Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

57 – A Heavy Relationship (6)

The Engineer took off her top and draped it over me. The sour and savory scent, unique to fox beastkin, hit my nostrils like a shot.

It wasn’t unpleasant. But I couldn’t say it wasn’t stimulating.

A smell I’d never experienced before. My head was swimming. Did she smear pheromones on it or something?

“You can’t get a cold…”

The Engineer mumbled in a tiny voice.

“Sorry, thanks.”

Sorry and thanks?

Those are my words to say.

I didn’t expect Miyo to grasp Mirquil so quickly. Thanks to that, I was able to draw pure mana from her. That mana saved my life and Valkyrie’s. Miyo was my savior.

“Can I sleep stuck to you tonight?”

Gongbyeong crept onto the bed. She burrowed between me and Valkyrie.

“Ugh.”

Valkyrie groaned. Gongbyeong’s movements stopped at the same time. Gongbyeong remained frozen in place, lying face down for a while.

Valkyrie, who had been tossing and turning, eventually became quiet.

Gongbyeong, breathing a sigh of relief, continued moving. After wriggling around for a while, she lay down facing Valkyrie.

Figures. She just likes the stone bed and came over here.

But doesn’t the Saint have another stone bed too?

Thump.

That’s when something was placed on my stomach.

It was too dark to see clearly. I only knew that it was snug and warm.

What is it?

I carefully raised my hand onto my stomach.

A fluffy and soft texture was felt.

It was like a well-made cotton blanket. The more I touched it, the more addicted I became.

Wait a minute. Fluffy and, soft?

Surely, this…?

“Hng, hic, hik.”

Startled, I hurriedly pulled my hand away.

Gong-byeong let out a whistle, turning around. My eyes met hers.

[“…Pervert.”]

It wasn’t Gong-byeong.

Miyo grinned wickedly.

[“Touching my tail without permission, how lewd.”]

“Huh.”

[“If you keep doing that, I’ll remember it and report you when we get back, okay?”]

I was speechless.

[“Report? What report? You were the one who…”]

[“Marriage registration.”]

[“What?”]

[“I’ve never shown my tail to anyone except family. Most foxkin are like that, not just me. In other words, touching my tail is the same as courting me.”]

Miyo leaned in close.

[“What, a mage getting drawn to a beastkin?”]

[“…Hey.”]

[“I’m kind of drawn to you.”]

Here my speechless-ness doubled. A fox from an enemy nation, who I’d only known for two months, was sitting there playing hard to get with me.

Miyo’s smile, shimmering under the moonlight, was devastatingly enchanting. I could see why old stories said people were seduced by foxes and had their livers ripped out.

I pulled myself together and asked,

[“You’re joking, right?”]

[“Maybe?”]

[“If it’s a joke, stop right there. I don’t like beating around the bush.”]

[“Oh? Is that so?”]

It was the moment Miyo was about to whisper in my ear.

“Sir.”

A low, thick voice. But unmistakably a woman’s voice.

Valkyrie had gotten up.

“M-Major?”

“Why aren’t you on watch? Get back to your post.”

“But…”

“Has the time already gotten that late? Even so, you shouldn’t be here. The mage’s boat has a hole in it right now. He needs to rest, so don’t bother him, and sleep near the Colonel today. That’s an order.”

Miyo went back, looking dejected. I didn’t get to hear her true feelings after all.

I turned my head with difficulty. Valkyrie was looking at me with calm eyes. In the darkness, her irises gleamed like jewels.

“Well, thanks.”

“Suddenly?”

“Mage, today, magic. If not, you, me. This.”

Valkyrie mimed slitting her own throat. She meant that if I hadn’t aided her with the lapis lazuli during the battle earlier, her attack would have missed, and everyone would have died.

A fresh chill ran down my spine. We almost fucking died for real today.

“You… you okay?”

I shook my head.

Couldn’t lie. It hurt like hell.

*

The Saintess came to check on my injuries as soon as morning broke. She yawned, rubbing at the dark circles under her eyes.

“Wizard, you were being so stupid yesterday. You were out of mana, and you still decided to use more magic? What if you’d died? Would you have been happy for a demon to snatch your soul?”

“If that happened, Saintess, you’d have to rescue me.”

“You! Haah….”

She punched my shoulder, a couple of solid thumps. Hurt pretty good. Funny thing was, it was healing me. The knots in my muscles were loosening up fast. She really had healing hands.

“Wasn’t our goal survival? Didn’t you tell Major Brokenheart we’d try to get out of this with all our limbs intact!”

“That’s what I was trying to do to survive. There wasn’t another option. Valkyrie’s attack *had* to land. If it failed, we would have been wiped out on the spot.”

“…Yeah. A mage kingdom kind of choice. Not wrong. It nearly made the Captain and the Major fall head over heels for you, though.”

The Saintess grumbled in a subdued voice.

“That wouldn’t be good….”

“Huh?”

“Just talking to myself.”

For a second there, the Saintess’ eyes were a pale green.

Green? What was green again?

[‘Jealousy.’]

[“Jealous, are we.”]

Jealous? The Saintess?

Of what, exactly?

The Saintess cleared her throat. “Anyway, don’t you have something to say to me?”

“Ah, thank you for healing me.”

“Don’t mention it. Still, you must repay this favor someday, understand?”

“How should I repay it?”

“No need to make it difficult. When I call, you come to me.”

Come when called, she sure phrases things vaguely.

Still, I nodded. “Yes, wherever you are, I’ll find you.”

Only then did the Saintess smile warmly. She left to make breakfast. I lay in the sickbed, pondering the events of last night.

I understand that, for starters, Miyu has developed a liking for me. Of course. We saved each other’s lives, after all. Our bond is bound to deepen.

However, I don’t know the extent of the fox sisters’ feelings for me. Is it simply that they trust me as their savior and comrade, or is it more than that?

A marriage registration? That had to be a joke, based on the flow of the conversation.

“Kasten-ssi.”

Unable to hold it in, I spoke to the Saintess as she brought in the breakfast.

“Last night, that fox let me touch her tail, you see.”

The Saintess dropped the dish.

“What did you just say?”

“The fox Captain let me touch her tail. And she came to me in the dead of night to do it.”

The normally composed Saintess practically screeched, shoving her face in close. She apologized quickly, then dove into my arms, sniffing at my clothes.

“What are you doing?”

“Just bear with me for a moment.”

My face burned with embarrassment. But I couldn’t resist. I was bedridden, after all.

“…toasty.”

The Saintess muttered, chewing on the word as she lifted her head.

“Magician, did the Captain happen to say anything else to you yesterday?”

“She called me a pervert.”

“And then?”

“She said if I kept touching it, she’d file a marriage certificate.”

“Did you keep touching it?”

“I touched it once and stopped.”

“Then that’s… playful banter. Anything else?”

“She said touching her tail was a form of courtship, and asked if I was attracted to her. What the hell is going on?”

Haaah, the Saintess breathed a deep sigh. She gripped her forehead and slumped against the edge of the bed. Her eyes flashed green. Deeper than before.

“It’s nothing significant. She’s just showing great gratitude to the person who saved her life.”

“Is that so?”

The Saint clapped her hands.

“Anyway, that’s good news. As our relationship deepens like this, the possibility of leaving the island will also increase.”

The Saint’s words seemed to be true. Several more days passed, but the Medic didn’t rub his tail against me again.

After that day, it was Valkyrie who shared my bed. It had been a long time since I’d slept with her. Of course, even though we slept together, nothing special happened. We were both sick, lying there like scorched rocks.

Still, Valkyrie quickly perked up. While she started walking again, I had to fight a life-or-death struggle with the hole in my stomach.

I don’t know how much I sweated every night. The pierced area throbbed at every opportunity. There were no proper painkillers, so I just grit my teeth and endured it. Every day was hell.

The only good thing was that there were people who came to check on me at times like that.

Valkyrie, the Saint, and the Medic. The three of them took turns taking care of me.

The Saint and the Medic were one thing, but Valkyrie was unexpected. Did she not want her enemy to die in vain? Or had her anger towards me faded as time went on?

I hoped it was the latter, but Valkyrie didn’t seem like that kind of person.

More time passed, and I endured even that. The wound was healing. A period of stability had arrived.

“Can you walk now?”

“Yes, but running is still difficult.”

I got up, taking only a canteen and a few berries to use as food.

“Let’s go.”

I can’t delay any longer.

The destination is the forest where the Wood Man was.

The goal of this exploration was to find clues leading to the exit.

*

After the island’s leader is defeated, one noticeable change occurs.

Just the usual monster chatter.

Ever since we took down that wooden monster, the number of attacks has dropped drastically. As if to prove it, the midday forest was as silent as a graveyard.

“Hoo, it’s so pleasant,”

The Saintess said.

Though, she didn’t seem too happy. Her eyes had been a pale green since earlier.

The Saintess looked at me and the Engineer, and said:

“Um, Sergeant Riyo?”

“Yes?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to give the mage some space, since he’s having a hard time?”

The Engineer was supporting me. Because I was still having trouble moving.

But even for support, it was a bit much.

“You don’t need to use your tail to support him, do you?”

After the Saintess said that, the Engineer entwined his tail around my waist. The Saintess’s eyes narrowed even further.

“Sergeant, you look tired. Should I support him instead from now on?”

“Captain, the mage is my life-saver. He ended up like this because of me, so I should be the one to support him.”

The atmosphere was strange. It’s already cold since we’re in the center of the forest, but it’s even colder now. The Saintess and the Engineer’s voices were somehow icy, unlike usual.

Then, Valkyrie, who was walking ahead, opened her mouth in a listless tone.

“We should just have the mage choose who he wants to support him.”