Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

36 – Second Escape (3)

My reunion with my superior was either heavenly or, no, utterly hellish.

Johannes Calon, the former battalion commander who died by the Valkyrie’s hand a few months back, had somehow turned to stone and appeared before me.

[‘Hey, hey, hey! Don’t roll me! I’m getting dizzy!’]

No matter how I racked my brain, that voice was undeniably familiar.

Could I be hallucinating?

No, that was impossible.

Just as everyone’s fingerprints are different, the magical energy wavelengths emitted by mages are also unique. It’s what we commonly call a magical signature. Any self-respecting mage can detect these signatures and distinguish friend from foe.

There was no mistake. This magical signature belonged to Battalion Commander Calon.

“Is it really, really you, Battalion Commander?”

[‘Yes, it’s been a while.’]

Actually, I’d sensed that magical signature when I first met David. But back then, I had no idea. Who could have imagined that a person could become a stone?

Lucky b*stard.

“How on earth did you end up in this form?”

[‘I don’t know the details myself. It’s a long story… but before that, could you stop touching me? It feels… well, it feels awful being stroked all over by another guy.’]

“Ah, yes.”

[‘Even in this form, I still consider myself human. I’d appreciate being treated as such.’]

I examined the humming stone.

To the naked eye, it was impossible to tell what kind of stone it was. There were no signs of any processing, yet it maintained a perfect spherical symmetry. There was no known mineral that exhibited a similar appearance of cleavage.

Unnatural, yet natural.

Fascinating. As a scholar, I was bursting with the desire to investigate.

The battalion commander requested to be treated like a human. But looking at his form, it’s not easy. He’s nothing but rock, no matter where you look. Wouldn’t it be alright to at least check his streak color?

[‘…You were just thinking about scratching me with a streak plate, weren’t you.’]

“Commander.”

[‘No. Don’t do it. That’s an order.’]

“Commander, no, sunbae*, even you can’t honestly stand it.”

The reason why I can even call this man sunbae. It’s because we were actually sunbae-hoobae* in the past.

Battalion Commander Kallon and I first met at the Laron Academy. We were in the same department. When I was a freshman, he was a senior, running the rock-collecting club. That’s where our connection began.

Our club members roamed mountains and rivers every week. On the surface, it was to get rocks for research. Of course, there was a bit of personal interest too.

Anyway, since then, sunbae and I had known each other for a considerable amount of time, and when I was assigned to the 8th Fleet, he was a pillar of mental support for me. At least there wasn’t any hazing, which was nice.

So, despite this reunion being one that should be overflowing with emotion, this reckless hoobae, who is already feeling the academic urge, Kallon sunbae should understand, right?

“Could I just scratch a tiny bit?”

[‘Ugh, ah, no way. Absolutely not!’]

Guess he doesn’t understand.

[‘Look closely. My perfect body, no, rock-body. It’s perfectly symmetrical in every way. How ugly would it look if it got even a single scratch?’]

“Hmm.”

[‘A masterpiece should only be admired for its true value to be revealed. I told you since way back to distinguish between rocks for research and rocks for appreciation. Besides, right now, I’m harder than any streak plate. Don’t waste your strength.’]

“You’re being logical.”

[‘Right?’]

“But sunbae, you know my personality.”

[‘Huh? Kaaa!’]

*Sunbae – a Korean term for a senior, a person who is older or more experienced than you, also implying a mentor or respected figure in a hierarchical system.

*Hoobae – a Korean term for a junior, a person who is younger or less experienced than you, someone who looks up to the sunbae.

I scraped it with the streak plate I had.

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

It won’t scratch.

[‘Ouch! That hurts, you b*stard! How dare you do this to your superior and senior!’]

“I apologize. It’s my first time scraping a rock with a will… I’ll be gentler later when I find a hard slab.”

[‘Just don’t do it!’]

A sigh echoes in my head.

[‘Still, it’s a relief. It’s like you’ve returned to the Erich Ronstein I knew from the academy. Before I died, a few months back, you lived without any expression.’]

“What are you talking about?”

[‘Even during the war, your emotions were so dried up. You foolish junior. I told you to lighten up your face, but you wouldn’t listen and just kept making military magic stones. You looked like you didn’t have an ounce of leeway back then.’]

It comes back to me. The days I researched without sleep.

It was to avenge my seniors and peers. Because they died unfairly. The only thing I could do was to create more powerful magic stones and drop as many dragon knights from the sky as possible.

[‘Back then, your face was just that of a vengeful spirit. You looked like you’d become a cog in the nation, not a human.’]

“…Was it?”

[‘Judging by your appearance, you seem to be shipwrecked on this island… well, maybe shipwreck is better than war. So, is the reason your complexion is better thanks to those ladies over there?’]

Only then did I sense the presence behind me. The Valkyrie and the Saintess. Both women were looking at me with pitying eyes.

“This guy’s definitely gone nuts. Talking to a rock that’s just sitting there…”

“It’s nothing new. He does it several times a day.”

“He must have been under a lot of stress from the war. Maybe he’s even got a mental illness. It’s the Magic Kingdom that invaded, but it still feels kind of sad.”

“…Ah.”

“What, why, what. Never seen someone talk to a rock before?”

[‘Both of them are beauties. But they seem to be the enemy. Hmm, this situation is unusual.’]

I told the battalion commander what had happened. Meanwhile, the faces of the Valkyrie and the Saintess grew even darker.

[‘I see. So that black-haired woman is the one who killed me.’]

“Aren’t you angry?”

[‘Well. I just feel… empty, I guess.’]

There was another being who agreed with Kalon’s words.

[‘Me too.’]

It was David.

[‘You… Aren’t you Lieutenant Kanih? How the hell did you end up like that?’]

[‘I don’t know. When I came to, I was a star-shaped rock. I thought it was a dream and was just spacing out, then somehow Major Ronstein picked me up.’]

[‘Erich’s gotten a promotion while I was gone. So this guy is the new battalion commander?’]

[‘Yes. Major Ronstein inherited Major Kalon’s position.’]

[‘I’m a lieutenant colonel now. ‘Cause I’m dead.’]

[‘Please call me lieutenant as well. ‘Cause I’m dead.’]

Out of nowhere, a reunion was happening. And it was among the dead.

It’s dizzying. It’s disturbing.

All this time, I thought my comrades, who died at the hands of the Valkyrie, would beg me for revenge in one voice, but things unfolded differently than expected.

At the same time, I start to question the things I had been passively accepting all along.

Why did these two become rocks instead of ghosts?

“Come to think of it, I heard one of the stones the mage had talking the other day. It definitely said ‘goo goo’—or something like that. Its name was… what was it? David, I think…?”

“……Colonel?”

“It’s true! Don’t look at me like that! I’m telling you, it’s true!”

There wasn’t time to think too deeply about it. First, get off this island, and then, once we’re completely safe, we can uncover the truth.

*

We found a nautical chart and a few more ancient documents on the mountain. I had already recorded the mana ley lines, so there wasn’t anything else to see. We decided to head down.

On the way down, David and ex-Battalion Commander Calon babbled non-stop. It was a bit noisy, but not having dead air was kind of nice. Felt like going for a walk with the radio on.

Suddenly, Calon threw out a question.

[‘After all this talking, it seems like most of what we’re saying isn’t getting through to those women.’]

[‘Exclamations work, though.’]

[‘Really? Let’s try it out.’]

ooo.

The two stones resonated. Valkyrie and the Saint, who had been leading the way down the mountain, jumped like cats whose tails had been stepped on. The two female soldiers were instantly far away.

“Wh-what was that noise?”

“It was the sound of these stones.”

“What on earth are they?!”

“They’re my comrades.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“It’s the truth. I keep telling you, my dead comrades are in here.”

“……”

The saint’s eyes turned a dull blue. The emotion I felt emanating from her was… pity.

[‘She seems to pity you, Major.’]

[‘Damn it, Erich. What the hell did you do? How could you make the chaplain of the Holy Kingdom look at you like that?’]

A sigh escaped my lips. No matter how much I explained, the Valkyrie and the saint wouldn’t believe me. In times like these, keeping my mouth shut was the best course of action.

Back at the base, we began stockpiling water and food that day. At the same time, we compared the maps we’d obtained from the sirens and ghouls, selecting our next island destination.

Choosing an island wasn’t difficult.

“North-northeast.”

After attaching a fragment of the Origin Stone to a leaf, and setting it afloat, it pointed in that direction. The place emitting the strongest mana reaction. In other words, the direction where the barrier’s entrance would be.

One week, two weeks.

Around the time the capital of Hazkael was deep in winter, our group had finally finished all preparations and launched the lifeboat.

Our next destination was an island shaped like a dumbbell.

*

Mado Kingdom Southern Fleet.

Air Force General Tetman Gipold’s private quarters.

Tetman let out a low sigh. Lately, a string of unfortunate events had piled up, increasing the things that demanded his attention.

“This is not good.”

He set down the cigar he was smoking, lamenting the situation.

“So, has Commander Adora arrived?”

“Yes, she is waiting outside right now.”

“Tell her to come in.”

The adjutant, saluting Tetman, opened the command room door. A short while later, a young woman in black uniform stepped inside.

Seven Stars.

It was the uniform only the Führer’s personal guard could wear.

The woman in the Seven Stars uniform gave a casual salute and closed the door. *Whiff,* her short, dark gray hair tossed the instant she turned her head. Her eyes held both a languidness and an ease.

“Reporting to the Commander. Yes.”

“Adora. You’ve grown quite a bit.”

“Yes. Thanks to you.”

Tetman’s gaze shifted slightly downward. Adora had a silver sword at her hip.

“Didn’t the adjutant tell you to hand over your weapon?”

“I told him it was alright. Yes.”

“Ha, that guy…”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Between the Commander and me.”

“Professional and private matters must be kept separate. This is the military. You’ve reached general at your age, you should be more careful in your behavior.”

“That’s why I’m wearing it.”

*Chew-chew.*

Adora, moving her lips, approached.

“I’m in a position to protect the Supreme Commander. You never know when surveillance or assassination attempts might happen, I need to be carrying a sword.”

Adora’s breath grew ever closer. Tetman narrowed his eyes. Her lips were now almost against Tetman’s ear.

*Whoosh, Bang.*

A clamorous sound echoed through the command room.

“Right? Dad?”

“Hey, you little b*tch! Who chews bubblegum on duty? Spit it out right now!”

“If I don’t chew on something, I get bored, y’know.”

“Spit it out while I’m being nice!”

Adora Gifford whined and wrapped the gum in a tissue.

Tetman, having calmed down his outburst, asked, “So, what brings you here?”

“It’s a classified order from High Command. They want us to blockade and crush any Holy Engineering Corps units from the Holy Spirit Bureau that try to approach our ‘facility.’ Y’know.”

Adora grinned wickedly.

“Heard it’s a unit made up of beastfolk, let’s use this chance to wipe those filthy things off the map.”