Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

18 – An Island Full of Ghosts (1)

The Valkyrie and I divided the work to survive on the fish-people’s island.

The Valkyrie: hunting and gathering.

Me: water purification, cooking, tool-making.

Huh?

Feels like I’m doing a lot more?

Hunting isn’t easy, so I let it go. If I started counting every little thing, there’d be no end to it. If someone can do something I can’t, gotta respect that.

Anyway.

“Let’s divide the work.”

Valkyrie spoke through the Saint’s lips.

“We don’t know this island. There could be dangers. Only two of us go into the forest. At the very least, someone has to make sure no one steals the lifeboat. One person stays here.”

“So you two are going then?”

“Yes.”

From the Saint’s point of view, seeing me for the first time today, it’s a perfectly natural decision. Sticking with Valkyrie is the safest bet. If I were her, I would’ve done the same thing.

“You have to be back before sundown. The monsters all seem to appear at night.”

“We know.”

“Oh, and while you’re at it, please try to find some food. With an extra mouth, the fish we’ve stockpiled will run out quickly.”

“We know that too.”

The Saint waved her hand dismissively, as if annoyed.

“One last thing, would it be alright if I asked you something?”

“What is it?”

“Let me use your stockings.”

“Use? For what?”

“The stockings.”

In that instant, the Saint’s expression rapidly hardened. Her eyes shifted from orange to pink in a flash.

“Wh-what are you talking about? That? All of a sudden!”

“I need some strong fibers to make fish traps and fishing rods. If you allow it, I’ll make as many as possible before you return.”

“……ah.”

The saint’s expression, which had been about to flare up, softens. Separately from that, her irises were growing steadily darker. Just a moment ago they were light pink, but now they were a deep rose.

It’s my first time seeing a Lumina, and those eyes are even more fascinating than I’d imagined. Is it possible that neurotransmitters released when they feel specific emotions are connected to their visual cells?

“What about other thread?”

“Nylon is best.”

“Over there, the leaves.”

The saint pointed at a palm tree.

“Can’t we use those?”

“We could, but it would take several times longer to make. We didn’t exactly land here as cavemen, so we should use all the tools we can. Why do you ask?”

“Th-that’s.”

The saint hesitated, then continued.

“I was going to wear them. As stockings.”

“Are you trying to die of heatstroke?”

“Then don’t look! At my legs!”

“I wasn’t.”

“Even if you’re not looking directly, it’s uncomfortable! High-ranking members of our order must never show bare skin to anyone but their spouse, except for the face and hands! Especially a saint like me!”

Has this saint got heatstroke or something? The idea of wearing stockings in this stifling heat is just absurd.

“Clothes should fulfill a functional purpose. If we get bogged down in rules here, we’ll never get anywhere. When we get back home, you can wear something nicer.”

“Haaah.”

The saint sighed deeply. A Valkyrie whispered something at her side. Soon after, the saint nodded in agreement, as if she had conceded.

“Oh, goddesses of Ascalia, please forgive my blasphemy. Though I must break the rules out of necessity, this maiden’s faith remains steadfast.”

As the Saint began her prayer, the Valkyrie clasped her hands too. Was it penance for revealing her bare skin to a man? That’s kind of funny.

I also held my gem and secretly chanted a spell while pretending to pray.

[“Take root.”]

Guess I’ll just have to make magic stones.

*

Tiria and Rachel walked through the woods. There wasn’t even a proper path, so they had to cut through the grass as they went.

“I’ll climb this tree, scout around, and then come back down.”

Rachel skillfully gripped the tree and began to climb. Her movements were seamless. In just over a minute, she reached the top, quickly scanned her surroundings, and descended.

“You’re a good climber, huh?”

“The Valkyrie training includes climbing to high places. I suppose that’s because we have to tame and ride dragons, which are larger than people.”

“I see. How was it up there?”

“To be honest, it wasn’t great. It’s forest in every direction. A mountain over there is the only landmark that offers any sense of direction.”

“It’d be easy to get lost here.”

“I’ve blazed a trail while coming here, so as long as we don’t stray from it, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

“It seems pretty big. Is it really an island?”

“I did confirm a horizon further on. So, yes, it’s definitely an island. A pretty sizeable one at that….”

“You didn’t see any signs of civilization, right?”

“No, not yet.”

The absence of civilization was a double-edged sword. If there were no other variables, Tiria and Rachel had a numerical advantage over the man. However, the fact that they were isolated became undeniable.

*Chak, chwaak.*

Rachel hacked at the branches, diligently clearing a path.

“Are you not tired?”

“I’m just doing what needs to be done.”

“I’ll help a little.”

Tiria mumbled. Rachel didn’t hear the words directly, but she could see bright motes hovering around her instead.

“I’ve cast a blessing of physical enhancement. How does it feel?”

“My body feels a lot lighter. Thank you.”

“I only did what needed to be done.”

“It’s reassuring to have a Saintess around. At least the risk of dying from injury or infection is greatly diminished.”

“The divine power of healing isn’t omnipotent. The most important thing is to avoid getting hurt in the first place.”

The two women moved, constantly checking the sun’s position. The search was one thing, but food and drink were paramount.

But something was strange.

No matter where they looked, there wasn’t a sign of any land animals, not even the chirp of a bird.

It was a terrain bordering on a jungle, so they should have seen at least one snake, but there wasn’t even that.

“It feels eerie. Like the forest itself has died.”

“Even so, there are fruits and insects. How about we at least gather those and go back?”

“Fruits, I can accept, but eat bugs? Ugh.”

“It’s just in case of emergency.”

Rachel was already prepared. Whether it was larvae or maggots, she’d eat them. Anything, if it meant surviving. She’d gone hungry for more than half of a month. Her stomach was already ready to accept anything.

She wasn’t a saint. Having always worn fine clothes and eaten well as a symbol of the Order, everything was foreign to her.

“If we could at least catch some fish…”

“Just a moment, Colonel.”

It was then that Rachel, who was walking ahead, stopped. She brought her index finger to her lips and shushed.

“Do you hear it?”

“Hear what?”

“It sounds like there’s a stream nearby.”

Tiria held her breath and listened as well. Her pointed ears, while not as sharp as an elf’s, perked up, and sure enough, she could hear the trickling sound of a stream not far off.

“Let’s go.”

The two quickened their pace.

And so, they arrived at a stream with clear, fresh water. Through the crystal-clear water, they could see schools of minnows darting about.

“There are fish.”

“If we can catch them, we won’t have to worry about starving to death right away. But they’re so small…”

“Can’t you do something with the spear you brought?”

“It’d be better to use this for sea fishing. These guys are too small to even get pierced.”

“Let’s go further downstream.”

After only wetting their throats, Tiria and Rachel headed downstream.

And they saw an astonishing sight.

“Good heavens.”

“I had no idea a place like this existed here.”

The two arrived at a lake. It wasn’t particularly large, but it seemed like a decent enough environment for freshwater fish that had grown to a certain size.

“The water’s clean. And there’s no salt. We could bathe here, it’d be fine.”

Rachel glanced at Tiria, assessing her reaction.

“Would you like to join me?”

“Huh? Out of the blue?”

“I haven’t had a proper wash in a month, I’m itching all over. To be honest, I just want to jump right in.”

“But, it’s so open here…”

“Don’t you need to wash off the seawater, Colonel?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“It’s a deserted island, no one’s going to see us anyway.”

“Ah, alright. We can wash, we can just wash.”

Rachel quickly stripped off her clothes. Tiria, too, clumsily folded her outer layers, placing them on a nearby rock. Looking at her neatly arranged uniform made her face flush.

*Splash.*

“Colonel, Colonel, hurry and get in.”

“Just a moment.”

A body without even a thread of cloth.

Tiria’s mind was already overloading. The ingrained concepts of s*xuality she’d been taught were crumbling spectacularly.

No, truthfully, they were already half-ruined.

During her adolescence, Tiria had asked a fellow saint how babies were made, and had received a pornographic novel as a gift in return. She’d seen all sorts of audacious descriptions then.

They were vile. They were filthy. She was certain she’d thought that, but even so, back then Tiria’s hands hadn’t stopped turning the pages.

I thought that was the most shameful, guilt-ridden experience of my life.

Got a new record today.

An outdoor bath, seriously?!

“I’m going in.”

Yeah, let’s just get this over with and get out.

Tiria took a deep breath and stepped into the water.

*

What is life even?

Two years ago, I was discharged from service, and then war broke out immediately, forcing me to reenlist. I was working as a magic stone officer until a month ago, when I suddenly got thrown into a large-scale operation, shipwrecked on a deserted island with female soldiers from the enemy country…

And now, if life is about making fish traps out of the Saintess’s stockings and tree branches, how many sins did I commit in my past life?

“Haa.”

It’s hot. It’s humid. The weather is a real piece of shit.

The Valkyrie and the Saintess must be struggling too right now. They must also want to wash up, so I can’t just whine about it by myself.

But still, come on.

To not have even properly splashed water on myself for a month, that’s too much.

“I need a bath so bad…”