Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

4 – Sleeping with the Enemy (1)

Location, confirmed.

And, the theme was confirmed too.

Valkyrie and I were in a situation where we needed to worry about starving to death before we could give a damn about ideology or the revenge of our comrades.

No, not even starving. Dying of thirst would come first. People can survive three weeks without food, but only three days without water, or so they say.

Of course, that’s if you have zero skills or knowledge.

“We need to replenish fluids first.”

Valkyrie seemed to have the same idea about needing water. I’d watch and see what this woman does first.

I followed her direction. We’d agreed to stick together unless absolutely necessary, in case there were monsters prowling even during the day.

There was no proper water source in the forest or on the opposite side. There were a few puddles, but they were all muddy.

We just lost more moisture wandering around like this. Valkyrie looked exhausted. She let out a dry breath and opened her mouth.

“Okay, just this once, I’m asking you. Make water.”

“What?”

I stared at her, completely bewildered. Valkyrie weakly bent her arm into a drinking motion.

So, now.

“You want *me* to make water?”

The Valkyrie nodded. She probably didn’t understand my words, but she seemed to be roughly piecing it together from my tone, expression, and gestures.

“Thirsty.”

“Thirsty, you say?”

Nod, nod.

“Water.”

“You want water?”

Nod, nod.

It’s definitely not working, but it feels like we’re having a conversation.

And that just pisses me off more.

“I heard some wizards can even make bread from thin air. Surely water’s not that hard?”

“I didn’t understand what you just said.”

I don’t like this.

Still, the request itself was legitimate. I hadn’t had a single drop of water since yesterday, and my throat felt like a cracked old chair from a rural orphanage.

“This way.”

I carefully descended the slope of the terrace. It was quite steep, but if you found good footing, you could get down without getting hurt.

I looked up at the Valkyrie after I’d fully landed. She was faithfully following behind me. Lowering her center of gravity, slowly tracing the slope…wait, why is she swaying?

The Valkyrie lost her balance and fell straight down. She slid down the slope like she was on a sled.

“Kkheut…!”

The Valkyrie tried to get up right away. Then, *thwack*, she landed hard on her ass again, a spectacular second fall.

“Ughhh.”

This is just rich, really.

The Valkyrie, having dropped her spear, groaned, clutching her lower back with one hand and her side with the other. Shame and agitation were etched on her contorted face.

Immediately after, her eyes met mine.

“What, what are you staring at! Got a show to watch?”

So, there *is* water that can well up in those eyes. I thought she had nothing but rage for emotions.

“Don’t say a thing. Not a single word.”

“I haven’t said anything?”

I sighed. I extended the iron mace I was holding.

“Here, grab this and get up.”

“……”

“My arm’s getting tired, hurry up.”

Tch, the Valkyrie clicked her tongue and stood up on her own. Feeling awkward, I shrugged and shouldered the mace.

A small incident had occurred, but anyway, we’d reached the shore.

I cupped my hand and scooped up some seawater.

The sunlit waves were cool yet soft. Crystal clear, free of any debris. To the eye alone, it was indistinguishable from drinking water.

“You must be really thirsty. How about this, in a pinch?”

“You wanna die?”

The Valkyrie lifted her spear with a disgusted expression, so I dropped the subject immediately. Ah, honestly. Can’t even crack a joke. Is shifting the mood this hard?

“Why this way? You think you can purify seawater?”

“Just wait.”

This place is a field of pebbles.

A playground for geomancers, alongside dormant volcanoes and caves.

I picked up a few decent raw stones and infused them with mana.

[“Weave.”]

Purification stones.

Or zeolite, as some call these mana stones. They’ve saved countless lives across nations, thanks to their ability to purify water.

And now, they were going to save me and Valkyrie.

[“Hollow.”]

Using a general-purpose spell, I made a suitably sized pit nearby and let some seawater flow into it.

[“Return, in your purest form.”]

Continuing the incantation, I threw the purification stones, and a whirlpool began to form in the pit, centered on the point of impact.

The purification stones, a type of porous sedimentary rock, selectively attract and capture specific ions. Usually, that means sodium. Which is how the salt is filtered out.

So how do you remove impurities besides salt?

That’s where the honeycomb structure plays a big part. When the empty layers within the mana stone are stimulated by mana, they create openings to the outside. Tiny particles are sucked through these openings, purifying the water.

That’s why you usually have to throw away used purification stones. They’re just a clump of salt and impurities.

Actually, races like elves, who can purify themselves internally, consider it a delicacy and use it in place of sun-dried salt… but we shouldn’t include those weirdos who eat unrefined salt, calling it a mineral clump. No, absolutely not.

I tossed in the last of the stones, and as soon as the vortex stopped, I lifted the stones out of the pit.

“That should be enough. Want to try some?”

“……”

What’s with that sulky look?

I’m parched too, damn it. The reason I didn’t rush like a Valkyrie was because I knew we could get water this way.

So I’m giving the chance to drink first to the one who’s probably more desperate.

“You were the one who asked for water first, right?”

“You drink first.”

The Valkyrie waved her hand dismissively.

Honestly, the Holy Spirit Church guys are always like this. They can’t easily trust water even if it’s been purified by magic, can they?

“If you don’t wanna drink, go ahead and die of thirst.”

I grinned at her and brought my lips to the puddle.

“Hoo.”

The clean taste of the water feels like it’s purifying my stomach and my soul. It’s no exaggeration. If you’ve been sweating buckets and haven’t had a drink in a day, anyone would agree with me.

I took a few more sips, then gestured to the Valkyrie.

“Just drink it. Stop being so paranoid.”

Only then did the Valkyrie, who had been pacing around, squat down on the opposite side.

“…!”

When did she go from hissing like an angry cat? As soon as she took a sip, the Valkyrie started inhaling the water like she was about to dive headfirst into the puddle. Her drinking speed isn’t human, she’s just a beast, a beast.

“Don’t drink too much at once. You’ll get water poisoning if… Hey! Your hair is in the …! Ah.”

The Valkyrie wiped her mouth and lifted her head. Water trickled down her hair, which was dripping wet from being in the fresh water.

“Are you missing a few screws or something?”

“Haa, I feel like I can finally breathe.”

“You’re not doing this on purpose to mess with me, are you?”

“I hate to admit it, but it’s not bad.”

Valkyrie got up from her spot. Her face was much fresher than before.

The water made me feel hungry. My stomach was starting to kick into gear. Valkyrie seemed to be the same way. A gurgling sound came from her like a music box.

“Ahem.”

Valkyrie glanced at me and coughed lightly. I opened my mouth.

“Food.”

“You want something to eat?”

Nod nod.

“Since this side took care of the water, you should handle the food, right?”

If you receive something, you have to give something back. It’s common sense for any modern person with a sense of concept.

And mages, with their common sense of engineering, were a people who especially loved the saying, ‘give a peck and receive a bushel.’

Even though water is more important, it’s usually harder to get food.

“Being by the sea, I’m craving some fish.”

She probably won’t understand that the way I mean it. Seems like I’ll end up having to find my own food.

But then, Valkyrie picked up the wooden spear and headed toward the sea.

“Catching fish is my specialty. Just wait.”

It looked like she was going to fish.

But will she even catch one properly? The tool is crude and fish aren’t exactly slow, right?

There it was.

Valkyrie slammed the wooden spear she held into the sea like a harpoon.

*Whoosh!*

A burst of explosive sound echoed. Like a mine going off.

Beyond the fading spray, Valkyrie was visible. A blue fish thrashed, impaled on the end of her spear.

She shook the spear with an indifferent expression.

“One down.”

“Insane.”

Was that really human speed?

Cold sweat trickled down my back. If I hadn’t called for a truce when I did, I’d be the one impaled on that spear, not a fish.

After that, Valkyrie fished out more with her lightning reflexes.

“…She’s using her power for this.”

At that speed, she could catch my share too. Seemed like she was repaying me for creating the water. I wasn’t complaining.

While Valkyrie was hunting, I wasn’t just lazing around. I used rocks and reeds to make a square pyramid-shaped basket.

Valkyrie dumped the fish into the basket one after another and said,

“Let’s go back, Magician.”

We snapped off some branches for firewood and headed back. I cleared away the ashes of the previous fire and put in the new fuel. Finally, we skewered the fish on branches and held them over the flames.

“…Ugh.”

Valkyrie moved a little farther away from the fire.

She did that yesterday too. Is she some kind of wild beast?

I started cooking in earnest. Though, all that meant was turning the skewers this way and that, making sure the fish didn’t burn.

Meanwhile, Valkyrie was sharpening her dull spear while the rice cooked. I’d lent her my knife. I was worried she might stab me, but thankfully, she didn’t seem like she was going to.

Just as the fish was turning a golden brown, Valkyrie pointed at the skewers.

“You come and get it.”

“Just hand me the fish and get lost. I’ll eat here.”

“No.”

Seriously, if she wants to be away from me, why not just get her own food? Why does she have to make me do everything?

As I was thinking that, Valkyrie glared at me.

“Ah, okay.”

Nothing was to my liking, but it was just a petty act of rebellion.

I was already starving. I couldn’t be rude to the person who’d brought me food. Besides, this was practically a feast.

I also thought it was childish to engage in a power struggle with someone I couldn’t even communicate with, so I handed over the skewer without resistance.

After that, we focused on devouring our share.

“This reminds me of when I was a kid. My mom used to grill fish so much.”

“When I was in school, my professors used to buy us a ton of grilled fish.”

“I miss my mom.”

“I miss my professors.”

*Chirp chirp chirp.*

Listening to the sound of insects while filleting freshly caught fish in the middle of nature, it felt just like camping.

This feeling isn’t bad. It was one of the things I always wanted to do later, when I have a wife and kids.

Of course, in this situation, it’s a far-off story, no, maybe a story that will never be…

“Ah, that’s right.”

Valkyrie, who had been diligently munching, lifted her head.

“What about sleeping tonight? Those monsters will attack again.”

I conveyed my thoughts by drawing on the ground with the remaining twig. I was asking who would take the first watch, and when she’d be going to sleep.

And with that, most of the issues were discussed.

We decided not to move the campsite. This was the perfect spot to overlook the sea, after all.

Rather, it was possible to clearly see where the monsters were coming from. It was also efficient for getting water and food, being at the intersection of the coast and the forest.

Above all, we needed to see if any ships or planes passed by.

This is an age of advanced civilization. If we wait, maybe we’ll spot at least one ship in the distance. I cling to that thin thread of hope.

Well, that’s that for now.

The most important problem remained.

And that was our sleeping arrangement.

I took a deep breath and made a groundbreaking proposal to Valkyrie.

“Share… a bed?”