Chapter 159
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 159
"What? I heard all the wounds were healed?!"
"Ah, it doesn't seem to be a matter of the wounds themselves. It appears he's suffering from aftereffects. I've heard reports that he keeps muttering strange things to himself."
Muttering to himself—was Kaiden truly all right?
Hyzen asked me carefully, noticing my worry.
"If I may be so bold, could you tell me what exactly happened during all this time?"
At Hyzen's question, I found myself at a loss for words and closed my mouth. Then he continued pressing me with more questions.
"How did you vanish so completely? Where were you all this time? What exactly occurred? I suspect this is a question the entire continent is wondering about. It's the very cause of this mad war, after all."
It was natural for him to be curious. I had anticipated as much. But for now, I had nothing I could say.
Remnants of the Alea Island Project still remain. I suspect there's involvement from the Papal See, the Rohade Family, and other factions as well.
So it would be better for me to first understand the current situation before coordinating our story with the others. Hasty words only breed confusion.
"When I recall what happened back then... it's still too difficult for me..."
I grasped the front of my jacket like a tragic heroine and made a pained expression. Though tears didn't fall, I didn't forget to mime wiping them away with my fingers.
Hyzen and Noel immediately waved their hands in alarm.
"It's all right. We shouldn't have asked...!"
"My apologies, Young Lady. Please rest."
I watched Hyzen and Noel hurriedly leave the tent and let out a sigh. I needed to ask others where the tent Kaiden was resting in was located.
I placed Silver Earthworm, now shrunken to the size of a real snake, into my flight jacket pocket. Being naturally curious and fond of observing things, the creature poked its head out slightly and looked up at me.
At that adorable sight, I laughed and got up from the bed. The uneaten stew was growing cold on the table, but I had no appetite.
I was too worried about Kaiden's condition to sit still. It seemed the aftereffects from having his body taken over by Jenath were weighing heavily on him.
I pushed aside the tent cloth and carefully peered outside. Knights were moving about busily, but Hyzen and Noel, who had been guarding the tent entrance, were nowhere to be seen.
My tent had a blue flag hanging from it. According to Enoch, guest tents are marked with blue flags like this.
Kaiden's tent should also have a blue flag, so I needed to find it.
As I moved about hurriedly, I felt the weight of the flare in my pocket quite distinctly. I rummaged through my pocket and held the flare in my hand for a moment.
Various modern items had come with me to this place—flare ammunition from my crossbody bag, first aid supplies, grenades, and more—but I wouldn't have use for them now.
'The people here would find these fascinating.'
I smiled faintly and carefully withdrew my hand from the pocket.
The military encampment's tents were erected on a vast plain. Three sides opened onto the expansive grassland, while a massive river flowed along one side.
The broad sky stretched out before me. Thanks to this, I could fully take in the sight of the sunset. As I searched for Kaiden's tent, I gazed up at the sky painted with the colors of dusk.
It was beautiful.
Alea Island, with its verdant landscape, was far more beautiful. But there, I had spent difficult days without even a moment to appreciate the beauty of nature.
So even amid this war, such an ordinary sky somehow struck deeper into my heart.
Then.
"Sir Habel, have you seen Young Lady Flone?"
"You mean the one in those strange clothes? That woman is odd from head to toe. It's a waste of her appearance."
"If I hadn't heard the rumors, I would have fallen for her at first sight. She's dazzlingly beautiful."
The last response came from Noel, who had been in my tent until moments ago. Unnamed knights rebutted Noel's words, whether defending me or not.
"Well, what does that matter? Her personality is strange."
"When news of her disappearance first spread, wasn't there anyone who didn't suspect that Young Lady Flone had kidnapped the Crown Prince? There are actually people still spreading such rumors."
I stood beside a tent, listening to the conversation of the knights. They appeared to be lower-ranking soldiers, a handful of them sitting by the river bank smoking.
"Still, didn't you see him appear riding a divine beast during the last battle?"
"That was certainly overwhelming, I'll admit."
"But then, that means Flone Young Lady was with those missing people all this time. Your Highness the Crown Prince, what could be wrong with that? It must have been truly terrible."
"I think calling it terrible is a bit of an exaggeration, Lord Matis. Please moderate yourself."
The last remark came from Hyzen. It was brief, but perhaps because we had some acquaintance, both Noel and Hyzen seemed to be trying to take my side.
Standing beside the encampment and overhearing their gossip, my throat suddenly grew parched. They were just as loud as the socialite young ladies.
"Huh? Wait a moment. Did everyone see that over there?"
At that moment, Noel seemed to sense something strange and lowered his voice. I followed the knights' gaze and turned my head in the direction Noel was pointing.
Noel was pointing at the quiet, calm river, but even after a considerable time passed, nothing happened.
"What is it, are you joking?"
"No, no. I'm certain something moved...."
"Kid, you're just scared."
As the knights continued to rebuke him, I quietly watched the water's surface.
It was instinct. The kind of survival instinct that develops after spending over half a year on an uninhabited island.
I immediately pulled out a flare gun, opened the chamber, and checked the ammunition. I could fire twice.
Silver Earthworm, who had been poking her head out of my pocket and flicking her tongue, slowly climbed up my arm and onto my shoulder.
I slowly loaded the flare gun and pulled the lever down. Then I readied my finger on the trigger and aimed at the river.
However, the knights continued their conversation without any sense of tension.
"Anyway, Lord Hyzen, what do you mean by exaggeration? Everyone knows how terribly Flone Young Lady behaves."
"Damn it. Who's terrible? Do you want to die?"
"Ugh, ahhh!"
It was Kaiden's voice.
I startled and lowered the flare gun I was holding. Then I carefully poked my head around the side of the encampment.
Sure enough, Kaiden was pressing down on the waist of a fallen knight with his foot.
"What are you—!? M-Master of the Tower?"
The orange-haired man covered in freckles, pinned beneath Kaiden, looked shocked.
"Who's terrible? Margaret? Your eyes must be broken."
Kaiden swept his gaze sharply across the surrounding knights with an exasperated expression. I could see the knights drop their cigarettes in surprise and stumble backward.
This was the first time I'd seen Kaiden awake like this. Fortunately, he seemed fine. There didn't appear to be any major aftereffects from having his body taken over by Jenath.
"Look, Margaret is beautiful even when she curses. She's beautiful with unwashed face and eye crust. The way she skillfully guts her prey while scratching her oily hair—how damn beautiful is that, and here you are spouting such nonsense?"
...The examples are extremely crude and specific. So that's what I'm like. Kaiden, you bastard—were you actually trying to backhanded compliment me?
Watching them with a complicated expression, I stepped forward. After all, I had left the encampment to find Kaiden, and I wanted to exchange greetings with him quickly.
But just as I was about to greet Kaiden,
"Huh? Huh huh?"
"Damn it, a pack of crocodiles!"
"Prepare for combat! Prepare for combat!"
Chaos erupted. A pack of saltwater crocodiles had appeared on the river's surface—the very spot Noel had pointed to earlier. They were large, and there seemed to be nearly a dozen of them.
While the knights scrambled to find their weapons, dropping their cigarettes, the pack of crocodiles crawled rapidly onto the land.
Kaiden crossed his arms and watched the situation with interest, stepping back a couple of paces. He seemed to have no intention of helping the knights.
They had gossiped about me, but that was different from letting them die before my eyes. It would be better to let them feel indebted to me for my help.
'That could be rather entertaining.'
I retrieved another flare round, reloaded the chamber, and took aim at the swarm of crocodiles.
The flare's brilliance would lose its potency once it struck the water. I waited calmly for the creatures to touch solid ground before squeezing the trigger on my aimed flare gun.
Whoosh—. Boom! Crack!
Crimson smoke tore through the air. The round detonated between the crocodiles in a spectacular burst of flame.
"Ahhh!"
The knights scattered in panic.
I heard the sound of more armed knights rushing from behind. But they would arrive too late.
"Margaret?!"
Kaiden's eyes widened in shock as he looked toward me, then he warped directly to my position.
"Margaret, are you alright?"
That was what I wanted to ask him, but right now that wasn't the priority. Watching the crocodiles charge toward the cluster of knights, I channeled my mana to Silver Earthworm.
"I have plenty I want to say to you too, but not now. Move aside for a moment—I'm busy."
I pushed Kaiden to the side and climbed onto the head of Silver Earthworm, who had grown to an appropriate size after consuming my mana.
"Margaret!"
Ignoring Kaiden's anxious cry, I pulled the lever on the flare gun again, then aimed at the crocodiles and pulled the trigger.
Whoosh—! Boom!
Many crocodiles fell, but one surviving creature sank its teeth into the hem of Noel's cloak nearby.
"Aaaahhh! P-please save me!"
Noel was dragged helplessly by the crocodile, his face twisted in terror as he screamed. Damn it.
Silver Earthworm, carrying me, scurried rapidly toward the riverbank. Just before Noel plunged into the water, Silver Earthworm barely managed to bite down on the crocodile and swallow it whole.
Crunch.
The sound of the crocodile being chewed was brutally vivid.
Because the crocodile had held the hem of Noel's cloak in its jaws, he came along for the ride, but clever Silver Earthworm swallowed only the crocodile and snapped its mouth shut.
With the cloak's hem caught on Silver Earthworm's sharp teeth, Noel dangled helplessly until Silver Earthworm shook its head and sent him tumbling to the ground.
'Phew. That was close.'
I wiped the cold sweat from my brow with the back of my hand, feeling satisfied.
As I sat atop Silver Earthworm's head and checked the flare gun's magazine again, I noticed the sudden silence surrounding us.
What's this?
Breaking through that silence, Kaiden rushed toward me with a loud cry.
"Margaret! Are you alright?"
He leaped onto Silver Earthworm's head, scooped me into his arms, and descended gracefully back to the ground.
Silver Earthworm glared at Kaiden with displeasure before shrinking down on its own. I stepped out of Kaiden's embrace and draped the now-serpentine Silver Earthworm across my shoulders.
Kaiden knelt on one knee before me and meticulously examined my condition.
"I thought you'd naturally be fine, but I was still startled."
I shook my head at his fussing, but seeing him act so much like his usual self made me laugh. Thank goodness. Had I truly overcome what happened with Jenath?
As I turned slowly while smiling, my eyes met those of dozens of armed knights pointing their swords directly at me.
...Damn, that's unexpected.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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