Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

42 – Let’s Build (4)

Even though the sun still had time before setting, Liyo and Erich returned quickly. They couldn’t continue exploring, not with arms full of wood and stone.

“Hello? Is anyone here?”

As soon as they got back to base camp, they looked around. Colonel Carsten and Major Brokenheart were nowhere to be seen.

Instead, they saw a sentence written in Ascalian on the sand.

[Gone hunting. If you return first, please light a campfire.]

It wasn’t a big deal. If they went out to find food, then these two should work hard here.

“Heave-ho.”

Liyo set down the wood they’d brought.

“What are you going to make first?”

“A cart.”

It wasn’t something immediately necessary for survival. But look at the current number of people. They had Theria responsible for gathering and Rachel responsible for hunting.

Since ancient times, humankind had pursued efficiency. Within a group, that is a tribe, they insisted on doing only what they were best at, leaving the rest to others. By doing so, they could maximize the speed of civilization’s development.

Liyo was skilled at inventing, and so was Erich. Doing what they were best at would be the most advantageous for survival.

“We need to make a cart first so we can bring back more wood. I’m going to try to make a wheelbarrow, so it can navigate narrow paths easily.”

“If you’re planning on building something big, you should draw up a blueprint first, shouldn’t you?”

“Hmm, that’s right. I did have a blueprint. But well, there’s nowhere really to draw it, is there? Since we have calipers and a compass, maybe we can estimate as we go?”

Clearly, Liyo and the man did not share a language.

However, they understood each other.

Experts in similar fields always recognize each other.

To Riyo, who’d studied metallurgy and materials engineering, Erich’s tone had a familiar edge. Of course, that didn’t mean she wanted to get any closer to this guy… but.

Somehow, an instinctive familiarity prickled.

“There’s nowhere to draw up plans anyway. We’ll have to go by feel for now.”

Riyo straightened her shoulders and picked up the oak log. And then.

“Wait a second.”

Erich gestured for her to hold on, then approached the stone bed.

[“ABIETUS VHAN OPHEIM.”]

He chanted in the devil’s tongue.

Ddddd.

The stones reacted to the incantation, resonating all at once.

Some were carved away, others rose, taking shape. It was as if tectonic activity was unfolding across the small terrain of the bed.

It was a truly magical process. Half-lost in a daze, watching the mystifying transformation, Riyo suddenly yelped.

“Hey, my stone bed——!!”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t hers. She was only borrowing it after a tantrum. But to Riyo, a stone-bed aficionado, this was as shocking as eating mackerel coated in chocolate.

But, something was off.

“Huh?”

“See? This way, we can use it instead of a drawing.”

Erich had a reason for warping the bed. He’d meticulously manipulated his mana, etching a wagon design into it.

[“LUMENT.”]

Fshhh fshhh.

The original image vanishes, and a new form emerges. On a grid-like background, divided into horizontal and vertical lines, a single circle was drawn, all alone.

*Taak!*

With a flick of a finger, the image becomes denser. Each square of the grid expands, and the circle drawn within it also grows accordingly. Riyo realized that what the man had just done was an adjustment of scale.

A feat of engineering prowess that would make any engineering student’s eyes bug out.

What is this, a mana chalkboard? Should I call it a blueprint on stone that I can draw and erase at will?

Anyway.

“Wh-whoa, that’s insane.”

Riyo’s eyes widened. Her tail wagged like a spinning pinwheel.

“No matter how urgent it is, doing it without a design isn’t a good idea. If you rely on instinct and the design goes wrong, you’ll just waste time and effort. If you can, it’s better to prepare thoroughly.”

I can understand what Erich, the sorcerer from the enemy nation, is saying. He’s reminding me of the basics as an engineer. With his eyes, no less.

“Oho.”

Riyo couldn’t help but let out an exclamation.

For the past two days, she had been concealing her animosity towards Erich, following the orders of her superiors, Tirea and Rachel.

Of course, this is all a disguise. The bright demeanor she’s currently showing isn’t genuine. Ever since she was tortured by sorcerers in her childhood, Riyo’s heart had long been tainted by darkness.

She thought she would never, ever, have any interest in magic or sorcerers again…

Or so she thought.

[‘…Riyo?’]

Just a little bit, she was starting to become curious about the man before her.

*

I showed the sapper various designs. He really liked them.

Especially the way his tail thrashed so violently the moment he started drawing cart designs on the slate…

“……”

*Slap!*

I slapped myself. Get it together. Yes, I need to build a serious relationship with a beastkin, but that doesn’t mean I should fall for a fox. That’s putting the cart before the horse.

But seriously.

A holy kingdom beastkin who’s interested in mana stones and magic? That’s, like, a bioluminescent dragon level of rare. Honestly, how can I, can I, *can* I resist?

[‘This is a disaster. Senior’s gone haywire.’]

[‘Indeed. Since he can’t view the other party as human, he’s choosing the path of becoming a beast himself, it seems.’]

“Make it~ make it~!”

The combat engineer hums a tune.

Me and the combat engineer mapped out the framework for the cart. Carving the stone in relief was something only I could do right now, so we proceeded with the beastkin drawing on the sand and then me transferring it to the stone.

“The bamboo width is about this much, each one’s weight is roughly this? Considering the cart’s movement, to withstand the target load?”

The combat engineer, with a twig in his hand, scribbled something on the ground. I almost passed it off as Askalion language, but then I realized it was a formula.

[‘Those are equations used in dynamics.’]

[‘The level at which he’s expanding the formula is not ordinary. He’s a beastkin who has at least studied at the university level.’]

The language is different, and the alphabets they use are slightly different too. Even so, there’s no difference in the methodologies used to understand and describe the laws of nature.

Just by the form of the formula, I could perfectly understand what kind of equation it was, what concepts were being applied.

I had a hunch.

This combat engineer is an intellectual. He’s probably smarter than even the Valkyries, even smarter than the saintess who can recite the Bible by heart. This wasn’t just about his academic knowledge.

People with good brains are skilled at hiding themselves. In relationships, generally, it’s more advantageous to wear a mask and not show your true self.

Let’s rewind time, back to yesterday, when I first met this beastkin and her reaction.

-Grrrrrr.

She bared her teeth.

Blatant rage. It held more resentment than a saint. A killing intent akin to a Valkyrie. But even that killing intent, after a good talking to from the Saint and the Valkyrie, vanished quickly.

The Saint dismissed it as a characteristic of fox beastkin.

There’s no way an engineer, who isn’t even a combat role, would hate *me*, the person, this much. So the emotions she showed back then must stem from a grudge against the Magic Kingdom or the mages themselves…

[‘Did she maybe undergo bio-experiments by black mages as a child?’]

[‘The fact that she has two tails is also significant. Isn’t there a legend that says the number of tails a beast has is the same as the number of souls within its body?’]

Even pondering it, there was nothing I could know immediately. I shook off the thoughts and refocused on the design plans for the wagon.

“1.67 meters.”

“Huh?”

“One meter, sixty-seven centimeters.”

For a moment, I thought I’d misheard.

This engineer isn’t using the Holy Spirit Nation’s measurements.

“What, are you surprised that I don’t use inches and yards? But this is more efficient.”

The engineer grinned mischievously.

[‘ooo, how can something in a beast’s skin speak such virtuous words.’]

[‘What is human and what is beast is for me to decide. From today, that purple bean sprout is an honorary citizen of the Magic Kingdom.’]

In a word, crazy.

Completing the design itself wasn’t difficult. I had a skill honed by crafting scroll circuits, and the engineer also seemed to have a lot of experience with this kind of work. We worked together in sync and finished the design.

The blueprint was done, so it was time to work the wood and stone.

I’d take the stone, the fox engineer the wood.

The fox engineer pulled a small saw and carving tool from their toolbox.

“Hey, uh, Goddess? Could you lend a hand for just a bit?”

The next moment, a holy light flared from the tools in the engineer’s hand.

In one swift motion, they peeled off the bark. After marking where to cut, they moved each piece to a sunlit spot. The whole process was fast, flawless.

I also started making some of the parts, like the wheels.

[‘Can’t we make the whole body out of stone?’]

[‘The magic drain would be insane. And the cart would be too heavy.’]

[‘But your stone bed…’]

[‘Hey, there are some things a man just can’t compromise on.’]

If I made the whole cart out of stone, I could do the work myself, but there’s no need.

I needed to build a heavy relationship with the engineer, after all.

Working together, rather than doing everything myself, would obviously do more to foster camaraderie. And I’d cut the workload in half, too.

“Mage, we’re back!”

Dusk fell.

The Saintess and Valkyrie returned.

The Saintess set down a basket overflowing with wild greens and berries. Behind her, the Valkyrie dragged a boar, looking a little strained.

I hurried over.

“Give it here.”

“No. You don’t need to help.”

“You said you were sick yesterday. Why did you suddenly go out and overdo it?”

I snatched the rope while the Valkyrie was off guard. It was disgustingly heavy. I dragged this all the way here?

“This island seems to have plenty to eat. I don’t think we have to worry about food.”

The Saintess gave a soft smile. It was a smile as soft and moist as bread soaked in milk.

Before dinner, I took my axe along with the fox engineer and got to work. I planned to fell a moderately large tree, split it in half, and then smooth out the top to use as a chair.

Three enemy female soldiers sat on the opposite side, and I ate my meal alone on a short log. Isn’t the distance between me and them about this level?

It was then that the fox engineer, her tail swaying, got up. She came over here and sat down right next to me.

Then, she whispered in my ear in Ascalian.

“Stone! Bed!”

I can understand the simple words now.

“Can I sleep with you?”

The beastkin was asking, right now, if we could sleep together again tonight.

I nodded. We did it for a day, and there’s no reason we couldn’t do it for two, three days, or even longer.

The beastkin’s lips formed a curve. In the firelight, the aegyo-sal under her eyes crinkled upward. Her ears were twitching, as if she was incredibly happy.

After discussing the sleeping arrangements, I turned my head again.

And saw them.

The Valkyrie and Saintess, staring at me with blank faces.