12. Cast Away? (8)

After packing all our belongings, we headed back into the forest, retracing our steps.

Aside from Oh Dong-hun’s occasional grumbling, it was remarkably quiet, with only the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling in the wind.

The monsters that were supposedly released all over the island were nowhere to be seen, and we only occasionally spotted a small squirrel scurrying between the trees.

It was such a peaceful moment that I wondered if we were really here for a test or just on a camp trip.

But that brief moment of peace was soon shattered into pieces.

It all started when Won Ha-rin, who had been walking expressionlessly for a while, suddenly asked Go Ryu-shin a question.

“But what if the rewards for the additional task are distributed unequally? Even if we all work together to complete the task, there will only be one or two artifacts in the end, so wouldn’t the person who picks it up first be the one who benefits?”

Won Ha-rin’s question was definitely realistic enough.

We didn’t know the specifics of the additional task yet, but it was definitely related to ‘finding artifacts,’ as Professor Siana had mentioned beforehand.

The important thing was the number of artifacts. Assuming that an average of 10 people entered each island, the practical assessment would take place on 50 islands.

Even if the artifacts were of a low grade, placing two artifacts on each island would mean a total of 100 artifacts. Even Arbadellin would have to bear a huge financial burden for that, so it was most reasonable to assume that there was only one artifact per island.

If so, what should we do after managing to find the artifact after all that hardship?

As Won Ha-rin said, would the person who picks it up first get to keep it? That’s absurd.

The professors were definitely watching us closely through the eyes of observation, but we didn’t know those scores yet, so we had to set our own standards for contribution.

“Um… Is it impossible to fairly evaluate the degree of contribution and acquire the artifacts in order…? Haha, I guess it wouldn’t work…?”

Ryu-shin let his words trail off with an awkward smile, seeing Won Ha-rin’s eyes narrowing.

Even if different teams cooperated, they would inevitably maintain a tacit competitive relationship. In that situation, demanding an objective and fair evaluation was close to impossible.

“Do you think that’s a viable opinion in this situation? Seriously, I thought you were okay earlier, but now you seem like a lost cause. I’m about to turn around right now.”

Won Ha-rin was definitely saying the right things, but her condescending expression and annoying tone made me strangely irritated.

Jeong Yewon, who had been listening to her with a hardened face, approached Won Ha-rin to try to mediate the situation, but Won Ha-rin violently shook off Jeong Yewon’s arm.

“I especially hate you, so just don’t touch me.”

“Ha-rin-ssi, don’t you think about how you’re making the atmosphere weird? I just put up with it when you told me to fetch water and start a fire earlier, but isn’t this a bit too much?”

“Ha, too much? I’m just being kind to you because a low-level human is giving a low-level opinion… If you really don’t want to see me, then get lost. I don’t need any bonus points, so you five can do well on your own.”

Just as Won Ha-rin, who was staring at us with cold eyes, turned around to leave, Ryu-shin hurriedly ran up and grabbed her.

Won Ha-rin tried to say something, but Ryu-shin cut her off and urgently made a suggestion.

“Wait a minute! Then I want to hear what Ha-rin-ssi thinks. If we break up like this, there will still be lingering resentment even when we go back to school, so shouldn’t we just resolve everything here?”

“Haa… You’re really annoying in so many ways. If you really want to hold me back that much, then just give me the artifact. Then there’s no need to worry about how to distribute it, right? Hey, Jeong Yewon. That’s okay with you, right?”

Ugh, I really want to punch her in the face for the way she talks.

I don’t know if she has some kind of inferiority complex towards Jeong Yewon, but it bothered me that she kept bringing her up every time she spoke.

I wanted to call Won Ha-rin out separately and hypnotize her right away, but I clenched my fists and barely calmed myself down.

It’s not right to try to hypnotize her when Won Ha-rin’s abilities haven’t been clearly revealed yet.

It wasn’t too late to wait for an opportunity and hypnotize her the moment Won Ha-rin became defenseless.

If I could force her to obey me, I could have the artifact or whatever else at that time, so let’s just say okay for now.

“I… I’ll agree.”

“Ji-hoo-ssi? No, do you think that makes sense?”

Jeong Yewon looked at me with a betrayed and bewildered expression at my words.

I felt a little sorry for her, but it was the best thing to do right now, so I mouthed to her.

‘It can’t be helped right now. I have a plan, so please trust me and bear with it.’

“Keueut… Okay. I’ll agree too…”

Jeong Yewon understood my words and reluctantly bit her lip and agreed to Won Ha-rin’s words.

I thought she wouldn’t trust me because of the cum inside her earlier, but I’m glad that there’s still some trust left.

When Pira-hyun, who didn’t seem to care about artifacts at all, and Oh Dong-hun, who fervently followed Won Ha-rin, all agreed, Won Ha-rin, who had been watching with her arms crossed, let out a sneer and said to us.

“Well, since everyone says so, I’ll let it go this once. If you annoy me again, I’ll leave right away, so keep that in mind.”

“Hoo… That’s a relief. Then, now that the problem is solved, shall we try again with renewed energy?”

Ryu-shin tried to smile, encouraging me and Jeong Yewon, whose expressions were stiff.

And so, the six of us left the forest again, barely patching up the deeply ingrained conflict.

I want to give Won Ha-rin, who has a look of a victor on her face as if she thinks she has complete control, a proper education with my dick right away.

For the sake of my and Go Ryu-shin’s trampled pride, as well as Jeong Yewon’s, I wanted to crush her and make her beg me for forgiveness for being wrong.

I vowed to go find Won Ha-rin tonight, or tomorrow night at the latest.

* * *

By the time we arrived at the base camp, organized our luggage, and finished setting up our individual tents, the sun was already setting.

Judging by the size of the island, there seemed to be a few more teams, but since it was getting late in the afternoon, it seemed better for the six of us to spend the first day together than to risk encountering monsters and searching for other teams.

I cautiously approached Jeong Yewon, who was still fixing the tent with an angry face as if she hadn’t gotten over it yet, and spoke to her.

“Cheer up. I’ll go find Ha-rin-ssi, no, Won Ha-rin, and give her a stern talking to. I’ll make sure she can’t even open her mouth to Yewon-ssi by tomorrow.”

“…Thanks for the thought. Just help me set up the tent.”

The sea breeze was quite strong, so the tent set up on the high ground would almost fly away if it wasn’t fixed in place.

Of course, it was also Won Ha-rin who divided the lowlands and highlands and sent Jeong Yewon to the top.

We couldn’t really object to her plausible opinion that ‘we should set up a night watch to prepare for surprise attacks from a high place.’

I grabbed the wildly flapping cloth with both hands and pulled it down so she could easily drive the stakes in.

Jeong Yewon, who had barely fixed the tent to the ground, sighed deeply and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her wrist, then gestured for me to come inside the tent.

“What are you staring blankly at… Come in quickly, the wind is strong.”

“If you invite me, I won’t refuse.”

It was a one-person tent, so it was too cramped for two people.

As soon as I sat down on the floor, hard pebbles poked my butt.

When I looked straight ahead, I saw Jeong Yewon’s expressionless face, as if she was lost in thought.

Even though I was staring at her, she still didn’t say anything, as if she was deep in thought.

The atmosphere seems too stiff, should I throw out a light joke?

“Yewon-ssi, shall we be secret friends?”

“…Huh?”

Jeong Yewon stopped thinking at my sudden words and looked straight at me.

A subtle lavender scent that I didn’t know where it came from stung my nose.

“We’ve already seen everything about each other, so it’s a bit awkward now, right? So, to ease the atmosphere, let’s have another secret just between us…”

“N, no way…! I’m not going to have sex with someone who carelessly cums in someone else’s pussy anymore…”

She still had it in her heart.

Judging by the way her face was turning red in a hurry, it seemed like she would give in if I coaxed her well…

Well, it didn’t really matter since I didn’t mean much by it.

It’s dinner time anyway, so if we have sex now, other people might hear us.

“Okay. Come find me at night whenever you change your mind.”

“That will never happen… You pervert…!”

Hehe, who was the pervert who rubbed her pussy on my dick and masturbated?

It seemed like she was really going to cry if I teased her any more, so I decided to go back to my seat and eat dinner, and left her tent.

The moment I opened the tent entrance and stuck my head out, I heard someone running away in a hurry behind the tent.

I felt uneasy, so I went outside and looked around for a while, but no one was around, as if they had already disappeared.

“What… Did someone eavesdrop?”

If it was a monster, it would have attacked us rather than running away, so I could only think that it was one of the team members.

Ryu-shin, who had already eavesdropped on my and Hayul’s sex, was the most suspicious, but it wasn’t good to judge rashly.

I was too hungry to find out more, so I decided to eat first and then think about it.

Even if I was blackmailed for eavesdropping, I could solve it with hypnosis, so I didn’t care much.