Chapter 22

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The cave was a temporary base camp.

This is not a comfortable environment to stay in for a long time, so we had to find a better place to live. So, I frequently scouted around the cave.

Enoch and I scouted from time to time, looking for ways to call for rescue and information on escape. And I searched for the hut and the bunker without Enoch knowing.

Kayden said he would leave when his wound healed, but he did not leave the cave even though it had healed.

At first, Enoch kicked him out of the cave. However, he showed tenacity to stay up two nights in front of the cave.

In the end, even Enoch couldn’t help but let him in. It was because he didn’t know what kind of disaster he would face while standing in front of the cave on a night when monsters roamed around.

Otherwise, Enoch and I could be in danger.

Kayden was really a madman. Though he has not yet shown any particular problematic behavior, Enoch has been sticking close to me because he doesn’t know when he will do something crazy.

“You are more diligent than I thought. What kind of noblewoman wakes up early in the morning?”

Kayden, who had been observing me working hard since early morning, said so.

As I set the coconut bowls filled with purified water, I glanced at him.

As he said, I was really diligent.

When I woke up in the morning, I went to the valley to purify the water and collect the fruits. I even often went out hunting.

Normally, Enoch and I took turns going to the beach to hunt fish, but Enoch was always in charge of making a fire because I was not very good at making fires.

Thanks to this, I had to get as much food as I could because I consumed too many calories.

“If I want to move base camp, I have to be diligently prepared.”

I answered as I poured purified water into the bamboo barrel that Enoch had cut. This bamboo barrel was a substitute for a tumbler.

Then, at both ends of the bamboo barrel, there is a rope woven from long and hard bush stalks to make it like a crossbody bag.

“Are you going to move? Why?”

“There is no place to get food here, and the environment isn’t good either.”

Saying so, holding a bamboo barrel, I adjusted my flat shoes.

“Where are you going?”

“To reconnaissance around.”

To be precise, it is mountain climbing, the last climb. If I don’t find the hut or the bunker again this time, I’m really going to leave this area.

I hope I’m lucky enough to find clues to the secrets of the island.

At the same time, Enoch also went out hunting in the morning, so it was perfect for climbing alone.

“Then, goodbye.”

“Huh? Wa, wait uhh……!”

Kayden tried to follow me out, groaning for a long time as if he was in pain from the wound and slumped down in his seat.

After waving my hand to him, I left the cave with a light heart.

Now that I have adapted to this island to some extent, I also tended to let Enoch roam around me until the sun went down. Lately, Enoch seems to be overprotective of me, so when I’m walking alone like this, I feel strange somehow.

It has already been three weeks since I was stuck on this island, but it should be said that the information I have obtained so far is almost non-existent.

I stood in the middle of the mountain, took a deep breath, and looked down. Even though I had only climbed this far, I could look through some places on the island. I have to go up a little higher so that I can see farther.

The cave where I was staying was not far from the beach when viewed from above.

After all, it’s a cave close to the beach, so I was able to go hunting for fish quickly.

Besides, if it had been a cave deep in the mountains, it would have been dangerous. Because it is an island where monsters and wild animals play a game.

I opened the lid of the bamboo barrel I was holding and drank the water I had kept.

It was very difficult because I had been working a lot with Margaret’s body recently. Starting tomorrow, I should do some physical training.

Later, when I returned to the Floné mansion, perhaps Margaret’s mother would faint, holding the back of her neck in shock to see her daughter have muscles.

After climbing the mountain for another hour or so, I finally reached the top of the mountain.

I lay on the ground for a while, wiping the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. I was out of breath and seemed to be having trouble breathing. I drank some more water from the bamboo barrel I brought.

I was also worried that I might die like this, but the sense of accomplishment was great.

“I don’t know why I keep chasing after a sense of accomplishment on this remote island.”

The sun was starting to set. While descending the mountain, I was worried that it would be night soon, so I quickly looked around.

The island I saw again was quite large. I wondered if this could be considered the size of Seoul[1].

[1] Seoul has an area of 605.2 km²

“Damn it, how could I find the hut and the bunker on this vast island? ”

No matter how much I looked around, I could not find any place that looked like a hut.

Still, I have a feeling that there is a hut around here. The description in the novel said that the hut was in the mountain close to a cliff, but there were quite a few cliffs that looked similar to what was described in the novel.

I skimmed the road to the next mountain. Then, I saved the location of the river and the cliffs in my memory and prepared to descend.

After stretching, I was about to walk, but a red stick caught on to my feet.

“What is this?”

Upon closer inspection, it was not a stick, but something that looked like a handgun. It was full of dirt, but at first glance, it looked amazing because of its red color, so I picked it up.

“It looks like a handgun no matter how I look at it.”

Then I found the writing on the side. I roughly wiped the dirt off with my hands and read the text.

Alea

“Alea? What does this mean?”

Is it the name of the company that made this mysterious handgun?

However, when I looked at it again, I thought it might be someone’s name because it was imprinted as if it were carved with a knife.

It looked just like a revolver-type handgun, but the design was simpler and smaller than that.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen a red handgun……’

“But why the hell is this here?”

I know this island has some modern stuff. But were the items in the original novel just lying in random places like this?

I checked the magazine of the red handgun. All six magazines contained bullet-like objects.

And when I took a closer look, there were parts of the handgun that were a bit unnatural. It doesn’t appear to be a remodeling handgun, but rather a disassembled and remade handgun.

“Did Alea modify it?”

I looked at the handgun with a puzzled look on my face and discovered that there was something else under my feet. It was a pocket full of bullets. It was probably the bullets used in this red handgun.

“Oh my God, totally Eureka!”

I tucked the bullet pocket into my dress pocket.

“But, is this working?”

It looks very old, so I’m a bit doubtful. A handgun that doesn’t work is just cool garbage.

‘But it could be a real handgun…… When it comes to handguns, it’s a bit difficult because I don’t have much shooting experience.’

I’ve only been to the shooting range once.

Still, just in case, to prevent noise, I tore the hem of my dress small. Then, after wetting it a little bit with the remaining water in the bamboo barrel, I shoved it into both ears.

Then I took a stance, checked the magazine, loaded it, and pulled the hammer down.

“I hope it’s working.”

And out of fear, I pulled the trigger toward a distant place just in case.

However, no matter how much the trigger was pulled, the handgun did not fire. Is it because it’s old?

“As expected, it’s too old.”

I pulled the trigger haphazardly and without a second thought, I pointed the handgun at the sky.

But at that moment, red smoke shot into the sky.

……?

Is this a flare gun?

I looked up blankly at the sky. Red smoke quickly exploded like a flame and decorated the sky.

……??????

Wait, it’s not for flares but for fireworks? What the hell is this?

Cold sweat ran down my back.

The sun was just starting to set, what if the fireworks caught the attention of the monsters?

“FXXk!”

When I realized the situation, I started running like crazy.