Chapter 112

“Probably he is now with Sir Diego. Since the Crown Prince and Saintess remain on the South Island, it’s most likely that they will try to meet us,” said Enoch.

Kayden nodded. “Or they might try to go to the place marked with a star on the map. I think the cabin we’re looking for is there.”

It’s accurate that Jenas’ cabin is where the star marked on the map is.

“What if we bumped into each other?”

“What do you mean? We’re going our way, and so are they. They weren’t our group from the start after all,” said Kayden very calmly.

“If you think about it that way, you weren’t in our group either, Lord.” Enoch, who was leading the way, spoke in a low voice.

Then, Kayden choked up and said that he was also in our group, and another war of nerves between the two began.

I have now decided to dismiss their war of nerves as loud background music.

‘It’s more troublesome to stop them.’

After walking for so long, I’m hungry because I’ve used a lot of physical strength.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything properly since in the Jenas’ cabin. There was no valley nearby wherever we went, and we only filled our stomachs with fruits as we were in a hurry.

“Kayden, aren’t you hungry?”

“Hm? Oh, that’s right. I’m hungry. It’s kind of hard.”

Kayden must also have not eaten anything in the fog all day.

Then Enoch stopped walking. “There seems to be something there.”

I looked in the direction Enoch pointed. At the bottom of the low hills, I could see huge piles of leaves the height of a man. As if it was covering up something important.

Enoch blocked me from moving and shook his head with a firm face. “Margaret, stay here. Lord?”

“Yes, of course. I will protect Margaret.”

Kayden hugged me from behind and put his chin on my shoulder.

Seeing that, Enoch made a disapproving face, but he drew his sword and turned his back as if he had no other choice but to do so.

Both have been overprotective since I fell into the river and went missing. However, there was nothing uncomfortable so far, so I quietly stood with Kayden, just as Enoch said.

Enoch approached slowly and removed the leaves. And there was a small cave in the exposed place.

“Huh?”

“What? Who do you think has been here?”

When I shouted in surprise, Kayden raised his head and murmured.

Who’s been here? I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that there are traces of someone living here. Because I couldn’t tell if they escaped or were dead.

‘Or maybe Jenas moved out from here after spending a thousand years.’

Enoch removed the leaves completely and bent down slightly to look inside. The small cave dug into the hillside is not very deep. It’s large enough for four adults to lie down.

After looking around, Enoch came out and said, “Because of hunger, the depletion of physical strength is serious, so it’s better to rest here today.”

“I guess it will be fine to put a barrier around it and sleep inside.”

At my words, the two nodded at the same time. So today I decided to unpack my luggage here.

“Margaret, it’s messy. Wait a minute.”

I was about to enter the cave, but Enoch stopped me. Isn’t it difficult to clear the cave with Kayden alone?

I looked at the scene somewhat curiously. Margaret is of course a noble, but Enoch is the crown prince of the empire, and Kayden is the master of the tower.

‘They’re good at cleaning.’

I’m not kidding, really, the two are very good at cleaning. I wonder if it’s because they basically like neat and clean.

After sweeping away the dust and dirt in the cave and making space to lie down, they made a comfortable bed by spreading leaves and moss.

“Margaret, sit here.”

Kayden carefully brought me inside. Anyone who saw this would think that I was injured.

“I’ll go hunting. Lord, you better wait with Margaret here.”

Enoch stood at the mouth of the cave with his sword. Kayden took my hand and nodded his head while drawing a magic circle in the air.

I looked at Enoch worriedly. “Be careful. Monsters appear even during the day.”

At my words, Enoch smiled lightly and nodded. “You don’t have to worry.”

“Right, you don’t have to worry about those damn monsters.”

Kayden completed the magic circle in an instant and injected mana into it as he spoke to me. Enoch glanced a moment at Kayden and went out to hunt.

We lowered the large leaves covering the front of the cave, went inside, and sat down. Eunji in my shoulder slithered down and curled up on the floor.

“Who lived here?”

Then I calmly looked around the cave. Kayden was splitting a coconut he had brought from under a nearby palm tree with his dagger.

He glanced at me and opened his mouth. “Maybe Jenas lived here before building the cabin?”

I took the coconut from him, drank it, and nodded.

“It could be. Or maybe there were other survivors before us. If this really is an island for experiments, we may not be the first to come here as test subjects. This island has existed for at least a thousand years.”

At my words, Kayden, who was drinking the coconut sap, turned to me with a surprised face.

I shrugged and continued, “The cabin in the South Island and the traces of people living there could all have been made by people kidnapped to this island like us.”

“It’s creepy because it’s so plausible,” replied Kayden with a frown between his brows.

After that, we were silent for a while, lost in our own thoughts.

‘What kind of experiment is this? What is the purpose?’

While I was thinking about that, I heard Kayden’s voice and turned to him.

“You know, Margaret. What I said last night was no joke.”

He had a calm face, unlike him usually.

He continued, “If we escape from the island…… will we be the same as now?”

And, unexpectedly, he asked a somewhat sentimental question. That’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask him.

When the suspension bridge effect[1] disappears and you return to your daily life and regain your senses, everything might be different.

[1] A term used to describe the phenomena of misattribution of arousal.

So, I answered without emotion as much as possible. “My answer is the same. You have to escape first to know that.”

I am Margaret, but not Margaret.

If I escape from this island, I may die because of the law of causality[2].

[2] Every change in nature is produced by some cause.

You can never predict what will happen to this island in the future.

But, if I could be the real Margaret…….

“But I hope that everyone won’t change and will be the same as now.”

At my words, Kayden stared at my face for a moment, surprised.

He said, “I wish I could be with you, who hasn’t changed. Just like now.”

Kayden looked at me and smiled. It’s nice to hear that. Somehow those are very comforting words.

***

Enoch caught two large birds. Thanks to that, we were able to have a full dinner today. It was also convenient that Eunji could light the fire without having to use a lighter.

“Margaret, get some rest.”

I was about to tidy up after finishing my meal, but Enoch stopped me right away.

“Yes, Margaret. Get some rest.”

Kayden pushed me away, agreeing with Enoch’s words.

I didn’t clean the cave, make a bed, or prepare a meal, but Enoch and Kayden took care to let me rest without me exerting any effort.

Even though they must have had a harder time fighting monsters and suffering in the fog, they never showed that.

‘Sorry.’

There seems to be nothing I can do to help. I cleared my mind and lay down in the cave, thinking that resting comfortably and recovering my physical strength would help.

-kuaang!

In the middle of the night, I was startled by a huge roar that I heard from somewhere. Enoch and Kayden, who were diligently cleaning the front of the cave, looked into the forest.

“What? Is it a monster?”

At my murmur, Enoch and Kayden quickly picked up their weapons. They stood in my way, wary of what might come from the forest.

Just in case, I took out my flare gun from my crossbody bag. Eunji quietly slithered towards me and wrapped himself around my arm.

I asked, “Is the barrier still intact?”

Kayden glanced at the floor and nodded. “Don’t worry, it won’t break easily.”

That’s a relief.

So we all held our breath and stared into the dark forest.

“Aagh!”

A man’s scream came from far away. The screams gradually got closer.

Kayden tilted his head and murmured, “What, it sounded like a familiar voice.”

And we soon learned the identity of that familiar voice.

A man in a dirty bishop’s uniform appeared, with his aqua-colored hair fluttering through the moonlight shining in the darkness.

He is Archbishop Ruzef.

He was running with all his might in our direction. Diego, who was running with him, stopped to face the crowd of monsters, then ran after Ruzef again.

“Isn’t that Ddaggari?”

“Looks like it’s him.”

[1] The suspension bridge effect is a term used to describe the phenomena of misattribution of arousal.

Misattribution of arousal itself is a term in psychology that describes the process whereby people make a mistake in assuming what is causing them to feel aroused. For example, when actually experiencing physiological responses related to fear, people mislabel those responses as romantic arousal.