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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuzio
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“Ugh, I want to get off this island so badly…”
“I agree.”
I wiped the blood off my shovel and examined the traces of destruction.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, it didn’t take us long to arrive at the scene.
The island was relatively small, so it was only natural.
Several grotesque creatures were roasted to a crisp, but Lewis and his party were nowhere to be seen.
Where had they escaped to?
I continued searching for any sign of human presence, decapitating the still-twitching creatures one by one.
I found traces of humans after turning about twenty monster heads into soccer balls.
“Johann! There are footprints here!”
“Are you sure those are the right footprints?”
“These footprints are evenly spaced!”
Since the grotesque creatures also possessed “human” bodies, they left footprints as well.
However, due to their sluggish movements, their footprints were also irregular and smeared.
On the other hand, human footprints were generally neat and distinct.
I moved to the spot Sif had indicated and examined the footprints.
“You’re right.”
Towards the sea, huh.
A wise choice.
It would be suicidal to blindly venture deeper into the forest without knowing how many more of those creatures were lurking around.
If you didn’t have a way to defend yourself against the grotesque creatures, like me, the open sea, with its unobstructed view, was a safer option.
“Sif, we’re heading to the south coast.”
“Wow, you can still eat jerky after seeing that?”
“Even in unpleasant situations, you have to eat to survive.”
That was the first lesson I learned on the deserted island.
To survive, replenishing your energy was crucial, regardless of the circumstances.
Well, except for mushrooms.
I popped a piece of jerky into my mouth and quickened my pace towards the south.
The sea should be just ahead.
Avoiding the increasingly scarce grotesque creatures, we arrived at the ravaged beach.
“Wow, this place is littered with corpses too…”
“Over there.”
There were footprints that hadn’t been swept away by the waves and a long trail of blood.
We followed the bloodstains, searching along the beach.
…How long had we been walking?
We discovered a severed tentacle belonging to a flying grotesque creature.
Sliced off by a sharp object, it had splashed into the sea, creating a dark red stain.
“Who’s there…! You’re… a knight?”
“We’re allies. Lower your weapon.”
Lewis lowered his sword, panting heavily.
He was the protagonist, after all.
Besides a few scratches, he appeared to be unharmed.
Shuri also seemed unscathed, and the unnamed alchemist…
“Johann, that…”
“Don’t say a word.”
I pulled out bandages from my backpack and approached them.
The owner of the blood trail was seemingly oblivious to their surroundings, gritting their teeth and clutching their wound as they groaned in pain.
I passed by Lewis and Shuri, who appeared to be fine, and gently unwrapped the torn cloth from the alchemist’s wound to assess the damage.
“This is…”
“Vi, Viola tried to protect me… from that mon, monster…”
Poison? Or some kind of virus?
I handed the alchemist, whose skin was covered in blue veins like something out of a zombie movie, to Sif and turned my gaze towards the protagonist and heroine staring at me.
Their expressions were a mix of curiosity and relief.
I glanced at the horde of grotesque creatures approaching from afar and spoke to them.
“I know you have a lot of questions, but hold on to them for now. Retreating takes priority.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“It hurts…”
After wrapping the wound with a bandage and tying another one tightly around her upper arm, I questioned Shuri, who was fidgeting beside me.
“How long ago was she injured?”
“A, about an hour ago…”
“What caused the injury?”
“The, the monster bit her…”
Bitten by a monster, huh.
It was a shame that the priest had been burned to death.
I had brought some potions just in case, but they were useless against this kind of injury.
Cauterizing it with fire, or an even more drastic measure, was needed.
I looked at the bonfire burning in the center of the camp, then back at the female student named Viola.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
“I, I can hear you…”
“The situation is dire. The veins on your arm are spreading upwards-”
“Wh, what about Brown…?”
“He’s dead.”
Viola’s face paled further at the news of his death.
Had she lost her last hope?
I ignored the despair slowly creeping into Viola’s expression and continued speaking.
“With the priest gone, there are only two options. Pray that the injury doesn’t spread throughout your body until we can return…
…Or cut off your arm.”
A virus-like substance was clearly spreading through her arm, so there was no other solution besides amputation.
Viola squeezed her eyes shut at my words.
Tears welled up in her swollen eyes.
There was no other choice.
I placed the cloth-wiped shovel into the bonfire and started heating it.
“Shuri… is that your name?”
“Ye, yes!”
“Hold her down. The pain will be unbearable-”
I raised the red-hot shovel above my head.
My target was her shoulder.
There was no need to worry about missing.
My expertise lay in using a shovel.
Viola opened her eyes and looked up at me, then closed them again.
Watching your own arm being severed was probably too much to bear.
My shovel mercilessly descended towards Viola’s shoulder like a guillotine.
A sickening thud echoed out and a spray of hot blood squirted out from her arm.
But there was no time to hesitate.
I cauterized the severed wound with the heated back of the shovel and quickly wrapped it with bandages.
Fortunately, Viola managed to endure the excruciating pain.
“Shuri, there’s water in the canteen, so give it to Viola. I have some work to do, so if you need anything, ask the cat over there.”
“Huh? What are you going to do?”
Sif, who was applying ointment to Lewis’ wounds, asked.
I answered without looking at her.
“I’m going to find water.”
Our numbers had increased, so even if food was scarce, we needed to secure a source of water.
“I’m glad there was someone else in the rift besides us…”
It was Perinne who spoke, her expression relaxed.
Lewis and Shuri unconsciously nodded in agreement.
It was true.
If it weren’t for him, they would have become food for the grotesque creatures, or perhaps…
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Viola’s severed arm, which was still writhing like a mollusk.
What exactly were those things?
Sif, oblivious to their gaze, rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a bundle of jerky.
She had brought enough to fill a third of her large backpack, so they still had plenty of food.
The cat burglar, who now had four patients to care for, sighed inwardly as she ripped the flat pieces of jerky and handed them to Lewis and his party.
“Are you hungry? Here, eat this.”
“Thank you…”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll repay your kindness later.”
Lewis and his party stuffed the jerky into their mouths and began chewing.
They hadn’t eaten all day, so they devoured the salty jerky in an instant.
Sif chuckled and tore off more jerky, offering it to them along with the canteen filled with water.
“It’s amazing that there’s a building in a place like this…”
“I’m surprised too. Dimensional rifts are truly fascinating…”
Having regained some energy after a simple meal, the group belatedly began to look around the camp, expressing their admiration.
They were gawking at the camp like primitive people who had discovered fire.
Sif, watching them, said with a playful smile,
“He built all this, you know.”
“Excuse me?”
“He built this yesterday.”
“What do you mean…?”
Perinne looked at Sif with a puzzled expression, unsure if she was being serious or joking.
Regardless, Sif confidently repeated herself.
“Johann has a knack for this kind of stuff. He built this right after we fell into the rift yesterday.”
“Was he a mage? I hardly felt any magic from him…”
“He’s not.”
Sif shook her head at Perinne’s question.
“What? Then how…”
“I think it’s a skill, but Johann never told me, so I don’t know.”
“That’s an incredible skill. To build a building like this in a single day…”
“Is it even possible to build a house like this with a skill? Shuri, can you build a house like this with a skill?”
At Lewis’s doubtful question, Shuri, known as a bookworm, hesitated and replied,
“This is the first time I’ve heard of it…”
It looked like a building made by pouring soil into a mold and letting it harden, but building even a structure like this in a single day was absurd.
The group looked at Sif with doubtful expressions, despite her explanation.
‘People always have that look on their faces when they see what Johann can do.’
A small smile crept onto her lips at the amusing sight, which was a welcome distraction from the grim situation.
As they were chatting amongst themselves, they were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps.
Everyone turned their heads towards the stairs.
A familiar man was climbing the stairs and entering the camp.
“Sif, gather all the canteens. I found water, so we’re going to refill them.”
“I’ll help too.”
Lewis, who had been resting against the wall, stood up and picked up the canteens scattered on the floor.
Seeing him get up, Shuri hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I, I’ll help too!”
“No, Shuri. You take care of Viola.”
“Oh, okay… Be careful!”
“Don’t worry.”
Shuri and Lewis exchanged affectionate glances.
Johann clicked his tongue, watching them.
‘Look at them, lovebirds.’
“Then let’s go…”
“I’ll help as well.”
Finally, the daughter of the Nereid family joined the water-gathering operation.
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