Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers - Chapter 76



75 – The Fourth Escape (2)

Rachel was surprised even after saying the words herself.

Was I this concerned about the mage?

It was unbelievable. Even so, the thought of another woman stealing the mage made her chest ache, and she couldn’t bear it. Rachel didn’t regret the words she had spoken.

“The mage’s fate… I will decide it first.”

Naturally, the lifeboat was enveloped in an icy atmosphere. Tiria sighed, and Rachel bit her lower lip tightly. Liyo was just rolling his eyes between the two lieutenant colonels.

“…Is that so.”

Tiria nodded.

“So that’s the Major’s heart. I understand.”

“There won’t be any disadvantages, will there?”

“If there were, that’d be absurd.”

Tyria had absolutely no intention of treating Rachel or Riyo in a domineering way just because she outranked them. There were two reasons for that. One, Erich would hate it. Two, she was a Saint.

Tyria’s gaze drifted to the sleeping Erich.

“Magician, you sure are talented.”

A chuckle escaped her lips. A master at turning allies into enemies, and enemies into allies. He might be the most dangerous officer in the Magic Kingdom.

“Now it’s undeniable that we’re rivals. But, as you both know, we’re shipwrecked on a deserted island. Monsters are everywhere, and we’re constantly worrying about food, clothing, and shelter. If we get hurt or sick, we have to rest for days.”

Tyria had long read both romance novels and historical texts extensively. And she knew there was one common lesson between the two. That lesson was: love triangles ruin groups.

Several women fighting over one man, or several men fighting over one woman – it happened often that noble families and even countries tottered or even vanished because of it.

What’s the big deal?

Tyria used to think that way too, but seeing the emotions bubbling up inside her, she could see how it could happen.

That’s why she had to control herself even more.

“We can’t afford to be divided. Keep your personal and professional lives separate. When the Magician is awake, try to act as normal as possible. Don’t forget that survival and escape are our top priorities.”

“……Yes.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

This was a necessary conversation. After this, the three of them, led by Tyria, created several rules.

First, forget that the three of you are rivals during work or combat.

Second, don’t fight while Erich is awake.

Third, flirting is permitted, as long as it doesn’t violate the second rule.

Lastly, fourth, don’t be the first to confess.

Especially the last rule was important.

“Love isn’t a one-way street. If the Mage has feelings for one of us, he’ll confess on his own. All we can do is test the waters and wait.”

Tiria’s rules, at first glance, seemed reasonable. And they were. It was a rational way to compete without losing sight of our goal: survival.

“Understood. We’ll follow it.”

Rachel was relieved at this.

“Ah.”

This was bad news for the fox sisters.

Heat was already here. Their bodies were already itching. Saying not to confess first was like telling them they couldn’t eat for the next two months.

Besides, the foxes were already ahead in their progress with the Mage.

Riyo and Miyo had become intimate enough to show the Mage their tails. The Mage was already more than halfway there. Probably, if they pushed him over, they could reach a satisfying situation in less than an hour.

And now, a ban on confessing first?

Just when they had resolved to deepen their relationship with the Mage?

“Sergeant Riyo, is there a problem?”

“U, ah, no?”

Riyo shook her head vigorously. The rules were logical, leaving no room to find fault. She had no choice but to follow them.

But the next moment.

“Hehe.”

Seeing Tiria’s eyes turn yellow, she realized she’d been had.

Think about it. Tiria had clearly stated that fighting was only allowed when the Mage was asleep.

And now the mage sleeps. Not during work hours, nor in some monster-driven emergency. A time for purely private conversation.

“……Did you notice?”

Yes.

Tiria’s rule was meant to keep the front-running fox sisters in check. If Riyo landed that two-hit combo of pheromone planting and confession-pregnancy, Tiria and Rachel were guaranteed to lose.

“Don’t you dare get too close to our Erich. Understand?”

“……”

“Understand?”

“Ha, ha, yes.”

That night, Riyo had to desperately swallow the screams that writhed to climb up her throat.

*

Erich’s group didn’t linger. Exactly three days later, they packed food and ore and left the island. All that remained on the scene were two empty golem shells, too heavy to carry.

Only dying embers smoldered on the desolate island.

But soon, a change came. The collapsed stone tower began to vibrate, along with the surrounding earth.

Thud, thud.

A demon was clearing debris, looking around.

A spider demon, generally black with red markings. Its lower body was undeniably arthropod, but its upper half was different. It was humanoid. Black hair, red eyes.

[“———.”]

Rumble.

At the demon’s gesture, the pile of stones crumbled like sugar.

Where the rubble had been, was a small stone door leading to the floor below. She pulled a thread from her hand and hooked it onto the door, pulling it open.

Trrrrr.

The hidden door groaned, struggling to exhale.

Descending the stairs through the fully gaping entrance, a small chamber emerged. A few luminescent stones were the entirety of the light source. It wasn’t hard to sense the presence of another being.

[“So, you’re still alive.”]

The demon’s gaze settled on the wall in the corner.

[“Acting Commander of the 17th Legion, Ledoff.”]

[“Salvira… Ma’am…”]

The body, crudely fashioned from stones, creaked. Ledoff exhaled a dry sigh.

[“Please, help me. Some human scum who just stumbled in have left me like this.”]

[“Isn’t not being dead enough?”]

[“In this state, it’s as good as dead. I’m in a spare golem; it’s hard to even move.”]

Ledoff wasn’t actually dead.

Strictly speaking, his body *had* died, but with a flash of ingenuity, he’d managed to escape with only his mind intact. His consciousness was, in essence, stone, and as long as the raw material wasn’t destroyed, it could endure eternally.

[“I somehow managed to evade the restrictive holy magic. But I never dreamed the enemy would have that much power. If I had a second chance, I’d crush those intruders for sure.”]

Ledoff ground his teeth. The stone tower was ruined and all the golems destroyed. With things as they were, the research was secondary. He’d chase that damned human mage and his party to the ends of the island if necessary and kill them.

[“Commander Salvira, please help me. Your silk would be enough. If you could just let it help my joints move, I’ll take care of the rest.”]

[“Good, I was planning on using some silk anyway.”]

[“Really?”]

Salvira pulled a white, sticky string from her hand.

[“Cover yourself with this, and you’ll soon be at ease.”]

“I will carry this favor with me for eternity.”

Salbira’s hand covered Redoff’s muscle. Thread steadily grew, covering his ankle and crawling up his leg. And it covered his torso, and even his face.

Covered, covered, and covered.

So strongly that his joints crumbled and even the magic stones cracked.

“Ugh, ugugh, ugughhh!”

His neck snapped, his limbs were torn off and flew away, his entire body was crushed into pieces. Even so, the threads did not lose their shape and firmly maintained the cocoon.

Squeeze.

Salbira pulled on his arm, hanging the cocoon high from the ceiling. And she took out a magic quill and paper, writing a single sentence.

[Report from the 28th Legion. The 17th Legion is annihilated as of today. While investigating the collapsed magic tower, we discovered the body of Acting Legion Commander Redoff and secured it.]

No sooner had she placed the period than the letters flew through the air and disappeared.

“Heh.”

Salbira wore a faint smile as she went outside.

*

“Gack.”

Valkyrie gagged. Here we go again.

“I’m, I’m okay. I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“R-really.”

I went to stroke Valkyrie’s back but stopped my hand. Then she gasped, turning around.

“…N-no, I’m not okay after all.”

What the hell am I supposed to do?

“Should I sweep you? Pat you? Uh…”

Valkyrie was sweating bullets, her brow furrowed. Like there’s something she wants to say but can’t find the words.

But then, as if realizing something, she patted her own lower back and continued.

“…Touch me.”

“You want me to rub your back?”

“Yeah, s- sweep, sweep me down.”

The words were awkward, but the meaning was roughly conveyed. I nodded and reached out my hand.

As I started rubbing her back, the Stones went wild.

[‘That’s it! This is it!’]

[‘Doesn’t look like it’s your first time. Have you two been like this all along?’]

[‘Yup.’]

[‘Let me, who’s eaten the most jungle grub on a deserted island, tell you. They’ve been doing this since the first island.’]

With two more joining in so quickly, the audio never let up. The Valkyries from the Holy Spirit Nation also seemed to be trapped in the Stones, so they spoke in Whispers, meaning I could understand everything.

[‘Good, if it’s like this… ehehehe.’]

[‘Looks like they can handle it even without us.’]

Speaking of which, something’s weird about what those two Valkyries are saying. Tilia and Riyo, who saw me rubbing Valkyrie’s back, just kept glancing out of the corners of their eyes.

A subtly strange atmosphere.

But I didn’t have time to worry about that now. After enduring hunger for so long while rowing, the island we were aiming for had finally come into view.

I pulled out the mana needle. And I couldn’t help but be shocked.

The mana compass spun uselessly, direction lost, whirling in circles.