Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

29 – Ghoul’s Altar (3)

A new morning dawned.

The first thing I did after waking up was carve another tally mark on the rock.

Today marks exactly 30 days since we came to this island. If I include the time on the last island, it would be about two months.

Honestly, I’m tired of counting days.

More than that, I’m sleepy. I’m so sleepy I could die, but the sun’s up, so I can’t lie back down. In this damned wilderness, there’s no room for even a little bit of laziness.

To shake off the lingering fatigue, I added something to my routine.

Brushing my teeth.

I boiled seawater in a stone pot. I used the primitive salt I got from that, and a brush made from a *remilla* tree branch, to initially clean my teeth. Honestly, this alone gets rid of most of the gunk.

But can this prevent cavities?

Who knows?

So I also use chicaphy, a type of herb, and spionos.

Chicaphy is a plant known as the “tropical mugwort.” It has a very good and strong scent, so it’s been used as a folk toothpaste for ages. Recent studies say it has significant antibacterial properties too.

And then there’s spionos. It’s got a sharp smell and contains compounds that prevent acidification. You could say it’s a crucial friend in preventing tooth decay.

I gargle once with a decoction of ground chicaphy. Then I do the same with spionos. After that, a pleasant fragrance and a tingling sensation pop in my mouth, waking me right up.

“Haaah.”

It’s all thanks to the Saint, who’s a whiz at herbalism.

Saints chosen by the Goddess of Healing often double as medics, and Saint Caston, they say, was too scared to draw blood, so she invested more in pharmacology than surgery.

Thanks to her, we’re living like humans, at least a little bit, even in this primitive place.

“Ah, shit.”

The morning’s squall put out the campfire. Even though I prepared for the downpour, it still ended up like this.

I brought the firewood I’d moved to safety the day before and tried to get the fire going again…what the hell, why won’t it light?

[‘Seems like it’s because of the moisture.’]

So I put the firewood on a rock where the sun hits it well.

Lighting the fire was easy with tools, but the problem was the firewood itself. It rained every chance it got here, so I had to spend two or three hours every day gathering wood. If only this place was at least temperate.

“Wizard.”

The Valkyrie waved. The Saint was beside her.

Unlike the ever-composed Valkyrie, the Saint’s complexion had been strange for the past two weeks. At first, I thought it was fatigue, but it didn’t change even as time passed.

Any clues?

There are some.

“We’ll be back,”

The Saint said weakly, and they set off.

The Valkyrie’s group’s goals were always similar. Gathering drinking water, fish, herbs and berries, and useful vines or dry twigs for firewood.

I wanted to see some progress, but we still couldn’t break free from the basics.

That’s because the goal is ‘escape,’ not ‘living.’

Maybe. If a decent and plentiful island appears later, we might finally build a house and start farming properly.

Anyway, we’ve secured enough water and salt, so now we just need food and the conditions to clear the fog. Once everything is ready, I planned to climb the mountain, check our bearings, and try to escape again.

However, that wasn’t the only reason I was planning the climb.

I took out the magic stones from the skulls of the skeletons I’d defeated and examined them.

The appearance rate of skeletons had increased dramatically lately. Before, it was maybe ten or so a night, but now, it felt like dozens were coming.

Thanks to that, we had more than enough magic stones.

Still, they were spoils from defeating monsters. I was pondering how we could use them. Then, I realized something incredible just recently.

These magic stones, they copy information.

In other words, they can send and receive signals.

If mana is injected into one, the same type of magic stones resonate and store the same information. There’s so much we can do if we use this properly. We could immediately make a magic-powered communicator or a mana compass.

Especially the mana compass. I absolutely have to make that.

If this place is surrounded by a mana-constructed barrier, as the Saint said, there should be mana lodestones on each island.

If I could just follow those lodestones precisely?

I could go straight to the ‘gate’ of the barrier.

[‘A brilliant idea. If we can create a mana compass, it’ll be a huge help in the long run.’]

I named the magic stone I got from the skeleton ‘Origin Stone’. Meaning, a stone that records elements.

[“Go back.”]

I manipulated the mana recorded in the Origin Stone. Once I zeroed out one stone, the rest also reset themselves. Now, no mana is stored within them.

But this alone is not enough.

I need to find this island’s ‘origin point’.

My gaze naturally turned toward the mountain.

Mana tends to rise unless there’s a specific condition preventing it. So, the density is probably higher up there than here.

The origin point of this island is likely at that peak. If I just tag it and come back, like a casual stroll, maybe I can escape.

Just as I was thinking that, an unidentified man appeared.

[“…It’s you again.”]

[“Long time no see, friend.”]

[“We saw each other the day before yesterday.”]

[“It’s like good friends feel distant even after just a day of not seeing each other.”]

No lie, I’ve seen him about seven or eight times in the last two weeks.

The man always appeared when I was alone. He’d start with a rambling monologue, then transition into various stories, and when the mood seemed right, he’d start talking about ways to escape this place.

The man also knew that he couldn’t escape this deserted island by normal means.

Just a week ago, we’d finally gotten enough supplies, so I took a lifeboat and ventured out a good ways. Fog rolled in, and I ended up right back where I started. Exactly the same phenomenon as described in the Siren’s journal.

That’s when I thought,

Wow, this place is truly amazing.

[“Like I said before, there are a lot of lost souls here. The unredeemed wail every night, disturbing my sleep. That’s why all the animals left too.”]

[“How do you know that?”]

[“Even so, I’ve been living here for quite a while.”]

[“Don’t you ever think about escaping?”]

[“I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”]

The man, who had always come and gone empty-handed, pulled something out for the first time. It was a parchment, quite meticulously drawn, depicting the island and the surrounding terrain.

[“I made this while exploring this area.”]

Oh, this map might actually be useful.

[“At first, I thought about escaping too. But as time went by, I started thinking this place was better than the outside. You could call it contentment in poverty?”]

The man then held out the map.

[“You can have it if you need it.”]

[“Huh? Really, is that okay?”]

[“I don’t go back on my word.”]

[“You really don’t want anything in return?”]

[“Keeping me company was enough.”]

Over the past few meetings, I’d subtly asked him a few key questions, trying to figure out who he was without him knowing it. This was one of them.

This sends my deductions right back to square one. I just need to keep in mind the possibility that the map is a fake.

It was about time I probed to see what the man wanted.

[“The fog, sir. Do you have any insights on that, perhaps?”]

[“As a matter of fact, I do.”]

The man answered swiftly.

[“After exploring the island and conversing with the restless spirits, I learned one thing. That these very souls are the cause of the fog that surrounds this island.”]

[“Could you elaborate?”]

[“Fog, souls. Both are hazy, aren’t they? Taking note of that fact, I conducted research upon research. As a result, I discovered they’re gathering to create a sort of binding on this island. While I haven’t completed a precise analysis, my combined magical knowledge leads me to that conclusion.”]

[“…….”]

[“Think about it. Souls are beings who cannot depart because of their grievances. They were desperately seeking someone with divine power to console them. They say that if one builds an altar for the dead and dedicates sincere effort on it, the chains binding this island could be broken.”]

[“So, if a clergy member from the Holy Spirit Church offers prayers to guide all the island’s souls to enlightenment, it’ll be solved?”]

[“I, too, thought so, but it seems that’s not the case.”]

The man straightened his long fingers. Their tips were sharp, as if he hadn’t cut his nails.

[“The solace the souls speak of is actually the offering of one with divine power. To put it simply… well. You can think of it as recruiting a devoted religious person to go to heaven together with them.”]

[“Hmm.”]

[“Do you understand roughly?”]

I swallowed a groan, lost in thought for a moment.

The wind blew, rustling from behind. Trees and bushes shook violently, then fell still again.

Having made my decision, I looked at the man.

[“I understand.”]

[“If you desire more information, come find me on that mountain. It’s in an easy place to find, so it won’t be difficult.”]

[“Yes, thank you.”]

[“They’ll be coming soon. I should get going.”]

The man rose from his seat. Before leaving, he added one more thing.

[“Ah, and keep this in mind. Betrayal is best served at the most opportune time.”]

I nodded at his words.

[“Yes. I will.”]

*

For the past two weeks, Tiria intentionally increased how often she moved with Rachel. To see if the mage from the Magic Kingdom and the unidentified man were still making contact.

The prediction wasn’t far off. The two men only met when Tiria and Rachel were absent. The man had never directly shown himself before them.

The conversation was always led by the man with the black bandages. The mage would only passively agree or ask questions. But the content of their conversations was always unsettling.

Can you trust the enemy?

You’ve built up enough trust, wouldn’t it be okay to start planning the betrayal now?

In front of the mysterious man saying such things, the mage didn’t even offer a rebuttal, let alone an answer.

Why?

Why?

Disturbed, Tiria started discussing this with Rachel from that day on. Rachel answered with a rather calm expression.

“Captain, you can think of it simply.”

“Simply?”

“The man and we are nothing more than a contractual relationship. The favor that we’re exchanging right now is no better than a shack built on water. We feel affection, even if I am the one who’s supposed to be saying I don’t know what affection is, right?”

“Then…”

“Once it’s certain the man betrayed us, we’ll pick the right time and corner him.”

Truth be told, Rachel was even considering the possibility of the man backstabbing them wasn’t so bad. He was, after all, the enemy who had killed their loved ones right before their eyes.

If they completely lost any attachment to him, this ambiguous relationship could be definitively cut off.

“Of course, we could also use him as a bargaining chip when we meet the Magocracy’s forces, but isn’t our safety, yours and mine, Colonel, more important? We can’t share the same space with a traitor, let alone an enemy.”

“You’re right. That makes sense.”

Tiria felt somewhat relieved by Rachel’s composure. Rationally, the answer to this problem was obvious.

But.

Why was it?

There was a part of her that wished the mage wouldn’t even *think* of betraying them.

She sincerely hoped he wasn’t so cunning that he had been deceiving them all along. She wanted those unexpected sides of him, those human actions he’d shown, to be completely true, without a single lie.

Yeah, she’d rather lose her faith.

There was a saint having such impious thoughts.

Paradoxically, Tiria calmed her mind with prayer. It was the only thing she could do.

Today, as always, the two women returned earlier than expected. And as always, the man, wrapped head-to-toe in black bandages, sat facing the mage.

The Magocracy mage’s voice came first.

[“… I understand.”]

[“If you want to obtain more information, find me in those mountains. I’m in a spot that will be easy for you to find.”]

[“Yes, thank you.”]

[“They’ll be here soon. I must be going.”]

[“…”]

[“Ah, and remember this. Betrayal is best served at the most opportune time.”]

The wizard nodded at the man’s final words.

[“Yes. I will.”]

Tyria’s heart plummeted to the earth’s core.

“Ah.”

Her eyes flooded with a deep violet.

So, it all comes back to the doubts she had on day one?

Then what was it all, the wizard’s rituals to console the vengeful spirits, his recitations of prayers for forgiveness to the Holy Nation’s souls?

Was it all… an act?

“Colonel, what did that wizard just say?”

“That he would… betray us.”

“……”

Rachel stood up impassively. She bit her lower lip, gripping the spear she had received repairs on from the wizard. She didn’t show it, but why, she wondered, was there also a tightness in her chest?

While the two female soldiers suppressed their complicated feelings of dejection and rage.

The mage, holding aloft a dazzlingly bright magic stone, spoke.

[“Lightning, descend. Shatter the falsehood with flames of truth.”]

That pronouncement became an incantation, piercing the black-bandaged man’s chest.