Ch.36Second Escape (2)

In war, the greatest killers aren’t bombs, machine guns, holy techniques, or magic.

Influenza, trench foot, dysentery, plague, tetanus.

For every soldier killed in an air raid, ten more die from high fevers and necrosis. Disease is the true enemy soldiers must fight.

I was no exception.

My fever rose and my body stiffened. Around my stomach and wrists where I’d been pierced by iron spikes, pain burned like fire. It was becoming more distinct with each passing hour.

In the end, I lay back down before I could do anything.

“Mage?”

The Valkyrie placed her hand on my forehead, startled, then went to find the priestess.

“What’s suddenly wrong with the Mage?”

“Just a moment.”

“Could it be tetanus?”

“No, the incubation period would be too short for that. Besides, I placed an antibiotic blessing on the Mage yesterday. There’s no way he could be infected…”

The priestess’s eyes took on a murky water-like hue.

“It’s because of the mana.”

Mana.

I had expected this.

Yesterday I used magic beyond my capacity. It was the first time in my life I’d cast so many spells in such a short period.

“It seems your immune system was severely weakened from excessive magic use. And now you’ve caught a cold on top of that. Judging by your fever, you’re in for quite an illness.”

The priestess began preparing something. She steeped herbs to make tea.

“Drink this. It’s tea brewed with leaves that have antibiotic properties. There are also flower petals that boost immunity, so chew those as well. Drink this and get plenty of rest.”

I was in no position to refuse her kindness. I nodded.

And so I rested for an entire week without being able to do anything. Naturally, I didn’t use any magic.

During that time, the Valkyrie handled hunting and water collection, while the priestess took care of cooking and gathering.

They even took turns standing watch without any issues, and although the number of monsters appearing had noticeably decreased, everything ran smoothly.

Suddenly I felt afraid.

“At this rate, you two might escape just fine without me.”

I said this jokingly to the priestess who was nursing me. I thought she would laugh it off.

Contrary to my expectations, her expression hardened.

“Don’t say things like that.”

“It was just a joke.”

“Don’t joke about that. It makes me lose strength while I’m trying to care for you. I go out of my way to look after you, and you can’t even read the mood. Hmph. Are you stupid?”

The priestess’s eyes turned almost violet.

For a Lumina, the iris reveals much information. When they’re frightened, worried about the future, or anxious, their eyes turn purple.

“Look at my eyes. Can you see my sincerity?”

“…Yes, I suppose.”

“I’ve never really liked being a Lumina. Everyone can read my emotions. But at times like this, it’s actually convenient. If I weren’t a Lumina, you’d think I wasn’t being sincere, wouldn’t you?”

“…”

“You need to stay alive. Because of you, the guideposts of my faith are beginning to waver. You must take responsibility and show me what the true path of an ascetic is, what the difference is between a magician and a Mage…”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”

“Stop talking nonsense! I just mean drink this!”

The priestess handed me the herbal infusion. After the bitter taste, there was a slight sweetness. This isn’t bad.

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better than last week.”

The priestess wasn’t the only one who nursed me.

The Valkyrie even went so far as to feed me. It was embarrassingly awkward, but I had no strength, so I just accepted it.

“By the way, Ms. Kasten.”

“Yes?”

“Are your injuries healing well?”

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

The priestess gave a faint smile. Despite that, her dark circles were prominent. Looking closely, she was sweating profusely. Her face was also flushed.

“Excuse me.”

I brushed aside the hair near her ear and touched her forehead and cheeks.

She was burning up. Her temperature was rising steadily.

This is like a fireball.

The priestess, her eyes turning orange, pushed my hand away forcefully.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“Look at yourself. You have a fever.”

“How dare you touch me so impurely…! This is a sin worthy of divine punishment! No one but a spouse may touch a priestess’s face!”

“You’re starting to come down with a cold too. You should rest before it gets worse.”

“Hmph, I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s sick.”

And exactly half a day later, the priestess was bedridden.

***

It took about three weeks from that day for us to fully recover from the battle with the ghouls. Given our poor conditions, what should have been at most a week of aftereffects dragged on for nearly a month.

Anyway, we’re all better now.

“Are your wrist and stomach okay?”

“What about you? Have your injuries healed?”

“…Why are you two talking as if I’m not here.”

All three of us were in decent condition.

It was time to begin our earnest efforts to escape the island.

First, we relocated our shelter. We moved the lifeboat to a flat area a little distance from the lakeside. We tied thick branches in an A-frame over the top of the boat and covered it densely with palm leaves to complete the roof.

“Shelter done.”

Next came food.

Since defeating the ghouls, changes had been occurring on the island. We started hearing birds singing.

“After eating nothing but fish for a month, I feel like throwing up.”

“We might have a way to hunt birds.”

Even a Water Elf wouldn’t live on fish alone. It was about time we desperately needed some meat.

“Mage, pay me back for nursing you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I quickly made a trap. It was a classic bird-catching device made of a Warning Stone, a basket, wooden sticks, and a few strands of thread.

But with automation added.

I picked some tree fruits and completed setting the trap. After a while, a flock of birds chirping came down to the ground one by one.

The birds hopped under the basket and pecked at the fruit. Their last supper. As soon as one bird finished eating and tried to leave, the Warning Stone emitted vibrations.

Woooong!

The Warning Stone’s power transferred tension to the thread. The wooden stick tied to the thread naturally fell. The basket followed, trapping the birds.

“Got them!”

I immediately lit a fire, plucked all the birds’ feathers, and put them over the flames.

“I’m sorry. Nothing personal. But I’m just too hungry.”

“Merciful goddess, thank you for providing our daily bread today.”

As the Valkyrie and priestess prayed, I joined them with folded hands.

Indeed, when you’re in the midst of nature, you find yourself seeking divine help whether you like it or not. Hoping to survive another day.

As I took a bite of the roasted bird meat, tears welled up in my eyes.

“Wow.”

Delicious.

“How long has it been since we’ve had meat?”

“After eating only fish for so long, even the smell of fish makes my head hurt.”

“People really need a balanced diet. Don’t you agree, Mage?”

After finishing our meal and spending another night, we began climbing the mountain in earnest.

Everything was still there. The tree stumps, the altar for sacrifices.

Even the people who had been reduced to skeletons.

“What should we do? These people weren’t even properly buried.”

If there had been only a dozen or so, we might have made graves, but even that was difficult given our time constraints. For now, we built stone cairns, offered prayers, and began our exploration.

First, I recorded the mana information of this area with the Origin Stone. When I injected a pattern into one Origin Stone, it affected the other Origin Stones as expected.

With this, the mana compass was complete.

[‘Major.’]

It was then that David whispered.

[‘The former battalion commander’s presence is getting closer. It seems I wasn’t mistaken.’]

“Is that true? Where?”

[‘Over there. No, not there. Yes, the direction you’re looking at now.’]

I moved my feet as if entranced.

“Mage? Where are you suddenly going?!”

“You should at least say something before leaving! Oh, really! Why is he acting like this again?”

It was a special and familiar form of mana. Following that scent, I reached a small clearing behind the altar.

All I could see were old paper bundles on tree stumps, ancient scrolls, candles, a few alchemy tools, and some artifacts.

The priestess and Valkyrie, who had hurriedly followed, gasped in amazement.

“To think there was such a place behind the altar…”

“Come over here. There are lots of ancient documents. They’re all written in Incantation?”

“Can you read them, Colonel?”

“I can hear them, but I can’t speak or read them. That’s the limitation of the Holy Spirit Eye. We’ll need to ask the Mage to translate.”

I could hear the two women whispering behind me, but that wasn’t important right now.

There was something in the corner of the stump.

“A, a stone.”

A perfect sphere.

A stone as symmetrical as the moon in the night sky spoke to me.

[‘It’s been a long time, Captain Lohnstein. No, my friend Erich.’]

Looking at its shape, I couldn’t resist.

[‘A Mage of your caliber would have noticed who I am just by looking at my magical wavelength. Yes, I am your senior, Johannes Kalon. That day I died, but I didn’t die. I have so much to tell you… Wait, what are you trying to do! Uoooooh?’]

I impulsively picked up the stone and rolled it around in my hand.

It wasn’t artificially carved. 100% natural.

It’s smooth!