Chapter 48
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Chapter 48
* * *
I had drawn the first watch of the night.
Kaiden and Enoch lay sleeping on either side of me, with Rujeep stretched out beside Enoch.
Diego was curled up some distance away, fast asleep. I couldn't fathom why he looked so pitiful in that position.
I sat near the fireplace, gazing at the dancing flames, then retrieved a few more logs that Diego had brought and coaxed the dying embers back to life.
The second floor had no fireplace, so it must be cold up there....
Or perhaps not? With beds and blankets, it might be tolerable after all.
Sleep was overwhelming me, so I rose from my seat and quietly slipped out of the cabin.
I'd hoped the fresh air would sharpen my mind, but it didn't seem to be helping much.
While I was at it, I should sketch a map using my compass.
Inside the crossbag I'd pulled from my backpack, I found a palm-sized notebook and a ballpoint pen. Remarkably useful items.
When I opened the cabin door and stepped outside, wooden decking was laid out on both sides of the entrance stairs. I sat on the steps in front and retrieved the bunker map, notebook, compass, and pen.
Bunker
I stared intently at the word "Bunker" marked in the direction of the North Island from the island.
Like "Alea," this too was written in English. Was Alea a Westerner, and was this island some sort of experimental island that only appeared in films or dramas?
But if that were true, it wouldn't make sense for people from other worlds to be on this island.
One hypothesis contradicted the other, and vice versa—I was caught in a logical maze.
'This is maddening.'
I first examined the bunker map, then sketched the map into my notebook following its lines, and marked the cardinal directions with my compass. Then I drew in both the bunker's location and the cabin's location.
There were two mountains on the South Island. Since I'd discovered the cabin just before crossing the second mountain after passing the first one where I'd stayed with Enoch and Kaiden, it seemed we were positioned roughly in the middle of the island.
As I studied the bunker map drawn on cloth more carefully, I noticed something peculiar.
Now that I looked closely, there was a passage at the eastern edge of the South Island that connected to the North Island. It would require quite a climb from the cabin.
Of course, there was a bridge in between. I stared intently at the bridge marking that connected the North and South Islands.
"Who could have built this bridge...."
I pressed my pen to my chin, lost in thought.
"Well, this works out nicely. Going all the way east would be too far."
After transferring the bridge's location onto my sketch, I closed the notebook.
"What are you doing?"
"Damn it, you scared me!"
I jumped up in shock, startled out of my wits. As a result, everything I'd balanced on my lap scattered down the steps.
Rujeep, equally startled, stared blankly at my face.
"I've been meaning to ask, but for a Young Lady, your language is quite unbecoming...."
As he muttered this, his gaze slowly drifted down to the items scattered at the bottom of the stairs. I hastily gathered them up and stuffed them back into my crossbag.
'He didn't see the map, did he?'
I apparently had no talent for deception. I was clumsy at lying too.
At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone suspected me of being the kidnapper.
"Are you alright?"
I couldn't tell if he'd seen anything or not. Rujeep examined my complexion without revealing anything.
"Y-yes.... I'm fine."
I brushed off the question vaguely before turning back to him with my own inquiry.
"But what's the matter? Why did you come out?"
Rujeep scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.
"Well... when one's sleeping quarters change, it's usually difficult to sleep properly."
Good heavens. With how often we'd been changing locations, I wondered if there had been any time on this island where he'd actually slept well.
Perhaps that explained why Rujeep looked noticeably haggard. Though even so, he remained as pristine and beautiful as a single white lily.
Yet Rujeep gestured casually toward the steps where I'd been sitting moments before.
"May I sit for a moment?"
I shrugged in response.
"Go ahead."
* * *
When Rujeep opened his eyes, it was the middle of the night.
As he sat up and looked around, the only empty spot was where Margaret had been.
He'd slept for quite some time, yet the first watch rotation hadn't even ended.
After washing his face with a dry cloth, he sighed wearily and glanced at Kaiden and Enoch lying nearby.
Kaiden appeared to be sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world.
Enoch's eyes were closed, but he wasn't truly asleep. He always maintained a light vigilance, ready to rise at any moment.
'Where has Flone Young Lady gone?'
After taking a sip of purified water, Rujeep rose from his spot.
He checked the first floor of the cabin, then examined the stairs leading to the second floor before deciding to step outside.
The moment he opened the door, he discovered Margaret sitting at the entrance.
The moonlight filtering through the towering vegetation made her platinum hair gleam like pure white.
Rujeep approached her as if entranced, but she was so absorbed in something that she didn't notice his approach.
And then he spotted the map in her hands.
He couldn't make out what was written on it, but it appeared to be a map of this island.
"What are you doing?"
"Damn it, you startled me!"
She folded what looked like a notebook and jumped to her feet in surprise.
Rujeep was even more startled than she was. And he was startled again by her crude curse.
"I've thought about it before, but how does a noble like you curse so freely?"
As Rujeep spoke, he slowly lowered his gaze. Objects that had fallen down the steps came into view.
A compass, a notebook, an unidentifiable stick, and a scrap of cloth. Margaret hurriedly gathered the items into a small bag, all while watching his expression carefully.
He couldn't fathom what she was hiding. The map he'd just seen? Why would she conceal that? Rujeep glanced briefly at the items she held close.
Margaret certainly had as many suspicious qualities as Yuanna did. He understood why people questioned her. He'd felt the same way at first.
Rujeep studied her expression and asked.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, yes... I'm fine."
After telling her that he'd come out because sleep wouldn't come, he gestured toward the steps.
"May I sit for a moment?"
Margaret shrugged in response.
"Very well."
Rujeep settled into his seat first, and she followed hesitantly, perching beside him. For a long while, they sat in silence, gazing steadily into the Forest.
After an extended quiet, Rujeep finally broke the silence with a soft voice.
"...I'm not certain we can actually escape this Island."
His murmured words, though quiet, carried clearly in the stillness of the night.
Margaret slowly lifted her head. Her brilliant blue eyes caught the moonlight, gleaming with an ethereal luminescence.
"Yes. We will escape. So let's hold on just a little longer."
Rujeep couldn't help but marvel at her unwavering conviction. How could she be so resolute and steadfast?
He knew her words were meant to comfort him, but he often found himself in awe of Margaret's mental fortitude.
"I feel reassured when I'm with you, Young Lady."
At his quiet confession, she looked up at him in surprise.
"...Reassured? If it's just the two of us and a Monster appears, we'd both be boarding the next train to the afterlife, wouldn't we? Surely Enoch or Kaiden would be far more reassuring."
"Do you truly believe that?"
At Rujeep's question, Margaret rested her chin on her hand, pondering for a moment before nodding.
"Both of them are walking time bombs, which is rather frightening."
"And you, Young Lady, are the one who can handle those time bombs."
"Hmm. I suppose you could look at it that way."
Margaret burst into delighted laughter.
Watching that radiant smile, Rujeep thought to himself that the Langrid Empire would never have known she possessed such a face.
In the peculiar atmosphere, he quietly confessed something he'd never shared with anyone.
"The truth is, I became Clergy because I dislike people."
"Ah... Really? But doesn't being Clergy mean meeting even more people?"
Margaret regarded him with slightly widened eyes. He nodded.
"To be precise, I didn't want deep relationships. Becoming Clergy freed me from the burden of maintaining tiresome human connections. But the doctrine teaches otherwise—to love humanity and bestow that love upon them."
Having finally spoken aloud what he'd never told anyone, he felt oddly relieved.
"On this Island, at least, I don't have to pretend otherwise. It's liberating."
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