Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers - Chapter 86



85 – Acting (3)

Birzhonekh wasn’t one of the stronger Devil Army executives. Her true power didn’t come from her personal combat abilities but from commanding a legion.

She emitted pheromones of arousal and allure, captivating not only males but even females. Those she enthralled would gladly sacrifice their lives for her.

Absolute obedience, in its truest form.

That’s why Birzhoneh, who had only reached the rank of Division Commander, was called “Queen.”

[-Incantation. I appeal to the devil of the South: let those directly poisoned by my pheromones be unable to escape in any way as long as my life remains.]

It was power obtained by selling her soul to the devil in the past. Unless she died, those who smelled her alluring scent would be her servants forever.

“Guh, something’s wrong with my body…”

“Ughhh!”

“Everyone, pull yourselves together…! Argh!”

See. The women are already dazed.

Even that nun, who possesses holy power of healing, can’t control her body. Purifying with Sephiron has its limits. That’s how potent the poison is.

Quite a laughable sight. In an hour, they’ll probably be completely obedient servants.

Those ones aren’t important right now.

Securing the fresh essence of the male, the stud, was the top priority.

The Queen’s gaze fell to the ground.

“uuu, Tth, Tta.”

The mage was crawling on the floor. He looked pathetic, as if he had thrown away all human dignity.

[“In the end, nothing special.”]

She’d heard the Yellow Jacket unit was wiped out, so she thought he was a formidable opponent, but it was needless worry. He wasn’t weak, but he wasn’t superhuman enough to withstand the pheromones.

If he had awakened ‘Dominion’, she might have lost.

Of course, he wasn’t that strong. His skill in wielding magic seemed outstanding, but his absolute amount of magical power was lacking. He was falling short of the realm by a hair’s breadth.

That spider woman would be very disappointed to see this.

Thinking that, Birzhoneh licked her lips and opened her mouth.

[“Get up.”]

The man rose at the command. Pheromone-induced orders worked without fail.

[“Come here while taking off your clothes.”]

The man obeyed this too, mechanically. He abandoned even his pride, exposing his torso like a male prostitute, and Virzhoneh couldn’t suppress the senseless laughter trying to escape.

Everyone was like this.

Always had been.

No matter how exalted their martial prowess, in the end, once captivated by carnal desire, their intelligence waned and they became beasts. That was the conclusion she’d reached after living for hundreds of years. All living things were bound to be slaves to their instincts.

[“Foolish.”]

How utterly idiotic.

Anyway, it had been a long time since she’d tasted a human male. The looks were acceptable. First, she’d just take a small taste, then take him to her new nest and slowly, meticulously, squeeze the essence from him.

[“Now, stick out your tongue.”]

At Virzhoneh’s instruction, the man opened his mouth.

And spat out a stone.

[“Flames, rise up.”]

A storm of fire engulfed the Queen Bee’s face.

*

They say deception and lies are a virtue for a magician.

At first glance, it seemed like a frame-up. A story spread by the Holy Empire to emphasize that magicians are evil.

But upon closer consideration, it was also a saying that contained a subtle truth.

To become a great mage, mastery of theory and mana training are fundamental, but you also need the cunning of a fox. The ability to skillfully improvise even when faced with a crisis. Only with such skills can you truly fulfill your role in that field.

Shedding my pride and stripping my shirt in front of the Queen Bee was a goddamn stroke of genius. It completely fooled her.

[“Screeeeeech!”]

The Queen Bee’s head crackled and burst into flames. It hit the mark. Gone was that arrogant, seductive voice from just moments ago. Now, just a shrieking monstrosity remained.

Annoying.

I spat out the remaining mana stones.

[“Sever it.”]

*Snikt!*

Mana honed like a blade sliced through the Queen Bee’s neck.

*Whoosh!*

A fountain of blood erupted. Sparks and blood mingled, creating a sickening burnt smell. I plugged my nose and kicked the Queen Bee’s torso. The headless body staggered, then toppled backward.

Just in case, I severed all its limbs and cut the torso into thirds. Cruel, sure, but necessary. We’d be that much safer because of it.

The twitching limbs soon stilled completely.

“A pathetic death.”

*Buzzzzz!*

Several hornets, witnessing their leader’s death, gnashed their mandibles and charged.

Having taken off my shirt, I couldn’t reach a mana stone right away. This is bad.

My only option now is to evade.

But then.

“Mage!”

“Get out of the way!”

From the left, Valkyrie, and from the right, Riyo, came crashing in. They stabbed and slashed at the two hornets that were charging me.

“Haa, haa!”

“…You okay?”

Riyo and Valkyrie reached out their hands at the same time. I grabbed them both with my hands, barely keeping my balance.

Valkyrie and the fox sisters both had flushed faces. The Saintess in the back was practically sleepwalking, limbs all wobbly. Everyone looked like hell.

“Mr. Carsten! Are you alright?”

“Ugh, yes, yeah. I’m okay.”

The Saintess shook her head and a halo appeared above her. Divine power, which hadn’t been able to properly spread, now radiated widely. I could feel my body, which had been so agitated, gradually calming down.

I stared at the burning tree. The remaining bees were flying around, trying to put out the fire. They probably didn’t even know their leader was dead.

We’d gone to all the trouble of taking down the leader, and I couldn’t die to the stragglers. I glanced at everyone and urged them.

“Let’s call it quits on the exploration for today. Let’s go back to base and regroup.”

“Yes, that would be best.”

The Saintess nodded weakly. The battle hadn’t been that intense, but everyone’s mental strength had been greatly depleted because of the charm magic. Especially me, I was on the verge of exhausting my mana from using magic one after another.

I asked David, Calon, and Miyo to share their magic power with me and prepared the teleportation magic.

“Mr. Carsten, you’re not going to say *those* words this time?”

“What words?”

“I like you. I love you. You’re a kind person, Erich.”

“Eeeeek—!!”

Along with the Saintess’s cute scream, we returned to base.

“…Hah.”

The sight of the shabby shack instantly drained my strength. Having a home to return to, a place to rest, felt so incredibly empowering.

The four of us collapsed onto the bed. The stone bed was hard, but comforting at the same time. Just having a place to lie down sparked hope.

I stared at the ceiling and asked,

“How is everyone feeling?”

“Um, Mage.”

“Are you alright?”

“No. It’s just…”

The Saintess sat up and straddled me.

My thoughts froze for a moment, then returned.

“Wh-What is it?”

“Well, I definitely purified you, right? But my body is still so hot….”

Huuuh, the Saintess breathed out. Warm air tickled my nose. With lotus-deep eyes, she leaned in.

Her nose touched mine.

I knew a bit about Luminan and Elven culture. Pressing noses like this, in the following and pan-Elven cultural sphere, meant the following:

I want to have s*x with you.

Elves used to be even more conservative than humans when it came to s*x. So, to avoid someone getting flustered or upset by a sudden kiss, they developed the custom of touching noses as a preliminary step.

“…”

I really couldn’t help but panic.

In a way, wasn’t it somewhere between a kiss and a confession?

“…Is it okay…?”

The Saintess asked, her voice wet with need. Before the thread of reason snapped, I forced myself up.

“It’s not right.”

The Saintess’s eyes shifted, turning violet. The emotions I felt were worry and unease.

“A-Am I… bothering you?”

“No.”

“Is it… because I’m not Erich’s ideal type…?”

“That’s not it either. To be honest, you’re beautiful enough to make anyone fall in love at first sight. Why would I push someone like you away because I disliked you?”

“…Then why?”

“Because you aren’t doing this of your own free will, Miss Casten.”

I’ve tried my hardest to live as humanely as possible since birth. I was careful with every action, and I never did anything I thought I shouldn’t. Thanks to that, even if I didn’t enjoy much good fortune, I was able to avoid any major catastrophes.

It’s the same now.

The Saintess isn’t normally like this. It must be the poison lingering in her body, without a doubt.

Since I’m the only man here, the Saintess is instinctively trying to cling to me.

I can’t lay a hand on her here. It’s immoral. If I abandon my morals, karma will come back to haunt me.

From noble mtl dot com

“It seems even Miss Casten’s divine power can’t completely neutralize it. It would be best for you to rest today.”

“No, I’m…”

“The Saintess wouldn’t normally act like this, would she.”

Unless the Saintess was in her right mind…

No, even if she were, it’s dangerous. If I caused an incident, there’s a very high possibility I’d be hunted down by the Holy Church.

To spend the rest of my days under the surveillance of the Holy Church?

Hate it. I don’t want to do that, even if I die.

All I could do was calm the Saintess down. I carefully laid her down, head first, and took off my clothes to use as a blanket.

“Sniff, sniff.”

The Saintess hugged my clothes and sniffed.

“So, men smell like this…”

I was horrified. This is serious.

That queen bee. I thought she was weak for a leader.

To use magic that brought even the Saintess to this state… her skills must have been exceptional. Glad I got rid of her beforehand.

Next, I checked on Valkyrie and Riyo.

“How are you two? How do you feel?”

“…It tickles.”

“It’s hot.”

Why are they like this too?

Actually, with the Saintess like that, it’s no wonder they’re acting strange as well.

It’s just significant that I’m the only one who’s normal.

I’ve already shaken off the effects of the pheromones. Is it because I’m a man? Because I’m a mage? Or is it simply because of my constitution?

I couldn’t know. If I knew, I’d be a doctor.

Even so, Valkyrie and the fox sisters were behaving within the bounds I knew.

All Valkyrie was doing was trying to hold my hand, and the fox sisters were just rubbing against my waist like animals with their tails wrapped around me.

[“Magician, there’s something I haven’t told you until now.”]

“What sort of thing?”

“Us, you know, we’ve been in heat for two weeks now?”

“…So what am I supposed to do?”

“Tail.”

Is she saying to touch it?

No. It can’t be. How important the tail is to the beastfolk.

Thump.

The fox sisters wrapped their tails around my forearm. Stiffer and harder than usual. A sweet scent is wafting up too.

“Touching our tails during this time has a very special meaning. So, if you want a relationship with us that’s incredibly special… you can touch them anytime.”

If I grab it, what will happen?

I shook my head.

“Let’s talk about this later.”

I did think the fox sisters were lovely. I wanted to take care of them, to be with them.

But it’s still not quite enough.

Even if I ever confessed my love to one of the three of them, it would be after I found a way out.

Until then, even with feelings, survival comes first. If I fell in love with one, things could become awkward with the other two, and it could cloud my judgment.

That’s when Valkyrie, who was holding my hand, fidgeted.

A look in her eyes as if to say, ‘Look at me.’

We met eyes suddenly, but it’s still overwhelming.

“Erich.”

Valkyrie said,

“……Tomorrow, wanna go hunting together?”

Finally, you’re saying something somewhat normal. Did you become immune after getting hit by venom once?

“What hunting. How can I go out when my body’s like this?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t overdo it for nothing, and rest while you can. Don’t come crying later that it hurts more.”

I took off my t-shirt and gave it to Valkyrie too. Valkyrie is the type who gets fevers and catches colds easily, so I have to keep a constant eye on her.

I turned on the glowing stone and was picking up stones to use next when the four golems came toddling over, each saying a word.

“You piece of trash.”

“How are you trying to seduce three people at once? Are you some kind of womanizer?”

“Erich, it’s better to choose only one bride.”

“If you keep going like this, you’re going to have a really hard time when you get married later.”

What are these guys even talking about. Bride? Marriage?

That’s still way too far off.

*

In truth, Tiria had already completely removed the accumulated Yin energy from her body with divine power.

She was just using the excuse of being poisoned to try and share a kiss with Erich, like Rachel did.

It failed in the end, but he did say she was a beauty he fell for at first sight, so there was still a chance. Tiria grinned.

In truth, the fox sisters secretly violated the rules concerning love triangles that Tiria had proposed on the last island.

Touching the tail of a beastwoman in heat was the equivalent of a proposal in beastman culture, which was the same as confessing directly.

Consequently, Erich didn’t touch the tail, but he *did* try, so there was hope. Liyo and Miyo wagged their tails.

And the truth was, Rachel lied about not feeling hot, even though she wasn’t.

It was because of a…unconscious desire to get a little more attention from Erich.

Consequently, she just got told to rest instead of going hunting, but Erich didn’t let go of the hand he was holding, and he even took off his clothes to cover her, so there was hope. Rachel writhed with guilt and shame.

Yes.

All three of them used their venom as an excuse, acting like they had no choice.

“……”

“……”

“……”

And the three of them, except Erich, each noticed. As it turned out, women know women’s hearts the best.

The battle of wits between the three had only just begun.