Chapter 27
The cave was a temporary base camp.
It wasn’t a pleasant enough environment to stay here for long, so we had to find a better place to live. So I scouted around the cave frequently.
Enoch and I were constantly scouting, looking for ways to request rescue or information about escape. And I secretly searched for cabins and Bunkers without Enoch knowing.
Kaiden said he would leave when his wound healed, but even though his wound had improved, he didn't leave the cave.
At first, Enoch kicked him out of the cave for not listening. But he showed a tenacity by guarding the front of the cave for two nights.
Eventually, Enoch had no choice but to let him in. He didn't know what kind of disaster might happen if he stood in front of the cave, smelling like a human, on a night when Monsters were roaming around.
That could put Enoch and me in danger as well.
Kaiden was really not your average crazy guy.
He hadn't shown any particularly problematic behavior yet, but Enoch stuck close to me because he didn't know when he would do something crazy again.
After a few days of that, we got tired of it, and Enoch and I started to ignore Kaiden even when he came near us.
"You're more diligent than I thought. What kind of noble wakes up at dawn?"
Kaiden, who had been watching me work hard since early dawn, said a word.
I glanced at him as I was transferring the purified water into coconut bowls and distributing it.
As he said, I was really moving diligently.
When I woke up in the morning, I would first go to the valley to purify water and gather fruit. I often went hunting too.
Enoch and I usually took turns going to the beach to hunt fish, but Enoch was always in charge of making the fire. I wasn't very good at making fires.
Thanks to that, I had to consume too many calories, so I had to find a lot of food, but there was no other way.
"We need to prepare diligently if we're going to move the base camp."
I replied, filling the purified water into the bamboo tube that Enoch had cut. This bamboo tube was used as a tumbler.
Then, I wove the bamboo tube with long, sturdy thicket vines to make it like a crossbody bag, and slung it diagonally over my shoulder.
"You're going to move the place? Why?"
"There's no good place to get food here, and the environment isn't pleasant."
I said that, and then fixed my flats while holding the bamboo tube.
"Where are you going?"
"Scouting around."
To be exact, it's hiking. The last hike. If I don't find a cabin or Bunker this time, I'm really going to leave this area.
I hope I'm lucky enough to find a clue about the island's secret.
Enoch had just left for his morning hunt, so it was perfect for me to go hiking alone.
"Then rest."
"Huh? Wai, wait……!"
Kaiden tried to follow me, but he groaned and slumped down in his seat, probably because of the pain from his wound.
I waved to him and left the cave with a light heart.
Now that I had adapted to the island to some extent, even Enoch, who had been so protective of me, let me wander around until sunset. Enoch's overprotectiveness seemed severe, but still, it was good to be able to wander around alone.
It was already almost three weeks since we arrived on this island, but we had gained almost no information during that time.
I stood on the mountainside, took a deep breath, and looked down. I could see part of the island even though I had only climbed up this far. I need to go a little higher to see further.
Looking at the cave where Enoch and I were staying from up here, it wasn't far from the beach.
Well, since it was a cave so close to the beach, we could go fishing quickly.
Besides, if it was a cave deep in the mountains, that would have been dangerous in its own way. Because the island is full of Monsters and wild animals.
I opened the lid of the bamboo tube I was holding and drank the water I had stored.
I've been overworking Margaret's body lately, so it's been very difficult. I should do some physical training from tomorrow.
When I go back to Flone's mansion later, Margaret's mother will grab the back of her neck and faint, saying that she's gained muscles, but there's nothing I can do. To survive.
I climbed the mountain for what felt like an hour, and finally reached the top.
I roughly wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and lay down on the ground for a while. I felt like I was going to have trouble breathing because I was so out of breath. I drank all the water in the bamboo tube I had brought at once.
I had unnecessary worries about whether I was going to die like this, but the sense of accomplishment was great.
"No, I don't know why I keep finding a sense of accomplishment on this remote island."
The sun was setting more and more. I was worried that the sun would set while I was going down the mountain, so I quickly scanned the surroundings.
The island I saw again was still quite large and wide. I thought it was really about the size of Seoul.
"Damn it, how am I supposed to find a cabin and a Bunker in this vast place."
No matter how much I looked around, I couldn't find a building that looked like a cabin.
Still, I had some sense of where the cabin might be. I'm sure the novel described the cabin as being in the mountains near a cliff, and there were quite a few cliffs that felt similar to what was described in the novel.
I carefully scanned the path to the next mountain with my eyes. And I crammed the location of the river and the cliffs back into my memory, and then prepared to descend.
After stretching, I was about to leave when a red stick got caught under my feet.
"What is this?"
When I looked closely, it wasn't a stick, but something that looked like a gun. It was covered in dirt, but it was strangely shaped with a hint of red, so I picked it up.
"No matter how I look at it, it looks like a gun."
Then I found the letters written on the side. I roughly wiped off the dirt with my hand and read the letters.
Alea
"Alea? What does this mean?"
Is this the name of the company that made this mysterious gun?
But when I looked again, it was engraved as if the letters were carved with a knife, so I thought it might be someone's name.
It looked like a revolver pistol, but the design was simpler and smaller.
'I've never seen a red pistol before…….'
"But why is this here?"
I know there are modern things on this island. But in the original story, were things just lying around like this?
I checked the magazine of the red pistol while I was at it. All six magazines were filled with bullet-like objects.
And when I looked closely, the joints of the pistol were filled in somewhat unnaturally. This seems to be at the level of disassembling and creating a new weapon, not just modifying it.
"Did Alea modify it?"
I looked at the pistol with a puzzled face and found another pouch under my feet. It was a pouch full of bullets. It seemed to be the bullets used for this red pistol.
"Oh my god, it's a complete eureka."
I carefully put the bullet pouch in my dress pocket.
"But does this thing even work?"
It looked very old, so I was a little suspicious. If it's a gun that doesn't work, it's just a cool piece of trash.
'But it could be a real gun……. If it's a gun, I'm in trouble because I don't have much shooting experience.'
I had only been to a shooting range once.
Still, just in case, I tore off a small piece of the dress hem to prevent noise. Then, I poured a little of the water left in the bamboo tube and stuffed it into both ears.
Then, I took a stance, checked the magazine, loaded it, and pulled down the hammer.
"Could this really work?"
And with a hopeful heart, I pulled the trigger towards a distant place.
But no matter how much I pulled the trigger, the pistol didn't fire. Is it broken because it's too old?
"I knew it was old."
I pulled the trigger randomly and pulled the trigger towards the sky without thinking.
But at that moment, red smoke came out of the Flares and shot into the sky.
………?
No, why is this suddenly firing?
Looking at the red smoke, it seemed to be a Flares, not a gun.
I stared blankly at the sky. The red smoke soon burst like fireworks, decorating the sky magnificently.
………??????
Wait, it wasn't a Flares, it was for fireworks? What the hell is this thing?
Cold sweat ran down my back.
The sun was starting to set, and I felt like Monsters would come running after seeing the fireworks.
"FUCK!"
Realizing the situation, I started running like crazy.
