Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

106 – How to Save Your Enemy (6)

A human life is more tenacious than you think, but on the other hand, it can disappear so meaninglessly.

So, I believed the Major wouldn’t die easily, and also worried that he might just die simply, as I went down the mountainside.

Olivia, who knows a little about biology, said it was a femoral artery injury.

She said he could have died within minutes if he hadn’t been treated properly, but thankfully, it seemed he had gotten past that crisis.

It’s too early to relax.

Now I had to worry about gradual death from blood loss or sepsis. Even though I gave him first aid, the hygiene here was poor, so there was always a risk of infection.

“Huff, huff…”

I kept running while holding the Major, who was half-fainting.

Every time I saw the Major’s face darkening every second, my heart would drop, forcing me to pick up the pace.

Then, to make matters worse, I ended up spraining my ankle.

I couldn’t stop.

If one foot was crippled, I had to get down there hopping on one leg.

The damn cold fog and humid rainclouds were what stopped me from dragging myself down the mountain with the strength I used to drink formula.

The goddamn rainy season had begun.

[‘This really ain’t gonna work.’]

[‘There’s a cave over there. We should regroup there and move when the rain stops.’]

My heart was down the mountain, but the situation really wasn’t letting me.

I entered the cave. After confirming there weren’t any monsters or other predators, I slowly laid down the Little Lord I was holding.

[“Illuminate.”]

As soon as I turned on the makeshift glowing stone, dizziness bloomed.

This damn mana exhaustion again. I used magic when my magic power was at its limit, so nausea came crashing in like the tide.

I spat dry saliva onto the ground and started stripping off the Little Lord’s clothes, soaked through with rain.

“……Forgive me.”

I undressed the Little Lord, then I undressed myself.

Even though I knew I was doing this in a critical situation, my body reacted according to instinct. It was because I’d been leading a celibate life for months. I bit my lip, suppressing the desire.

“……Warm.”

“Are you cold?”

The Little Lord nodded slightly.

“Hug……”

I repeatedly apologized for my impudence and embraced the Little Lord naked.

The Little Lord’s body had lost a considerable amount of heat due to the rain, and so had mine. But it was worse for the Little Lord. Because he’d also lost blood.

For a while, we silently shared each other’s body heat.

Whether it was luck or a harbinger of misfortune, the Major’s body was gradually warming.

“My coat, get me my coat.”

“It’s soaked through right now.”

“I know. Get something to eat out of there.”

Without asking anything further, I got him some chewing gum. In the past few days of observation, I’d noticed the Major had a habit of chewing gum when he was anxious or stifled.

Sure enough. The Major sucked the gum into his mouth when I held it close.

“Fortune.”

“I don’t have enough magic to put into the circuit right now.”

“Then… look at it later.”

The Major sighed.

“What the hell are the two of us doing, saving an enemy woman?”

“You can say that again.”

“Still, compared to the sins I’ve committed so far, this is nothing, a light punishment.”

“You haven’t committed any sins, Major.”

“No, I’ve taken too many lives. I’d die if I didn’t listen to the Führer’s orders, I was afraid of that…”

“That’s only natural. Who in the world is stupid enough to value someone else’s life more than their own? Even if you made selfish choices, Major, no one would blame you.”

“That’s just your opinion.”

The truth is, I knew too. I’d occasionally heard from Admiral Dietz that the Seven Spears were involved in all sorts of war crimes as close aides to the Führer.

Whether it was intentional or not, what mattered legally was that the Major did those things. Like it or not, if the Magic Nation lost the war, he’d be sentenced to prison in a trial.

“Human life, even living one more day is… precious…”

“……one day less to live is enough.”

The Chief smiled wearily.

“The reason I came with you this time isn’t anything special. It’s because of what I did as part of Palyounghoe all this time, I wanted to at least atone a little.”

“So, it wasn’t something you did of your own volition, Chief.”

“You’re the only one who’d defend me like that if a war crimes trial was held. Right?”

“I’ll be going to jail with you anyway.”

“Maybe…….”

After that, we were silent for a long time. The sound of the Chief chewing gum was the only thing circling my ears.

The Chief was physically exhausted, but still had a lot of mana left. While lying down, she channeled Mirquil and passed a little mana to me. It seemed hard for her to focus, the purity wasn’t consistent.

I tried to refuse, said I was okay, but she kept giving it to me. My condition improved a little thanks to it, but the problem was the chill.

The mountain temperature was already low, and on top of that, with the rain, the cold came pushing up my spine.

There was no sign of our clothes drying, so at this rate I could catch a cold and die.

If we could at least eat something, it would be a lot better, but with the torrential downpour right now, there was no way to even get food.

It was then that the Chief opened her mouth in a languid tone.

“Sunbae.”

“Don’t say anything more.”

“I’m sleepy.”

“You can’t sleep now. You’ll die.”

“It’s okay. Until I get you to safety, I promised I absolutely wouldn’t die.”

A tearful voice.

“Still, dying and living aren’t up to me, so I’d like to get some… insurance.”

“…Insurance?”

The Warden, no.

Adora looks up at me.

“Can’t you… make some good memories for me?”

It took me a second to understand what she meant.

I changed my tone, spoke firmly.

“No.”

“Sunbae, I think I’ve been crushing on you ever since you saved me. Or are you just not into girls like me?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then why?”

“Because I don’t want to hurt a precious hoobae because of some fleeting impulse.”

“……”

“What? So what. If the daughter of Giffold dies here, it’s all my responsibility.”

The light that was fading from Adora’s eyes flickered back. She stared at me, looking surprised. Almost too intensely.

“You were thinking about me that much?”

“Because you’re a hoobae.”

“Sunbae must think school ties are the most important thing. Seeing as how you told a total stranger from school that.”

“I don’t have family or a hometown, you know.”

“……Ah. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Anyway, just, you know, don’t die here.”

Adora nodded. She leaned her head on me and mumbled,

“Don’t you need family?”

“I do.”

“Ever think about marriage?”

“I have… No, stop talking and rest. Why do you keep talking? Wasn’t your lip numb from the cold?”

“I got warm being with you, sunbae. A little dizzy, though.”

“Then rest.”

“Okay.”

I thought silence would settle in after that.

But a few minutes later, Adora spoke again.

“Ever think about changing your last name?”

“I told you to rest, not talk.”

“Haaah.”

Adora sighed.

“Sunbae, you’re a little clueless. Or are you doing this on purpose?”

“If I was doing it on purpose?”

“Too much push and pull is exhausting.”

Despite my protests, Adora lifted her head and blew a bubble with her gum.

This refreshing strawberry scent.

Hair gleaming, damp.

Eyes holding a soft light, like black obsidian, and skin as smooth and white as jade, a beauty born of contrast.

I couldn’t help it, my heart hammered in my chest.

And it seemed Adora felt it too. I could feel her pulse through our touching skin.

“Sunbae.”

“W-what is it?”

“Wouldn’t you say I owe you something for healing me?”

Adora’s face drew closer. Our breaths mingled, the distance shrinking, but instead of backing away, I leaned in.

I don’t know why I’m doing this.

Just, a primal pull.

Maybe, it’s the exhaustion, shutting down my normal reasoning.

If Adora hadn’t become a teammate here, we could have been wiped out. Maybe that’s why her presence feels so huge.

Lost in those thoughts, Adora’s tongue slipped past my lips.

And like laying an egg, she rolled the gum, a ball of it, into my mouth.

Our tongues tangled, exchanging the gum. Our saliva mixed. The artificial sweetener’s taste came naturally.

Sucralose wasn’t the only source of sweetness.

For a while, the only sound in the cave was the wet smack of chewing.

*

[Today’s Fortune!]

[Relationships that have been vague will become much clearer today.]

*

They call it the misattribution of arousal, right?

That psychological phenomenon where you feel attraction, even love, for someone you’ve faced a crisis with.

I think the Chief felt that way about me.

Truth be told, so did I.

These last few days, climbing to hell and back with Chief Adora, I’d started to feel something subtly strange.

How many times did we flirt with death in that short span?

You never get experiences like this in everyday life.

The fact that the Chief and I, who were decently friendly on the way up, had become somewhat awkward with each other on the way down was all because of that.

“Um… Chief.”

“Just walk quietly.”

“No, are you alright?”

“…Still dizzy, though.”

The Chief couldn’t put any weight on one leg, so I had to carry her princess-style all the way down.

Thankfully, the weather was good today.

There were times I was so thirsty I could barely move, and times I had to fight monsters alone, but I endured it all and made it down.

I was practically starving by the time the forced march was over. I tried to get down as quickly as possible, worried about the Chief, so I hadn’t even had a decent meal.

My clothes are still damp because they never fully dried. I just wanted to rip them off as soon as possible, eat, and then collapse.

It was night when we arrived at the base.

“…Haa, finally.”

“Let me down now. I think I can walk with support from here.”

I looked around, noticing quite a few cobwebs had sprung up in just those few days.

If these webs marked enemy territory, we’d have to consider the worst-case scenario, but thankfully, I didn’t sense any sinister killing intent nearby.

Only a single spider had come out to greet us.

It was small enough to almost be cute, but the moment it spotted us, it repeated a meaningful word.

[“Bimbi.”]

Seems that’s its name.

[“Bimbi, Bimbi-bim.”]

Is it telling us to come this way?

Matching the spider’s pace, I trudged along until a tent woven from silk came into view. From within that tent, a familiar voice reached us.

It was a sob.

“Erich, please, come quickly. I miss you…”

It was the Saintess.

Being able to understand that Holy Kingdom language now is both comforting and heartbreaking.

Thinking about it, I have no idea how long we’ve been in the mountains. Considering that time can pass differently in a Magical Domain, Tiria and Liyo might have been waiting even longer for us.

I gave a bitter smile and moved my feet.

That was when the fox beastkin emerged from inside the tent.

Fur that looked dry and matted.

Hollow eyes, clearly lacking sleep.

Liyo, who always had a cheerful expression even in difficult situations, had completely transformed into a wreck in just the few days I hadn’t seen her.

But the moment our eyes met.

“…Huh?”

A flicker of fire ignited in her eyes, which had been losing their light.

The fox sisters rubbed their eyes hard. And blinked several times. It was as if they were trying to distinguish whether what was in front of them was real or an illusion.

[“Uh, uh?”]

“Uh, uh, uh?”

Riyo and Miyo reached out. They say beastkins have a custom of feeling over someone they’re close to after a long time. It’s to check if they have any injuries, or so I hear.

So, I let the fox sisters touch me.

The two foxes took turns claiming my body, touching my face, arms and legs, stomach and chest, almost every part of me, meticulously.

If it had been before, I would have hated being touched like that, but now this touch felt good.

[“Really, really Erich?”]

[“Then, would it be a ghost?”]

[“I can’t believe it.”]

Miyo leaned in close.

And then, the next moment.

*Chu*, that sound, and my thoughts were bleached white.

[“What was that all of a sudden….”]

[“All of a sudden?”]

Miyo smiled, a warm yet chilling smile.

[“It’s definitely our baby. I’m glad you came back safe. But… what’s with the smell of another woman on your lips?”]

Goosebumps prickled.

The chill could be felt right beside me.

[“…this fox b*tch?”]