Chapter 10
The next day, I woke up early and returned the jacket to Enoch.
And we had a bit of a trivial problem. Conflict arose because my goals and Enoch's goals were different.
My goal was to survive safely on this island for a year, and his goal was to escape this island immediately.
"To survive even a little longer, it's better to go inland than to the beach. We need to find a place where a river flows to increase our chances of survival. It's also much easier to build a shelter."
"Aren't you going to call for rescue? If we go into the island, our chances of survival may increase, but it will be harder to expect rescue."
At Enoch's words, I looked at him with a slightly frustrated heart.
His words certainly made sense.
But since we can't escape until the 'Gate' opens anyway, and I can't explain that fact, it's really frustrating.
In the end, I reluctantly pulled out my trump card.
"Then we should part ways here."
"...What?"
He had a face that said he didn't expect me to say that. He must have thought I wouldn't go alone.
I was watching for the timing to leave, but this is good.
"Just because you act so recklessly doesn't mean I'll listen to Lady Flone's words..."
"I'm serious?"
I put on the flat shoes I had taken off for a while to go into the seawater and tidied up my clothes.
Then, I skewered a couple of fish I had caught this morning on a thin twig and hung them on my shoulder.
Enoch looked really embarrassed. I didn't care and bowed to him.
"I'm really grateful that you saved me from the Monster. And it was comforting to be with Your Highness even for a short time. When I first woke up, I might have gone crazy if I was alone."
His face contorted at my last greeting.
"Lady Flone. I'm not in the mood for jokes right now."
I shrugged and gave him a cheerful farewell.
"Think what you want. Goodbye!"
And just as I passed him and entered the forest, I felt a hurried movement behind me.
"Wait a minute."
Enoch followed me and grabbed my shoulder. I stopped and turned to face him.
"I don't understand why you're doing this."
"I'm just making a rational choice since our opinions don't match, right?"
"This dangerous thing you're doing...!"
Enoch raised his voice as if he was angry, then closed his mouth tightly when he saw my face. He took a deep breath to calm down and said to me again.
"Are you saying that this dangerous behavior is a rational choice?"
I frowned, not understanding why he was angry.
"Are you worried about me, by any chance? That I'll be in danger?"
'Or are you trying to keep a suspicious Margaret by your side and watch her?'
Probably the latter. Well, it's true that I seem suspicious, so I have nothing to say.
Anyway, strangely enough, Enoch looked shocked, as if I had hit him right on the mark. I looked at him and sighed softly.
"I'm more resilient than I look. Don't worry about me, worry about yourself."
Monsters were the biggest variable, but I could hide anywhere around sunset. I was confident in hiding, anyway.
I couldn't just stay on the beach because I was afraid of Monsters and miss the opening of the Gate and become isolated. I had to find a Bunker or a cabin, whatever it was. And I had to find out the secrets of this island.
That's the only way I'll know why I suddenly possessed Margaret.
I bowed to Enoch again.
Then, as I turned around, he hurriedly grabbed my arm. His urgent gesture felt quite desperate.
This time, I was a little annoyed. So, I deliberately showed a lot of annoyance and turned my head, but he said to me with a determined face.
"I'll go with you."
That was a really unexpected choice. Has his wariness of Margaret lessened as he's spent time with me?
"I'll be with Lady Flone, but I'll keep looking for a way to call for rescue and escape the island."
If there's a way to escape this island without finding the exit in the original story, that would be great, of course. That's what I want too.
In addition, the fact that Enoch didn't force his opinion on me and bent his own seemed like a sign that our relationship was changing little by little.
Enoch was quite a good asset, so if he was with me, there would be some setbacks in the plan, but it wouldn't be bad.
"Okay."
In the end, we decided to find a new residence together.
And after wandering through the forest for about half a day, we found a steep cliff.
I pointed to the tall cliff within sight, feeling happy, towards Enoch.
"There are usually caves under cliffs like that. The path might be dangerous, but there's no better place to live."
"How do you know that?"
Enoch looked at me with a very puzzled face.
"Did you learn that in the Flone ducal family?"
There's no way. But if I don't answer vaguely here, I'll arouse suspicion.
I nodded and smiled as if I was right.
"Yes. I received various educations in the family. You'll get hurt if you know."
I tried to gloss over it like that, but Enoch 're-evaluated Duke Flone' and got angry, saying how could he give such harsh education to his daughter.
No, why is he getting angry? I couldn't understand him, so I tilted my head and answered.
"Thanks to that, it's a big help now, right? I think it's fortunate."
Enoch closed his mouth again as if he had nothing to say to my words.
Fortunately, we arrived at the cave safely before sunset.
Enoch searched the cave for any possible beasts. After it was determined that the cave was safe, we moved heavy stones and piled them up at the entrance. And we covered it with large leaves to disguise it naturally.
As soon as we entered the damp and cool cave, it suddenly started raining, piercing the clear sky.
Due to the heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning, Enoch and I had to go deeper into the cave.
Fortunately, the cave was dug at a slightly higher position than the ground. Therefore, the cave was not flooded.
"Ah! Instead of this, we should collect rainwater."
I handed the coconut I brought to Enoch.
Enoch received the coconut from me with a puzzled face, then split it with his bare hands and handed it over. Now, he does what he's told automatically without even asking why.
'Has some trust been built?'
I smiled proudly and shared the coconut sap with Enoch.
Then, I scraped the inside of the empty coconut shell with the sharp wooden knife I used to prepare the fish. It was duller than a real knife, so it wasn't perfectly trimmed, but a plausible bowl was made.
I made four coconut bowls in that way and placed them at the entrance of the cave, which was slightly raised from the ground.
I put them as far inside as possible so that muddy water wouldn't splash into the bowls filled with rainwater or be swept away by the wind.
Enoch looked at me with a face that said he was wondering what I was doing. Now, he doesn't ask out loud, but speaks with his eyes.
"If we collect rainwater, we don't have to distill things like stream water. It reduces the effort."
If it's rain falling from the sky, you can just drink it. It was like distilled water itself.
"I see."
Enoch answered a little blandly.
I leaned against the cave wall with a tired face.
The uneven walls and floor of the cave were uncomfortable and it was difficult to sit for a long time. Also, as a cave, it was wide, desolate, and full of moisture.
There were no special geographical features, but it wasn't a very pleasant space.
It would be difficult to find dry tinder because it was raining, so we wouldn't be able to make a fire. It was a little cold, but there was no other way.
"I'm tired of saying this now, but I have to admit it. Lady Flone has changed."
Enoch's low voice echoed in the cave.
I opened my eyes at the voice and turned my gaze in the direction he was in.
The only light was the moonlight seeping in from outside the cave. Enoch's face, receiving a small amount of moonlight in the darkness, was faintly visible.
His straight face was calm without any signs of agitation.
He was like that even when he took down Monsters with one hand, and that attitude gave his companions a great sense of relief.
Enoch still seemed to dislike me, but it's true that he's reliable.
"See? I told you I changed."
I answered a little boastfully, but Enoch only glanced at me and didn't say anything, so I became very embarrassed.
Anyway, if we slowly build trust like this, maybe my future can change too?
