Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers - Chapter 75



74 – The Fourth Escape (1)

I didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky.

“You’re awake?”

“Why didn’t you wake me up until now?”

“You’ve been exhausted for days. And we’re leaving the island soon anyway. Taking a day to rest isn’t so bad.”

The Saint gave a soft smile. The Engineer next to her nodded along, “Yeah, yeah.” It was the same scene as always.

The only one that bothered me was…

Valkyrie.

Suddenly, I felt a heavy weight on my arm and looked down. Valkyrie was clutching my right arm, breathing softly.

That’s weird. I don’t remember sleeping with her?

“Major must have been tired too. You two get some rest today.”

“Won’t they be short-handed?”

“For food, you mean? Don’t worry.”

The Saint pointed to the beach. Two Golems were splashing around, catching fish. Those big guys are giggling. I’ll never get used to it.

“Want to eat now?”

“I’ll wait a bit.”

I lay back down. I was still tired.

Lying there, I turned my head and saw Valkyrie’s face up close.

Ebony hair and jade-white skin.

Clichéd, yes, but nothing better for describing a beauty.

Just yesterday, Valkyrie’s face was a mess. Skin dull, hair tangled like a bird’s nest. Dark circles hollowed her eyes, looked like she was on her deathbed.

Truth is, even now, objectively speaking, she wasn’t much different. But one thing was.

The upward curve of her lips.

“……”

Valkyrie’s eyes snapped open like magic. Our gazes met, inevitably.

Valkyrie’s pupils, which had flinched at the sight of me, soon regained their composure. Judging by the way she didn’t pull her arm away, she must’ve embraced me and fallen asleep on purpose last night.

Valkyrie spoke.

“Thank you.”

The tone was utterly indifferent, but all the more genuine for it. It was the first time I’d heard a truly heartfelt thank you from Valkyrie.

*

“I apologize for falling asleep first last night. Allow me to formally introduce myself.”

Later that afternoon.

Through the Saintess, I’d exchanged names with Valkyrie’s two close friends.

“Daisy Ellaine.”

“Olivia Mureon.”

It wasn’t easy. I had to greet the people I’d personally killed.

Not that I was the sole aggressor, though.

Valkyrie’s comrades had tried to kill me first. I only killed to survive. But harming someone can’t be justified, no matter what you say.

An awkward situation to apologize for, to excuse.

What’s the advantageous move for me in a situation like this?

I’m not dumb enough not to know.

“I’m sorry.”

Hide my own misfortune, be mindful of others’ tragedies. In other words, empathize with the other person’s feelings.

Generally, matching someone else’s mood prevents the worst. Even with human trash. They might even spit on a smiling face… but wouldn’t they spit once instead of twice?

As I finished apologizing and lowered my head, the atmosphere shifted. The golems were silent for a while. Then, they whispered to the Valkyrie in a language of the Holy Kingdom I didn’t understand.

“Oh my, isn’t he really a decent guy?”

“Let’s bang him.”

The Valkyrie shook her head violently. Her face hardened. Something serious was clearly being discussed.

Could it be, they’re debating whether or not to kill me when we escape?

“I’ll recommend clothes that’ll kill his virginity.”

“The best revenge is to make him a married man. Keep him captive for life. That way, we can finally ascend too.”

The Valkyrie’s face darkens even further.

Shit, am I really going to die if we escape?

Even if it was calculated kindness, I did this much for the Valkyrie?

“They say they want to kill you right now, but they’ll keep an eye on you until we escape.”

“Really?”

“Yes, they say they’ll watch you and decide whether or not to *snip snip* you then.”

“Scrape?”

“I guess she means scrape *here*?”

The Saint made a cutting motion across her throat. My mouth snapped shut on its own.

“hhhsss.”

“Don’t worry, Magician. If anything happens, I’ll help you. Even if you’re captured as a prisoner in our country, I’ll watch over you every day and bring you food and everything.”

“That’s… comforting.”

“Right? Just think of it all as a good thing.”

Rescuing those two, I don’t regret it. If I hadn’t, Valkyrie would have fallen, and if Valkyrie fell, dealing with the monsters would be that much harder.

I just have to treat them well, like I always have. Even if it’s not easy for them to forgive me, since I’m the one who killed their people…

“Speaking of which, Magician, do you know what day it roughly is?”

“I’m not sure. Is it a time for some special event at the Holy Spirit Church?”

“It’s not just our church. There’s a globally famous event happening, you know.”

The Saint pointed to the sky.

“New Moon Festival. It’s the day the first full moon of the new year rises.”

“Ah.”

“We even had an end-of-year party not too long ago. We missed the turn of the year, but we should at least celebrate the full moon in a simple way, don’t you think?”

“Are you going to make a wish?”

“Of course.”

*

Night fell.

The four of us lay neatly in the lifeboat. It was so cramped, I could feel the body heat and breath of the person right next to me, plain as day.

Gurgle.

Hungry noises echoed from here and there. My own stomach was contributing.

“Everyone’s going wild.”

“Don’t even have the strength to talk.”

“Ugh, I could eat dog food right now.”

We’d had a meal, but we hadn’t caught many fish, so we didn’t get much. The island itself was a furnace, so the water temperature around it was high, and not many fish could survive. The ones we caught were all skinny and weak.

There’s only so much you can fill your stomach with water and bugs.

At this rate, we’d be suffering from severe malnutrition soon. We needed to head to a more abundant island and set up base camp as quickly as possible.

“Let’s leave in three days at the latest.”

“That’s probably for the best.”

Suddenly, light flooded my face.

“Magician, look at that!”

“The moon!”

It was a full moon, high in the sky.

We sat up, just our upper bodies, and huddled in the lifeboat. Thanks to the bright moonlight, we didn’t need a bonfire. The Saintess clasped her hands together.

“Everyone, make a wish.”

Wishing on the first full moon of the new year is universal. Like the saying goes, new wine in new bottles, it’s common to make resolutions in the new year.

Valkyrie and Liyo also clasped their hands. The three female soldiers silently made their wishes.

The rocks and golems even said theirs out loud.

[‘Let me get a girlfriend. Even though I’m dead.’]

[‘Let me get a girlfriend. Same here, dead as I am.’]

“Let me get a boyfriend. Even though I’m dead.”

“Let me get a boyfriend. Same here, dead as I am.”

Watching everyone pray, I finally made my own wish. Honestly, I think it’s all superstition, but in a situation like this, I have to cling to anything I can. I’m too damn tired to have come this far.

The Saint asked,

“Wizard, what did you wish for?”

“I wished for all four of us to escape unharmed.”

“Hmm, that’s too ordinary.”

“Well, I don’t really want anything else.”

Just escaping would be enough. Ah, and it’d be nice if the war was over, too.

“What did the other three wish for?”

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret.”

“Wanna guess?”

A secret, huh? What amazing thing did they wish for to keep it so quiet?

And then, a shooting star fell.

“Ah!”

“You absolutely have to say a shooting star wish out loud….”

“Guess we have no choice. Let’s just share amongst ourselves.”

The three of them spoke at the same time.

“May this connection with the mage last for a long time.”

“Let Erich bite my shoulder.”

“Escape the island with the mage, the war ends, and we meet again… Huh?”

The atmosphere shifted entirely. It was too dark to see clearly, but the three female soldiers exchanged glances, a meaningful hum passing between them.

It’s hot, but this feeling is so cold. I was just starting to take stock of the situation when…

“Ahahaha!”

Starting with Riyo’s laugh, the three women began to giggle and chortle. Before I could even ask, the Saint spoke first in the mage kingdom’s language.

“The three of us made the same wish. What are the odds…”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Anyway, we’ve made our wishes, so let’s sleep now. Starting tomorrow, there will be no leniency, just hard work.”

The Saint was right. We were supposed to leave within three days, so tomorrow would be tough. I quickly closed my eyes.

Maybe because I slept so soundly earlier, sleep didn’t come easily.

So I counted. One lump of stone, two lumps of stone, three…

From noble mtl dot com

*

“He’s asleep.”

Tiria, confirming that Erich was dead asleep, glanced around the inside of the boat. In the darkness, Rachel and Riyo’s eyes glimmered slightly.

And Rachel and Riyo also looked at Tiria’s face. Those eyes, shining a faint green, suggested that the Saint was harboring some kind of jealousy.

Tiria sighed and calmed her emotions.

“Since this is personal time, I won’t be asking based on rank. Now, answer honestly. Those who think I have feelings for Erich Ronstein, raise your hand.”

Riyo’s hand shot up. Faster than Tiria’s.

Rachel was the very last. Rachel hesitated, then, hearing the two dinos’ fuss, cautiously raised her hand. That alone plunged Tiria and Riyo into shock.

“Weren’t you enemies with the mage?”

“Well, my friends… kind of egged me on…”

Tiria’s gaze lifted. Two dinos were standing firm right behind Rachel.

“You guys, don’t tell me…”

The dinos smacked their lips.

“Holy Woman, we have some sense too.”

“Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable and bad for everyone if we fought while the mage was awake?”

“Let’s just compete fairly during times when the mage is asleep, that sort of thing.”

“As the Holy Woman who conveys the word of the Holy Spirit, you’re surely already thinking that way.”

Tiria and Riyo were both stunned. The two spirits had been killed directly by the mage. And now they were trying to connect him with their closest friend.

“We know Rachel best here.”

“She’s bad at expressing herself. We always had to push her along like this.”

Tiria lowered her gaze. Rachel was visible, her head bowed low. The way she was twisting her hair evoked a shy girl rather than a strong warrior.

“Major, I didn’t expect this from you either.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Are you also harboring feelings for the mage?”

“No, not that far… Actually, I don’t really know. I just… after the war ended, I wanted to keep meeting him and get to know each other better or something…”

“Then can you yield to me?”

At those words, Rachel turned around. The golems hissed and puffed out smoke.

Stop hesitating.

If you don’t, he’ll be stolen.

It was as if they were saying that, and Rachel could no longer deceive herself.

Rachel lay down next to Erich, as she was. She gently embraced his arm and opened her mouth.

“Ah, no way.”

A trembling voice.

But she declared in a clear voice.

“This man is my target. I found him first, I had my eye on him. Killing him, hating him, liking him, marrying him, everything, I get to do it first…”

The girl’s true feelings, which had been dormant in her subconscious.

“…So, don’t cut in line.”

It was a burning love-hate, to the point of being desperate.