Chapter 48

***

I was the first to stand guard.

Kayden and Enoch were sleeping on their sides, and Archbishop Ruzef was lying next to Enoch. Diego curled up a little farther away and fell asleep as well.

I sat near the fireplace and stared blankly at the blazing fire, then brought in a few more pieces of wood that Diego had cut to keep the fire burning.

Even though there’s a bed, there’s no fireplace on the second floor, so it must be cold……

I was so sleepy that I got up from my seat and quietly left the hut. It was to keep me awake, but it didn’t seem to help much.

At this point, I have to draw a map using a compass. In the crossbody bag taken out of the backpack, there was a palm-sized notebook and a ballpoint pen. It was a very useful item.

When I open the door of the hut, there is a wooden deck at the entrance. I sat down on the stairs in front of it and took out a bunker map, a notebook, a compass, and a ballpoint pen.

Bunker

I stared intently at the words ‘Bunker’ written on the north island.

As with ‘Alea’, it was also written in the alphabet. Maybe Alea is a Westerner, and this island is an experimental island that only appears in movies or TV shows.

But then it makes no sense for people from other worlds to be on this island.

If I build this hypothesis, that one doesn’t make sense, and if I build that one, this one doesn’t make sense.

‘I’m going crazy.’

I looked at the bunker map, drew it in my notebook, and then marked east, west, north, and south with the help of a compass. Then I drew the location of the hut along with the location of the bunker.

There were two mountains on the south island.

After passing through the mountains where I had been together with Enoch and Kayden, we found a hut just before crossing the next mountain, so it seems that this place where we are now is located in the middle of the island.

I looked again at the bunker map drawn on the fabric and noticed something peculiar.

Now I see that the path to the north island and the east end of the south island are connected by a bridge.

Then I climbed up the hut for a while. Of course, no bridge could be seen. I stared intently at the bridge connecting the north and south islands on the map.

“Who made this bridge……?”

I put the ballpoint pen to my chin and pondered.

“Anyway, that’s fine, it’s better.”

I also drew the bridge, then closed the notebook.

“What are you doing?”

“Wtf, you scared me!”

I was startled and got up hastily. Thanks to that, the things I put on my lap fell all over.

The surprised Ruzef looked at me blankly.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but what kind of noble lady swears so easily……”

His gaze slowly turned to the things that had fallen down the stairs. I hurriedly put them in the crossbody bag.

‘You didn’t see the map, did you?’

I have no talent for acting. I’m not good at lying either. At this rate, even if I am suspected of being the culprit who kidnapped everyone, I have nothing to say.

“Are you okay?”

I don’t know if he saw it or not. Ruzef looked at my complexion worriedly.

“Yes yes…… I’m okay.”

I nodded hastily.

“But what’s going on? Why are you here?”

At my question, Ruzef scratched the back of his head with a bewildered face.

“That…… I can’t sleep well when my bed changes.”

Oh my God. But you must have been changing beds over and over, did you ever have a good night’s sleep on this island?

Maybe that’s why Ruzef looks so much more haggard. Of course, he was still as beautiful as a lily.

Ruzef pointed to the stairs where I had been sitting before.

“Can I sit down for a moment?”

I shrugged and answered, “Sure.”

***

It was midnight when Ruzef woke up.

When he got up and looked around, Margaret was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed tiredly as he looked at Kayden and Enoch lying next to him.

Kayden seemed to have fallen asleep. Enoch might have closed his eyes, but he was not asleep. Every single one of his senses was still conscious so he could wake up at any moment.

‘Where did Young Lady Floné go?’

Ruzef stood up after taking a sip of the purified water.

After looking around the first floor of the hut, he looked at the stairs leading up to the second floor and decided to go outside the hut.

As soon as he opened the door, he found Margaret sitting at the entrance.

The moonlight shone on Margaret’s platinum blonde hair, making it look sparkling pure white.

Ruzef moved closer to her as if possessed. He wondered what she was paying so much attention to.

She didn’t even know he was coming.

Then Ruzef found a map in her hand before she threw it away.

He didn’t know what was written on it but it seemed like it was a map of this island.

“What are you doing?”

“Wtf, you scared me!”

She stood up in surprise as she folded what seemed to be a notebook.

Not only Margaret but Ruzef was surprised as well. In addition, he was surprised once again by her swear words.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but what kind of noble lady swears so easily……”

Ruzef slowly lowered his head. Things that had fallen down the stairs came into view.

A compass, a notebook, an unknown stick, and a piece of cloth. Margaret hurriedly picked up the things and put them in a small bag.

I don’t know what you’re trying to hide. The map I saw a while ago? Why are you trying to hide it?

Ruzef glanced at the things she held in her arms.

Certainly, Margaret had as many suspicious things as Yuanna. It was understandable that people doubted her once in a while. Because he was also like that in the beginning.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes yes…… I’m okay.”

After telling her that he had come out because he couldn’t sleep, he pointed to the stairs.

“Can I sit down for a moment?”

Margaret shrugged her shoulders and answered, “Sure.”

Ruzef took a seat first, and then Margaret sat next to him. They looked at the forest silently for a long time without saying a word.

After a long silence, Ruzef quietly said, “……I don’t know if we will ever be able to get off this island.”

Because the surroundings were quiet, his muttering could be heard clearly.

Margaret lifted her head slowly. Her blue eyes shone brightly in the moonlight.

“We’ll definitely get off this island. So let’s do our best.”

Ruzef couldn’t help but wonder at her firm answer. How can you be so sure?

He knows she’s trying to comfort him, but at times he thought that Margaret’s mental strength was great.

“I feel relieved when I am with you, Young Lady.”

At his humble confession-like words, she looked up at him with a surprised face.

“……relieved? With me? Enoch and Kayden are much more reliable than me.”

“Do you really think so?”

At Ruzef’s question, Margaret rested her chin on her hand and pondered, then said, “Well, they’re both like ticking time bombs, so it’s kind of scary.”

“And you are the one who can handle those time bombs, Young Lady.”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

Margaret burst out laughing as if it was funny.

Looking at her bright smile, Ruzef had a thought that if this were in the Langridge Empire, he wouldn’t know that she had this face.

In a strange atmosphere, he quietly confessed what he had been unable to reveal to anyone.

“Actually, I became a priest because I hate people.”

“Ah…… really? But, don’t priests meet more people?”

Margaret looked a little surprised.

“To be precise, I don’t want deep relationships. There’s no need to maintain annoying human relationships after becoming a priest. But priests are in doctrine to love humans.”

Somehow he felt refreshed after bringing up his feelings that he had never told anyone.

“Actually, I feel a little comfortable on this island, because I don’t have to pretend like that.”