Chapter 46
11. The Person Holding the Key
I transferred the Bombs into the bag Kaiden had made by weaving branches together. I didn't forget to tightly wrap the warheads with the cushioning material from the wooden box so that the Bombs wouldn't collide and explode.
Luzef, who had been quietly watching me, asked.
"Where on earth does the Young Lady find such Magical Artifacts? It's also amazing how quickly you learn how to operate them."
"I picked up the Magical Artifacts by chance. I figured out how to use them by fiddling with them."
Luzef looked at me with a face that said my explanation was insufficient, but he didn't elaborate. It seemed better to remain silent than to add unnecessary words and risk making a mistake.
After packing our belongings, we set off on our journey to find our next settlement.
Of course, we couldn't find a suitable settlement right away, so we had to camp for about two days.
On the third day, we were all walking silently, exhausted.
As I climbed the mountain alone, I began to see the cliff that I had previously marked as a place where a cabin might be located.
"Shall we go this way? There might be a cave near that cliff."
At my words, the three men looked at each other once before nodding.
"If Margaret says so, then that's how it is."
"I'll do as you say."
"I'll trust only in the Young Lady as well."
Enoch, Kaiden, and Luzef replied in turn.
No, why are you all passing the decision on to me? It's as if I've become the leader of this team.
In the end, I took the lead and walked ahead.
And we finally found the cabin that appeared in <More Important Than Survival> at the foot of the cliff.
I really wondered if it would be there, but I was very relieved to have found it without wandering around the island for too long.
However, one unfortunate thing was that what we found wasn't just the cabin.
I stopped when I saw three people walking out from the bushes on the opposite side.
A woman with light brown bobbed hair wearing a priest's robe, a man with short chestnut hair wearing an Imperial Guard uniform, and a man with pink hair wearing a luxurious uniform all looked surprised to see us.
It was clearly the heroine Yuanna, Imperial Guard Commander Sir Diego, and Crown Prince Asdal.
Damn it, life is definitely made up of shitty timing. I'm sure of it.
'Should I run away? Or should I take over the cabin first?'
"Oh my, there's a woman?"
The first to speak was Yuanna. She looked very happy to see me.
Come to think of it, Yuanna in the novel didn't dislike Margaret either. Rather, she liked her because she was a woman. It was Margaret who hated and bullied her.
"It's dangerous."
Crown Prince Asdal stopped Yuanna from approaching me.
The man with pink hair was very handsome. Thanks to his drooping eyes, his impression was gentle, so he must have been popular with women.
In addition, his dignified movements and arrogant gaze, which didn't shrink even in this wilderness, exuded a sense of intimidation that was different from Enoch's.
Yuanna retreated with a face that quickly lost interest in Asdal's restraint. To be exact, it was more accurate to say that she retreated because she was too lazy to argue with Asdal.
Asdal glared at me and said once more as if driving a wedge.
"She's a woman I know. Don't go near her, she's crazy."
Even if Margaret is really crazy, I don't know why everyone here insults her to her face. Fucking hell.
"Really? Hmm... come to think of it, her shoes are a bit strange too..."
Yuanna, after hearing Asdal's words, tilted her head and looked at me before casting a subtle glance at my feet. It seemed she had discovered the wooden slippers I had made myself.
I wiggled my toes for no reason, feeling embarrassed.
Asdal warned me in a very aggressive tone.
"I won't let you get away with it if you come any closer, stay right there."
At that moment, suddenly two arms crossed in front of me and shielded me.
Enoch on the right and Kaiden on the left each reached out and blocked my path.
Enoch and Kaiden were glaring at Asdal and Diego with their nerves on edge.
Come to think of it, Enoch and Kaiden met the heroine Yuanna, but are they okay?
But they didn't budge and seemed to be focusing all their attention on protecting me.
As if to respond to Enoch and Kaiden, Diego drew his sword and pointed it at us.
Oops, I forgot that Diego was the Imperial Guard Commander. When he crossed over to the deserted island, he was the only one of the male leads who woke up armed. That meant he had a sword.
That lumberjack XX, a dress thief to boot...!
Diego is the Imperial Guard Commander of the Langrid Empire, so why is he pointing his sword at Enoch?
"Weren't you two supposed to be meeting periodically and exchanging information?"
I leaned towards Enoch and whispered so that only he could hear. Then Enoch narrowed his brows and sighed.
"It wasn't like that from the beginning. He's becoming less and less obedient."
Enoch looked at Diego like a teacher looking at a straying student.
...Is Diego crazy? I guess that's it.
'Damn it, there's no one here who isn't crazy.'
"Why is the Bishop there?"
At that time, Diego asked Luzef, who was standing behind me.
Luzef walked out slowly from behind my back with a startled look.
"Come here?"
Asdal gestured to Luzef again. Luzef glanced at Yuanna, who was standing next to Asdal, before turning back to me.
He walked towards Asdal with very slow steps, constantly looking back at me. As if asking me to catch him.
Enoch, who had been quietly watching, opened his mouth.
"It seems you don't even intend to greet me. Sir Diego."
Diego and Asdal's gazes were fixed on Enoch. Luzef stopped walking halfway and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Only then did Diego realize his mistake and bite his lower lip. He belatedly knelt on one knee, placed his clenched fist on his chest, and bowed his head.
"For the light of Langrid. I greet the Crown Prince."
Then Asdal also acknowledged Enoch and greeted him.
"Yes. I'm late in greeting you too, aren't I? It's been a while, Banhwang. It's really surprising to see you here?"
What's Banhwang? I looked up at Enoch with a puzzled expression. Enoch narrowed his brows with a troubled face.
The two seemed to know each other well. Come to think of it, I think the original work also had a setting that the two were childhood friends.
"What about you, how did you come to be here, Gunbangdal."
Gunbang... what? Not even a hardtack?
I stared at Enoch, who responded to the strange nickname with an even more childish one, with unfamiliar eyes. It was a very un-Enoch-like way of speaking. Was Enoch someone who could talk so childishly?
Enoch glanced at me as I had a questioning look on my face.
"I studied abroad at the Hestia Kingdom Academy when I was young. At that time, the Hestia royals called that guy 'Arrogant Asdal'. Gunbangdal is a shortened version of that."
Only then did I understand and nod.
"So you're saying he's a hardtack?"
A hardtack prince. Interesting.
"Not a hardtack, but arrogant..."
Asdal, the hardtack prince himself, or rather, Asdal, refuted my question before stopping himself as if he had come to his senses.
"What is Banhwang?"
"It means half-prince. Now he's probably a half-crown prince."
Asdal said with a very obnoxious face.
Half-prince. How rude, coming from a hardtack prince...!
It was a statement that would have caused an uproar if the Langrid Empire citizens had heard it, as blood is thicker than water.
Enoch frowned.
"You're as arrogant as ever."
"Why? This is neither the Empire nor the Kingdom, so who would scold me for saying such a thing?"
Asdal replied nonchalantly. It meant that he only used the word Banhwang depending on the situation. He's even more vicious.
However, Enoch ignored Asdal's taunts as if they were ridiculous.
"How did you come to be here?"
"Well, I woke up and I was here. Banhwang, you didn't kidnap us, did you?"
"Why would I do such a thing? You're the suspicious one. Is this not a scheme of the Hestia Kingdom?"
Enoch and Asdal's war of nerves continued, and Yuanna, standing far away, was sitting on a tree trunk, resting as if she didn't care at all.
She seemed to be very annoyed, as if the one who wins is on my side, whatever it may be.
I glanced at the cabin. In front of the cabin was a large, ownerless backpack.
The backpack was covered in moss, and leaves that looked like they had been wet and dried were attached to it as if they were one. It probably had been there for quite some time.
'Why is something like that there? Who put it there?'
I saw a black stick that looked like a scabbard half-stuck in the backpack. The shape was a scabbard at first glance. A longsword used by knights at that.
It was a weapon that was absolutely necessary in this dangerous wilderness.
'We must get that!'
I was about to take a step towards the backpack with a firm resolve when Diego pointed his sword at me.
Enoch and Kaiden flinched and hugged me at the same time.
"What is the meaning of this, Sir Diego!"
"You scared me, you fucking bastard!"
The two men seemed very surprised.
Diego didn't lower his sword even though Enoch stepped forward. It seems he really doesn't care about the Crown Prince or anything else.
Asdal stood next to Diego with a relaxed face and pointed to the backpack.
"Sorry, but we found that bag first. Don't go near it, you'll get hurt."
"I don't care if you're the Crown Prince, but if you threaten our Margaret, I won't let you get away with it, you fucking XXs. Don't act like a XX and get the fuck out of here, XX."
Kaiden spewed out a string of savage and vulgar curses, but Asdal and Diego didn't bat an eye.
"It seems that the people over there are anxious, so it must contain something important... We must get that bag, right?"
Yuanna, who had been sitting quietly, smiled prettily and said to Asdal and Diego.
When Asdal and Diego turned to look at her without a word, she shrugged and pointed at us.
"Either compromise with them, or if that's difficult, take the bag away, one of the two."
