Chapter 51
An awkward silence settled over us at Yuanna’s words.
I mulled over her question for a moment, wondering where I should even begin to point out what was wrong.
“It’s not about taking the Saintess’s side or not. The problem is that the captain of the guard, who has a duty to protect the Crown Prince, failed to fulfill his responsibility.”
Only then did Yuanna seem to understand the situation, nodding her head.
“Hmm. I see. Got it.”
Still maintaining her roguish attitude, she crossed her arms and shot Enoch a crooked look. Then she said something strange.
“Still, Sir Diego is my person. Please don’t mess with him.”
“Before he is anyone’s ‘person,’ Sir Diego is the captain of the imperial guard of the Langrid Empire.”
“But this isn’t the Langrid Empire, is it?”
The sharp battle of wills continued.
“This meeting is turning out to be quite entertaining, isn’t it?”
At that moment, the biscuit prince—who had been watching our meeting from a distance—chimed in.
Perhaps he had finally decided to join in, because he sauntered over toward us.
“Let’s not blur the main point. Stick to the issue. Saintess, you can’t keep shifting the focus and disrupting the meeting like this.”
Despite Asdal’s criticism, Yuanna just smiled without batting an eye.
As if it didn’t matter at all.
Then, as though something had just occurred to her, she turned back to Enoch.
“Oh, could it be… that there was an escape gate near where I woke up?”
“Hm. That’s possible.”
Kaidan nodded, as if her words made sense.
It was an obvious hypothesis, really, but since we’d been focused elsewhere, none of us had thought of it.
“Is the place where you woke up far from here?” Enoch asked.
Yuanna shook her head with a confident look.
“Not far. It’s dangerous at night, so I mostly traveled during the day, and it took about two full days to get here.”
“That answers it.”
Kaidan shrugged, resting his chin on his hand.
“How about forming a scouting party to check that area?”
Enoch nodded in agreement at Kaidan’s suggestion.
“I’ll go, along with Diego and the Saintess.”
Wait—that wouldn’t do. I couldn’t let them go off on their own. When it came to the secret of the key, I needed to see it with my own eyes.
“I’ll go too.”
When I raised my hand and spoke up, Kaidan frowned.
“Then I’ll go as well.”
As everyone started volunteering, Rujef glanced at Asdal and hurriedly shifted on his feet.
“Then I’ll come too.”
He clearly didn’t want to be left alone with Asdal.
Enoch let out a troubled sigh, rubbing his forehead irritably as he surveyed everyone.
“We can’t all go. I’ll reorganize the group. The Saintess, Margaret, and I will go together. The rest of you guard the cabin.”
“Miss Flonne’s talent for finding mushrooms is well established now. But that’s all, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be more helpful to bring Sir Diego instead of the young lady?”
It was nice to have been promoted from ‘crazy young lady’ to ‘young lady who’s good at picking mushrooms,’ but it didn’t make me happy at all.
“No one can match Margaret when it comes to judgment and response in emergencies.”
Enoch turned to look at me, and everyone’s gaze naturally followed.
Feeling a bit uncomfortable under the attention, I hunched my shoulders.
Why. What.
With his hands clasped, Enoch continued in a relaxed tone.
“And as for swordsmanship, I’m no less skilled than Sir Diego. So I believe this lineup is suitable for a scouting party. Is that a sufficient answer?”
Asdal looked at me with an expression that still said he didn’t quite understand.
In truth, he’d been like that ever since we met. Compared to before, he seemed more amicable now, even a little interested, but he still didn’t fully trust me.
However, since no one else objected to Enoch’s decision, Asdal eventually raised both hands in resignation—a gesture of “do whatever you want.”
And so the new scouting party was formed, and after thorough preparations, we decided to depart four days later.
After the meeting ended, we all spent a busy afternoon attending to our own tasks.
I was sitting by the fireplace, using a stone knife to shape leftover bones from processed game into needles.
“What are you doing? Where did you get that?”
Kaidan, apparently back from a walk, approached me as he entered the cabin.
“I collected some leftovers from when we processed the game at the last base camp. Just in case.”
“What are you making?”
“I’m trying to make needles. I only have one set of clothes—if they tear, I’m in trouble.”
“As expected of the Island Demon King. You’re the best.”
“Cut it out with that nonsense.”
I was bickering with Kaidan when Yuanna came bounding down from the second floor, brimming with excitement.
“Miss Flonne! Miss Flonne, look at this, look!”
She held out her palm. On it lay two square, solid blocks.
“Huh? Don’t tell me that’s—”
“I think it’s soap!”
Yuanna exclaimed excitedly, and Diego and Rujef, who had been drinking water in the kitchen, came over as well.
“Soap?”
Kaidan picked up one of the blocks from Yuanna’s hand and sniffed it.
“It doesn’t smell like anything. Are you sure it’s soap?”
He held it right up to my nose, so I sniffed it too. There really was no scent.
“It is soap. It lathers.”
“Where did you find this?” I asked.
Yuanna pointed toward the second floor.
“It was wedged into the window frame of the room I’m using.”
Just then, Enoch and Asdal entered the cabin as well. Seeing us gathered in the living room, they approached with puzzled looks.
“What’s going on?” Asdal asked.
Yuanna shook the soap in response.
“We found soap. Upstairs.”
“Oh?”
Asdal took it from her and sniffed it, his eyes widening.
“May I use it first? I’ll take the lack of an answer as permission. I’m in a real hurry.”
As he tried to dash off with it, Enoch swiftly grabbed his wrist.
“It’s something the Saintess found. You haven’t even gotten her permission yet. Ask properly.”
Enoch seemed to believe that whoever found something first owned it.
It was the same reason he didn’t covet the flare gun or firebombs I’d found. Perhaps it was just an unspoken rule we’d developed while living on the island.
“Tch, what a shame. Hey, Half-Emperor, let go, will you? You’re going to break my wrist.”
When Asdal raised the hand Enoch was holding, Enoch finally released him.
Seeing the bluish bruise on Asdal’s wrist, I was briefly startled. He’d only grabbed him lightly—yet Enoch’s strength was impressive.
“Thank you. Still, I think it’d be best if we all used it together. How about taking turns? I really want to wash up too.”
Yuanna said with a bright smile.
Using scented soap in the jungle might attract bugs, but unscented soap should be fine.
Honestly, I wanted a proper wash myself. I felt too grimy.
“Then shouldn’t we decide how much to use?” I asked.
Yuanna tilted her head as if she didn’t see the need.
“Why bother saving it? It’s a consumable anyway.”
“But it’d be nice if it lasted longer.”
“We might escape tomorrow—or die at any moment.”
Ah. I’m the only one who knows there’s a way off the island. I can’t tell them that, and besides, it felt awkward for me to argue over soap that Yuanna had found.
“Well, the decision is up to you, Saintess.”
At my answer, Yuanna’s face lit up as she turned to Asdal and Diego.
“You heard her, right? She said I can do whatever I want. See? She 인정했어. I’m the leader now!”
I had no idea how she’d reached that conclusion. The others looked equally dumbfounded, and Rujef was the first to point it out.
“When you put it that way, it actually sounds more like Miss Flonne is the leader.”
“Hold on, I object. I’m not responsible enough to take on such a bothersome role.”
Why does everyone keep trying to give me a position? I’m someone who might need to run away alone at any moment.
Yuanna beamed.
“See? Then it has to be me.”
“You haven’t forgotten that the Crown Prince and the King’s heir are here, have you?” Asdal asked her, incredulous.
Well. Bringing up status here did seem a bit pointless.
Yuanna stared straight at Asdal.
She didn’t say a word, but after locking eyes with her for a moment, Asdal was the one who looked away first.
