Chapter 56
I was on the first watch.
Kaiden and Enoch were sleeping on either side of me, and Bishop Ruzef was lying next to Enoch.
Diego was curled up asleep a little further away. I don't know why he's lying there so pitifully.
I sat near the fireplace, blankly watching the fire burn, then brought some more firewood that Diego had chopped and revived the dying embers.
There's no fireplace on the second floor, so it must be cold... But maybe it's okay since there's a bed and blankets.
I was getting so sleepy that I got up and slipped out of the cabin. It was to clear my head, but it didn't seem to help much.
I should take this opportunity to use the compass to draw a map. In the crossbody bag I took out of my backpack, there happened to be a palm-sized notebook and a pen. It was a very useful item.
When you open the door of the cabin, there is a wooden deck at the entrance. I sat on the stairs in front of it and took out the Bunker map, notebook, compass, and pen.
Bunker
I stared intently at the word "Bunker" marked on the north island side of the island.
Like Alea, this was also written in English. Maybe Alea is a Westerner and this island is some kind of experimental island that only appears in movies or dramas.
But if that's the case, it doesn't make sense that people from other worlds are on this island.
If I make this hypothesis, that doesn't make sense, and if I make that hypothesis, this doesn't make sense.
'I'm going crazy.'
First, I looked at the Bunker map and copied the map into my notebook, then marked the cardinal directions with the compass. Then I drew in the location of the Bunker along with the location of the cabin.
There were two mountains on the south island. I found the cabin right before passing the next mountain after passing the mountain where I lived with Enoch and Kaiden, so it seems that we are now located in the middle of the island.
I carefully examined the Bunker map drawn on the cloth again and discovered something unusual.
Now that I see it, there was a road connected to the north island at the eastern end of the south island. I had to go up a long way from the cabin.
Of course, there was a bridge in the middle. I stared intently at the bridge mark connecting the north and south islands.
"Who made this bridge...?"
I put the pen to my chin and pondered.
"Anyway, that's good, it's too far to go to the east."
I copied the location of the bridge and closed the notebook.
"What are you doing?"
"Fucking hell, you scared me!"
I was so startled that I jumped up. As a result, the things I had placed on my lap fell to the ground.
Luzef, who was following me, looked surprised and stared blankly at my face.
"I've been thinking about it since before, but how can a noble lady swear so well..."
As he muttered, his gaze slowly turned to the objects that had fallen below the stairs. I hurriedly picked up the objects and put them in my crossbody bag.
'He didn't see the map, did he?'
I don't seem to have any talent for acting. I'm not good at lying either. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if I was suspected of being the culprit who kidnapped everyone.
"Are you okay?"
I can't tell if he saw it or not. Bishop Ruzef looked at my complexion without showing any particular expression.
"Yes, yes... I'm fine."
I nodded hurriedly.
"But what's wrong? Why did you come out?"
At my question, Bishop Ruzef scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.
"Well... I usually can't sleep well when the sleeping place changes."
Good heavens. He's been changing sleeping places all the time, so has he ever had a good night's sleep on this island?
Perhaps that's why Bishop Ruzef looked so haggard. Of course, he was still as pure and beautiful as a lily.
However, Bishop Ruzef pointed to the stairs where I had been sitting a little while ago, as if it were nothing.
"Can I sit for a moment?"
I shrugged and replied.
"Go ahead."
When Bishop Ruzef opened his eyes, it was the middle of the night.
He got up and looked around, and only Margaret's seat was empty. It seemed like he had been asleep for a long time, but the first watch was not over yet.
He rubbed his face dry and sighed tiredly, then looked at Kaiden and Enoch lying next to him.
Kaiden seemed to be sound asleep.
Enoch had his eyes closed, but he probably wasn't asleep. He always slept lightly, keeping his nerves on edge so that he could get up at any time.
'Where did Lady Flone go?'
Bishop Ruzef took a sip of purified water and got up.
He looked around the first floor of the cabin, then looked at the stairs leading to the second floor, and decided to go outside the cabin.
As soon as he opened the door and went out, he found Margaret sitting at the entrance.
Margaret's platinum blonde hair seemed to shine white because of the moonlight shining through the huge vegetation.
Bishop Ruzef approached her as if possessed, but she was so focused on something that she didn't even notice him approaching.
And Bishop Ruzef discovered the map in her hand.
He didn't know what was written on it, but it seemed to be a map of this island.
"What are you doing?"
"Fucking hell, you scared me!"
She folded what appeared to be a notebook and jumped up in surprise.
Bishop Ruzef was even more surprised than her. Moreover, he was surprised once again by her rough swearing.
"I've been thinking about it since before, but how can a noble lady swear so well..."
Bishop Ruzef said such words and slowly lowered his head. The objects that had fallen below the stairs came into view.
A compass, a notebook, an unidentified stick, and a piece of cloth. Margaret hurriedly picked up the objects and put them in a small bag. Even so, she kept looking at him.
I don't know what she's trying to hide so much. The map I saw a little while ago? Why is she trying to hide that? Bishop Ruzef glanced at the objects she was holding in her arms.
Certainly, Margaret had as many suspicious aspects as Yuanna. I could understand why people sometimes suspected her. I was like that at first too.
Bishop Ruzef looked at her complexion and asked.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes... I'm fine."
After telling her, who was answering with an awkward expression, that he came out because he couldn't sleep, he pointed to the stairs.
"Can I sit for a moment?"
Margaret shrugged and replied.
"Go ahead."
Bishop Ruzef sat down first, and she hesitantly followed and sat next to him. They stared silently at the forest for a long time.
After a long silence, Bishop Ruzef quietly opened his mouth.
"...I don't know if we can really escape from this island."
Perhaps because the surroundings were quiet, even the softly muttered voice rang out clearly.
Margaret slowly raised her head. Her bright blue eyes that met his shone brilliantly in the moonlight.
"Yes. We will escape. So let's try a little harder."
Bishop Ruzef couldn't help but be puzzled by her firm answer. How could she be so strong and firm?
He knew that she was saying it to comfort him, but sometimes he thought that Margaret's mental strength was amazing.
"I feel relieved when I'm with Lady Flone."
At the words that sounded like a quiet confession, she looked up at him with a surprised expression.
"...Relieved? If Monsters come out while we're alone, we'll be on the train to the afterlife together, right? Enoch or Kaiden are much more reassuring than me."
"Do you really think so?"
At Bishop Ruzef's question, Margaret rested her chin on her hand and thought for a while before nodding.
"It's a little scary because they both have time bombs."
"And Lady Flone can handle those time bombs."
"Hmm. I guess you could say that."
Margaret burst into laughter as if she was amused.
Looking at her bright smile, Bishop Ruzef thought. If it was the Langrid Empire, they wouldn't have known that she had such a face.
In a strange atmosphere, he quietly revealed his inner thoughts that he had never told anyone.
"I actually hate people, so I became a clergyman."
"Ah... really? But, don't clergymen meet even more people?"
Margaret looked at him with slightly surprised eyes. He nodded.
"To be precise, I didn't want deep relationships. After becoming a clergyman, it was convenient because I didn't have to maintain troublesome human relationships. But the doctrine said. Love humans and give that love."
After revealing his inner thoughts that he had never told anyone, he felt relieved for some reason.
"Actually, it's comfortable on this island because I don't have to pretend to be like that."
