A Sanctuary of Our Own
As they lashed the third and final section of the floor together, a spacious, elongated rectangular platform was finally complete.
"Phew!"
"Wow! It's so spacious, I love it!"
"Really?"
"Yes. It feels just like the bathroom back at the mansion!"
"Go sleep downstairs."
"What?!"
A bathroom, of all things. Chester smiled with satisfaction as he looked down at the platform, which was easily three times larger than their Beach Villa. He decided to ignore Monia's critique.
"How are we going to make the roof?"
"The roof? See that branch up there?"
"Yes."
Chester pointed to a massive branch stretching across the sky directly above their elevated floor.
"That's one of the reasons I chose this spot. We're going to secure the roof frame to that branch, and then we'll connect the floor to the roof frame using bamboo poles as pillars."
"Pillars?"
"Yeah."
"Can't we just tie it up there?"
"Since we're building it anyway, I want to make it sturdy. Plus, I want to try something else."
Monia tilted her head at the mention of "something else."
"Well, you'll see soon enough."
Leaving it at that, Chester climbed down, brought up some dirt, and spread it in the center of the platform before lining the edges with stones.
Once the stones were in place, he packed mud into the gaps to reinforce the structure.
Next, he used his stone knife to carve four rounded grooves into the bamboo floorboards, then fitted two thick bamboo poles into them.
He lashed the pillars securely to the floor with rope and repeated the process on the opposite side.
With the four bamboo pillars standing firm, Chester carved a few more notches near the top of the poles. Then, he pulled out some smoked meat and skewered it onto a thin branch.
He rested the spit-skewered meat into the notches, securing it in place.
He gently spun the branch to ensure it could rotate a full 360 degrees, shaving down the notches slightly where the wood caught.
"There. What do you think? It's a rotisserie grill."
"Whoa. That's going to make roasting things so much easier."
"Yep."
"You should have made this sooner."
Monia had always hated how her fish inevitably ended up charred on one side.
"We didn't really need it before. But since we're building a proper house to make life easier, we might as well have some amenities."
Removing the meat skewer, Chester laid several thin branches across the notches and set their water cups on top.
"We can also use it like this."
"Wow. Now we won't burn our cups anymore!"
"Haha, exactly."
Monia hadn't quite understood what Chester meant whenever he muttered about "improving their quality of life."
But seeing him smoke the wild boar meat, harvest salt from seawater, build a house, and now construct a grill, she was beginning to grasp his vision.
It really would be nice to live a little more comfortably!
To celebrate completing the floor, they lit a campfire, roasted some meat to fill their bellies, and set out once more to gather materials for the roof.
"Oh, look at this."
While searching for materials, Chester spotted one of his traps and walked over to inspect it.
It was a simple log trap rigged with several snares, propped up against a tree.
"We got something."
Trapped inside were two large rodents, already dead.
"Wow. Animals actually fall for these things?"
"Pretty neat, right?"
Chester untangled the carcasses, tossed them into his basket, reset the trap, and kept moving.
Monia trotted close behind him, keeping her eyes peeled for anything that could serve as roofing material.
They were looking for branches that were as straight as possible.
Even if they weren't perfect, Chester could shave them down with his stone knife, so they gathered anything that looked workable.
"How about this one?"
"Yeah. Not bad."
Their top priority was the same type of wood Chester had used to make his arrows. Straight, round branches were perfect for framing a roof.
Along the way, they found some sweet berries. As Chester happily popped the tiny red fruits into his mouth, Monia watched him with a look of utter bewilderment, wondering how he could eat such random things.
"What?"
Chester paused, his gaze landing on a thick layer of moss blanketing a nearby boulder.
"..."
"What is it?"
"Let's take this, too."
"Huh?"
"We're going to use it as a bed."
With that, Chester began peeling away large chunks of moss and packing them into his basket.
"You're using that as a bed?"
"Yeah."
"Excuse me, but I have no idea what you're talking about! That's just moss! It's that annoying, slippery stuff that makes you lose your footing!"
"You'll understand once we try it."
"What kind of answer is that?!"
Despite her grumbling, Monia followed his lead and began gathering moss.
"Agh! It's so heavy!"
Unlike dry bamboo, the moss was saturated with water, making it incredibly heavy for Monia to carry.
"Take it slow. Only carry what you can manage."
"Okay."
Monia began unloading some of the moss from her basket. Seeing this, Chester casually tossed a few more chunks back in.
"Huh?"
"I think you can handle at least this much."
"No, I really can't. I'm exhausted."
Monia looked up at Chester with a pitiful, pleading expression.
"Hmm. Let's just try lifting it first, shall we?"
Chester spoke in a deceptively gentle tone as he strapped the basket onto Monia's back and helped her to her feet.
"Hieeeek...!"
Already worn out from a full day of hard labor, Monia was forced upright by Chester's firm grip. She trembled under the sheer weight of the damp moss.
"I can't do this...!"
"Come on, now."
As Monia's knees buckled, Chester propped her up against his own body, urging her forward as he took the first step.
Leaning heavily against him, Monia had no choice but to move her feet, guided by his steady pace.
"See? Look at you go."
"My knees hurt!"
"Whoops. Careful now, let's make sure we don't trip."
Feigning a comforting tone, Chester kept coaxing her forward, subtly pushing her to carry the heavy load.
I need to build up her stamina now so things are easier for us later.
When food had been scarce, he couldn't afford to push her like this. But now that they had plenty of rations, there was no reason to hold back.
"Ugh... I'm so tired..."
"That's because you're working hard to build our home."
"Is that really it?"
"Of course, of course."
Whenever her steps faltered and sweat poured down her face, Chester would feed her a sip of water and urge her onward.
"If you stop when your legs feel like lead, you won't be able to start again. That's how you give up. Come on, keep moving!"
"Hic...!"
"That's it! Good job! You can do it, Monia!"
Back in high society, Monia had been a woman who received praise and adoration just for breathing.
She was always beautiful, elegant, and the epitome of a noble lady, and she had been lauded for those qualities alone.
So, it felt incredibly strange to be praised while gasping for breath, drenched in sweat, and pushing her body to its absolute limits.
But despite the physical exhaustion, a different kind of void was being filled.
Though she couldn't quite put a name to it, it was a sense of accomplishment.
The profound satisfaction that comes from overcoming a grueling physical or mental challenge.
It was a feeling Monia had never experienced in her entire life of luxury, but since arriving on the Floating Island, she had encountered it more and more.
Finding water in the bamboo. Braiding rope. Surviving the storm. Catching fish in the trap she had woven herself. Building a house with Chester.
These small victories brought her immense joy. With every milestone, she watched their quality of life improve, and she was slowly becoming addicted to the feeling.
It wasn't a bad addiction. It was the drive to take on challenges, the desire to achieve, and the willingness to work hard for it.
Just as Chester had let her eat all the fish caught in her trap.
Just as the bright, warm sunlight had broken through after the cold, dark, and terrifying storm.
Being addicted to achievement meant she was building resilience.
She was learning to endure pain and hardship because she believed there would be a reward waiting for her at the end.
And so, Monia kept walking.
Though her soles throbbed, her ankles ached, her knees screamed, and the rough rope dug painfully into her shoulders, she kept walking.
Saddled with bamboo, branches, leaves, and a basket heavy with wet moss, she pressed on.
Whenever she felt like collapsing, Chester would gently support her weight, helping her take just one more step. And once that step was taken, she would find the momentum to keep her legs moving.
"Haa... haa..."
Sweat dripped from her brow. It poured down her face.
Monia watched a bead of sweat cling to the tip of her eyebrow, trembling before finally splashing onto the ground.
She felt another droplet trace a path from her temple down her cheek, rolling off her chin and disappearing into her collarbone.
One step, then another. Monia kept moving.
Glancing to her side, she saw Chester carrying a load twice the size of hers, yet he was walking with a relaxed smile.
Seeing him smile, Monia found herself smiling back. Strangely, it seemed to give her a burst of energy.
Monia took another step forward.
"Yes, just like that!"
Chester praised her, genuinely proud of her effort.
Drawing strength from his encouragement, Monia kept her legs moving.
Her body felt as heavy as lead, but she walked. She dug deep and pushed forward.
And finally, when they reached the building site—
"Alright, good job!"
The moment Chester spoke those words, Monia instinctively shrugged off her basket and collapsed flat onto the ground.
"Aaaahhhhh!"
Chester splashed some cool river water over her sweat-drenched face.
"Phew."
Monia lay there quietly, letting the cool water wash over her face, eagerly gulping down the drops that pooled near her lips.
Ah. This water is so sweet.
A single bottle of cold, clean water after a grueling day of labor tasted like the finest nectar of the gods.
"You were curious about what we're doing with the moss, right?"
"Yeees..."
"Just wait. You're going to love it."