🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 43
Kaiden pressed Asdal and Yuanna down at the same time with his monstrous strength. Diego managed to subdue Enock on his own.
Well, it made sense—Diego was one of the few humans who could barely withstand Kaiden’s brute force, so it was only natural that Enock would have to mark him exclusively.
“This is why you can’t go soft with people. Should’ve used violence from the start.”
We wasted far too much time trying to save our bombs and bullets.
Rusef, who had been watching the scene with a pale face, pointed out the problem in a calm tone.
“Lord and Your Highness the Crown Prince did use violence from the beginning. You also used that flare, milady. So when exactly did anyone try to reason with words…?”
“Well, that’s true. But this is a jungle.”
“Indeed.”
Rusef obediently fell silent.
Enock used the rope Kaiden had made to tightly tie the three of them and brought them in front of the cabin. Asdal and Diego struggled, but Kaiden held the rope firmly, so they couldn’t move.
“We didn’t want to go this far either.”
“Right… we went down too easily.”
Yuanna smiled wryly, looking somewhat resigned.
“Well, this is the difference in strength, Saint. You can’t just try to handle people recklessly.”
I laughed along with her at her remark, even though it was entirely Enock and Kaiden who had done all the work.
“This is the most humiliating situation I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
Asdal said this with a smile.
Humiliating, yet he looks so unconcerned—it’s strange. Somehow, the Yuanna family seems to all have slightly odd personalities.
“Milady Flone seems to have changed a lot. I’d believe it if someone told me she was a different person.”
Of course, neither Enock nor Kaiden seemed to pay the Bread Prince’s words any attention at all.
“Looks like this is the key.”
Kaiden rummaged through Yuanna’s pocket and threw something to me.
It was a large golden key, about the size of a palm. It looked very worn, but it was clearly made of solid gold.
“Really a key… where did you get this?”
Yuanna only gave me a sly smile and didn’t answer. I stared at her with a contemplative look for a moment before speaking.
“Let’s negotiate again. I don’t know what plan you’re plotting, Saint, but I’ll listen. If our interests align, I’ll cooperate.”
Yuanna looked at me in surprise. She probably thought I would never cooperate under any circumstances.
But the situation had changed now.
At the end of Volume 1 of the novel, Yuanna escaped the island through a door that appeared after one year.
Even if I hid in the bunker, it was useless if I didn’t know where the escape door would open after a year.
Until we figure out the location of the door, I needed Yuanna.
Originally, I had considered hiding alone in the bunker in case meeting the heroine might change the personalities of the male leads.
Because if I followed the novel’s unchanging law, they might kill me.
But if I worry about that and fail to find the escape door, that’s a problem too.
I gestured toward Asdal and Diego and said:
“However, persuading these people is the Saint’s responsibility. If you refuse, we’ll take the key ourselves. The secret of the key will reveal itself if you keep it.”
I put the key in my pocket and slung my backpack, watching the Yuanna group look at me in surprise.
“This wasn’t part of the plan.”
“…It’s true this isn’t exactly favorable for us.”
I heard Asdal mutter softly in response to Yuanna’s comment.
Yuanna looked at me as if she had made a decision.
“If you answer, we’ll release you. Let’s stop fighting. The day is ending anyway.”
I nodded. That was when she finally spoke.
“We’re looking for the ‘door’ that matches this key. The reason I said more people are better is that we need to search the entire island. You know there are monsters here, right?”
“Yes. There are various monsters.”
“Exactly. So if milady and your group give us full support, it would help.”
I ran my hand through my hair and let out a tired sigh at her answer.
Searching the entire island aligned with our own plans.
“You could’ve asked nicely from the start. Why the nonsense about serving us and making me angry?”
I thought I said it calmly, but Kaiden coughed in surprise beside me.
“I said it’s better for me to take the lead. That’s all I’ve learned in life.”
I shook the key in my pocket in response to Yuanna.
“If it’s because of the key, it seems there’s no need for that anymore.”
“Right.”
She shrugged nonchalantly, still composed. That’s why she’s the protagonist.
“Have you looked closely at what’s written on that key?”
Yuanna asked me. Written on the key? I looked at it carefully again.
As she said, on the side of the key, in the Langrid Empire’s language, were the words: [Exit Key].
The problem was the inscription below it:
Alea
Return
Alea again. But Return? It means “to come back”—what could that mean?
Does this mean opening a door with this key leads to Alea, or that a person named Alea returns to the island, or that the gatekeeper of the escape gate is Alea?
I wasn’t even sure if it was a person’s name. What on earth is Alea?
“Exit key? What exit? What is this?”
Kaiden tilted his head, glancing at the key in my hand. Enock also rested his chin on his hand, looking thoughtful.
“Exit key… I really don’t know what kind of island this is.”
At Enock’s mutter, Asdal, who had stayed quiet, let out a sigh.
“Whatever it is, we definitely need to search the entire island. And there’s no guarantee this is even the island’s exit key. That’s just our guess.”
After hearing Asdal’s answer, I asked Yuanna:
“Saint, I’ll ask again. Where did you get the key?”
“I found it.”
“Where?”
“It was by my pillow when I first woke up on this island.”
“That’s highly suspicious.”
“Isn’t it similar to milady carrying that suspicious magic tool?”
True enough, Yuanna’s words kept making sense.
If this really is the key to the door in the novel, why did it fall right next to Yuanna?
Because she’s the heroine? Or does the door only open in front of the person who holds the key?
In the novel, the door clearly opened in front of Yuanna. Though I couldn’t remember the exact location.
She moved around too much in the story, I don’t remember.
Either way, it was clear that staying close to Yuanna was necessary to get any clue.
I glanced at Enock, Kaiden, and Rusef. I had no idea what variables might arise if they stayed with Yuanna.
Was it really right to have them stay with her here?
Though Yuanna seemed more interested in me than in the male leads, I still didn’t know her true intentions.
If Enock and Kaiden fall for her… I’ll have to run no matter what.
I furrowed my brow and, after some deliberation, asked Yuanna again:
“Do you know anything else? Have you learned anything about this island?”
“No. That’s why we were also exploring the island.”
Her answer made me bite my lower lip and think.
“Fine. Let’s stay together only until we figure out whether this key really opens the island’s exit and where the exit is. To be clear, we’ll be watching you. Don’t even dream of stealing anything.”
I pointed to my eyes and then hers, signaling that I’d be keeping watch.
She smiled at me, as if that suited her just fine. A graceful smile, like a red blossom bursting into full bloom.
“Hey, Saint. I can’t accept this decision.”
Asdal shrugged and opposed me. I gestured at him toward Yuanna.
“I said it’s your responsibility to persuade them.”
Yuanna glanced at Asdal.
“I think the more people the better. Honestly, surviving on our own was a bit tough. Anyone opposed?”
Yuanna’s question made Asdal pause. He avoided her gaze and fell silent, looking uncomfortable.
Unexpectedly, the Bread Prince seems to care about others’ opinions after all.
Diego also remained silent, watching Yuanna. Something must have happened among these three.
“Surviving on our own was a bit tough.”
Her words reminded me of Rusef, who had barely been able to eat.
“…We’ll follow your will, Saint.”
Reluctantly, Asdal gave his approval.
So, in the end, we declared a temporary truce and decided to stay together in the cabin for a while to gather information about the exit.
