Chapter 53
"I--"
Before you could finish your thought, Mihawk, who had been keeping a distance, seemed to have noticed something and stepped forward to shield you behind him. Immediately afterward, you heard the sound of the stone wall behind you moving. In the blink of an eye, an opening appeared in the previously dark and dusty stone wall.
The timing of the cave entrance was so perfect that you forgot what you originally intended to say to Mihawk and took two steps forward to examine it. Compared to the dim cave, the light was even weaker at the entrance, making it impossible to see what was inside.
If only there were light. You thought to yourself, and then a faint candlelight appeared in your peripheral vision. Following the light source, you saw that Mihawk had taken a candle from the rock wall to use for illumination while you were observing the cave entrance. Even so, the view from the cave entrance was still limited.
You know, based on what's happened so far, going in is the obvious choice. But the instinct for survival means your body will resist the option of rashly entering an unknown cave. As you ponder how to handle the situation, Mihawk throws a pebble inside. The pebble, used to probe the entrance, makes a crisp rolling sound, and after a few seconds, it seems to roll to a step and continues down.
In just a few seconds, the pebble answered the question in your mind. You belatedly looked at Mihawk, your eyes revealing understanding of the test and appreciation for Mihawk's actions.
As expected of an experienced pirate.
Although you know this method, in terms of reaction and application, you're still a step behind the adventurous pirates. But these weren't issues Mihawk cared about; his sharp golden eyes gleamed in the dim candlelight.
"There are stairs leading down inside, do you want to go in?"
Mihawk asked a question, but you could see the longing for the unknown cave entrance in his noticeably brighter golden eyes. In that respect, Mihawk was indeed a true pirate; no pirate could resist a cave that looked dangerous but might be full of treasure.
Of course, as an ordinary person who just wants a peaceful life, you would subconsciously avoid such places, but in the current situation, there is no way to avoid them, and the only option is to explore them in depth.
"Let's go in and take a look."
After receiving an affirmative answer, Mihawk took a candlestick containing candles from the rock wall at the cave entrance and handed it to you to use as a streetlamp. Once you had a firm grip on it, he changed his previous behavior and led the way.
To be honest, even with candlelight to guide you, your progress relied more on Mihawk's adventurous experience. Without Mihawk, you probably wouldn't have gone far before getting trapped in narrow, low-visibility "traps." The ground was uneven, and occasionally creatures that preferred to inhabit dark, damp places would emerge from above or beneath your feet.
Mihawk, on the other hand, is there to speak up or take action before you precisely step into these traps. You're quite certain you're exploring the cave with utmost concentration, but being unaccustomed to mountain paths, especially the nighttime-only sections, your exploration efficiency is extremely low.
Just as you nearly stepped into nature's mica trap again, the quick-thinking Mihawk reached out and caught you around the waist, preventing you from suffering the same fate as the candle that had fallen to the bottomless abyss. Watching the fallen candle go from a flickering flame to complete darkness, your arms around Mihawk's waist tightened unconsciously, and a sigh of relief came from above.
It was that sound, suddenly forgotten, that made your heart race—the kind of heartbeat you feel when you touch Mihawk—accelerate as you feel the warmth of his palm and the tension in his muscles. You want to let go, but Mihawk's hand on your waist shows no sign of loosening.
The familiar scene repeating itself on the same day and in the same place will not make you feel used to it; on the contrary, it will aggravate the embarrassment you feel when facing Mihawk.
Normally, you would quickly distance yourself upon realizing you've crossed a line in your interaction. However, as the one who was rescued, it's somewhat offensive of you to rush away from Mihawk without even saying "thank you." After sorting out what you wanted to say, you subtly removed your hand from Mihawk's waist, trying your best to ignore the lingering warmth and firm touch on your palm.
"Thank you."
His golden eyes, now noticeably softer, fell on your face, which rarely showed any emotion but seemed somewhat helpless.
"It's good that you're alright."
Contrary to Mihawk's answer, the hand remained on your waist, though its grip loosened—a grip so tight you could remove it if you wanted. You weren't sure if Mihawk was giving you the power to create distance, but the ear closest to your heart heard a strong heartbeat that contrasted sharply with Mihawk's calm demeanor.
You're not a doctor, and you can't tell if someone has an illness just by their heartbeat. But the sound of a heartbeat right next to your ear feels strangely familiar to you, someone who often feels tense or uneasy about people or things in this world. A word unrelated to Mihawk pops into your mind.
Are you nervous?
The moment you said it, you regretted it. How could someone so strong that they were recruited by the Navy as a Shichibukai feel nervous in such a commonplace situation? You wanted to take back what you said, but a smile flashed in the golden eyes that were watching you. Mihawk answered first.
"right."
The unexpected answer left you frozen in place for a moment. When you finally came to your senses, another question blurted out: "What made you nervous?"
As if he had heard something amusing, the chest pressed against his ear vibrated with Mihawk's soft laughter. Before you could figure out why Mihawk was laughing, the latter let out a helpless sigh: "Is there a third option here besides you and me?"
The gaze that fell upon you following Mihawk's answer was unmistakably present. You, who had previously questioned Mihawk based on his heartbeat, were now the one being questioned. The reason was simple: Mihawk's question was, in essence, a statement of affirmation, and you regretted asking him that question and now finding yourself stumped.
Fortunately, Mihawk stopped short of making a move. He released his hand from your waist, and before you could create distance, he opened his free hand in front of you.
"Let's keep going. Since you don't have a candle and can't see the road clearly, you can hold my hand."
Through the dim candlelight, you see the palm facing upwards, calloused from diligent practice, a palm more robust and expansive than yours. Perhaps because you had held this hand while unconscious, you grasped it before even uttering a word of refusal.
Given your current relationship with Mihawk, even shaking his wrist would be considered crossing a line, yet you're holding Mihawk's palm.
That's incredibly rude.
You try to correct your behavior, but Mihawk, who made the suggestion, takes the initiative and tightens his grip to ensure that your hand doesn't slip from his grasp.
The hand that enveloped you was warm and strong, and the heat emanating from it seemed to have a magical effect, calming your panicked heart—an experience you'd never had with anyone else.
In a different setting, you might have the energy to consider whether your interaction with Mihawk is too intimate. But the truth is, there's no time for you to think about it, and Mihawk doesn't give you that opportunity either, as he casually hands you the candle in his other hand.
"Take this."
After instinctively taking the candle Mihawk offered, you wanted to return it to him, having just lost your own candle a few minutes earlier due to a misstep. But then, a glimpse of the weapon behind Mihawk caught your eye, and the words you were about to say were swallowed back down.
Clearly, candles are more suitable for you than weapons, given your near-zero combat strength.
-
Perhaps you've gotten used to the bumpy road conditions, or maybe your body has become accustomed to traveling with Mihawk, but you and Mihawk didn't encounter any other problems along the way. You, who used to frequently step into traps, can now accurately avoid the traps right under your feet. As for any obstacles that block your path, Mihawk is in charge of them.
Whether it was a bat startled by the candlelight or a suddenly appearing stone wall, both were eliminated by Mihawk's small knife, which was comparable to a pencil sharpener.
Even though the current setting isn't suitable for discussing other topics, you, who have only seen Harta and Vista sparring with swords so far, shared your thoughts after Mihawk cleared away another stone wall.
"You're really amazing. Not only can you cut through the stone wall with this knife, but you use it so skillfully that you don't even need the knife behind you."
Because the knife Mihawk is using now is too small, the common knowledge that even drinks come in large, medium and small sizes in the world has given you a new question.
"Oh, are there other models of knives?"
Mihawk's hand holding the knife handle paused for a moment, followed by a somewhat helpless male voice that sounded as if he had heard this conversation countless times: "I don't have a knife smaller than this."
Mihawk's reply surprised you: "Only small knives and large knives?"
"right."
The brief answer made you realize once again that your old "common sense" doesn't hold much sway in this world. Before you could recover from the conversation, the sensation of your toes touching something prompted you to look down, and the topic came to an end.
The wooden crate you kicked looked rather old. Although it had a keyhole, it wasn't locked. With just a simple touch, you could see a small gap appear in the crate.
"What's wrong?"
Mihawk, noticing your unusual behavior, looked at you. Still focused on the box, you handed the candle to Mihawk, who took it and looked in the direction you were pointing.
"There's a box here, would you like to open it?"
Your subconscious tells you that the box in front of you is the "treasure" that the three forces are looking for, but you, who didn't really want the treasure, discovered it.
If you were traveling with members of the White or Red Pirates, they would probably be surprised by your question, as pirates love boxes that look old and worn. Unfortunately, you're traveling with Mihawk, who glanced at the box's construction and passed the question back to you.
"Open it if you want."
"Want to open it?" Mihawk's confident tone, as if certain of what's inside, makes you feel that this box is the "treasure" of your journey.
"Aren't you interested? Maybe it's the treasure the Navy sent you to find?"
According to the rules of the three teams, once Mihawk opened the box and confirmed that it contained the treasure he was looking for, it would belong to him. Even so, Mihawk's answer remained unchanged.
"It's okay if it is. Besides, you found it, so it belongs to you."
This answer made your toes, still feeling the lingering sensation of contact with the wooden crate, ache faintly.
Even though we haven't seen whether the items inside are treasure, isn't it a joke to let people who aren't interested in treasure decide whether to keep or leave it?
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