Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers - Chapter 105



104 – How to Save an Enemy (4)

Most of the conversation on the way was between Olivia and Calon. Adora Director and I were too exhausted just from walking to talk much. Plus, we had to be stealthy to avoid the monsters, so we couldn’t raise our voices either.

Still, it wasn’t boring since there wasn’t any dead air.

[‘It’s my first time flying like a bird, so I’m not used to it.’]

[‘I agree. But being able to fly is truly wonderful. This too must be thanks to the Goddess’s grace, who guided the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s engineering technology.’]

[‘Olivia, the reason we can fly is thanks to the levitation stone. The levitation stone is Magus Country technology.’]

[‘The people of the Holy Spirit Kingdom made it, so why not just call it half and half?’]

[‘Ah, I can’t take it anymore. GaaaH—!!’]

Adora Director chuckled.

“Those two get along well. They’re about to get married at this rate.”

[‘I don’t want to hear that from you.’]

We kept walking through the night, maintaining this atmosphere until dawn.

The obsession to reach the mountain’s peak as quickly as possible filled my head every waking moment. Valkyrie’s face surfaced every time the urge to rest hit. And somehow, my legs would keep moving.

Why the hell am I doing this?

Like I feel guilty toward that woman, or like I’ve fallen in love, I’m acting like a goddamn fool.

All I wanted was to use her to escape this cursed island, and let her use me.

False trust. Our relationship shouldn’t have gone further than that. But somehow, it’s come to this.

Now, here I am, just wanting Rachel to live, to be happy.

“Goddamn it.”

The whole thing’s completely twisted.

“Major.”

Adora’s voice, the General’s voice, shattered my thoughts.

“Prepare for battle. It’s a monster.”

*

We’d fought five times already, just getting halfway up the mountain.

“It’s about time we took a break.”

“Pushing yourself too hard trying to save others won’t do anyone any good. We need enough rest to be efficient.”

Olivia and Kalon were worried, speaking in unison. We took their advice and sat on some nearby rocks. The General wheezed, barely managing to open her mouth.

“Water. Any left?”

“Did you finish yours, General?”

“Didn’t I run harder than you?”

I nodded and handed over my canteen. But then, the General did something unexpected. She started drinking directly from it.

Staring blankly, the Lieutenant sighed and set down the water bottle.

“What.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I must be too exhausted to even realize it. Best to just let this go.

A chilling wind blew.

“It’s colder up here than down below.”

“Likely because of the denser mana. If we get a downpour now, it’s just perfect for catching a cold.”

“Don’t tempt fate. Words have power.”

“Just preparing for the worst. Might be a good idea to scout out a few places to rest as we follow the path, just in case.”

“I’ve been keeping an eye out for caves since we started.”

“Then there’s no problem.”

That’s when the growling started. The Lieutenant placed a hand on her stomach and glanced at me.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“I am.”

“Well, all we’ve got is some hardtack and a few candies.”

The Lieutenant ripped open the bag she’d brought. She picked up a square of hardtack and shoved it near my mouth.

“I can eat on my own.”

“Your hand will drop.”

“…….”

I couldn’t win against her thinly veiled threat, so I eventually took it. The Lieutenant’s tyranny continued until the meal was over.

“The Major said he served as an enlisted man in the army before being commissioned as an Air Force officer, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Eating this stuff as rations, doesn’t it remind you of summer training?”

“It does. I barely managed to choke down that goddamn dry shit, using sweat and spit to soften it. My canteen was empty a long time before that, I thought I was gonna die of thirst. Back then, I was cursing it out, wondering how anyone could eat this garbage…”

“Canteen ran dry? You didn’t resupply?”

“We did. But after sharing with the guys suffering from heatstroke, it was gone in no time.”

“What?”

The General started chuckling, like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.

“You’re a sucker. Now I completely understand why you’re climbing this mountain.”

“They were foaming at the mouth, about to collapse, what else could I do? I was dying of thirst too, I didn’t want to give it to anyone else.”

“Haa, alright. But you still gave it. Is that what they call camaraderie…no, too much sentimentality, huh?”

Sentimentality.

Who used to say that to me, all the time?

“The type to act like they don’t care, but secretly look out for you. Women go crazy for guys like that.”

“……”

“Well, not me. A buddy of mine, he’s like that.”

The General pulled out a stick of bubblegum.

“For dessert. Wanna hit?”

“Aren’t you running low on those?”

“Well, yeah. Gotta chew it sparingly.”

“Then you can eat it alone.”

“No, that won’t do. I’ve only been here for, at most, a fortnight, but the Major’s been cut off from civilization for months. It needs to go into the Major’s mouth.”

“It’s alright.”

“It isn’t.”

The Brigadier and I were both trying to yield, and eventually compromised by splitting it in half.

“Looks like we’ll be sharing today’s fortune?”

“What does it say?”

“Hold on.”

After imbuing it with mana, the Brigadier rolled his eyes and then chuckled.

Wondering what was so funny, I checked the wrapper, and it definitely had a phrase that would make you laugh.

[From today onwards, difficult things will continue to happen for a while. Be sure to rely on the person beside you. Then you can overcome any adversity.]

The Brigadier nudged my shoulder and then leaned his head right onto it.

“We should hope this fortune is accurate.”

*

After that, the climbing continued.

The slope was steep and there were many cliffs, so we had to pay more and more attention to our steps. The fog also thickened, reducing the effectiveness of Calon and Olivia’s scouting. We also had to find the path carefully, so it took even longer.

In the end, three days passed and we hadn’t even finished climbing, let alone descending. We had to find food to eat along the way, and find caves to use as lodgings to rest from the journey.

The biggest problem was the battles with monsters.

I don’t even know how many times we’ve fought now.

Each time we combined our strength and repelled them, but we were getting more and more tired from the continuous battles, making it harder and harder to concentrate.

In the end, I messed up.

“Ghk!”

“Chief!”

I failed to detect the thorn flying from the fog.

Somehow, I managed to defeat the monster that shot the thorn, but the Chief rushed to protect me and ended up getting hurt in my place.

“Haa, damn it.”

“I’m sorry. Because of me…”

“I’m fine. As long as you’re not hurt.”

The Chief groaned, clutching his bleeding left arm.

“I have herbs and bandages from the Saintess. It would be best to treat it and monitor the progress before moving.”

I treated the wound as the Saintess had taught me. The Chief muttered.

“…That woman helps a lot.”

“Isn’t she our group’s medic?”

“Yeah, someone to be grateful for. But you’re my first doctor.”

“There, all done. Do you feel any discomfort?”

“Here.”

The Chief pressed hard on his solar plexus, twisting his lips.

“Perhaps because I did all that climbing with you, my heart feels uneasy. Like it’s about to burst.”

“…Could it be?”

“It’s not the Golden Rule. Or, maybe it is… I don’t really know.”

I sighed.

“Just a little further up is the summit. If we quickly get the herbs and go back, you’ll be able to rest. I’ll even put up with your jokes then.”

“Well, guess I gotta buck up.”

We rose to our feet. After an arduous eighty hours of climbing, we’d finally found the right path and made it to the summit.

A lake and fields were visible.

In the fields, flowers and fruits of every color, mycelium, and medicinal herbs grew in harmony.

“Beautiful.”

It was as if all the plants in the world had been gathered in one place.

“Yeah, well. If we came just to see this view, it was a cheap trip.”

The Major said it in a joking tone. Both the golems and I were briefly lost in admiration of the scenery.

“Now all we have to do is find So-Baek Herb and head back.”

And then it was.

[“Indeed.”]

A voice I’d heard a time or two.

The evil aura made me reflexively turn my head.

The owner of the voice was, without a doubt, the old hag demon. The mastermind who’d left Rachel in that state, the Witch of Calamity.

[“To break through the forces this old woman deployed and climb all the way up here, you’re quite impressive.”]

The old woman straightened her hunchbacked posture and cracked her neck.

[“But it seems the humans’ audacity ends here. Even when you were in perfect condition, the two of you couldn’t stand against me. You’re exhausted from the climb…”]

[“‘Scuse me? There’s four of us?”]

From noble mtl dot com

“……Huh?”

The two drones hidden behind us rose into the air, extending hidden gun barrels.

*Click.*

“The Sorcerer Kingdom’s science is the best in the world─!!”

*Fwhooosh!*

The pre-stored sea fossil turned to flame and engulfed the old woman.

“Wow, the chanting level.”