Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

26 – Shared Suffering (4)

It wasn’t just the soldiers of the Magic Nation who lost their lives in the war. Innocent youths of the Holy Spirit Nation were also suddenly dragged into the sudden outbreak of war and spilled their blood.

Those who died above the seas of Tatangkul were drawn together, somehow, by an unknown force, and gathered on a single island. Their numbers were at least in the thousands.

A place where the aura of death was so strong that even migratory birds wouldn’t land.

It was the birth of what would be called the Ghost Island.

-It’s the Saintess!

-Ah, the Goddess has not abandoned us.

-But, why in a place as wretched as this?

On their way back, Tyría and the mage encountered the spirits of the Holy Spirit Nation. Roughly, dozens of them were clumped together in a single, massive spirit form. Because they had believed in the Holy Spirit Church, they remained in pure white shapes.

“Why haven’t you ascended, and remain here?”

-We cannot ascend of our own will. An unknown force binds our souls.

-We’re consumed by resentment, we cannot ascend!

-I have a family to feed, but I was drafted and died like this. Ahhh! My old mother and siblings, what will become of them now?!

“Calm yourselves, brothers. The Goddess will surely watch over your remaining families.”

As she brought her hands together in prayer, the spirits who had been wailing in anger grew calmer. The divine power that Tyria emanated was endlessly comforting and warm to believers.

“May you find a good place. May your next life be filled with only joy and glory.”

Normally, the souls of the Holy Realm would ascend upon hearing this. But the spirits bound to this island seemed somehow lacking.

-It’s all because of the Magic Kingdom. If they hadn’t started the war…!

-Please, Saintess! Please, bring the Goddess’s wrath down on the mages!

“Yes, I will surely do so.”

-But, Saintess, who is that man behind you?

Tyria’s mouth snapped shut.

-That uniform, isn’t he an officer of the Magic Kingdom?

-Could he possibly be a mage?

“Yes, he is.”

The spirits murmured in agitation. Tyria soothed the soldiers who were questioning her, and without exaggeration, she told them what had happened.

“As it happens, we’re stranded. We’re traveling together for the moment only to find a way to get safely off this island.”

-That’s absurd. What mage would help the Saintess?

-He must surely have dark intentions. You mustn’t trust him!

People only see what they want to see, and only hear what they want to hear. It’s the same even in death. No matter how much Tyria tried to tell them about the mage, the spirits wouldn’t listen, only seething with resentment.

-Isn’t a magestone artificer just a human who makes the magestones that go into drones? I lost my life to the Magic Kingdom’s unmanned aerial vehicle!

-A human who made killing machines. How could anyone wearing a human face create such atrocious weapons?

-Saintess, I lost my life to magic. I’m so bitter. So bitter that even if this island didn’t hold me, I couldn’t pass on.

“No, brothers. You must ascend. The Goddess calls you.”

-Then at least, kill that mage right here. It is our request. Even Saintess, you must return safely.

-It’ll be too late once that man turns on you! Please kill the mage!

-Saintess! You must think of your own safety first!

Tyria had been feeling a strange sense of déjà vu since earlier. She finally seemed to grasp its source.

The soldiers of the Magic Kingdom she had met at dawn. Didn’t they also ask the man to kill her and Rachel to avenge their grudges?

Ah, she breathed out a small sigh.

“I’m sorry. I can’t kill this man.”

-Saintess! Why, in heaven’s name?

“Survival. It’s for survival. This mage knows how to do things I can’t. Even though I’m a chaplain, I won’t exercise my power of summary execution.”

The pistol at her hip felt particularly rigid. She hadn’t shown the gun to the man yet. If she caught him off guard, she could kill him easily.

But, what then?

This is an island full of ghosts. Among them are the vengeful spirits of the Magic Kingdom’s soldiers. And ironically, the only one who can console those violent spirits is this man, not her, the Saintess.

-Saintess, please. You’re making the wrong decision. All mages are devils who don’t know faith…

It was then that the mage stepped forward. He had been silently watching the situation from behind before starting to act.

-The mage is about to attack!

– Protect the Saintess, everyone!

– We’re already dead, how can we protect her!

– Run, Saintess!

The man’s gaze landed on each soul of the Holy Spirit Kingdom, one by one. His black eyes, as if ink had been squeezed into them, were deep and profound, possessing a power that overwhelmed even the already-dead. It was the *habitus* that high-ranking mages usually possessed.

But unlike the impression he gave of being about to unleash a barrage of attack magic, the man clasped his hands. And then, calmly in the Ascalian tongue, he uttered a single sentence.

“May your afterlife be filled with joy and glory.”

His pronunciation was awkward. But it was definitely a prayer. A spiritual rite to appease the souls of those who had died unjustly.

Tiria, and the souls, stopped mid-sentence.

Only the thought of *how?* lingered.

– What the hell is this?

– Why is a mage reciting a Holy Church prayer?

– Was he perhaps a believer?

– But our church is hostile to all mages. It doesn’t make sense!

While the bewildered souls milled about, unable to reach a conclusion, the man continued.

“I do not know what sort of people you were.”

– What’s he saying?

– Anyone here speak the Magocracy’s language?

– No need to listen. It’ll be garbage anyway…

“…I do not know what sort of people you were.”

The ghosts’ attention turned to Tiria. Tiria mouthed each sentence as the man finished them.

“Even so, I know you were innocent victims in this war. Though I’m not in a position to represent the Magocracy, as an officer of this nation, I beg for your forgiveness. May you rest in peace.”

It was the moment the souls, who had been so enraged, became completely silent.

*

The Saintess was struggling to help the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s souls pass on. It seemed my presence was a stumbling block for them.

At this rate, we wouldn’t reach the beach on time. I carefully observed the prayer and posture the Saintess was using, then employed a strategy of mirroring her exactly.

The result was quite successful.

“They’ve gone,”

The Saintess said, turning around after completing the ascension prayer. Her pupils held an orange light, like the sunset.

“You, did you know how to speak Ascalian?”

“I just imitated what you were doing. Honestly, I’m not even sure what I said.”

“I see.”

The Saintess’s lips curled into a smile. Her eyes were already changing to blue. A deep blue. A color that seemed to express sadness, or perhaps pity.

“The souls were surprised. They said they felt sincerity in your prayer. It helped ease some of their bitterness.”

“There’s no way that’s possible.”

“It must have been. They didn’t ascend when I was the only one praying, did they? There are times like that. When a sincere apology from an enemy is more comforting than the consolation of an ally.”

I sighed. My head was a mess.

“I never thought I’d actually see souls passing on with my own eyes.”

“Me neither. I wonder why? Could it be…that the Holy Spirit’s Eye has descended upon this man…? No, that’s too far-fetched.”

“As far as I can see, there’s something in that lake.”

That was the only incident that seemed like a cause for such a change. Getting dragged under by a water ghost while taking a bath.

Around this point, I start to get suspicious of that enigmatic guy who told me to wash up here.

“Anyway, I was surprised. I never expected you to be chanting the Holy Spirit Church’s prayers. Magician. You keep throwing me for loops.”

“Not a magician, but a magic engineer.”

Though, magic engineers don’t exactly have strong faith either.

The Saint gave a small smile.

“Maybe we’re in the same boat, after all.”

“What’s with the sudden realization?”

Aren’t we just cooperating because we’re stuck on a deserted island?

In this wilderness, we couldn’t help but be kindred spirits.

*

We returned to our shelter around sunset. The campfire had died out, so the Saint called over Valkyrie and interrogated her.

Valkyrie, who rarely showed any emotional change, was trembling like a reed. It didn’t seem like she was like that just from being scolded by a superior.

I approached from behind the Saint, who was gently pecking at Valkyrie.

“I think you should stop there.”

“Eek?! D, don’t suddenly come up behind me!”

That’s odd. I thought I made enough noise when approaching.

I’d been so focused on the Saint since this morning that I’d forgotten Valkyrie had a trauma related to fire. I blinked, looking down at the extinguished campfire.

When you think about it, it wasn’t that big a deal.

“Managing the fire is a matter of life and death. I naturally assumed you’d be doing it properly. Ugh, it’s going to take ages to get it started again…”

“I’ll start it again.”

“How? With magic?”

“Strictly speaking, yes. I have a magic stone that I use as a flint.”

“A flint?”

“This.”

“You should’ve said so!”

I powdered the mushroom I’d found on the rotten tree earlier, then transferred a spark. Eating wild mushrooms is practically suicide, so it’s usually safer to use them as tinder like this.

Clearing the ash, I broke small twigs and placed them on top.

Carefully blowing air to gradually grow the fire, a surprisingly warm feeling began to rise.

“The wood isn’t completely dry. It’s not very efficient.”

“Still, it’s better than nothing.”

The Saint and I grilled the fish Valkyrie had caught, along with herbs. Valkyrie was a little further away, trimming a wooden spear and fishing rod.

“I forgot to mention it. I heard that her house was burned down by a fire started by mages, and she lost her parents too.”

“……Ah, so that’s why she couldn’t handle the fire.”

“She can’t even go near it. She seems to have a really bad trauma with flames that burst or surge. Let’s understand today’s situation.”

“I’m curious. How did she fight until now? On the battlefield, flames must have been rising all over the place and it must have been a mess. How did she endure it?”

“That just means her anger is greater than her fear. Considering that aspect, even if they’re your enemy, it makes you feel a bit sorry for them. Ah, it’s done. It’s cooked enough at this point.”

Two pieces of fish, some wild berries, and vegetables freshly cooked from nature. In the wilderness, this is a feast.

I filled a stone bowl with one serving first and stood up.

“Here.”

Valkyrie turned her head.

“Don’t just fiddle with your tools. You gotta eat and get your strength up to do anything.”

“Let the Captain have some first.”

“That guy first? Forget it. The one who got the meat gets it first.”

Meals here aren’t about rank. The person who brings the meat is king.

Especially fish, if cooked right, there’s no risk of poisoning or stomach issues, and it’s easy to get rid of the fishy smell with herbs, so it’s top-tier food in this wilderness.

“Take it. My arm’s gonna fall off. Or do you want me to feed you like last time?”

The Valkyrie, looking hesitant, took the stone bowl. I watched her take a bite of the grilled fish then turned away.

“Ha, hrr, heek.”

Kid, why can’t you let it cool down?

By the time we finished eating, the sun was about two-thirds below the horizon. Not much time left until sunset, really.

During this brief bit of free time, I started working on a map.

A map, as in, drawing a picture on a rock with magic. I used our location as the zero point and roughly sketched out the path we’d pioneered.

Once this map is somewhat complete, I planned to gather food and resources and figure out our next destination.

Tonight, the Valkyrie and I were taking the first watch. The Saintess used too much divine power since dawn and needed to recharge.

I wondered if a Saintess could really run out of divine power, but it wasn’t that, it was a stamina issue. Using her power drained her energy, so she needed plenty of sleep, they said.

With nothing else to do on watch, I became the Valkyrie’s conversation partner.

“Uh, umm, goo’ night?”

“Yeah.”

Honestly, “conversation partner” was just us exchanging a few words. The Valkyrie’s pronunciation was still clumsy, bordering on cute. Probably, from her perspective, I was the same.

Our conversations were mostly through gestures. I’d point at something and ask what it was, and the Valkyrie would say the corresponding word.

“Moon? Sea? Tree? Sand?”

After a few tries, they quickly got the hang of it, and were able to learn words rapidly.

“You? Me?”

They even picked up personal pronouns.

It was a bit drawn out, that was a drawback, but still it was passible. It wasn’t unintelligible.

“You, me. And…”

I roughly understood what word they were trying to learn.

“Us.”

“Us?”

“Yeah, us.”

“Us. Us. Us.”

“Good.”

Their pronunciation is perfect.

They’re just repeating basic words like a baby, and I sigh. This isn’t some kid, what the hell is this?

Should I just swallow my pride and ask the Saintess to teach me Askalian?

Just as I was thinking that.

“Like?”

My thoughts froze.

Ah, damn it. They’re clearly an enemy, a Valkyrie, the foe of my comrades.

“Mage, ‘like’? What does that mean?”

After a moment of deliberation, I sorted out my thoughts.

Yeah, there’s no need to rush. It’ll be alright to learn things a bit slower.