An Island Full of Ghosts (3)
The mysterious man said only a few more words before rising from his seat.
"I should go check whether any other fish have been caught."
"Where do you live?"
"Up there."
He pointed toward higher ground — the direction of the mountain foothills.
"I live up on those heights. I fish, forage for wild greens, and scrape by well enough. It's rather comfortable, actually. The only real flaw is having no one to talk to most of the time."
He laughed heartily and turned on his heel.
"You said you can't go far without leaving the lifeboat behind, right? Then I'll come down this way myself. I'll drop by now and then when I have the time."
That was the end of it. The man vanished the way he had come, as abruptly as he had arrived.
From start to finish, everything about him was a mystery. Who he was, why he lived in a place like this, what this island even was in the first place.
Not enough information.
Dwelling on it would get me nowhere. I scrubbed a hand through my hair and shifted my thinking. Rather than burn energy guessing at the man's identity, I decided to focus on what I could actually do.
Then as now, one priority stood above all others: survival.
With one more mouth to feed, food had become more critical than ever. For the time being, I planned to stockpile tools that would help with hunting and foraging.
And just in case, I would craft more magic stones as well.
I took the sedimentary raw stones I had brought from the previous island and poured mana into them alone.
These still had no properties assigned to their mana, so they had no proper names. In academic terms, they were lumped together as zeroth-order resonators.
According to mana statistical mechanics, zeroth-order resonator magic stones contain the greatest quantity of mana. Raising them to first-order, second-order, third-order, and so on consumes a corresponding amount of that mana.
"That should be about enough."
I had made a large batch of zeroth-order resonators — and nearly drained my body's mana dry in the process.
I decided to spend the time until the Valkyrie and the Saintess returned making fishing rods.
A makeshift fishing rod required three essential components: the rod itself, the line, and the hook.
First I tested the nearby trees one by one, found a reasonably long and flexible branch, and snapped it off. That would serve as the pole.
Next, the line. Here I had two options: use fibers from clothing, or twist fibers from broad leaves into thread.
The former was easy. The latter was hard.
I already had permission, so there was no reason not to use the Saintess's clothes.
I unraveled threads from the stockings and braided them carefully. I cut cross-shaped grooves into the pole and secured the line so it would not come loose.
Lastly, the hook.
For that I used a buckle and pin from my hip pouch. The hooked tip was perfect for baiting and holding.
Done. Roughly complete.
As a final touch I tied on a small pebble for a sinker. I skipped the float for now. If it became a problem, I could always whittle a scrap of wood and attach it later.
I looked up at the sky. The sun was already preparing to slip beyond the horizon.
The Valkyrie and the Saintess would be back soon.
Now then.
Who should I give the fishing rod to?
Rachel and Tiria returned essentially empty-handed. They had managed to pick a few berries, but the fruit was small, and without a basket they had not been able to carry much.
"It's discouraging. First day or not, coming back with almost nothing…"
"The mage will have made something, at least."
"Can you tell me more about that man?"
Rachel swallowed a quiet hum of thought.
"I haven't known him long myself, so I don't know much. Still…"
"Still?"
"He was different from every other mage I've ever met."
Rachel had not spoken with all that many mages in her life. But the ones who had murdered her parents had been mages, and she had grown up afterward in an orphanage run by the Holy Church — so she had lived with hatred for their kind.
Even accounting for that, the man was different.
"If that face of his isn't a mask, then he's a decent person. He seemed to have at least a baseline of morals."
"And what guarantee is there that it isn't a mask?"
"None. That's why we're being careful."
"He didn't try anything improper with you, did he?"
"No."
Rachel answered flatly.
"If he had, I would have put a hole through his philtrum already. Wait — over there…"
"We've arrived."
Following the path they had taken earlier, the edge of the forest came into view.
Tiria looked up at the sky and let out a breath of relief. The sun was setting. They had cut it close.
"Mage. We're back."
Rachel spoke first. The man lifted his head. He had been hard at work making something — a basket.
Tiria and Rachel held out the food they had brought. The man sighed.
"Is that all?"
"The forest is strange. We didn't see a single animal."
"Hmm."
He looked back and forth between Tiria and Rachel. The glance he gave Tiria — who was wearing nothing but the coat Rachel had lent her — was an uncomfortable one. Tiria flinched and pressed the hem of the outer garment down with both hands.
"Did the two of you go bathe?"
"Yes. There was a river that way."
"Really? And there were fish in it?"
"Yes. We just couldn't catch any."
"That's a relief. Tomorrow I'll go set some fish traps. Might as well bathe while I'm at it."
Tiria and Rachel exchanged a look. The moment she heard the man declare he intended to bathe, Tiria bit down on her lip.
"Anything happen on your end?"
"I met someone earlier."
"Someone?"
"Whether he was actually a person, I'm not certain, but…"
Tiria listened to the man's account in silence. She handled the real-time interpretation so that Rachel could hear and understand as well.
"He was a tall, gaunt man, black from head to toe. Said he lives up on that mountain fishing and foraging for greens. Claimed to be a mage, like me."
"Was he from the Magic Kingdom?"
"I don't know. But we spoke in Whieon, so the odds are against it."
"Don't tell me — you and he…"
"I'll say it again: I cannot confirm whether he is human or a monster mimicking one. He has nothing to do with me, so if you run into him, I would prefer you not assume he is my ally."
The man repeated the same warning several times, driving the point home.
Once they had heard everything, Tiria and Rachel began discussing in the Ascalian tongue so the man would not understand.
"Do you think this mage is telling the truth?"
"If he is, then he shared the information to head off any misunderstanding on our part. If he's in league with that mysterious man, on the other hand, this would be a sophisticated deception."
Either reading made sense. Without mind-reading, they would have to approach the situation with both possibilities open.
"We ran into a water wraith earlier. There's no guarantee monsters only come out at night. Whatever this mage met could have been a monster too — something intelligent, like the siren the Major mentioned."
"…Then shouldn't we tell him there's a water wraith living in that lake? He said he's going to bathe tomorrow."
"Just wait a little."
Tiria stole a glance at the man, then continued.
"Whether this mage is toying with us or not — this is our chance to find out."
"How do you plan to do that?"
"Tomorrow I'll go to the lakeside with him as a two-person team. If the water wraith shows up again, I'll watch how he reacts and act accordingly. If he really tries to drag me under, rescuing me then won't be too late. Major, you stay here and fish."
"Understood. And — it almost certainly won't happen, but… if the mage tries to harm you, Colonel, what will you do?"
"Don't worry."
Tiria brushed her hip. A small, solid lump of metal peeked out for a moment. A pistol nestled in its holster entered Rachel's field of vision alone.
"If he tries anything stupid, I'll shoot him on the spot."
Drawing on what the mysterious man and the Saintess had each told me, I tried to piece together the situation inside the forest.
One of them had told me to go into the lake.
The other had said there were no animals in the woods.
That the Valkyrie had not found so much as a single small creature made no sense. The forest was that vast.
Perhaps some enormous, unidentified threat lurked in the woods — something that had driven every animal to flee or go into hiding.
Still, they said there were freshwater fish, so it was not as if there was nothing to eat…
But that doesn't add up either.
They had clearly said there were fish in the lake. Even if the Saintess came up empty, a Valkyrie seasoned in hunting should have managed at least one.
Had today simply been a bust? Was I expecting too much of her?
There could be something in the lake. A monster, maybe.
I would need to prepare for that, at least.
Before long we started our meal. A few berries the two servicewomen had brought, plus several fish I had carried over live from the previous island — that was everything.
With the extra mouth, the portions ran a little short, but it was fine. On a deserted island like this, just killing the hunger pangs counted as a success, didn't it?
"Hey. Have this for dessert."
The Valkyrie held out a red berry.
"I already ate."
"I had enough."
"Look, I said I'm fine."
"From where I'm standing, you worked the hardest today. Think of it as a reward. Eat it and work even harder."
She stared at me so intently I half expected lasers to shoot from her eyes.
"…Fine. I'll take it, all right? I'll take it."
If someone kept offering and you kept refusing, it only made things awkward. Eating the whole thing at once might upset my stomach, so I would save it and nibble a little whenever my blood sugar dropped.
If you receive something, you ought to give something in return.
"Here."
I held out the fishing rod.
After a moment's hesitation, the Valkyrie's hand finally moved. She took the rod and turned it over this way and that. In the firelight, the corner of her mouth had lifted, just slightly.
"So."
The Saintess spoke up then.
"How should we handle sleeping arrangements?"
"The two of you take the lifeboat."
"What?"
The Saintess's eyes went orange.
"Is that really all right?"
"Yes."
"And where will you sleep?"
"Over there."
I pointed to a stretch of flat rock — neither too close nor too far. Much like my relationship with these women.
"I'll lie down on the rock and sleep."
"Even so — can you actually sleep properly in a place like that? It'll be freezing and hard as stone."
"What, then? Share a bed with two Holy Kingdom servicewomen?"
Of course, saying it that way left a few inconsistencies. How many nights had I spent practically bare-skinned, tangled up with the Valkyrie?
But that had been different. The weather had been cold; there had been no choice. Survival had been on the line.
"Either way, there's no roof. It doesn't matter where I lie down."
"…All right. If that's how you want it, I won't argue."
"One last thing — let's set a watch. Who wants to take the first shift?"
"I will. I'll take two hours."
"Then I'll turn in first. If anything you can't handle comes up, wake me anytime."
With that, I went and lay down on the rock a short distance away.
With David at my side, I looked up at the darkening night sky.
I still had no idea what dangers this island held. That was why tonight felt the most unsettled. Would fishfolk appear the way they had on the last island? Would some other monster show itself? There was no way to know.
And the iron club I had on hand just did not hit the same. If I had something like a set of calipers, thrashing monsters would have been a lot more satisfying.
Before long the sunset faded, and full night settled in.
Rachel was sleeping soundly in the lifeboat, and the mage on the rock a short way off had long since turned into a barnacle.
"Haa."
Left alone, Tiria let out a sigh.
Standing there in this state, taking the sea wind full in the face, the reality of it was finally starting to sink in.
"We've really… been shipwrecked on a deserted island."
Too much had happened in a single day. She was exhausted. Tiria pressed her fingers into the dark circles ringing her eyes.
Even so, she could not sleep.
Because she was on watch?
Because she did not trust the man?
No.
Those things played a part, but they were not the main reason.
Tiria drew out her Baculus. She detected no direct sign of monsters — yet with the vast holy power she could spread across a wide area, she could feel far more than what the eye could see.
They were coming.
The moment the full moon climbed past the zenith, the island began to transform into a formless vision of hell.