Chapter 89
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Chapter 89 He pondered my question for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, how would I know? I've never been close with the family since I despise experiments. That flower was a development project managed with restricted access within the family, so I didn't have clearance to approach it. But I can't say there's no connection whatsoever."
"Huh? You didn't have access, yet how did you learn about Tentationem?"
"Access restrictions mean nothing to me. Do you think the Empire's greatest mage couldn't uncover something like that? The moment they told me not to approach it, I became even more curious to investigate."
Kaiden laughed boastfully. He truly didn't understand the meaning of humility. But since his words held truth, I had nothing to counter with.
"If the Rohade Family has a connection to this island, certain pieces do fall into place. They're a family obsessed with magical experimentation, aren't they?"
At Asdal's words, Kaiden burst into laughter.
"Those lunatics are no ordinary madmen. Insanity runs through the Rohade Family bloodline for generations. But what does this island have to do with their experiments?"
I didn't answer Kaiden's final question and instead spoke to Asdal.
"But no matter how obsessed with experiments they are, the kidnapping targets are all far too prominent. I suspect the Rohade Family didn't orchestrate this directly—they're merely entangled in it somehow."
The Rohade Family was merely a ducal house, and this incident had grown to a scale that would shake even the imperial court. Everyone nodded at my reasoning, their expressions showing they understood to some degree.
"Then we need to speculate on who might be connected to the Rohade Family. Kaiden, do you have any suspicions? Someone connected to the family who could have orchestrated our kidnapping?"
At Enoch's question, Kaiden shook his head.
"I already told you. I'm not close with the family members."
The discussion had returned to square one. As everyone fell silent in thought, Yuanna, who had been observing carefully, quietly spoke up.
"It seems we've resolved most of our questions about Tentationem, so perhaps we should share the reconnaissance findings now?"
Yuanna pulled a piece of cloth from her pocket and unfolded it on the ground. I noticed the map looked somewhat familiar. "I couldn't discover anything about the key, but I found this instead."
"This is... a map of the island."
Enoch murmured. I sat beside Enoch and quietly scanned the map with my eyes. This cloth was the same material as the bunker map I had found. But upon closer inspection, it differed slightly from the bunker map. On my map, the bunker marking was located to the east, using the mountain on the Northern Island as a reference point. However, the map Yuanna brought had no bunker marking, and instead showed a star drawn to the west of the Northern Island's mountain. The map's edges were clean, with no date markings or anything of the sort. Additionally, the word "supplies" was written in Langrid Empire script at two locations on the Southern Island and three locations on the Northern Island. The "supplies" mentioned here would refer to supply caches. It was definitely mentioned in the original work—those supply caches that Yuanna had discovered but that no one knew how to use, so they never attempted to. 'Right. This seems to be a map showing the locations of hidden supply caches, but what is this star...?' It appeared to be a separate map with no connection whatsoever to the bunker map I possessed. I stared quietly at the map when I suddenly realized that the supply cache location marked on the Southern Island wasn't far from here. In fact, it was a place we had already passed through.
"Holy Maiden. Have you ever found a box containing supplies?"
Certainly, Enoch and I had discovered an empty supply crate at the location where we first encountered the Anaconda monster.
"Well, we've never found anything like that."
Yuanna denied it. Asdal also sat with his arms crossed and shrugged his shoulders. 'Then who took the contents of that supply crate?' I had naturally assumed Yuanna's group had taken it, but... a chill ran down my spine from head to toe, and I fell silent for a moment. Noticing my state, Enoch, who was sitting beside me, placed his hand on my head.
"Are you alright?"
At his question, I nodded slowly. Then, after staring at the map, I pointed with my finger to the River Bank where I had encountered the Anaconda monster.
"The supply box marked here—Enoch and I discovered it. When we found it, someone had already taken the contents, and the box was empty."
"That means..."
Asdal trailed off while stroking his chin. Enoch nodded and answered.
"It means there could be other people on this Island besides us. Well, we should have anticipated that the moment we discovered this Cabin."
Enoch answered without concern. He showed no particular agitation. He never did. He was rarely caught off guard. Thanks to his composure, I was able to calm my racing heart quickly.
"What could this marking mean?"
This time, I pointed to a star symbol drawn on the map and voiced my question. Yuanna shook her head as if she had no idea.
"I'm not sure. We'd have to go see it to know."
"It's either an escape route or a trap. Didn't they say this Island's name is 'Dice Game'? They're definitely toying with us."
Asdal murmured while resting his chin in his hand. Enoch also looked at the map with a serious expression before asking Yuanna.
"Were there any other unusual findings?"
At Enoch's question, Yuanna pointed to the area near the River on the map.
"We found a Bridge leading to the Northern Island. Around here."
The map Yuanna had found, just like the one I had found, had a drawing of a bridge between the Rivers.
"But what do you mean by 'Dice Game'?"
Diego asked me. Only then did I realize I hadn't yet explained the meaning of Alea to the scouting members. I explained to the scouting members about the conversation I had shared with the Cabin group a few days ago.
"The word Alea means 'Dice Game' in the language of a minority ethnic group on the Eastern Continent. So my guess is that this is the Island's name, not a person's name."
Asdal, sitting cross-legged, rested one elbow on his leg, propped his chin up, and continued my explanation.
"Then what does 'Dice Game' signify? It means our fate is being decided regardless of our will. In other words, the most likely scenario is that we've been kidnapped by someone. And for experimentation, at that."
"So that's what you meant by experimentation earlier? What kind of bastard dares to experiment on us?!"
At Kaiden's angry voice, who had been quiet until now, Asdal even clapped his hands in delight.
"Rodban really is fiery. You speak your mind so refreshingly."
"Asdal, do you have any suspicions about who it might be?"
Enoch, who had been lost in thought, asked Asdal. Asdal shrugged casually and shook his head.
"I have too many suspicions to know for certain. What about you?"
"Same here. I can think of many factions, but I can't imagine anyone capable of kidnapping key figures from both the Empire and the Kingdom all at once."
If even Enoch and Asdal couldn't guess, it was hopeless. Even I, having read the original work, couldn't fathom it. After all, "More Important Than Survival" had no real substance. It was merely a bleak tale of loving and hurting each other, ultimately destroying one another. Besides, I hadn't even finished reading the novel.
"But isn't it strange? Both that empty supply box and those magical tools... they only seem to catch Flone Young Lady's eye."
At that moment, Asdal voiced another question.
"Flone Young Lady, tell me. Is there anything else you're hiding?" 'Should I mention the Bunker map?' But if I lied and said I found the Bunker map today, the drawing I reluctantly produced under Asdal's pressure wouldn't look good. I ultimately decided to hold off on the Bunker map story. 'I should definitely keep the Bunker as insurance.' As I was thinking that, Asdal called out to me as if urging for an answer.
"Young Lady. Well? Say something, anything."
"...There's nothing I'm hiding. It's just coincidence. What can I do if such things keep catching my eye?"
"That's exactly what's strange. Why do these coincidences only pile up for you?"
"How would I know?"
"You should know, shouldn't you? Unless you want to be suspected."
Just as Asdal said that and reached out his hand toward me. Clang! Whoosh. The dagger Kaiden threw embedded itself in the empty floor at the center of the cabin, and Enoch's drawn longsword was now pointed at Asdal. I thought Diego would immediately counter Enoch's blade, but surprisingly, he remained seated calmly, observing the situation.
"Perhaps you could moderate your approach? Margaret is frightened."
"If you come near Margaret, I will kill you."
As the two men spoke with lethal intent, Asdal raised both hands and made a gesture of surrender. His face showed no panic whatsoever as he smiled.
"I wasn't interrogating her. I was merely asking what needed to be asked."
"That seemed rather like pressing the matter too hard."
"You've received all the help Margaret could offer, yet Your Highness the Crown Prince seems to lack a conscience."
Yuanna, who had been quietly observing the situation, added her words with a weary expression, and Rujeep followed up with a decisive blow.
"Everyone's trust in the Young Lady seems remarkable. I too have no wish to suspect her. The changed Flone Young Lady grows more pleasing to me with each passing moment."
Did this man have a hundred serpents coiled in his heart? He was utterly inscrutable. Asdal was truly a cunning fox. He clapped his hands as if the previous incident meant nothing, redirecting everyone's attention.
"Well, let's set that aside for now. I was going to mention it when the Holy Maiden arrives, but it seems we must leave this cabin."
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