Chapter 52
In a strange atmosphere, we decided to look around the cabin together.
The cabin was a two-story structure. The first floor had a spacious living room with a fireplace and a kitchen, and the second floor had two rooms with wooden beds.
In the original story, Yuanna seemed to assume that the cabin was built by someone who lived on this remote island. My guess wasn't much different.
I first explored the cabin with Kaiden, Enoch, and Bishop Ruzef.
We moved in such a way that Yuanna and her group would only look around the cabin after we had finished our exploration and returned to the first floor.
After looking around every corner of the cabin, I had a question.
I clearly remember hearing that there were modern clothes in the cabin, but strangely, I couldn't see any clothes at all. It seemed that there was nothing more than the sneakers that Kaiden had brought out earlier.
'This is also different from the original. Or is my memory wrong?'
Lost in thought, I sat in the first-floor living room and opened the backpack I had found in front of the cabin.
The backpack that was neatly placed as if someone was about to leave with it but forgot to take it.
"That's a uniquely designed bag."
Enoch approached and said, examining the backpack with me. Kaiden also sat down casually in front of me, glancing at the backpack with a curious face. He glanced at the scabbard on Enoch's waist and asked.
"It seems that the Crown Prince took the sword that was stuck in there. What else is in there?"
Bishop Ruzef, who had been hesitating, approached with a first aid kit and squatted down next to me.
"I'm also curious. What's in there?"
I shrugged and reached into the backpack, rummaging through the contents.
"This is a Dagger."
"Give it to me. I'll use it."
Kaiden's eyes sparkled as he held out his hands to me.
He was a Wizard who used his head, but he had an incongruously Monstrous Strength. So, this Dagger would be better for him than the longsword he gave to Enoch.
Without hesitation, I placed the Dagger on his hand. While Kaiden happily accepted the Dagger and examined it from side to side, I rummaged through the bag again.
The next thing that came out was a compass.
"A compass?"
Enoch said, examining what was in my hand.
There are compasses in the Langrid Empire, but this was a modern item made of stainless steel.
Moreover, this compass had a luminous dial, so it seemed like it could be used even at night. Judging by the fact that the needle was firmly attached to the central axis, it seemed to be working well.
"It would be better for me to keep this."
I held the compass in my hand and looked inside the backpack again. The last thing that came out was a small crossbody bag.
'Great, a crossbody bag.'
I took out the crossbody bag and put the compass, Flares, and bullet pouch in it, and slung it over my shoulder. And I gave the big backpack to Kaiden.
Kaiden packed daily necessities such as a Wooden Knife and a rope made of twisted branches inside.
"Is there nothing for me?"
Ruzef, who had been quietly watching us, asked me in a seemingly disappointed tone. I shrugged and pointed to the first aid kit he was holding in his arms.
"Bishop, please take good care of the first aid kit."
I already had a lot of luggage, so I needed someone to carry the first aid kit separately.
"What, you're entrusting the medicine kit to a lackey? Isn't that dangerous?"
"I agree with Lord, Margaret. I think it would be better to divide the medicine kit."
Enoch and Kaiden protested to me, saying they didn't trust Ruzef, but it couldn't be helped. We were short on hands, and each of us had an efficient role to play.
And Ruzef was a cleric who had learned the healing art, so he was perfect for this mission.
"In fact, even if we combine all the items we have so far, it's not as important as that."
I earnestly instructed Ruzef with a serious face that had no playful expression.
"You can throw away the sword, but you can't throw away the medicine. Do you understand what I mean?"
At my words, Ruzef looked back at Enoch and Kaiden with a bewildered face, then nodded with a face full of a sense of duty.
"Leave it to me."
The spirit emanating from his expression was like the spirit of a determined general going to the battlefield.
Then, I took out ointment and disinfectant from the first aid kit and shared them with Enoch and Kaiden as first aid supplies.
"Is this okay?"
Enoch and Kaiden had dissatisfied faces, but they didn't say anything more and closed their mouths.
And then, suddenly, Yuanna's voice was heard.
"Sir Diego, can't you walk a little more gently? You keep waking me up."
I glanced back and suppressed a hollow laugh when I saw Yuanna sleeping soundly on Diego's back.
It was already getting dark, so the atmosphere was such that everyone was tidying up their luggage and making sleeping arrangements.
'But still, are they going to sleep like that?'
Diego, who was silently carrying her around the cabin, also looked very strange.
'I really don't want to get involved with them.'
I shook my head as I looked at them. I don't know why Yuanna is so obsessed with being waited on by others.
The Jerk Prince was still annoying, but he didn't easily talk to me.
This was because Kaiden stuck close to me like a dog guarding the house, growling whenever he tried to approach.
And Kaiden stuck right next to me and watched me reorganize my bag, then opened his mouth.
"Margaret, you're like the king of this island."
I made a face at the cheesy expression.
"Have you ever seen such an undignified king?"
"What does dignity matter? You're already our king."
'……?'
Is this a new kind of prank?
Then Ruzef, who had been looking for a timing to interject, added a word.
"Since it's too long, how about calling it something shorter? Island King, Island King would be perfect."
Fuck.
"Shut up."
Bear Grylls would be better.
"Island King-nim……!"
"I said shut up."
Only then did Ruzef shut his mouth, and Kaiden, who had been holding back his laughter with a flushed face, burst into laughter.
That bastard definitely said that to make fun of me.
\ \ *
For now, we decided to postpone the full-fledged meeting about Yuanna's Key and the island.
This was because time was tight to prepare sleeping arrangements and food as the sun was setting.
The rest of us, except for Bishop Ruzef, who was purifying water, decided to collect any edible fruits.
Asdal, who saw Ruzef purifying water while sitting in front of the cabin, made an absurd expression.
"Where did the Bishop even learn how to purify water? I didn't know you could do something like this."
At Asdal's question, Ruzef looked at me.
"I learned it from Lady Flone."
"……What?"
Along with Asdal, Diego and Yuanna's gazes were fixed on me. Asdal, who met my eyes, laughed in disbelief and looked back at Ruzef.
"You want me to believe that now?"
At Asdal's question, Ruzef shrugged with an unconcerned face.
"Lady is indeed resourceful. I saw her correctly."
Yuanna looked at me and smiled, saying she liked me. The smile was somehow ominous, so I avoided her gaze and took a basket with Enoch and Kaiden.
"Aren't you going?"
At my question, Asdal looked at me, Enoch, and Kaiden alternately as if looking at something strange, and eventually sighed and picked up a coconut basket.
Fortunately, there was a lot of food near the cabin, so we could easily find things like wild strawberries and edible mushrooms.
I collected beefsteak fungus growing on an oak tree.
In such unfamiliar wilderness, mushroom picking had to be done very carefully. Even if it looked like a mushroom you knew, it was often not the case.
But I had some expertise in mushrooms, so I carefully selected mushrooms and picked out the edible ones.
Asdal, who had never seen mushrooms, pointed to the mushrooms I was picking as if looking at a strange object.
"You eat something like that? Even if you're hungry, how can you pick up and eat anything without knowing what it is? I doubt Lady is really a noble, I suspect her birth?"
It was understandable that he found it strange. As the most noble person, he would have only seen finely chopped and cooked mushrooms.
I cut off the root part of the mushroom with a Wooden Knife and put it in my crossbody bag, nodding my head.
"It's beefsteak fungus. It doesn't taste bad. It's similar to the texture of meat."
"The texture of meat, does that make sense? Hmm……. Come to think of it, I also have a problem for seriously listening to the words of a crazy Lady. Haha!"
Thwack!
I ended up stabbing the Wooden Knife I was holding into the oak tree. Asdal took a step away from me with a surprised face.
I was annoyed by Asdal, who was constantly picking fights, but I belatedly remembered that he was the Crown Prince and gritted my teeth.
Let's be patient, let's be patient.
"What, now……!"
"My hand slipped."
I muttered, pulling the Wooden Knife out of the tree.
"It's because Your Highness keeps interfering that my concentration is distracted. If it had gone wrong, I would have stabbed Your Highness's arm. I'm sorry."
I apologized to him with a soulless face and turned around.
Asdal was only gaping with a shocked face, but it was none of my business. I was polite enough.
"Pfft."
Kaiden, who had been watching us from across the street, burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
He laughs heartily. From afar, Enoch was also seen smiling and collecting fruits.
