Chapter 133

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Chapter 133 I was so grateful for their unwavering faith in me. My chest felt heavy, as though congestion had settled there. I wanted to repay their steadfast trust.

"Regarding my situation, it's complicated, and I wanted to explain it properly when I met the Holy Maiden, but...."

I racked my brain trying to figure out how to organize and explain it, then let out a sigh.

"It seemed the Holy Maiden had also experienced something related to me. I think it would be best to meet her first and discuss it."

Looking back, it was strange. No matter how much I had possessed another's body, I had accepted the memories of their past without any difficulty. Even though my memories had blended as though I were Margaret herself, I had accepted them without any sense of alienation. It was absurd, but now I understood why. It was possible because I truly was Margaret. I bit my lip firmly and lowered my head. Then I began calmly explaining to the three men—about everything I had experienced and the conversation between Anata and Yuanna. The three men listened to my story in silence for a moment, unable to speak. After I even brought up the story of living in another dimension and discussed the book I had read there, "More Important Than Survival," I felt so foolish and stupid that I couldn't bear it. I had firmly believed I had possessed a world within a book. All this time, I had worried unnecessarily and suspected them excessively.

"I'm sorry for deceiving you all this time."

Honestly, even if the three men felt betrayed hearing this, I had nothing to say.

"...I didn't want to die."

Enoch stared at me silently. It was Rujeep who broke the silence and offered unexpected comfort.

"We told you. We trust the Young Lady. So please trust us as well."

Rujeep gently grasped both my hands with reverence and whispered. His eyes too were full of trust. My cheeks burned with heat. From shame. I pressed my lips firmly together and only nodded. My eyes grew hot. Rujeep smiled at the sight of me and gently patted my head.

"You must have been frightened."

Then Enoch spoke. I lifted my head again and looked at him.

"Thank you for answering. You must have suffered carrying such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍​‌‌‍⁠​‌‍‍‌‌⁠​‍‌‌​⁠‌‍​⁠‌‍​‌‌‍⁠‍‌⁠​⁠⁠‍​‍​⁠‍‍a heavy secret alone all this time."

I had vaguely thought that Enoch might believe me. After all, I had trusted and believed in them as well.

"And I'm sorry for not understanding."

At Enoch's continued words, tears welled up again. I clenched my teeth and furrowed my brow. A sob escaped. In the end, I broke down and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍​‌‌‍⁠​‌‍‍‌‌⁠​‍‌‌​⁠‌‍​⁠‌‍​‌‌‍⁠‍‌⁠​⁠⁠‍​‍​⁠‍‍shed tears once more.

"Margaret, don't cry."

Kaiden gently wiped my tears away with his thumb. His touch was so warm that tears flowed again. Rujeep, who had been listening quietly, continued to stroke my head and offer comfort. He didn't say much, but that gentle touch was such great solace. So in the end, I burst into tears again. I felt like a seven-year-old child. I've lost count of how many times I've cried since coming here. I was beginning to worry that my tear ducts had broken. Enoch added one more thing.

"Stop crying. Your beautiful eyes will swell up."

Beautiful eyes. Enoch was always someone who spoke kind words plainly, but somehow his unfamiliar compliment made me finally stop crying.

"But I'm curious about something."

I looked at Enoch with a puzzled expression. He began speaking in a low voice.

"The story within that novel."

A novel? Ah. So he was referring to 【More Important Than Survival】. Enoch held my gaze steadily before slowly lowering his eyes. His gaze settled upon my lips. Enoch smiled faintly and gently traced my lips with his thumb. He lifted his gaze with deliberate, languid movements and looked at me as he spoke.

"Am I truly so capable? Enough that you'd compare me to the male protagonist of an adult romance novel?"

"W-what?!"

At my startled response, he burst into laughter. Innocent, childlike laughter. The melancholy emotions from moments before melted away like snow in an instant.

"Wait, the protagonist is the Crown Prince? Don't lie. I'm better with technique, Margaret. That novel is nothing but fiction."

At Kaiden's words that followed, I turned to him with a bewildered expression.

"It's easy to claim what can't be proven."

Enoch spoke as if issuing a provocation, and Kaiden's face twisted roughly.

"Why would proof be impossible?"

Then Kaiden turned back to me.

"Margaret, don't you believe me either? If you need proof, just say the word. I'll show you as much as you want."

Kaiden spoke as though he might strip off his clothes at any moment, so I shook my head vigorously.

"Not necessary."

Despite my firm answer, Kaiden remained undeterred. When he glared at Enoch again, Enoch's eyebrows rose in displeasure.

"A mage whose actions precede his words—truly a first for me. And that's not a compliment, by the way."

"Of course it's not a compliment. Who do you take me for, a fool?"

"I'm amazed you didn't already know that."

As Kaiden made to charge forward indignantly, Rujeep sighed and cleared the air around us.

"Gentlemen... we should organize ourselves and find Diego as quickly as possible."

At Rujeep's words, Enoch and Kaiden finally ceased their senseless quarrel. We finished our meal and gathered our belongings.

"We should take a look at the map."

At Enoch's suggestion, I pulled out the map from my crossbody bag and unfolded it. The bunker map we'd retrieved was likely the location where supplies had been stored. Then I recalled Jenath's words about the mother of the monsters being at the eastern edge of the North Island. I had an ominous feeling that Diego might be there.

"Could you explain in detail how Diego disappeared?"

I looked up from the map and asked Rujeep. He, who had been watching carefully like a docile lamb, answered with a hesitant expression.

"It must have been the middle of the night. The Young Lady couldn't find him either, and while I was exploring the surroundings thinking we should find a place to sleep, I witnessed something strange."

"Something strange?"

Kaiden, who had been staring intently at the map, lifted his head and repeated the question. Rujeep's voice grew notably grave.

"What do you mean by that?"

This time Enoch nodded curtly, as if telling him to skip the preamble and get to the point.

"An elderly gentleman appeared through the thicket and called out to us. He had the form of a person, but his figure was so faint he looked like a ghost."

Rujeep lowered his voice even further.

"At first, I thought he was truly a person and tried to approach him. But Diego stopped me, saying the old man had no feet."

A chill ran down my spine. I swallowed hard as I listened to his words with growing dread. 'Why are there so many ghost-like creatures on this island?' I recalled the woman I'd seen in the Bunker and Jenath's Cabin—presumably Anata's spirit. And in the Underground beneath the Bunker, there were moving skeletons as well. Could it be... that they were the lingering souls of those who had died as test subjects in The Experiment on Alea Island? With a thousand years of experimentation, how many people must have met their end on this island?

"We did our best to ignore that presence and move forward. We passed the old man and walked for quite some time, but when we reached the end of the path, he was standing there again. Even though we'd clearly passed him."

It was a chilling story, yet Kaiden showed little reaction, and Enoch listened with an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍​‌‌‍⁠​‌‍‍‌‌⁠​‍‌‌​⁠‌‍​⁠‌‍​‌‌‍⁠‍‌⁠​⁠⁠‍​‍​⁠‍‍unmoved, composed expression.

"The real problem came after that. Suddenly, numerous ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍​‌‌‍⁠​‌‍‍‌‌⁠​‍‌‌​⁠‌‍​⁠‌‍​‌‌‍⁠‍‌⁠​⁠⁠‍​‍​⁠‍‍figures began to surround Diego and me."

"What? Numerous figures?"

"I'm not even certain they were people. They appeared from somewhere in the Forest—figures with faces so indistinct they were barely recognizable, emerging one by one and closing in around us."

"Hmm, could this be a hallucination as well? The two of you might have inhaled the Anaconda Monster's poisonous gas."

Kaiden, who had been listening quietly, voiced his suspicion. It was a credible theory. Perhaps this explanation was even more plausible. We'd witnessed countless strange things here. The island could be called a realm of illusions.

"I haven't encountered the Anaconda Monster myself, so I can't say for certain, but it could indeed be a hallucination. Such things happen frequently on this island."

Rujeep, his face haggard, washed his hands dry.

"They seemed to be searching for someone. They lingered only around us for a while before disappearing."

Searching for someone... An ominous premonition gripped me—the certainty that the someone they sought was me. It could be similar to how the Monsters are drawn to me because of my mana.

"In the end, we couldn't sleep and spent the night wandering through the Forest. Fortunately, no Monsters appeared during that time. It was as if even the Monsters were avoiding those spirits."

"...."

"After wandering through the night like that, we discovered a River and rested there for a moment. Exhaustion had accumulated, and what was meant to be a brief rest turned into sleep."

Rujeep washed his hands dry again, his haggard face showing genuine fatigue.

"When I awoke, Diego was nowhere to be found. He'd left only his sword behind and vanished somewhere. A knight who had wielded a blade his entire life—the very captain of the Imperial Guard—abandoned his sword on this perilous island and disappeared. Isn't that extraordinarily strange?"

"So you couldn't find Diego?"

At my question, Rujeep shook his head, his face bearing the grim expression of a war veteran bearing tragic news.

"No matter how long I waited, he didn't return. Eventually, I went searching, and I found this map lying nearby."

"A map?"

At Enoch's question, Rujeep fumbled in his priestly robes and withdrew a piece of cloth, unfolding it. My map contained only the Bunker marking, but the map Rujeep produced bore a mysterious creature-like drawing on the eastern side of the North Island. Suddenly, I recalled Jenath's account of the "Mother of Monsters."

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