I’ll Steal Everything and Escape - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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2.
“…Yes. It’ll take a little while.”
The words came out dry, scraping her throat. Elodie’s fingers absently fussed with the broken edge of a nail.
“Lunatics! Once I get out of here, I’m suing the Academy!”
“My clothes are so heavy. They’re soaked!”
“…Maybe about a week. I hope they hurry up and get here.”
The beach was noisy with chatter. Her amethyst eyes moved slowly over the familiar scene, taking it in. The same students, the same atmosphere.
‘I used to think we were a decent combination.’
A swordsman, a Spirit Mage, a healer. All of them were rising talents, among the best in the Empire. But after everything she’d been through, what Elodie saw in them now was…
[Idiot. This is why country nobles don’t belong here, right?]
Brat.
[S-scary! Elodie, can’t you at least go away from in front of me?]
Crybaby.
[Ha ha. Is that all the reason you have for opposing my opinion?]
Dictator.
“Hah.”
They were the very people who had used Elodie and then discarded her. Every part of her wanted to scream at them right then and there… but a pale hand clamped down hard around her wrist.
“Ahem.”
Robert took control of the situation in an instant.
“Thinking about it now won’t solve a single thing. Let’s all get moving.”
“Moving?”
“We’ll be staying here for several days, so we need to set up camp.”
“Ugh.”
His sun-bright eyes looked down at them, steady and unyielding. He wouldn’t tolerate complaints. That was Robert Bayern, the much-praised golden bloodline of the Imperial Family.
“Four of us, so we’ll act in pairs.”
The Academy’s rules allowed them to speak casually, but no one dared to rub him the wrong way. They all nodded. Their youthful faces showed not a trace of unease.
Elodie squeezed her eyes shut. The time remaining pierced her chest like the sharp tip of a pen.
Days Until Death: D-517
The beginning of a hellish stretch of days.
* * *
“….”
An awkward silence settled over them.
Once again, Elodie found herself strolling through the forest alone with the prince.
[Our emergency rations only last two days. Elodie Pontaine and I will search for anything edible.]
[Then what about us?]
[The rest of you set up the dungeon tent and gather firewood.]
[…Stefan and I, alone?]
Silvia looked displeased, but the group assignments were not going to change.
“So this is the first time I’ve spoken with you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“…That I’m good at studying, or something like that?”
“Ha ha. More candid than I expected.”
The forest near the beach was quite peaceful. The prince, his face clear and bright, led the way with confidence.
“Your magic is memory, if I recall. Can you tell whether food contains toxins?”
“If I know the type?”
Elodie answered lightly and followed behind him. Her violet eyes wandered upward absently, as if she were searching for fruit, gazing at the sky.
‘Five hundred and seventeen days with traitors. Can I endure it again?’
No, I don’t want to endure it. This time has to be different.
Memory is the only thing I can trust. Her fingers tapped lightly against her thigh.
“Elodie. Is your magic active at all times?”
“Ever since I fell into this place.”
“Impressive. That kind of magic is rare. I hear you barely use any mana at all.”
He smoothly lifted the corner of his mouth. It was the look of a man weighing whether he could make use of Elodie once they returned to the Imperial Family.
‘Now I can read everything just from his expression.’
Elodie immediately imitated Silvia from her Academy days.
“Thanks for the compliment! But still.”
She bent her eyes into crescents and shrugged her shoulders.
“…I have no backing, and I don’t want any trouble. Once I graduate from the Academy, I plan to go back to my territory.”
“What a pity. Inheriting magic is practically a blessing.”
Right. A precious magic. Still giggling foolishly, Elodie secretly flipped him off behind her back.
‘You’ll treat me like an errand girl in a few days anyway.’
“There are red berries over there. What do you think about those?”
“…Yeah, they’re the edible kind.”
“Good to hear.”
Robert snorted and glanced back at her. Caught in the sunlight, his Golden Eyes gleamed like torches. Meeting that vivid gaze, Elodie suddenly
remembered
something.
[‘Something’s gone wrong. It has to be. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they come looking for me?’]
Was this one month later?
“If rescue doesn’t come, we’re talking a week at most. Until then, I’m counting on you.”
[‘Why, why hasn’t anyone come?!’]
…Elodie nodded, her expression bitter.
“Me too. Until then, I’m counting on you.”
“Once we return, I’ll see you rewarded properly.”
“…I hope we actually get to go back.”
“Fear not. Should any danger arise, the Imperial Family’s flame will protect you.”
Liar.
* * *
The group pitched an emergency tent at the edge of the forest near the Beach. The reasoning was simple: if a rescue party came, they’d surely arrive at the sea where we fell.
“Good work, everyone!”
Robert reached for the neatly stacked pieces of wood. Whoosh. A large campfire roared to life in an instant.
‘…I really envy that.’
The Bloodline Magic of the Imperial Family was the most useful kind of fire for survival. Eventually they’d find something on the island to start fires with, but in the early days, the presence of Robert and Stefan mattered enormously.
“Anyone thirsty?”
Beside Stefan, a clear sphere of water drifted lazily through the air. Stefan Bernard was as rare as a mage, a Spirit Mage.
‘And that’s water too.’
Elodie held out her canteen without a word.

“Good thing you packed a Survival Backpack, at least.”
“The emergency rations taste awful… I’ve never eaten anything like this before.”
Silvia’s silver hair bounced as her shoulders drooped.
‘Still, it’s better than nothing.’
Elodie chewed diligently on an energy bar she’d split into quarters and swallowed. The Survival Backpack, packed for Dungeon Training. Without it, things would have been pretty hard.
“Ha. By now we should be smashing through the Belloa Dungeon. Look at this mess.”
Stefan kicked a branch on the ground with a sharp flick of his foot.
“Right, right. So where exactly are we? Wasn’t the Belloa region a desert? Did we land somewhere completely different?”
“…Looks like we ended up pretty far away.”
Elodie agreed with Silvia’s assessment. Watching the grumbling group, a wry smile tugged at her lips. Not one of them felt any sense of danger.
‘That’s how remarkable they are.’
Even if they were tyrants, brats, and crybabies.
“Ha.”
Sure enough, the brat’s lip curled up. She already knew what he’d say next.
“Of all people, it had to be Elodie Pontaine who got dropped into this mess with us.”
Gasp. Silvia covered her mouth.
“W-well, there’s no need to go that far.”
“It’s true, though. You were a last-minute substitute. Dahlia, who was originally in our group, would’ve made things much easier.”
…That’s right. Elodie Pontaine was the replacement for the member who was supposed to be included ‘originally.’
‘I should have gone a day earlier…’
Since she knew what was going to happen, this remark stung even more than before.
“…Well, Dahlia got sick, so what can you do?”
“Ahem.”
When the Prince made it clear that was enough, both Stefan and Silvia glanced away with calculated nonchalance.
‘How foolish.’
In her previous life, she hadn’t uttered a single word. As a country noble who only hoped to become a librarian, what standing did she have to speak up? Even so, Elodie had given her all to help the group.
Because she was weak. Because she couldn’t survive alone.
‘…But even so, all that help ended in failure.’
Her violet eyes flashed ominously.
‘I have to get out of here.’
Mom is waiting.
[Elodie, do your best again this semester.]
[Don’t forget to bring back some snacks from the capital when you come home!]
517 days had been granted to her once more.
Elodie had to survive. She would make it out alive and return to her beloved parents, leaving the other elites to whatever fate awaited them.
“Elodie~. Are you angry?”
“…No.”
She looked down at her sleek nails and smiled faintly. She had already seen the future. Elodie had
remembered
every last detail, crystal clear, right up to the final moment.
Trailing the others’ backs was exhausting now. Elodie decided to change her approach entirely.
‘I’ll try it on my own. Here and now, it’s possible.’
Robert had the last word.
“Everyone must have been shaken by the unexpected accident. Elodie, please be understanding.”
[To survive, combat personnel must come first. Elodie, please be understanding.]
Then, I understand.
Elodie grinned and nodded.
Just as Robert had said, she intended to become a combat member this time.
‘Before I become a librarian, I have to become a thief first.’
This life’s goal was the grand heist. Everything her comrades had gained in her previous life, she would steal first, one step ahead of them. And…
‘I’m getting out of here.’
Would I really die quietly like this?
The aspiring thief’s gentle eyes curved into a faint, sly smile.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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