed it on a plate, pretending it was a feast.
She no longer felt hunger.
She glanced at the plate beside her, gently touched her beloved dress, and closed her eyes.
She was finally going to die.
With her eyes closed, her breathing grew weaker.
The icy air became warm.
She felt herself slowly sinking, as if she were in a long, long dream—one that was finally coming to an end.
『Mr. Jeremiah, have you figured out what’s going on?』
『I don’t know. I suspect it’s some kind of mutation related to the sea.』
Gwen vaguely heard incomprehensible voices, but she was too tired.
She just wanted to sleep forever.
The world was too harsh—she didn’t want to keep going.
A vibration echoed in her mind, like a bird’s sudden call at dawn, jolting her awake.
『Huh? Someone else entered? Mr. Jeremiah, didn’t you say the crew couldn’t come in?』
『Shut up, damn it! Can’t you tell she’s a woman? Use your brain. Are there any women on this ship?』
『Ah, you’re right... What do we do, Mr. Jeremiah?』
Ken felt a chill down his neck.
Jeremiah’s face appeared before him, the pirate captain glaring murderously.
He growled, "Don’t say my name in this place!"
Ken flinched and instinctively covered his mouth.
He wasn’t stupid, just too trusting.
After thinking for a second, he understood Jeremiah’s meaning.
"Then... then how should I address you?"
"Call me Captain. If you make this mistake again, I’ll shove my boot up your ass!"
Ken hurriedly nodded.
Their attention returned to the strange connection.
There was a brief silence—none of the three spoke.
Jeremiah patted Ken on the shoulder.
Ken hesitated and then greeted, 『H-Hello!』
Gwen felt confused by the information flowing into her mind.
She didn’t understand what this was, but her mother had taught her to be polite.
『Hello, big brother. I’m Gwen. What’s your name?』
『I’m... Ow! Don’t hit me, I got it! I—I’m Fries.』
『Hello, Brother Fries. Goodbye.』
『Where are you going?』
Another voice suddenly joined in.
『I have nowhere to go. I’m going to die. Gwen is ten years old.』
The link fell into silence for a moment.
Then Jeremiah’s voice came through.
『You can call me Captain. Why did you say you’re going to die?』
『A ship? I heard ships are on rivers. There’s no river here.』
『I haven’t eaten in a long time. I got sick. I’m about to die.』
『Ah, what about your parents— Ow! Why did you hit me?』
『Gwen’s parents aren’t here anymore. Gwen is going to find them.』
Gwen spoke seriously.
『I put on my prettiest dress, lay down on my bed, closed my eyes, and then—you all appeared.』
『Are you at war there too?』
『Captain, can we send her some food?』
On the other side, Hughes, who had descended into a worker’s body, remained silent.
He had the same thought.
But he had no way to send things over.
If he could, the first thing he’d do was send this body away—he didn’t want to be stuck in the deep sea.
He had only wanted to try pulling someone new into the link.
But things didn’t go as expected.
He had easily found the threads connecting Jeremiah and Ken.
He assumed it would always be this easy, but it turned out to be a coincidence.
The two were close enough to him and both at sea, so he could accurately select them.
But for people farther away?
If he wanted to find Nora, for example, he’d have to first locate the general area of the North.
He had many threads there, but picking out the exact one connected to Nora would be difficult.
This time, Hughes had pulled in the wrong person.
He had intended to recruit someone from Isaac’s intelligence network.
Instead, he got a stranger—a starving little girl.
Hmm... She seemed to be named Gwen.
Other than that, Hughes knew nothing about her and had no way to help.
He could only watch as she approached death.
Only at this moment did Hughes wish he were a god—so he could grant his follower bread and milk.
『Gwen, tell us about your surroundings.』
Jeremiah’s deep voice echoed again in the link.
『...I’m here. Sorry, I got distracted. I’m too tired.』
In the captain’s cabin, Jeremiah and Ken exchanged glances, their faces grim.
The little girl seemed to regain some spirit.
She slowly replied, 『I’m lying on my bed. My dad built it for me... but Dad isn’t here anymore.』
『The villagers all left. Later, many people came and burned everything down...』
『Sorry, I talked too much.』
『Actually, I’m doing well now. I prepared a feast for myself, right here on my bed.』
『Okay, it’s just grass from under the eaves. But I picked carefully!』
『There are diamond-shaped leaves, ones with thorns, and even heart-shaped ones...』
『Wait, did you say heart-shaped leaves?』
Jeremiah’s voice suddenly sharpened.