Chapter 89

He shrugged after a moment’s silence pondering my question.

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t like experiments and I’m not close to my family. The flower was a development item that was treated with caution even within the family, so I did not have access to it, but I can’t say it’s not related at all.”

“Huh? How did you find out about Tentathionem when you didn’t have access to it?”

“Inaccessible is meaningless to me. Do you think the Empire’s greatest wizard couldn’t figure something like that out? They told me not to approach, so I wanted to know more,” Kayden chuckled.

“If the Rohde family is related to this island, it is somewhat understandable. Aren’t they a family that is quite crazy about magic experiments?” asked Arthdal.

Kayden burst out laughing. “They are no ordinary crazy bastards. Crazy brains are passed down from generation to generation in the Rohde family. But what does this island have to do with their experiments?”

I couldn’t answer Kayden’s last question and instead replied to Arthdal, “However, no matter how crazy they are with experiments, the kidnapping targets are all too risky. I think that if the Rohde’s are involved they did not lead directly, but they were just intertwined.”

The Rohde family is just a marquis family, and this kidnapping is an event on a larger scale than even the imperial family could handle.

Everyone nodded with faces that they understood my reasoning to some extent.

“Then let’s guess who might have something to do with the Rohde family. Lord, do you have any guesses? Someone who is related to your family and who could have kidnapped us.”

At Enoch’s question, Kayden shook his head.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m not close to my family.”

Eventually, the discussion returned to the starting point.

While everyone was immersed in their thoughts and silence, Yuanna opened her mouth. “I think the doubts regarding Tentathionem have been resolved to some extent, so we should share the results of the excursion mission, right?”

Yuanna took out a piece of cloth from her pocket and laid it on the floor. I noticed that it was a somewhat familiar map.

“I couldn’t find anything related to the key, but I found this on the beach instead.”

“This is…… a map of the island,” Enoch murmured.

I sat down next to Enoch and quietly glanced at the map.

This is a cloth-made map of the same material as the bunker map I picked up. However, upon closer inspection, it was slightly different from the bunker map.

Mine has a bunker mark on the east side of the mountain on the North Island.

However, there is no bunker mark on the map brought by Yuanna, and instead, there is a star mark on the west side of the mountain on the North Island.

It is neat and clean at the edge of the map without any signs of aging.

Also, in two places on the South Island and three on the North Island, the word ‘Supply’ is written in the Langridge Empire language.

The term ‘Supply’ here would be a supply item. It was definitely mentioned in the original. The modern items that Yuanna discovered but no one knew how to use them.

‘Okay. I think it’s a map showing where supplies are hidden, but what is this star…..?’

It’s like a separate map that has nothing to do with the bunker map I have.

As I stared at the map, I suddenly realized that the location of the supplies written on the South Island is not far from here. It’s even a place we had already passed by.

“Saintess, have you ever picked up a supply box?”

Apparently, Enoch and I found an empty supply box at the place where we first met the anaconda-type monster.

“Well, we never picked up anything like that,” said Yuanna.

Arthdal ​​sat with his arms crossed and shrugged his shoulders, confirming Yuanna’s answer.

‘Then, who took the items in the supply box?’

I thought that Yuanna’s group would have taken it…… I got goosebumps from head to toe and shut my mouth for a moment.

Perhaps he noticed I had a lot on my mind, Enoch sitting next to me put his hand on my head.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded slowly at his question. And while looking at the map, I pointed my finger at the river where we encountered an anaconda-type monster.

“Enoch and I found a supply box here, but someone had already taken the contents and the box was empty.”

“That means……”

Arthdal touched his chin and did not continue his words.

Enoch nodded and said indifferently, “That means there may be other people on this island besides us. Well, wasn’t that what I had predicted from the moment we discovered this cabin?”

He didn’t seem bothered at all. As always, he is not easily upset. Perhaps thanks to his calmness, I was able to calm my heartbeat in no time.

This time, I pointed to the star mark on the map and asked, “What is this?”

Yuanna shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to go and find out.”

“It must be a place with an escape door, or it’s a trap. Didn’t you say the name of this island is Dice Game? They are obviously playing with us,” Arthdal muttered, propping his chin.

Enoch also looked at the map with a serious face and asked Yuanna, “Is there anything else special?”

At Enoch’s question, Yuanna pointed her finger near the river on the map. “We found a bridge across to the North Island. Right here.”

The map that Yuanna picked up also has a picture of a bridge, just like mine.

“But what do you mean by Dice Game?” asked Diego.

It was only then that I remembered that I had not yet explained the meaning of Alea to the excursion members.

Then I told them about the conversation I had with the cabin members a few days ago.

“The word ‘Alea’ means ‘Dice Game’ in the language of ethnic minorities in the Eastern Continent. So my guess is that this is the name of this island, not a person.”

Arthdal, who was sitting cross-legged, leaned one of his elbows against his leg and propped his chin, explained further, “Then what is the meaning of the Dice Game? That is, our destiny is determined regardless of our will. I mean, we are most likely kidnapped by someone. That is also for experimentation.”

“Did you just say experimentation? What kind of dixkhead would dare to experiment with us?!”

Kayden, who had been quiet until now, cursed angrily. Hearing that, Arthdal clapped his hands happily.

“As expected, Lord Kayden is cool. I mean, it was a cool thing to say.”

“Arthdal, do you have any guesses?” Enoch, who was lost in thought, asked.

Arthdal calmly shrugged and shook his head nonchalantly. “There are too many suspicious people to simply guess. What about you?”

“I don’t know either. There are many who would want to, but I can’t think of someone powerful enough to kidnap not just one person, but many key figures in the empire and kingdom at once.”

Even Enoch and Arthdal have no idea.

In fact, I who read the original work do not know who is behind all this.

In the first place, “Things More Important Than Survival” has no use. It’s just a story of loving each other, hurting each other, and eventually killing each other. After all, I didn’t even read the novel to the end.

“But isn’t that strange? The empty supply box and the magic tools…… why did they only appear before Young Lady Floné?” Arthdal ​​expressed his doubts again.

“Young Lady, tell me. Is there anything else you’re hiding?”

‘Should I tell them about the bunker map?’

However, they won’t believe it even if I lied that I picked up the bunker map today. In the end, I decided to put the bunker map story on hold.

‘I should keep the bunker as my insurance.’

When I was thinking so, Arthdal called me again, urging me to answer. “Young Lady. Hm? Say something.”

“……I have nothing to hide. It was all just a coincidence. That kind of thing always caught my attention, so what should I do?”

“Isn’t that weirder? Why do you think such a coincidence only happened to you?”

“How can I know?”

“You should know if you don’t want to be suspected.”

When Arthdal, who said so, tried to reach for me,

-slash-

-swish of a blade-

On the empty floor in the center of the hut, the dagger that Kayden threw stuck in, and the long sword drawn by Enoch was aimed at Arthdal.

I thought Diego would immediately block Enoch’s sword, but surprisingly, he sat quietly and watched the situation.

“Don’t you think you should stop? Margaret’s scared.”

“If you come close to Margaret, I will kill you.”

Arthdal ​​raised both hands and made a gesture of surrender. He smiled with no embarrassment at all.

“I didn’t mean to interrogate her. I was just asking a question I wanted to ask.”

“You were too pushy for just asking a question.” Yuanna, who was calmly watching the situation, said so with a tired face.

Archbishop Ruzef added, “Young Lady Floné has helped you a lot in the meantime, but you have unexpectedly no conscience, Your Highness.”

“Everyone’s trust in Young Lady Floné is incredible. I don’t want to doubt her either. The more I see her, the more I like her.”

Arthdal really is like a seasoned fox, no he’s like a serpent[1]. I don’t know what he’s thinking.

[1] A sly or treacherous person, especially one who exploits a position of trust in order to betray it.

He clapped his hands to evoke the atmosphere as if nothing had happened a moment ago.

“Well, let’s get past that. I was going to tell you all when the excursion group returned. We have to leave this cabin.”