Chapter 98
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Chapter 98
"Aren't you laughing a bit too loudly?"
"Sorry."
Jenath wiped away his tears and apologized to me. His manners were impeccable.
"But there's no food in the Cabin."
"I figured as much. You said you don't eat rice or anything like that."
"Right. I'll get some tomorrow."
"You'll get some?"
"Yes. Fish."
Jenath nodded, then tilted his head with a puzzled expression. The gesture was endearing, but I caught myself and remembered his age.
"You don't like fish?"
Jenath asked me.
Hearing those words, I became certain.
Jenath had been watching me all along.
"It's too late now, so let's sleep first."
Jenath approached me with an utterly harmless expression and patted my shoulder.
"I'll bring you food tomorrow."
His face was expressionless, yet there was a certain tenderness to it. Somehow, he seemed quite interested in me.
'You're a difficult one, aren't you?'
In the end, we decided to get fish tomorrow morning and sleep for now.
Of course, I didn't sleep a wink. I kept my eyes wide open, fighting against drowsiness. I wasn't foolish enough to fall asleep in front of something so suspicious.
When I first opened my eyes on this Island, Enoch must have felt this way—observing me as I slept without rest.
I remained awake all night, tense and alert.
Jenath lay in the hammock like an angel, sleeping soundly and peacefully. He truly looked beautiful and adorable.
I gazed quietly at Jenath's face, then looked out the window. Dawn was breaking.
I rubbed my weary eyes and yawned softly.
'I'm so exhausted.'
I needed to leave soon. To find everyone. I wanted to deliver this news quickly and hold a strategy meeting together.
It seemed better to be with others than alone.
* * *
Margaret fell into the River.
At the same moment, Kaiden from the North Island and Enoch from the South Island both plunged into the River simultaneously.
Asdal shouted toward Enoch.
"Damn it! Half—, Enoch!"
Then came the piercing scream of Rujeep from the North Island.
"Rodban! Where are you!"
But unfortunately, the two men disappeared into the water along with Margaret.
"This is madness. They're all insane."
Asdal wiped his face in disbelief.
Despite the River's width, the current was extraordinarily swift—as if the water had been deliberately made to flow at such a violent pace.
Rujeep and Diego sat blankly on the North Island, staring at the spot where they had vanished, while Asdal and Yuanna stood on the South Island, gazing numbly at the flowing River.
They waited for a long time, but as the hours passed, the three never returned.
* * *
When Kaiden regained consciousness, Enoch had him by the collar, dragging him out of the water.
"Gasp!"
He exhaled and spat out water, and Enoch only released his grip once he had pulled him completely from the River.
"Hah, hah."
Enoch breathed heavily, wiping the water dripping from his chin with his hand. Then, with trembling fingers, he wrung out the hem of his shirt to squeeze out the moisture.
"Gasp. Cough. M-Margaret is...."
Kaiden bowed his head and spat water onto the ground once more.
The Silver Earthworm that had been coiled around his forearm crawled down to the ground and likewise spat out water, then looked back and forth between him and Enoch.
Soon it stretched its head out long and surveyed the surroundings, as if searching for someone.
When Kaiden looked at the Silver Earthworm with a puzzled expression, it suddenly began crawling away rapidly.
"Huh? Hey...!"
By the time Kaiden reached out his hand, the Silver Earthworm had already vanished from sight.
Enoch too stared blankly at the spot where the Silver Earthworm had disappeared, his expression bewildered. Kaiden shook his head.
"That creature...."
There was no way to follow it. It moved faster than most grown men. All they could do was wait for it to return on its own.
'If something goes wrong with that thing, I won't have an excuse to give Margaret.'
Kaiden muttered curses under his breath as he wiped his face dry.
Enoch's chest heaved violently. He shook his head as he gasped for breath. Then he sank to the ground and swept his hair back with an anguished expression.
"Damn it."
Enoch muttered an oath through gritted teeth.
He had lost Margaret. Just moments before, he could see her drifting away in his vision, but at some point, he had let her slip away.
Kaiden, breathing more steadily now, spoke to Enoch.
"I definitely saw her."
Enoch glanced at him. Kaiden slowly rose to his feet, swept his wet hair back, and sighed.
"I definitely saw Margaret. I thought I could grab her.... But then, the current suddenly grew stronger. Isn't that strange? The terrain there shouldn't have such a rapid current."
At Kaiden's murmur, Enoch nodded. It was certainly strange. But then again, this Island had more than a few strange things about it.
Enoch frowned irritably. He gazed out at the now-calm River.
"Based on the direction she drifted, she likely went northwest."
"The problem is, we have no idea where we are now. Do you know, Your Highness?"
"I drifted west following Margaret. When I pulled Rodban out, it was definitely toward the North Island."
"The problem is, we don't know if Margaret is on the North Island or the South Island...."
They spoke with the certainty that Margaret had not drifted out to sea. Moreover, they were certain she had not died.
"We'll find her. By any means necessary. We'll search the entire Island if we have to."
Enoch rose calmly to his feet. Kaiden nodded and followed suit, laughing as he removed his wet robe and wrung out the moisture.
"Of course we have to find her. If Margaret is there, I'd chase her to the ends of hell itself. I won't let her go like this."
Kaiden drew a short blade from his waist.
Shing.
Enoch drew his longsword and pointed its blade toward the Forest alongside Kaiden.
They found themselves surrounded by Monsters whose forms had grotesquely warped and twisted.
Kaiden gazed quietly upward at the sky. It was a warm afternoon with the midday sun beating down.
The Monsters that had only been active from dusk through the dead of night now seemed to have expanded their range of movement.
During the day, we could at least move about with some peace of mind, but now that was no longer possible.
The exception of only needing to be cautious at night had vanished, and now we had entered an era where we must prepare for constant warfare with Monsters throughout the entire day.
"Damn it, these bastards have evolved again."
"We can dispatch them quickly."
Enoch answered Kaiden's murmur, and Kaiden let out a soft chuckle. Then he followed Enoch, charging toward the Monsters and swinging his blade.
"Obviously."
It was the first moment their opinions had aligned.
* * *
After one night had passed, my wounds ached less than they had yesterday. Of course, movement still caused pain, so I had to be careful.
'But I can't abandon the mountain climb just because I'm injured. I need to map out the geography of the North Island anyway....'
I resolved to go hiking, but ultimately decided to make socks and wear them instead. It seemed like boots would be better than thin cloth white sneakers.
I selected usable garments from the pile of clothes Jenath had brought and tore them up. Then I wrapped them around my feet like socks, tied them firmly, and put on the boots.
I stood up from my spot, walked around a few times, and then checked my abdominal wound.
"Ugh."
As I gently peeled away the gauze, a sharp sting shot through me. Fortunately, thanks to thorough disinfection with modern medicine, no inflammation had developed.
"I just hope it doesn't get infected."
I looked down at my abdomen, sighed, then retrieved the medicine bottle and disinfected the wound again before applying fresh gauze.
I checked whether my crossbody bag had dried properly and examined its contents. The notebook remained intact without any tears, but the pen was unusable. The same went for the flare and first aid supplies.
Though these items were no longer functional, I carefully packed them back into the bag. Perhaps I'd grown attached to them. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to discard them.
I slowly stood and surveyed the Cabin. Jenath had gone out to fish.
It wasn't as though I was staying obediently in the Cabin to share a friendly breakfast with him upon his return.
While he was away, I had resolved to investigate this suspicious Cabin.
'First, I should head up to the third floor, which I didn't see yesterday.'
I slung the crossbody bag over my shoulder, grasped the wooden sword in my hand, and stood before the stairs leading to the Second Floor.
But then, I noticed something odd about the seam along the side of the stairs leading to the Second Floor. It looked just like the cupboard door beneath the stairs where the protagonist lived in Harry Potter.
I touched the seam and cautiously pushed the wall. With a soft sliding sound, the door opened, revealing stairs descending downward.
It was so dark that I couldn't really see what lay below.
I swallowed hard and hesitated for a moment. Should I go down and look?
'But then again, whether I die this way or that way, it's better to find out something.'
If I wanted to escape this place with everyone, I needed to find clues, whatever they might be.
Jenath didn't seem inclined to tell me the details, so I had no choice but to discover them myself.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org