Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

59 – The Third Escape (1)

Not far from the base.

Rachel and Tyria were gathering rations for the journey to the next island after their departure.

“I hope we can finally leave this island this time.”

“Me too.”

The Saintess nodded.

“It’d be a decent place to live if there weren’t any monsters, but I can’t give up on the benefits of civilization. I want a crusty piece of bread and a warm glass of milk, smoked turkey and lily soup.”

*gulp*, Rachel’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

“The capital must be deep in winter by now, right? Going there to take a hot bath, lying on a bed with a fluffy mattress and a cotton blanket. Putting on some calming classical music, turning on a mood light, and being with my beloved…”

“Colonel?”

“Ah.”

“Do you… perhaps have a man in your heart?”

Tyria’s pupils turned cherry blossom pink.

“If! This is just a hypothetical! Saintesses have to get married too, right? Ahahaha… Oh, come to think of it, it’s almost the end of the year?”

“Yes, the year-end prayer service is right around the corner.”

“We haven’t really had time to enjoy any banquets while fighting this war. Major too, right? Speaking of which, how about we hold one ourselves, just us?”

Rachel tilted her head.

“Do mages even have year-end parties?”

“Oh my, are you being considerate of him?”

“I don’t want cultural differences to cause a fight.”

“Don’t worry. They have year-end parties in Hazkael too. It’s a pretty universal event, anyway, right? As long as we don’t give it too much religious significance, everyone should be comfortable.”

Rachel nodded and turned her gaze towards the base.

Two dots become visible. It’s the mage and Lieutenant Riyho.

“…End-of-year party.”

It was only this summer I became mortal enemies with the mage.

“It’s already that time of year.”

“Right? We’ve lasted a long time here, too. The mage’s help was a big part of our survival. Wouldn’t you say?”

A sigh escaped me reflexively. It was an undeniable fact.

Rachel continued gathering. Her gaze couldn’t break away from the direction of the mage.

But then, one of the two dots began to get closer and closer.

“Colonel, the lieutenant is coming this way.”

“Is the signal tower already finished?”

Signal tower.

“With that, you said we could come back to this island even if unforeseen circumstances arise, right?”

“Yes, I heard it would probably be completed around today.”

Riyho came bounding over like a rabbit, shouting.

“Huff! Huff! Haa! Colonel! Major! Big trouble, big trouble has happened!”

“What is it?”

“When we activated the signal, well…!”

At Riyho’s explanation that followed, Rachel dropped her basket.

“Not a single lie?”

“I’ll bet my tail on it!”

Rachel’s new model sped forward like lightning. She ran like mad, arriving at the mage’s base.

[“BRIMUS AEL KEHQUIL ET LAUM.”]

“The Demonic Tongue, the Whieun.

The Whieun was emanating from the signal tower. The mage, his face rigid and lifeless like hardened wax, pressed his ear against the receiver.

[“……RWI ZUNACHT BEWN ODD ZWREL SUM!”]

[“THU ARMONT KURT JENNIM OPUMUS SRAM RACHAEL.”]

Two voices.

There was no doubt.

“Daisy, Olivia…?”

The voices of two comrades who were burned to death at the mage’s hand that day.

*

“So, you’re saying two of the Major’s comrades were turned to stone and are trapped somewhere on these islands?”

“According to the information we got from the receiver, yes.”

“How in the hell did you figure that out?”

“Think of this signal tower as a radio that operates on mana and sephiron. The signal you get depends on the mana frequency, and we just happened to pick this up while tuning the band.”

“Daisy, Olivia? Really? They’re alive?”

“Not alive, exactly. They’re dead, but they became magic stones. Like my comrades here.”

I showed them David and Battalion Commander Calon.

[“oooh.”]

[“Waa waa waa waa waa waa.”]

The Saintess and Valkyrie startled, stumbling backwards.

“Seriously, what are those stones?”

“Didn’t I tell you before? They’re my comrades who died at the Valkyrie’s hands. This sphere-shaped stone is Johannes Callon, the star-shaped one is named David Kanig.”

“Mage, please. All they make is ‘waa waa’ sounds, how could they be people?”

At that, Liyo’s eyes widened.

“Waa?”

“Mr. Kasten, are you discriminating against demi-humans right now?”

The Saintess massaged her forehead. I chuckled softly and added an explanation.

“Do you remember that wooden monster?”

“I remember. It ate dryads and made magic stones.”

“I believe you two could hear the magic stone’s voice as well. Correct?”

“Yes, we did.”

“However, after defeating the wooden monster, we couldn’t hear the magic stone’s voice anymore. This is actually because that wooden monster was acting as the vocal cords for the magic stones.”

“You mean…”

“There are essentially two ways to make a magic stone produce sounds beyond a droning hum. Either you create vocal organs for them, or you create a device that converts the magic waves they emit into sound signals.”

Miyo is the former, and the voices of the Valkyrie’s comrades we hear now are the latter.

“I’ll prove it.”

I closed the Sephiroth Channel and opened the Mana Channel. After swapping out the origin stone, I channeled adjustment mana to prevent it from linking with the remaining origin stones.

Almost there. All that’s left is to inject the magic stone’s waves into the transmitter…

[“ooo.”]

[“Waaa.”]

“Huh?”

Shit, did I screw up the design?

I chuckled awkwardly, glancing at the Saintess. Her expression wasn’t good. Her eyes were blue. She spoke in a gentle, caring voice.

“Magician, so you had scars like this too. I’m sorry.”

“No, well…”

“You must have suffered a lot.”

“I think these damn things are messing around and causing this.”

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. I’ll help you from now on. I’ll make sure you become happy.”

“Just listen to me a bit.”

The Saintess grabbed my hand, starting to sob.

“So, please don’t be in pain. Okay?”

Something’s definitely gotten misunderstood, badly.

*

[‘Phew, operation successful.’]

[‘Applaud us. Thanks to our efforts, senior has gained the Saintess’s sympathy.’]

In the end, it turned out to be the two Stones’ scheme. At least, only in my head.

[‘Now even if we get captured by the Holy Spirit Nation, we can have the Saintess’s protection.’]

[‘90% confident, at least.’]

That’s right. David and Kalon were putting on an act for my future safety. Though, because of it, the Saint started looking at me with pitiful eyes.

Being the kind of person who hates lies, it wasn’t easy for me to keep explaining. Because those two rocks were stubbornly refusing to speak into the transmitter.

[‘Isn’t it okay if *we* don’t talk?’]

[‘That’s right, Erich. This way, the Saint will feel even more sorry for you, and you won’t have to lie. Isn’t this exactly when they use that saying about killing two birds with one stone?’]

[‘You’re right. It’s definitely a double whammy.’]

I don’t know if this is camaraderie between academy alumni, or if they’re just screwing with me.

“Mage, the Major wants you to give him the signal direction.”

I sighed.

“Riyo.”

“Yeah!”

We smoothed out the dirt floor, using it as paper to develop the equations.

The work continued, converting the signal’s frequency information into location data. We derived vector information from the frequency band and traces, then compared that information to the map.

The Valkyrie was watching us, her lips twitching. She was clearly quite anxious.

“……Done.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s in the same direction as the destination.”

“The same place? Major, they said it’s towards the direction of the destination!”

“Is that really true?”

The Valkyrie’s expression, previously fiddling with her fingers, improved a little. The Saint said,

“That’s a relief, it’s not the opposite direction. Let’s try to find our comrades when we have the chance.”

“Thanks for looking out for me.”

“Looking out for you? What’s there to look out for. That’s why I came here in the first place, isn’t it?”

“Colonel…”

Valkyrie hugged the Saintess. The Saintess patted Valkyrie’s back. I slipped away, careful not to disturb their moment.

Valkyrie’s old comrades, huh.

Didn’t I kill them?

If those people became magic stones, the problem starts after they join. I might have to live getting cursed at every day.

[‘But it was unavoidable then. Have you forgotten who tried to hurt Senior first?’]

[‘David, people tend to forget what they did to hurt others, but they never easily forget the harm they suffered. Meeting those spirits will be hell in itself.’]

Worrying about something that hasn’t even happened is just a waste. I decided to prepare dinner.

Before I knew it, it was night. Around the time everyone was asleep.

It was my first time standing guard in a while, feeding the campfire with firewood, when I heard sobbing coming from somewhere.

“Sniff, sob…”

It was coming from the direction of the communicator.

“Daisy, Olivia.”

It was Valkyrie. She had her ear pressed to the communicator, sniffling.

“Guys, I miss you…”

“……”

“You’re there, right? We can meet again, right? If I don’t even have you guys, how am I supposed to live now? I’m scared. I’m so scared. Even if the war ends, even if I go back to society, I won’t have a single person to be close to. I’m afraid of meeting people. Why do the people who become connected to me just keep dying?”

I couldn’t understand what she was saying. Not that it mattered much.

At some point, the Valkyrie’s wailing stopped.

She chuckled, a shaky, unsettling laugh, and continued, “I don’t know anything anymore. I’m living with the enemy who killed you all. I felt like I couldn’t survive this island without him, that’s why.”

I hesitated a long while, then made my decision.

I cautiously approached her from behind. The Valkyrie kept muttering like a madwoman. She didn’t seem to hear my footsteps at all. She trembled, her shoulders shaking slightly, as she caressed the signal beacon.

“But, you know? Even though I hate him, the more we fight together, the less I want to hate him. Just a few days ago, if it wasn’t for him, we would have all died. He saved me so many times. Isn’t that weird? He’s my enemy, but he’s also saved my life. I’ve gone crazy, haven’t I? Ugh…?”

I took off my outer coat and draped it over the Valkyrie’s head. She jumped, startled, then let out a dazed sound. She turned around, hurried.

“M-Magician?”

Her sun-bright eyes, wet with tears, were shining pitifully in the darkness.

“You, why are you here?”

“Aren’t you cold?”

I set down the lightstone and poured magic into it. The surroundings became a little brighter. The next moment, the Valkyrie threw my coat back at me like it was trash.

“It’s okay.”

Once.

“I don’t need it.”

Twice.

“I said, I don’t… need it.”

Three times.

By the fourth time, the force had dissipated. There was no strength in her words. I knew it would end up like this. I brushed off the thrown coat and properly draped it over her shoulders.

“Wear it. You’ll catch a cold.”

The Valkyrie didn’t resist anymore. Clad in the Magic Kingdom’s military uniform, she buried her face between her legs. Her faint, wheezing breaths were the only sound.

It was a particularly chilly night for the tropics.

Yeah, I guess there are days like this.