Chapter 96
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Chapter 96
At my question, he nodded again with the deliberate slowness of a sloth.
"I suppose so."
"Don't call me older sister."
"...Why?"
"Why did you lie about being twelve years old? That's fraud. Do you want to get arrested for fraud? Or should I say, do you wish to, sir? Or grandfather? Perhaps ancestor?"
Jenath's expression twisted in a peculiar way as he looked at me—the first genuinely expressive face I'd seen from him since we met.
"Appearance-wise, you're the older sister."
"Be quiet. Or rather, be quiet, grandfather."
At my words, Jenath's face filled with displeasure as he puffed out his cheeks. Here was a thousand-year-old being playing cute, and yet because of his beautiful youth, it was absurdly endearing. Damn it.
"I don't like that."
"Then what should I call you? Or rather, what should I call you?"
"...Jenath? Jenny?"
"It hardly seems appropriate to address an ancestor who has lived a thousand years by their given name. And did you really just suggest calling yourself Jenny?"
"..."
"How about Grandpa Jenny then? Since you asked me to call you Jenny."
"Older sister. I hate it."
Jenath spoke with an eerie flatness, his expression utterly blank. But how could he kill me on an island where magic itself doesn't work?
"I'm joking. I'll call you Jenny."
No wonder he seemed so preternaturally composed. A thousand years of living would do that to anyone.
'A thousand years...'
In truth, what Jenath said didn't feel real. I wasn't even sure I could believe him.
Perhaps he'd simply arrived on this island before us, and after so much time had passed, the child had become confused about the facts?
Even as I entertained these various theories, despair crashed over me once more.
"Are we really never going to escape this island?"
As I muttered this to myself, Jenath exhaled sharply and rebuked me.
"...How foolish."
"Please don't call me foolish just because you're in a bad mood?"
"You can't escape."
"What?"
I asked him to repeat himself, thinking I'd misheard.
"You can't escape this island."
But Jenath drove the point home, speaking once more with absolute certainty.
He wore the face of a child yet sighed with the exhaustion of a grandfather who had lived a full life. Perhaps he truly was that grandfather.
"Since you heard me say I've been on this island for a thousand years, you're the foolish one."
"I'm a thousand years younger than you. Don't call me older sister."
"Then..."
Jenath looked at me with clear displeasure, his face troubled in thought.
"I'll call you Margaret."
Even Enoch hasn't started calling me Margaret yet...
"Just call me Margaret."
"Meg."
"Ugh, fine. This is ridiculous—acting childish with a grandfather who's lived a thousand years. The sun's already setting. Should we get moving? We can talk details once we reach the cabin."
The sky was indeed stained a deep crimson.
I'd need to ask Jenath at the cabin what he'd discovered on this Island over the past thousand years, how he'd spent all that time, and what had become of his companions.
Of course, I still hadn't let my guard down around him. Hearing that he'd lived for a thousand years only made him more suspicious. The jokes I'd continued cracking and the carefree attitude I'd displayed were partly a deliberate strategy to keep him off balance while I assessed him.
Fortunately, we didn't have far to go before the cabin came into view.
The cabin I'd stayed in with Yuanna's group was nestled deep in the mountains, but this one sat in a location where a vast River was visible at a glance.
Moreover, it was enormous—three stories tall and spacious enough to accommodate at least ten people comfortably.
"Wow. Who could have built this?"
I murmured to myself as I slowly surveyed the cabin. Jenath set down the coconut and pattered after me before tilting his head curiously.
Then, as if remembering something, he clapped his hands. The gesture looked somewhat unsettling coming from his expressionless face.
"What is it?"
"Wound."
At his words, I carefully placed my trembling hand—wracked with persistent pain—over my abdomen. Blood was still seeping through.
"We should stop the bleeding and get you into fresh clothes."
At my words, Jenath disappeared somewhere, then returned cradling a first-aid kit identical to the one I'd discovered earlier.
He helped me to a seat and slowly lowered me down, then retrieved disinfectant and bandages from the kit.
"I'll handle the bleeding myself. Since I'm wearing a dress, I'd have to remove it entirely to see the wound."
At my words, Jenath's face flushed slightly with embarrassment as he handed me the medical kit and withdrew.
"Then I'll go look for clothes...."
With that, he quickly disappeared to the Second Floor. At moments like this, he really did seem like an actual twelve-year-old child.
I first removed my dress and lifted the hem of my chemise to clean the area around the wound, then disinfected it. After applying gauze and wrapping my abdomen with thick bandages, I finished the basic hemostasis.
Just then, Jenath came down to the first floor. His arms were piled high with clothes.
"They were in the cabin."
Jenath offered a quiet explanation when he saw my questioning expression.
I nodded vaguely. Since the cabin I'd stayed in also had modern items, there was nothing particularly strange about finding such things here.
I examined the clothes he'd laid on the floor. There were skirts and several pairs of pants. T-shirts were scarce, and not all the sizes matched me.
"Ah, this should fit."
I picked up a pair of black cargo pants.
'The size is perfect. Are there any t-shirts?'
With the discerning eye of a shopper browsing secondhand clothes at Dongmyo Market, I rummaged through the pile.
After the cargo pants, I found a plain white t-shirt that looked like it would fit me perfectly.
There were other decent clothes as well, but few in my size, and even fewer suitable for wearing in this wilderness.
"There are shoes too."
I examined a few pairs of shoes that had been buried beneath the clothes. There was a pair of black walkers. The size seemed roughly right.
"If I don't fit the walkers properly, my feet will hurt."
They weren't new—someone had worn them for a long time and they were slightly scuffed—which might actually work out, but I'd rather avoid getting blisters.
'I'll need to find socks later before I wear them.'
I set the walkers aside for now, picked up the clothes I'd selected, and stood up.
Jenath, who had been standing quietly and watching what I was doing, asked in a dazed voice.
"Are you done?"
"Yeah. I'll change clothes on the Second Floor and come back down."
At my words, Jenath nodded slowly. Then he added something.
"Only go to the Second Floor."
It was a remarkably meaningful statement.
"Only the Second Floor?"
"Don't go to the Third Floor."
"Why?"
"That's where my room is."
"That's your reason?"
"Privacy."
He explained his reasoning in a concise manner. But didn't he know that when someone says something like that, it only makes you want to go up there more?
I nodded anyway.
"Got it."
And I slowly climbed the Second Floor stairs. Somehow, now that I'd disinfected and stopped the bleeding, the wound seemed to hurt less.
'I should have just asked Jenath to stay on the Second Floor while I remained on the First Floor like before.'
I hadn't thought of that. With that regret, I stopped in my tracks just before reaching the Second Floor.
'Could there be a Monster or something on the Second Floor?'
There's no harm in being suspicious. I'd seen a spider evolve into a Monster before, after all.
I checked that the wet crossbag slung over my shoulder was secure, then slowly entered the Second Floor.
But contrary to my worries, nothing happened on the Second Floor. However,
'It's filthy.'
The floor was covered with scattered trash. I quietly pinched my nose. There seemed to be a foul stench.
'It smells like mold mixed with rotting food waste.'
There were many things decomposed beyond recognition, and among them were modern items I was familiar with.
I walked through the corridor, carefully observing the garbage-strewn floor. There were four rooms on the Second Floor total, and I entered the one that looked the most intact.
It was a room with just a single wooden bed sitting alone. The moment I closed the door, I stripped off my wet dress and threw it aside.
"Ah, I feel alive again."
I removed everything except the drawers I was wearing under the chemise, but then I suddenly realized I had no upper undergarment, so I immediately tore the chemise in half and put it back on.
'The chemise is made of thin fabric, so it should dry quickly anyway.'
First, I put on cargo pants over the drawers and a white t-shirt over the chemise.
"Wow, I'm about to cry from joy."
Tears actually welled up in my eyes. To think I could wear such comfortable clothes—it was genuinely moving.
I considered taking the torn dress with me but decided to just leave it. It was extra weight anyway, and I could pick something suitable to use as cloth from the pile of clothes Jenath had brought earlier.
I came back out to the Second Floor Corridor. I tried to see if there was anything useful among the trash, but there were only items that seemed to explain why they were rolling around on the floor.
'Well, if something were decent, Jenath wouldn't have left it lying on the floor.'
Jenath must have something like a thousand years of wisdom. Plus, he seems to be an even more formidable mage than Kaiden. Of course, if Kaiden lived for a thousand years, he'd probably become that kind of mage too.
I looked at the path leading to the Third Floor and hesitated for a moment. But if I took any longer, Jenath would grow suspicious, so I decided to go back down obediently.
When I descended to the First Floor, Jenath was lying in a hammock near the Fireplace, watching me intently.
He quietly gave a thumbs up.
"It suits you well."
"It's incredibly comfortable."
I sat down carefully beside him and gazed at the Fireplace. It seemed he had kindled the fire while I was changing clothes.
I settled in quietly, watching the embers crackle and burn. Whatever Jenath's true nature was, for now he displayed an almost excessive kindness toward me.
I had mountains of questions I wanted to ask him, but once I found some peace, worry for my companions came flooding back like waves.
'I miss them all.'
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org