Navy Marigold. (8) 14.

The little rowboat drifting aimlessly finally washed up on the uninhabited island just as Lancel sensed that this loop was nearing its end.

"An island! An uninhabited one!"

"We're saved! Sir Lancel!"

No sooner had Marygold thrown her arms around him in tearful relief than Lancel grabbed the oars.

He poured his last remaining strength into paddling them all the way to the beach.

"Ugh."

"No, Sir Lancel!"

The moment Lancel collapsed from exhaustion, Marygold leaped from the boat.

She scrambled up a nearby palm tree in a flash and began hurling down coconuts one by one.

"Pull yourself together, Sir Lancel! You can't die yet!"

"...Mary. I think this is it for me."

"Don't talk like that—it's not like you at all, Sir Lancel!"

Lancel closed his eyes.

"Hm?"

Something soft touched his lips at the same moment.

As his lips parted, sweet juice flooded in.

Gulp.

"...!"

A thrill of euphoria shot down his spine.

He felt life force spreading from his throat to his nerve endings.

Water, sugar, calories—the things he hadn't tasted in ages.

Gulp. Gulp.

"Phew! One more time."

"...Mary? Mmph!"

Lancel finally realized how the coconut juice was getting into his mouth, but it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was too late to stop her.

The steady influx of calories made energy surge through his body.

"Hoo, one more!"

Smooch.

"Enough."

"Mm?"

He urgently stopped Marygold, who had her mouth full. The coconut juice slid down her throat instead.

"I'm good now that I'm awake."

"Sir Lancel!"

Marygold clung to him, tears welling up.

"I almost had to live on clinging to your corpse. Hic...!"

"That's what I wanna know—why would you cling to a corpse and keep living?"

The bird perched on her head, Pia, met Lancel's gaze steadily.

'We almost got our first starvation ending.'

With his strength restored, Lancel immediately surveyed their surroundings.

A wide expanse of white sand beach, dense jungle beyond it, and countless seabirds fluttering their wings toward the island's center.

It had everything an uninhabited island should.

"Let's just hole up here until a ship passes by."

"You think any ship would pass a place like this, Sir Lancel?"

"Something'll come eventually. Plenty of ships sail the archipelago seas."

Lancel brushed off Marygold's worries just like that.

And so, Lancel, Marygold, and one little bird began their castaway life, waiting for rescue.

Life on the uninhabited island was monotonous.

1. Repair the shelter. 2. Forage for food and water. 3. Repeat.

The ramshackle shelter they had slapped together grew sturdier with time, becoming a proper cabin complete with a bed and cooking facilities in just one week.

"Got it! Wild boar!"

"Roast 'em all and eat up!"

"That'd be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a waste. We're smoking them."

"Ooh!"

By the end of the first month, a food storage shed had sprung up beside it, hung heavy with smoked seabirds and fish.

And beyond that: dew-collecting setups, animal traps, hand-carved harpoons, axes ground from stone, and more.

Proving that humans were creatures of adaptation, Lancel had built a full homestead in record time.

"Mary. It's hot."

"It's hot for me too."

"Then get off me."

"Don't wanna."

"That's an order from your officer. Off."

"No officers or soldiers on an uninhabited island."

"...".

"Heehee."

The two lay side by side on a bed made of stacked bamboo.

Nothing much happened between Lancel and Marygold.

They just stuck close together to confirm each other's presence before sleep, more often than not.

A world visible only as island, sea, and Marygold. Lancel was growing accustomed to her presence, day by day.

Another year passed.

"Sir Lancel."

Now eighteen and fully an adult, Marygold approached him.

To preserve their clothes, they had stripped off their navy uniforms entirely, living in little more than animal hides covering the essentials.

"I kinda like just living like this. Plenty of food, no worries. Even Pia likes you now."

'No, paradise is a stretch...'

Not quite.

But it wasn't bad. That much was true.

Maybe Lancel was finally taking a real vacation here.

Boom!

"Eek!"

On a stormy night, Marygold huddled against him, shoulders shaking.

"Mary."

Lancel quietly pulled her close. Her presence, fuller now that she was grown, burrowed into his chest.

He felt her trembling ease, her breathing steady.

Crack-boom!

Lancel slowly recalled everything from the moment they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first met until now.

Marygold brawling with a vagrant in the train's last car. Marygold showing up to become a mercenary. Blind Marygold. Marygold wandering rural estates as a swindler.

Memories that lingered only in his head. This uninhabited island Marygold might end the same way.

Unremembered by anyone. Existing only within Lancel.

'...Happy ending...'

The day Marygold finally ended these regressions.

Even if that Marygold called herself happy in that moment, would it truly be a happy ending? Would it really be what Lancel wanted? Just because the loops ended, everything was fine?

The images of countless Marygolds—who had lived ten years inside him before vanishing—swirled endlessly in his mind.

"Sir Lancel. I'm an adult this year."

"...?"

"Just saying."

In the storm's roar, Marygold whispered with trembling eyes.

Her body felt feverishly hot.

Lancel pondered his response.

-Peep!

The sleeping bird, Pia, wedged herself between them.

As if she knew what was about to happen.

"Let's sleep."

"...Pia!"

Marygold shot Pia a glare full of resentment.

-Peep!

"What a wasted chance...!"

-Peeep!

"I'm the one who should be mad!"

Whew.

That was close.

Lancel steadied his breathing, nearly swept up in Marygold's momentum. He'd almost barreled straight into an ending.

"Tomorrow... I'll definitely... grab you and... hoist you up and...!"

What was that about?

Lancel quietly closed his eyes, watching Marygold mutter her vows.

As the overnight storm cleared, a blinding sun rose.

"What?"

That's when it happened.

Lancel's eyes snapped open at the sound of voices.

Voices that weren't Marygold's—it had been so long, he could barely remember.

Rescue team?

Navy rescue? Lancel and Marygold exchanged glances.

"Over here! There's a house or something."

"What? A real house? You lot build this?"

"Why would we build a house here with nothing to do?"

"Look at this! Women's clothes! Clothes on a woman!"

"A woman's here? Where! Where!"

"Jackpot!"

"Grab her and sell her at the slave market!"

"Someone's inside!"

"Rush it!"

Of course.

Lancel grabbed the stone axe from under the bed. Marygold was quietly lifting a wooden shutter.

Bang!

"Hubby's home, you bitch!"

The stone axe smashed straight into the head of the burly man who kicked down the door.

Splat!

"Gack!"

"Who made you hubby?"

His face caved in instantly, blood spraying.

Lancel fixed his cold gaze on the dozen or so men behind him.

Each gripping a blade—it was obvious what they were, even without looking. Pirates.

15.

"What the hell have you incompetent navy fools been doing for three whole years?!"

Lady Iceford's shrill voice rained down on the navy officers.

"Ahh, right there, yes, good."

She lay sprawled on silk spread over the beach, with no fewer than four attendants kneading her back vigorously.

Having fully adapted to island life, Lady Iceford's once prim demeanor had loosened into something scandalously revealing—practically naked, really.

"A-Are you alright, milady?"

"Heehee. Such a cute boy. Keep going."

Three years was plenty of time to transform a capital noblewoman like Lady Iceford.

"Ah, more, there, yes! Mmm!"

"...".

She looked for all the world like someone on vacation. Sweat beaded on the navy officers' foreheads.

"Anyway!"

But she reignited her fury in an instant.

"You know what happens if Third Princess Her Highness comes to harm, right? Word will spread among the capital nobles: 'The archipelago navy bungled the rescue,' they'll say."

"That's...!"

The navy officers broke ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out in fresh sweat.

For officers quietly angling for a promotion to the capital, that was an unforgivable stain of dishonor.

"Anyway, I've warned you. Bring results."

"...Understood."

Coral Baron could only bow his head, cursing inwardly.

She might look the part, but she was still a duke's daughter and an imperial lady-in-waiting. Not even an earl could trifle with her.

Orders were orders.

"Guard captain! Baron Coral!"

That's when it happened.

A navy sentry came dashing across the beach from far down the shoreline.

"They found her!"

"Found what?"

"P-Princess Her Highness!"

"...!"

Everyone on the beach looked up.

Even Lady Iceford, lost in her massage, bolted upright.

"...Is that true?"

"Yes! Lady Iceford! It's confirmed! The pirates we captured today—they spilled everything! Sir Rocks Ruin just heard and set sail himself!"

"Where?!"

The sentry caught his breath and spoke again.

"An island... disguised as an uninhabited one, their hideout... We heard it clear as day!"

"Uninhabited island?"

"Yes! Their boss has this woman he dotes on... and she looks exactly like Her Highness... Solid intel!"

This was the real deal. The gut feeling hit everyone at once. This tip felt legit.

"Prepare the fleet! We're following!"

Coral Baron's shout. The officers sprang into action. One thought dominated their minds.

'If it's really the princess, I rescue her first!'

'No sharing the empire's hero title!'

'Rocks Ruin, you sly bastard!'