Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers - Chapter 93



92 – The Heart Begins to Beat (3)

It was a day unlike any other.

Every morning, there was no saint’s greeting asking if I slept well, no clamorous voices of the fox sisters chattering about what to make today, no Valkyrie with her subtly relaxed expression.

Silence. Even before the monster attack, it wasn’t this quiet.

Cutting through the awkward silence was the sound of chewing bubblegum.

Schwooosh.

Pop.

The Captain licked her tongue, shoving the burst gum back into her mouth. She crossed her arms, looking back and forth between me and the Holy Empire soldiers. The chomping sounds echoed for a good while longer.

How long had it been? Finally, the Captain broke the silence and opened her mouth.

“Major Ronstein.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Report on everything that’s happened on this island, without holding back.”

I recounted the events so far as I remembered them. Not just the circumstances of meeting the enemy female soldiers, but even the existence of the stone creatures. The Captain just calmly nodded along with my report.

“Well, nothing exactly groundbreaking.”

The Captain rested her chin in her hand and was silent for a moment. Her eyes scanned me and the Holy Empire soldiers. The three female soldiers clung to me, looking terribly tense.

“That woman is dangerous.”

The saint whispered.

“Keep your distance, no matter what. Nothing good will come of getting too close.”

“Uh, Casten-ssi.”

“Yes, Erich.”

“We need that person’s cooperation. If we want information about this deserted island, we need to get closer to her.”

“I can be the one to get closer.”

“It’ll probably be difficult.”

“Why is that?”

“The Gifolt family is a deeply rooted atheist household in the Magic Kingdom. It’ll be hard to build a rapport.”

“Are they a famous family?”

“Yes, they’re a prestigious family that’s produced enemies for four generations.”

The major, who had been sitting stiffly, moved at that moment. She began to press hard on her solar plexus. *Ahem*, she cleared her throat, and cursed the Director-General lightly.

“…It doesn’t hurt.”

The major raised her head. She wiped her face with her sleeve and looked at me. Her eyes, sparkling like stars in the night sky, were faint.

“So Major Ronstein was the one who lifted my binding?”

“Yes, but it was no big deal.”

Without the Saintess and Liyo’s help, the major would have died. Valkyrie had indirectly lent her strength as well. She blocked the monsters, allowing us to continue the release.

“What happened last night wasn’t a dream either.”

“That’s right.”

“Even that I kissed you, committed an impropriety…”

From noble mtl dot com

“I didn’t quite hear you?”

“I’m asking if I had any unnecessary contact with you outside of official duties. If my memory is correct, I definitely kissed you last night.”

The major pursed her lips. They cracked audibly. It was the sound of the major chewing gum. She had a light blush on her face.

“I’m crazy.”

“Th-that’s… Major. I’m sorry.”

“What?”

The major, his gaze lost in the air, snapped around, startled. “What are you apologizing for?”

“I was too exhausted at the time, I don’t remember anything about what happened that night.”

“What?”

“I was out of mana, completely disoriented. All I remember is lifting the restriction on you, Major. You told me you…did something to me, but I really can’t recall if that’s true or not.”

The major’s face went blank.

Well, even I thought it sounded too calm, too innocent.

“You really don’t remember?”

“No, I don’t.”

The truth was I did remember. The major probably just realized I was playing dumb. Well, she’s a general, she’s got to have some perception.

This was all for the major’s sake. I could see she was embarrassed.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

So I subtly suggested it. Let’s just pretend it never happened and move on.

It had worked when I accidentally saw the Saintess naked. Maybe this would work with the major too. If she just gave me her implicit agreement, we could all relax. Even if the Holy Kingdom’s female soldiers still weren’t giving me the nicest looks.

But I hadn’t considered one thing.

“Major Ronstein.”

“Yes, Major?”

“I hate lies more than anything in the world.”

That the major was more principled than I’d imagined.

“Thanks to you, I was able to break free from the ban. I can’t even begin to repay that favor, but I’ve committed a discourtesy, so I’m uneasy. So tell me the truth. Really, you don’t remember a single thing from last night?”

“No, I don’t.”

“This is an order.”

“I truly don’t remember anything.”

“Before your conscience and the Oath of Jerrim, there isn’t a single lie in what you say?”

“……”

Only then did I realize. The Major had no intention of just letting this go. I sighed and opened my mouth heavily.

“I’m sorry. What you remember, Major, is correct.”

*Why did you lie?* The question didn’t come. Instead, only a resigned murmuring hung around the Major’s lips, saying *So it really was like that.*

“I heard stories about you from my father a long time ago. How you were generous enough to give your vacation time to your soldiers, they said? And that you were honest and broad-minded as a mage…”

The Major paused, then continued. She glanced at my face and scratched the side of her head.

“Well, it must be strange to hear your own story from someone you don’t even know. I was surprised too. When I first heard about you from my father, I thought you were some fictional character created for propaganda.”

“But it seems that wasn’t the case.”

“You flatter me.”

“I’m just stating the facts as they are, nothing more.”

I, who had been half dazed, was suddenly startled. The Major had abruptly leaned in close. Our faces were near.

“Major, uh… your face.”

“Ah, sorry. Was I too close?”

Rummaging in her pocket, the Major pulled out a stick of gum and offered it to me.

“You like gum?”

“Yeah, I used to chew them a lot when I was tired.”

“Me too. Better habit than smoking. By the way, those things cost 5,000 Mataks a pop. It’s a gift of apology and gratitude, so don’t share it with other women, chew it yourself.”

Holy shit, what kind of gum is this expensive?

I carefully peeled open the gum wrapper. Under the label that read ‘Oing Oing Bubble,’ a small mana circuit was assembled. I could see why it was so expensive.

“If you infuse it with mana, the letters on the wrapper will float up. It has a function that predicts your fortune for the day based on your mana state.”

Then, the Major showed me the fortunes he had received so far.

[If you are only faithful to the orders of your superiors, everything will be uneventful today.]

[To accomplish great things, you must endure a little discomfort today.]

[It’s a day like any other. Shall we work hard again today?]

It was all stuff like that. On the surface, it was just so-so fortune telling, but there was a sense of piercing to the core.

“What do you think, doesn’t it fit perfectly with the situations I’ve been in all this time?”

“You’ve been using this to constantly request rescue from those around you?”

“Nobody noticed, though.”

The Major’s voice as he chuckled held a sense of resignation.

“You’re the first and last one, I guess. To realize it right away. How did you see right through the curse that afflicted me in one go?”

“…I just, saw it.”

The Major snorted, saying it didn’t make sense. I was serious. This much wasn’t a lie. Really, I just said I saw it because I saw it.

“Major. I heard you have Level 1 Magician certification…”

“Yes, I do.”

“And a doctorate.”

“Graduated and then enlisted.”

“An unusual career path. Oh, not chewing the gum right away?”

“No. I will.”

I took the gum out and put it in my mouth, chewing.

Strawberry flavor. The same scent that filled my nose and mouth last night.

“How’s the taste?”

“Good. I didn’t know artificial flavoring could be so sweet.”

“Me neither. I chewed it every day, but thanks to someone, it feels very new today. Did you check your fortune?”

Hearing the Major’s words, I poured Mana into it. Fluorescent light appeared on the inside of the wrapper, forming a sentence.

[A new connection will form today. It’s a good connection, but don’t rush. You still need to get to know each other.]

The Major twisted his lips after seeing my wrapper.

*

The group decided to rest for the time being. Adora’s gunshot wound hadn’t fully healed, and she was physically exhausted from coughing up blood.

The Holy Kingdom’s female soldiers demanded to know the secrets of the uninhabited island from Adora. In response, Adora first revealed a few facts.

“Your suspicions are correct. This island is inside a reverse barrier created by the Magic Kingdom.”

“As expected…”

“I received orders to come here. I was told to capture the Holy Kingdom people wandering the island and offer them to a place called the Grand Altar.”

“The Grand Altar? Where is that?”

“There’s a map among the items you seized.”

Tiria frowned after checking the map.

“What’s this Grand Altar thing? And why are they taking the Holy Kingdom people as prisoners? Is there some kind of conspiracy?”

“There probably is.”

“Don’t you know?”

“The heads of the Seven Spears are all Major-class. A Two-Star only knows what a Two-Star needs to know. All I can say for sure is that our country is doing something stupid.”

“There are suspicions that the Magic Kingdom is in league with the Demon King’s army. What about that?”

“Well, maybe that’s true too.”

The things I’d been wondering about were starting to get answered, one by one. But even more questions were piling up. Secret after secret, chasing its own tail. Tiria groaned softly.

Meanwhile, Adora was repeating the three female soldiers’ names and characteristics in her head.

“Tiria Casten, that woman is the Saintess of Purification. Next to her is Valkyrie, Rachel Brokenheart who used to be called ‘Black Cat,’ and the fox beastman from the Holy Engineering Corps…”

All three female soldiers were giving Adora cold stares.

Adora figured she deserved it. She was a General, a member of the Seven Spears, and even though she was forced into it, also part of the Eight Heroes Association.

If the Magic Kingdom loses this war, she’ll definitely be on the list of war criminals.

She was having bitter thoughts, but it wasn’t all bad. More than anything, being freed from the curse was huge. Now it was up to Adora to decide what she had to do.

Adora, chewing on her gum, channeled mana into the wrapper she’d just peeled off. After checking her fortune, she gave a clear, morning-dew-like smile.

[It’s a day for new connections. A good connection, but don’t rush things too much. It’s still a stage for getting to know each other.]

“…Heh.”

Adora neatly folded the wrapper and carefully tucked it into the front pocket of her uniform.

The girl’s heart, which had been stopped for so long, began to beat again.