Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

111 – Awakening (4)

The hardship started on the second day.

My stomach was already glued to my spine.

The gnawing hunger was fiercer than any monster attack. My whole body was drained, and my head spun.

Suddenly, the thought struck me.

I have to live like this for a month?

Not even just lying still, but also manipulating mana and creating golems at the same time?

[“You must endure.”]

Salbira said.

[“The first week is the hardest. Once you get used to the hunger, your body will automatically start using mana as sustenance.”]

Salbira appeared whenever she had time, pointed out things to correct, and then returned to her nest. The Holy Empire female soldiers were so busy gathering food and herbs that they only showed their faces in the evening.

Even the Saintess, who threw a fit, crying and wailing that my body would be ruined, seemed to give up once I showed my will. Valkyrie left with an empty threat to kill me if I died. The Fox Sisters, well, I met them when making golems, so there wasn’t much to say.

These days, I was practically always with the Commander.

Putting aside that it would have been difficult to start this training without Commander Adora, I would have been lonely. Just having someone watching over me was encouragement.

It was definitely easier to feel the flow of mana without eating.

When I asked about it, Salbira replied that the metabolic rate of Ekirel was increasing as the cells began to breathe mana, and as a result, the amount of mana was permanently increasing.

The effect was clear.

After a week, the amount of mana stones I could produce at once had doubled.

[“This is… even more impressive than I expected.”]

Salbira, who came for an inspection, opened with that first phrase, sounding almost impressed.

[“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a human grow this fast. Doubling in just a week… it’s like watching a hero from that era.”]

[“How long does it usually take to get this far?”]

I was too exhausted to speak, so Adora Commander asked instead.

[“It took me a month.”]

[“What? Then haven’t we reached the goal? Can’t we stop now?”]

[“We could, but…”]

Salbira looked at me.

A look that said I had the choice to continue or not.

For the record, if I stopped now, there’d be no mana increase until I starved myself for another week, and the first time was said to be the most efficient.

How was my body doing right now?

My head was pounding, my stomach was burning, but it wasn’t like I was about to die. Probably because my body was using fat and mana as energy sources, like Salbira said.

[“Are you going to stop?”]

I shook my head without a moment’s hesitation.

The looks of discrimination and pity I’d endured just because my mana was low were more painful than the hunger I was feeling right now.

Having starved this much, there was no way I could give up here.

The corners of Salbira’s lips turned up. She naturally changed the subject.

[“Speaking of which, I should mention this. We recovered the witch’s corpse you guys took down last time and delivered it to the Vampire Princess today.”]

Vampire Princess.

The real power on this island, according to this spider woman, a demon protecting the island’s barrier.

We have to defeat that monster, or something, to escape this deserted island.

The Captain asked.

[“Why tell us now, instead of dragging it out?”]

[“I just wanted to get ahead of you before you figured it out. I still can’t openly help you humans. Jeriem… he said it too. There’s a right time for everything.”]

[“So, what did the demon say when you showed it the witch’s corpse?”]

[“Said she’d come out herself as soon as the first stage of the ritual is complete.”]

Salvira added that there was nothing else.

Vampire Princess, was her name Befisha? I had a rough idea of what she was thinking. I opened my heavily sealed lips.

[“Master, that demon already suspects you.”]

[“Yes, she probably does. But… did you just call me Master?”]

[“You gave me teachings, so you’re my Master.”]

It’s a miracle that my magic power doubled in just a week. I don’t know if it’s really permanent yet, but it’s enough to make my heart race.

I never thought the day would come when I’d be grateful to a demon.

[“Thank you, Master.”]

[“…Heh heh.”]

Salvira, who had a surprised look on her face, soon curled up the corners of her mouth. She smiled, repeating what I said, savoring the words ‘Master, Master…’

Ahem, Salvira cleared her throat and continued in a weighty tone.

[“Disciple.”]

[“Yes, Master.”]

[“The Blood Succubus wields forbidden Blood Magic. With just a bit of blood, she can slice through a human neck like chopping vegetables, and uses spells that push back even Holy Power. Furthermore, she knows ‘Weaving’ – do you even know what Weaving is?”]

I’ve heard of it.

Only heard of it.

[“Weaving refers to a state where you can change and assemble natural elements using mana. Upon reaching Weaving, you can alter the surrounding environment to your advantage. It’s hard to explain in words, so it’s better to show you directly.”]

Salvira took a step back and chanted an incantation.

[“Silk.”]

At that moment, the ground began to writhe.

The undulating earth transformed into thread and stretched out, flying right up to my and Sojang’s noses. Startled, Sojang quickly drew his sword and slashed away a bunch of the colored threads.

Clang!

A sound like hammering steel rang out.

“What is this…!”

Salvira scratched her head and gathered the threads back.

[“I wasn’t trying to attack, just wanted to bring them close and show you, you seem too surprised. My apologies.”]

[“…You made the ground into silk?”]

[“That’s right.”]

I had never seen or heard anything like it. Manipulating the ground’s mana without touching it.

[“This Master learned Silk Reeling magic first, from birth. It’s no exaggeration to say I’ve lived my whole life playing cat’s cradle. I believe you’ve figured out why I’m suddenly saying this.”]

[“Does the kind of magic you’re best at get manifested through Weaving?”]

[“Correct.”]

So, having mastered House Arrest, does that mean I can manipulate stone as I please?

[“From what I can see, my disciple has a knack for Geomancy… among the basic four elemental magics, it has the highest degree of freedom, and since it’s completely incompatible with blood magic, a liquid magic, reaching the House Arrest stage will grant you a significant advantage when fighting against a Blood Fiend.”]

Salbira originally planned to double my mana before teaching me House Arrest.

[“Disciple, a Blood Fiend will be coming here directly soon. It didn’t seem to trust this master. So, before things get out of hand, I wanted to offer you all a proposal, but I simply can’t bring myself to.”]

[“What is it?”]

[“If you heard it, you’d surely treat me like a sinister fiend.”]

[“We wouldn’t. You could have killed us a long time ago, and yet you’ve shown us such grace. To harbor such thoughts would be immoral.”]

Salbira wears a grave expression. After a few sighs, she opens her mouth.

[“I’m going to pretend to… tie up those women from the Holy Spirit Nation and offer them as tribute.”]

*

An emergency meeting was convened. How best to prepare for the arrival of the Blood Fiend was the key agenda.

When I told them about Salbira’s plan, the Holy Spirit Nation’s female soldiers protested.

It was a natural reaction. Who would immediately agree if they were told they were going to be offered to a fiend?

Even if getting captured was just an act, there were many problems. What if they died the moment they were caught, unable to do anything?

The biggest obstacle was that Salbira *was* a fiend, and originally, their enemy.

She had provided them with a place to hide so they wouldn’t be noticed by other fiends, and she had even lifted Valkyrie’s Geas, but they still didn’t trust her. Salbira probably knew that, too, which is why she brought it up so cautiously.

“But it’s also true that there’s no other option.”

Surprisingly, it was the Unit Commander who cut to the core.

“The fact that there’s a Blood Fiend among the fiend race is something we received directly from Headquarters, so it must be true. We also knew to some extent that she was powerful when we came here.”

Adora Squad Leader’s word was trustworthy. He’d risked death and gone with me all the way to the mountain to save Valkyrie.

“The Spider Woman didn’t say a single untrue thing.”

The Squad Leader asserted, and a moment of silence followed. The existence of a powerful enemy was almost certain now, and everyone’s face was etched with worry.

“Ugh, this damn mosquito again!”

“Sergeant, stop being a distraction and stay still. This is a serious situation.”

“Don’t scold him so harshly. The Sergeant has been hammering iron all day today, hasn’t he? He must be very tired and worn out.”

Valkyrie said something and showed me the chunk of metal. It was steel made by Riyo. She’d received the blessing of the Goddess of Crafting and smelted iron ore in a makeshift furnace, and her sister, Miyo, successfully added mana, completing a decent spearhead.

It was truly the power of a god. To be able to do something this precise at this speed on a deserted island… Even the Squad Leader and Salvira, let alone me, were amazed.

The four of them talked this way and that, but they didn’t seem to be reaching any meaningful conclusion. Meanwhile, I was staring blankly into space, trying to forget my hunger.

Mosquitoes.

There were so many damn mosquitoes today of all days.

“Everyone.”

I opened my mouth.

“I have a good idea.”