The Ant-Wolves of the Floating Island
How much time had passed since the Floating Island had grown hot? Gradually, the sweltering heat began to recede, and a cool, refreshing breeze started to blow, making it feel even cooler than when Chester and Monia had first arrived on the island.
While this was welcome news for Chester and Monia, who still knew little about the island, the local wildlife sang a different tune. The moment this pleasant, cool weather passed, a true hell would unfold. In fact, even this cool weather itself was a prelude to hell. Under these temperate skies, every living creature on the island began to stir in earnest.
To survive the coming nightmare, they fought more fiercely and violently than ever, desperately hoarding food. Rodents that fed on berries, nuts, and seeds; herbivores grazing on grass; carnivores hunting for flesh—even animals that didn't hibernate began to fight tooth and nail.
Birds took flight to escape the island, embarking on an endless journey in directions unknown, with no guarantee they would ever reach land, given the island's mysterious, drifting nature. The only creatures enjoying any semblance of peace were the fish in the water. Yet even they adapted to survive, reducing their activity levels. The island was bracing itself for the days ahead.
And among them were the creatures Chester had named Ant-wolves.
The Ant-wolf was a cautious beast. They knew that their strength lay in their pack. Thus, their absolute priority was maintaining and growing the pack. For instance, on days with harsh weather, only the scouts were active. These scouts were larger and hairier than the average Ant-wolf, boasting massive jaws with incredible bite force, as well as large, wide ears and tongues. In the cold, they kept their ears and mouths tightly shut to preserve body heat; in the heat, they shed their fur and splayed their ears and tongues wide to regulate their temperature.
They scouted the island, hunted to feed the pack, and bravely led the charge in any battle. To protect the pack from harm, they normally avoided picking fights with stronger beasts. But when this season arrived, the rules changed. They became willing to accept a few casualties if it meant bringing down large, meatier prey. Cautious as they were, they knew exactly when to take calculated risks. Consequently, during this period, the Ant-wolves became the most ferocious predators on the island.
It didn't matter if the prey was a tiny rodent they would usually ignore, or reptiles and amphibians like snakes, lizards, and frogs. During this time, they would even aggressively attack bears—beasts they would normally flee from at the slightest whiff of their scent. The Ant-wolves roamed the island in silence. Using their exceptional sense of smell, they quickly pinpointed their prey, quietly surrounded them, and drove them into a corner. Bold yet meticulous, they never let their guard down, even against a mere rodent. In this season, they reigned as the undisputed apex predators of the lower forest.
"Rain again."
When Chester woke up and looked outside, he saw rain pouring over the island. Ever since the sweltering heat had receded, rainy days had become more frequent. As a result, even when the weather cleared up briefly, neither Chester nor Monia could do any farming, leaving them to simply kill time. The only saving grace was that even during the peak of the heat, they had avoided touching their stockpiled food, constantly building up new reserves instead. Thanks to that, they could weather any storm.
Watching the rainwater cascade down the clay-tile roof, Chester glanced toward the cultivated plot near the waterway. Though too small to truly be called farmland, it was a plot they had painstakingly tended to during the heat. Today, it was completely flooded, reduced to a muddy swamp.
"Sigh."
His mood grew as gloomy as the downpour. The island's already high humidity spiked even further, making everything feel damp and unpleasant. It felt as though his entire body were submerged in water.
At least the rain stops quickly, he thought. The rain would stop, start again, stop, and start again in an endless, unpredictable cycle. Naturally, there was no set pattern to it.
The real issue is body temperature. The temperature has dropped quite a bit, and now the rain is making it downright cold. If this island got cold, just how cold would it get?
I need to prepare to winterize the house. The preparations had to be thorough. In particular, they needed to store far more firewood than they ever had before. However, with both the house and the shed currently packed with supplies, there was no room to store a large amount of wood.
Alright. Let's build a new shed specifically for firewood. Thus, Chester decided to expand their living space in preparation for the coming cold—or rather, winter. Of course, winter might not actually come. Perhaps it would only grow cold for a brief moment before heating up again. But if the heat returned, they could simply go back to their usual routine. Therefore, it was only logical to prepare for a winter that might or might not arrive.
"Monia, wake up." Chester woke her as soon as the rain stopped.
"..."
Monia, whose entire body was wracked with muscle aches from practicing climbing up and down trees every spare second yesterday, grimaced as she looked up at him.
"What is it..."
"We're going to be busy starting today."
"Huh? Again?"
"Yeah. I'm planning to build another shed."
"..." Monia's face scrunched up even more at the mention of building another shed. "Why?" Yet, despite her grumbling expression, she obediently sat up and asked for the reason.
"The weather's gotten colder. Winter might be coming to the island."
"Winter..."
"To prepare for it, I want to build a dedicated shed just for storing firewood."
"Alright. So we're looking for bamboo again?"
"Exactly."
Monia smoothly gathered the baskets and tools kept in a corner of the house. The essential tools they carried whenever they explored the island were kept inside the house rather than the shed.
"What about the roof?"
"Hmm." At the mention of the roof, Chester looked out the window at the existing shed. Just as they had upgraded the house's roof from leaves to clay tiles, the shed's roof had also been replaced with clay tiles at some point.
"I'd like to use clay tiles, but..." The biggest obstacle was the weather. With the daily rain, there was no way to dry the clay. In fact, the well-dried clay in the kiln was absorbing water and washing away, to the point where they might have to rebuild the kiln later.
"We have no choice. Let's go with leaves."
"Okay. So we need bamboo, branches, stalks, leaves... How much rope and twine do we have left?"
"I've been gathering materials and making them whenever I had free time, so we have plenty."
"We still need to conserve them... Should we gather some vines too?"
"I don't know. The vines around here are weirdly thick; there aren't any thin ones."
In the past, Monia had merely followed whatever plans Chester laid out. But after spending every day by his side, watching and learning from him, she had grown. Now, she could confidently voice her own opinions.
"Which bamboo grove are we harvesting from? Across the river would be best, right?"
"Yeah. That's probably for the best."
There was a bamboo grove near the house, but it was located on a steep slope, making it too dangerous to work there in this weather. On a slope like that, merely standing still would cause them to lose their footing and slide down the muddy ground.
"Then let's get going!"
As the war between the Royal Army and the Duke's forces dragged on, the dining situation in the castle naturally deteriorated. Since the food in the national treasury was prioritized for military rations, the castle had to cut back on the luxurious ingredients they used to consume.
"..."
Tiara thought of the cakes that had completely vanished from her life. How long had it been since cake was served during tea time? Tiara sorely missed the sweet whipped cream and the fluffy texture of cake.
All she could eat at today's tea time were cookies rich in butter, lightly baked muffins glazed with a dusting of sugar, and milk tea sweetened with honey.
I can't believe they expect me to eat only this.
Ever since Jordy had vanished, Tiara's life in the castle had become a living hell. Under the pretext of "molding her into a woman fit for royalty," the castle staff subjected Tiara to rigorous training.
This was the kind of education other noble ladies received over a span of ten, if not nearly twenty, years from the moment they were born. Yet, under the banner of "royalty," they had raised the difficulty and expectations, cramming it all down her throat.
The lessons never stopped, not even when she was bathing or sleeping. Whether she was asleep or awake, her tutors stood by her side, droning on with their lectures, depriving Tiara of any decent rest. It was so horrific that despite eating well, Tiara was visibly wasting away.
...And I have another class soon.
Tiara's only respite was a brief, thirty-minute tea time. But now that the quality of the snacks served during this time had plummeted so drastically, it felt as though her final sanctuary had been stripped away.
And Jordy was sent straight to another front the moment he returned, so I couldn't even see him...
Indeed, after barely surviving his defeat, Jordy had been dispatched to another battlefield without even a moment to recover.
This life is horrible.
Unable to bear it any longer, Tiara burst into tears. Sobbing, she stuffed another rich, buttery cookie into her mouth.
"Wow! Look, Chester! There are so many sugar fruits! Let's take them all!"
"Oh, should we?"
"Hehe, brewing sugar fruits into tea really brings out their sweetness. Should I make some for you too, Chester?"
"Oh, the one you experimented with yesterday? I guess you liked it."
"Yes! It was great! ...Can we add some honey too? It would taste even better."
"No."
"Aww." Monia consoled her disappointment over the lack of honey by popping a sugar fruit into her mouth. "Mmm, delicious."
Her palate has certainly changed, Chester thought.
Sharing the sugar fruits, the two made their way toward the bamboo grove.