Chapter 111
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Chapter 111
"I found it at Jenath's Cabin."
I lied with a touch of confidence. This much was harmless enough! Though it stung a little to see my trump card—something I'd intended to keep hidden until the very end—exposed so carelessly.
Besides, since Jenath, the person I needed to be most cautious about, already knew the location of the Bunker, there was no point in concealing it.
"What's this?"
Kaiden pointed at the marking that read "Bunker" with his finger and asked.
"I'm not entirely sure myself. The supply cache location from the Holy Maiden's map seemed to be somewhere around this area, didn't it?"
"Yeah, it does seem that way."
Enoch, sitting beside me, studied the map alongside us before adding his thoughts.
"In any case, it's certain that the location marked on the map is the closest. Why don't we head there first? After that, we can search for the Holy Maiden."
As I listened to Enoch's words, I suddenly recalled the Monster I'd seen moments ago. It seemed to be searching for something.
'Monsters like me, they say...'
If the Monsters truly considered me a delicacy and kept pursuing me to attack, then perhaps others were being put in danger because of me.
Could it be that I was some sort of "bug" to everyone on this Island? A glitch that warped all causality simply by existing?
'But there's no other solution right now anyway.'
I exhaled deeply.
Right. Until some other option presented itself, it was better for all of us to stay together.
'Will the "Escape Gate" really open after a year?'
If so, I'd probably need that key the Holy Maiden possessed.
I had a nagging feeling that the gate might be in Jenath's Cabin. That suspicious "door" I'd seen in the Basement of Jenath's Cabin kept weighing on my mind.
But I couldn't tell Enoch and Kaiden about it. If I did, I'd inevitably have to reveal that I was a possessor and that this place was a novel I'd been reading.
'And how could I possibly explain that you two were originally supposed to end up with Yuanna?!'
Lost in such thoughts, I felt a piercing gaze and lifted my head. Both Enoch and Kaiden were staring directly at my face.
"What?"
Enoch, with his arms crossed, said nothing, but Kaiden spoke with an amused expression.
"You really do have quite the variety of expressions."
"Me?"
I brushed my cheek and tilted my head in confusion. I'd been thinking all sorts of things just moments before, so apparently I'd made some rather strange faces without realizing it.
"Margaret, if we escape the Island, will you meet me again?"
Kaiden suddenly asked an unexpected question. I furrowed the bridge of my nose, unable to grasp the intent behind it.
"How would I know that?"
"Ah, I really want to escape this Island soon."
After hearing my response, Kaiden sighed and leaned his head against my shoulder. I'd expected Enoch to be angry, but surprisingly, he let Kaiden be without complaint.
Noticing that I was watching him with a puzzled expression, Enoch sighed and answered.
"It's better to stay quiet up here. We'll have to spend the night in the Tree Branch anyway."
At Enoch's words, I looked around at the thick Tree trunk with an uneasy expression. It was sturdy and thick enough that three adult men and women could sit on it without it swaying, yet I still felt anxious.
As I fidgeted and continued to squirm, Kaiden, who had been leaning diagonally against the Tree trunk, straightened up and asked me.
"Want me to hold you? Are you nervous?"
"That would probably make me more nervous?"
"Come here and lean against me. Like yesterday."
Enoch then tapped between his own legs and spoke. Kaiden looked between me and Enoch with a bewildered expression, but belatedly grasped the meaning and his face darkened with displeasure.
"Damn it. If that's the case, Margaret, sleep with me tonight."
"Hey. That line sounds really weird?"
"Let's sleep together."
Kaiden wrapped an arm around my waist and rubbed his cheek against my shoulder like a cat, nuzzling affectionately. Of course, Enoch quickly put a stop to it.
Kaiden stared at his wrist, which Enoch had seized. With me between them, the two men engaged in a silent battle of wills.
I exhaled a weary sigh.
"Should I get down?"
"I'm sorry, Margaret."
"My apologies. I've made you uncomfortable."
Watching both men apologize without hesitation and retreat, I sighed even more deeply. Wasn't this the perfect way to become Monster food?
Survival came first—there was no time for romance if we wanted to live.
I made that resolve once more.
* * *
With Enoch yielding his spot, I leaned my back against a tree trunk and fell asleep.
Enoch and Kaiden each secured themselves to the tree trunk with rope, resting only their upper bodies against it as they slept.
I opened my eyes as the first pale light of dawn crept across the sky.
We couldn't keep hiding in trees and sleeping to avoid Monsters indefinitely.
'It might be better to find the Mother Monster and exterminate them.'
If we did that, wouldn't Jenath be unable to spy on us through the Monsters' eyes anymore?
Silver Earthworm, who had been coiled up asleep on my lap, opened her drowsy eyes and lifted her head. I stroked her head gently and calmly surveyed the surroundings.
Enoch and Kaiden seemed to be sleeping deeply in their uncomfortable positions, likely because they hadn't slept yesterday.
I pulled out a notebook with someone's diary from my crossbody bag and carefully reviewed it again. I hadn't been able to examine it closely at the Cabin for fear of Jenath's return.
I had skimmed through it at the time, so I had expected as much, but there were far more memos written in such a hurried scrawl that they were illegible.
However, I discovered one phrase written between the lines and gasped in surprise.
-Anata, thank you.-
Anata? Wasn't Anata Jenath's older sister? I had wondered if perhaps Jenath's sister was the one who wrote this diary, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Then, without any evidence but following only my intuition, could Yuanna be the diary's author?
'But that doesn't make sense at all. This diary seems to chronicle events from the past, yet Yuanna woke up on the Island around the same time we did.'
Suddenly, I wondered if the "location she showed me" mentioned by the diary's author might be the Bunker. The "she" referenced here could be Anata.
Just then, I heard rustling and saw Enoch stirring awake.
"You're up?"
I closed the notebook and gave him a gentle smile. He, wiping his tired face with his hands, flinched and looked at me.
Then, just after waking, his voice still thick with sleep, he let out a laugh.
"Margaret."
"Yes?"
"I just wanted to call your name."
"Yes...?"
"Because you were smiling so beautifully this morning."
He wiped his face again and spoke casually, then rubbed the back of his neck as if stiff. His directness left me momentarily speechless, and I closed my mouth.
"Hmm."
Kaiden yawned and stretched, rising at the same moment.
"Ugh, this is really uncomfortable."
Enoch's expression remained unbothered, but Kaiden complained bitterly about how wretched the sleeping arrangements had been.
I couldn't help but agree vehemently with his grievance—the bedding had been equally miserable for me—so I voiced my own complaints alongside his.
"Oh, by the way, I found this notebook at Jenath's Cabin. Would you like to read it? It's not particularly helpful, but..."
I extended the notebook I'd been holding toward Enoch. He studied it for a moment, then fixed his gaze intently on my face, as if contemplating something.
He must have glimpsed this notebook when I retrieved the medical supplies earlier.
Perhaps his silence meant he was waiting for me to speak of it first, of my own accord?
"Who wrote this? And who is this 'she' mentioned here? She seems to be part of Jenath's group. A universal key? Is this the same key the Holy Maiden possessed?"
When Enoch remained quiet, Kaiden—who had already taken the notebook to examine it—posed these questions to me. I explained calmly what I had deduced.
"I'm not certain who the notebook's author is, but I suspect the 'she' mentioned here might be Anata. And this reference to 'the place she revealed' seems to correspond to the location marked on the map."
I rested my chin in my hand and exhaled slowly. After Enoch received the notebook from Kaiden moments later and reviewed it, he spoke.
"All the more reason we should seek out the location marked on this map."
"There are far too many unanswered questions. Let's go then. We need to uncover what this Island's true secret is, and how we're supposed to escape. We must investigate thoroughly."
Kaiden responded to Enoch's words with a sigh, and I nodded in agreement.
"Then let's depart."
And so we set out again, searching for the location of the Bunker. I unfolded the map as we walked, and I noticed Kaiden moving about empty-handed, so I asked him.
"Kaiden, where's your bag? I thought the remaining explosives were inside it."
"Oh, won't Rujeep pick it up? I left it there. I couldn't exactly swim while carrying a backpack."
At Kaiden's casual remark, I recalled the weight of that bag. It had been heavier than I expected—could Rujeep really manage to carry it back?
"Where did you arrange to meet the Bishop?"
"Huh? We didn't arrange to meet anywhere."
At Kaiden's words, I found myself at a loss and simply closed my mouth.
Rujeep would struggle to survive alone. Regardless of anyone else, shouldn't I be looking after Rujeep? That man was beginning to worry me.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org