Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The port was oddly clean after the ferocious storm, as if the wind had blown away all the dust particles and the gloominess of the city. The sky was oddly blue, and so was the sea.
Women in sailor outfits were standing in a row at the dock of Lihai City. The tight outfits were setting off their alluring figures and curves.
A luxurious cruise ship was parked at the dock. Apart from the well-trained ladies who were receiving the guests, Mages in dark blue uniforms were assembled on the deck. They were standing straight with stern looks on their faces. They had the demeanor of powerful Mages.
Men and women in fancy clothes were boarding the cruise liner. The men kept shifting their eyes between the ladies who were receiving them, while the aloof women had disdainful expressions. That being said, their eyes would occasionally glance at the handsome Mages on the deck.
The physical and mental traits of Mages were usually more outstanding than ordinary people. It was not rare for rich women to provide for young Mages, especially on a vacation cruise with Tokyo as its destination. The men and women who were holding hands while boarding the cruise were not necessarily couples. Once the cruise departed, they might even go hunting on their own. There were at least thirteen hundred passengers on the cruise liner. They would eventually stumble into someone who caught their eye. If not, the organizer was more than willing to provide its guests with the best services!
“Sir, are you alone?” an inspector in a white outfit asked.
“Sir?” the short-haired person took off her sunglasses. She looked at the bulky inspector with a puzzled expression.
“Oh, I’m sorry, are you by yourself, beautiful miss?” the man quickly corrected himself.
“For now, this is my ticket,” the short-haired woman said.
“Your room number is 1316, the most luxurious suite on the cruise. Someone will bring you to your room soon. May I ask, you have a piece of oversized luggage with us. Even though we aren’t allowed to inspect the content of our guests’ luggage without their permission, we are asking for your cooperation as part of the standard procedures. Can you tell me what’s inside the luggage?” the man said.
“You’re only asking it now that I’m on board. How inefficient!” the woman replied.
“How about this? I’ll bring you to your room, and you can explain the details to me. I will be lenient on you if it’s something discreet,” the man said.
“Sure.”
The short-haired woman walked on the bridge in elegant steps. She conveniently passed her luggage to the manager.
The cruise was managed like a hotel. The man was probably someone with a high position. He told the rest of the crew that he would be away for some time, and asked them to attend to the guests. He then led the short-haired woman to the level with the luxurious suites.
“Let me show you around briefly. There’s a huge hall at the main deck where the banquet will be held tonight. Please dress up formally for it. I believe you will attract the attention of a lot of gentlemen. The bar, restaurant, gym, karaoke, and cinema are located on the seventh floor. The ninth floor has…” the manager explained.
“I’m not too interested in the facilities. Is my room the one ahead of us?” the woman asked.
“Yes, but before you go into your room, can you explain what’s inside the oversized luggage? Our scan indicates it’s something that needs extra attention,” the manager said.
“Let’s discuss it inside the room. Whenever someone asks about my occupation, they are willing to listen to me even if they aren’t interested in me. It might take some time, so if you have some time to spare…” the woman said.
“I’m a little busy indeed, but I can just assign the others to take over my job. However, I’m still in the middle of my shift, so I have half an hour at most,” the manager said with a smile.
“Oh, I see, half an hour… that’s plenty of time!” the woman said thoughtfully before closing the door.
—
The manager politely took his hat off after going inside the room, revealing a handsome face.
“Is here good enough?” the manager asked.
“Of course, I like going straight down to business,” the woman reached behind her neck and untied the knot of her dress.
“Oh, I think you’ve misunderstood. What I meant was, can you tell me more about your luggage for now? As for other matters… I believe we can arrange it for another time when we are freer. Half an hour isn’t enough,” the manager quickly said.
“I almost forgot. Actually, my occupation is a little unique. It might scare you if I tell you about it,” the woman said.
“I’m not that ignorant either,” the manager said.
“My luggage has a dead body in it!” The woman poured herself a glass of water. She took a sip from it while observing the manager’s reaction.
“Dead…body?” The manager was surprised. He did not expect that explanation.
“Do you still want to hear about it?” the woman asked.
“Of…of course, I don’t think we would allow someone to bring a dead body onto the cruise,” the manager said.
As a matter of fact, their scans had already detected something like a human figure inside the huge luggage, so he was told to ask the woman for more details.
“Don’t worry, I’m not a murderer. I normally work on specimens, mostly human bodies. I have an international license for it. I go around the world to look for cadavers in good conditions and preserve them with advanced methods before storing them in boxes that you won’t be able to open so easily… oh, you can think of them as caskets, but we usually call them preservative boxes. If you were a medical person, you would know how valuable an undamaged cadaver is. The specimen I’m bringing along is absolutely perfect, the best that I’ve collected over the years. I believe it will help a lot with my current research. I’m in a great mood, which is why I’ve decided to take your cruise liner back to Japan,” the woman stated.
