After the "boat" drifted calmly across the water for a while, it slowly bumped into the cold shore.
Mono jumped onto the shore, and Little Six followed closely behind him.
Looking back, he saw everything behind them being swallowed again by the hazy darkness.
The corpses of those water ghosts were no longer visible.
Mono watched silently for a few moments, then quietly took Six's hand, finding a bit of comfort in the cool sensation.
Six also silently watched the dark shadows sinking into the water, saying nothing.
"Let's go..."
Mono said calmly, leading her away. Little Six retracted her gaze and followed silently.
Purgatory exists, and it's usually not far away.
Though he didn't want to admit it, it was indeed the truth.
What could change all this? Mono didn't know, and he didn't want to dwell on
it—
—the only clear thing was that he didn't want to see the person beside him sad, and that was enough.
"Little Six..."
Walking along the dim path, the silent Mono suddenly turned his head and spoke softly,
"I want to hear another of your stories. Can you... tell another one..." Little Six was stunned. Hadn't he just said something about telling her not to tell jokes anymore? Now he wanted her to talk...
"Does Mono want to make fun of me..." Six's flat voice came through.
"No, I really just want to hear your story. Little Six, what you say is actually very funny." Mono's words were calm but very serious...
He had long since put his previous words behind him. If he needed it, he needed it; if he wanted it, he wanted it. Sometimes he was very honest.
"Then... okay..." Hesitating, her flat voice sounded again. After a long silence, her stumbling voice came quietly, saying, "Once... there was... a person, no, two people. There were two people, trapped on a ship..."
Listening to Six's story, Mono felt speechless, but he didn't interrupt this time.
Six was telling things that had actually happened. Though it was dreadfully dull, at least... she was talking, and that... was already quite good.
And so, listening and walking, his mood became much more pleasant... Before long, another massive space appeared beneath the dark Bilge.
The two of them arrived at a new, empty compartment.
This place seemed to be a transit compartment.
"Phew—"
Seeing the long ladder standing vertically against the wall in the space, Mono breathed
a sigh of relief.
The ladder extended all the way up, leading directly to an exit hatch.
As long as they passed through that exit, they should be able to reach the upper deck of the The Maw. Finally, they could leave the The Maw's Bilge.
"Little Six, up there, climb up..." Mono pointed his finger.
He had no intention of staying here for a second longer.
Little Six nodded, walked to the ladder, reached out, and began to climb.
Mono also lifted his feet and stepped onto the rungs, using both hands and feet.
Although the climbing process was still somewhat "miserable," it was at least much better than facing those Drowned and leeches.
Besides, Six's figure was right in front of him. Looking up at her a few times when tired ensured his mood wouldn't drop too low.
After climbing for over ten minutes, the two successfully reached the very top of the ladder.
Seeing Little Six about to reach out and push open the cover at the end of the ladder, Mono quickly held her back and whispered, "Wait!"
Little Six stopped her hand, looking somewhat confused.
"Mono... what's wrong...?"
"Shh, don't make a sound," Mono whispered as a signal. He then used both hands and feet to climb up, landing beside Six. He listened intently through the crack in the cover plate.
A faint movement came from above, sounding like several rodents squeaking and grinding their teeth.
Of course, what Mono was wary of was not these, but another sound.
A faint sound of breathing, like the wheezing of a human trachea.
Was there a person or something else panting up there?
Judging by the airflow generated by this breathing, the body size clearly wouldn't be small. Inside this The Maw, anything of a huge size was worth being cautious about.
Six just watched silently...
She still didn't have the slightest doubt or question; anyway, whatever Mono
said to do, doing it was the right choice.
This wasn't just trust, it was... complete... entrustment...
Entrusting one's fate into the hands of another was foolish, yet it didn't feel strange or abrupt...
Didn't Mono always belong to... her... too...?
Little Six watched Mono as he listened intently, thinking secretly, a faint trace of shyness flashing across her face.
A long time passed like this, but the breathing sound still hadn't disappeared... Gripping the cold iron ladder, Mono's limbs were becoming a bit sore. However, just as he was about to reach his limit,
a heavy set of footsteps finally came from above...
Thump... Thump... Thump...
Because the cover plate was blocking his view, Mono had no way of seeing what it was.
The heavy footsteps gradually receded into the distance.
After waiting silently for a while longer and seeing that no other strange sounds were heard, Mono whispered again:
"Little Six, push the cover open. Be quiet, don't make any noise..."
Six nodded.
The two slowly reached out, pressed against the iron cover plate above them, and pushed upward with force.
The cover plate slowly opened a crack, and two small heads slowly poked out from inside.
"No danger..."
After confirming, Mono climbed out from under the cover and onto the floor above the The Maw's Bilge. He reached back to help Little Six up.
Standing on the wooden floor, Mono finally saw his surroundings clearly.
Or rather, he only saw the things illuminated by the light. The distant corners where the light couldn't reach were still a patch of darkness.
Under the light, he could only see several iron cages lying quietly to the side, with some sausages placed inside them.
And in some of those iron cages, several oversized rats were trapped.
Seeing this scene, Mono immediately recognized what these iron cages placed here were for.
Traps?
Those rats trapped in the iron cages probably didn't know these were hunting traps before they were caught.
...
The rats were all startled now, jumping up and down excitedly inside the cages, occasionally biting the iron bars with their sharp incisors.
But obviously, their struggle was in vain.
If nothing unexpected happened,
they would likely be dragged onto the dining table before long...
Mono had already guessed whose handiwork this was.
Who was responsible for preparing meat at the bottom of the ship?
Who would capture rats and Little Person?
The blind Long-armed Monster?
The Twin Monster Chefs?
This wasn't the Kitchen, so it could only be the former.
Was this the territory of the blind Long-armed Monster?
Mono thought silently...
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