I’ll Steal Everything and Escape - Chapter 5

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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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5.
The color drained from Elodie’s face in an instant. I should have eaten the whole energy bar.
‘I’m done for.’
“Kyaaak!”
Bang! The pincer smashes through the tree blocking its path, splitting the trunk clean in two. Elodie instantly discarded the Leaf Cloak and threw herself sideways.
‘What are my chances of surviving this? Think, think.’
Her body, which was little more than an ordinary human’s, rolled across the ground and dodged the black pincers. She could only last a few seconds.
Memory
Go!
‘The joints connecting the Poison Scorpion’s pincers and legs are weak. It may as well have no eyesight, but stab it in the eyes and it feels pain. As long as I avoid the pincers and the stinger, it’s not a difficult opponent.’
…That was true when I was with Robert’s group.
But now Elodie was alone.
“Kiiiik!”
A black pincer grazed over her head. Elodie froze like ice. And then.
“Kirik!”
The giant scorpion raises its tail high.
“Hff.”
Ah. So this is how I die again.
“Kiiiik!”
Once more, the shadow of black death fell over Elodie…
“Huh?”
It missed?
The Poison Scorpion swiftly slipped out of Elodie’s line of sight. It skittered past her with a clatter and impaled the tree just to her left.
‘Why?’
The reason was simple. It had sensed a tremor that Elodie hadn’t noticed, a threat far greater than someone like her.
Kwaang!
A gust of wind tore through Elodie’s pale blonde hair, whipping it into a mess.
“Big one, huh.”
When she blinked, a slender silhouette came into view. The massive body of the demonic scorpion slowly tipped backward.
Thud.
A greatsword was planted squarely in the Poison Scorpion’s hard head.
“Hmm.”
The one who had driven the blade into the beast’s skull calmly stomped down on the scorpion’s corpse. Black hair, and eyes an unsettling green. The man who had finished off the demon that had given Elodie so much trouble in an instant,
“…Kamil?”
Elodie’s violet eyes trembled. What was Kamil Beltier doing here? She stared at him, dazed, looking him up and down.
I had thought we would meet again someday, but not here, not like this. It was impossible. Because.
‘Kamil isn’t supposed to come to the East Forest yet. There’s still a long way to go!’
Elodie pressed a trembling hand tightly against her chest.
Memory
The situation had changed. And far too quickly, at that.
‘Kamil Beltier. The Academy’s Destroyer King.’
The man with “Monstrous Strength” who wrecked the training grounds every single week.
“…You. Bayern Academy?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s Elodie.”
That sword-obsessed lunatic had landed in the southwest corner of the island. Getting here in a single day was nearly impossible.
‘Did he land somewhere different this time? Or did the Kamil from my previous life lie to me? …No, that can’t be right.’
Elodie shook her head and stood up.
“Thanks. You saved my life.”
“….”
I’d thought it before, but he really has no social skills. Elodie brushed the stray blades of grass off her clothes and asked.
“So you were on this island too. Did you land somewhere nearby?”
Kamil Beltier didn’t answer her question and looked away. His sharp eyes lingered calmly on the fallen Poison Scorpion.
‘In my previous life, did he also come this way after we split up?’
Kamil would run into the group two weeks later. But he didn’t join Robert’s party. He gave the absurd reason that the other students would only hold him back.
[I have no interest in the weak.]
Maybe thanks to that insufferable strength, he survived for quite a long time. …Yes, he survived a long time.
“Can you eat this?”
Elodie jerked her head up. The black-haired back of his head was staring intently at the scorpion of a similar color.
“Eat it? You mean that?”
“It was screeching, so I killed it. It was a weak one.”
Tiresome noise. A weakling. Elodie, the weakest of the island’s survivors, approached him with the face of someone who’d just swallowed something bitter.
“…It’s edible, but the poison makes it a pain to prepare unless you handle it carefully.”
Those clear green eyes finally turned to Elodie.
“Can you?”
“…No, I’ve never really been interested in cooking.”
Unfortunately, I’d never dissected an arthropod before. If it had been a desperate situation, I might have tried.
‘Who would actually want to tear apart a giant scorpion like that and cook it?’
Elodie looked up at Kamil with incredulous eyes. The tall swordsman frowned and kicked the scorpion aside.
“Uh… did you finish your energy bars?”
“Energy bars?”
“They were in your survival backpack.”
“I got rid of that stuff when I fell into the sea. It was just in the way.”
My head is spinning. How on earth has this guy managed to survive?
“So… you were out looking for food.”
“Forget it. I’ll just kill something stronger.”
My mouth went dry.
‘…What do I do?’
Elodie hesitated. Should she tell him about the strawberry field?
‘I hardly had any connection with Kamil in my previous life. We took completely different paths.’
My memories of Kamil were fragmentary. A foreigner from another country, the second son of a count’s family. His bloodline magic was Monstrous Strength.
‘…He’ll probably manage just fine on his own, won’t he?’
Kamil Beltier was counted among the strongest at the renowned Bayern Academy, ranked first. Just as he said, he’d probably hunt down whatever he wanted to eat.
‘If I tell him about the strawberries and he takes my share, what then?’
Elodie shut her mouth. Kamil was strong. Even Robert, the pride of the Imperial Family, had never once beaten Kamil with a sword.
‘What’s his personality like, anyway?’
All I know is that he’s a man obsessed with the sword.
Elodie casually tossed out a bait.
“Do you know if the others fell onto this side of the island too? They’re on the South Beach.”
“Who.”
“Robert and… Stefan, Sylvia.”
Kamil slid his sword back behind his back and muttered.
“Those guys are slow.”
“Ah, I see.”
The same answer as before.
“By the way.”
“Hm?”
An unexpected remark burst out of the taciturn swordsman.
“Were you the one who fell from the sky?”
“…What?”
I looked up with wide eyes, and Kamil’s lips slowly parted.
“A bird dropped a small human.”
My breath caught in my throat. He saw that? No, he could’ve seen it?
“…Don’t tell me it was because of me.”
“?”
Kamil’s brow lifted slightly.
‘Did Kamil head east because of me?’
If he’d seen someone falling from the sky and simply walked straight toward them in a single line… Goosebumps prickled along my arms.
In a single day, on this hellish island. Is that even human?
“You’re still alive. Are you heading toward Robert?”
“Ah, well… um…”
An earthquake rippled through Elodie’s eyes.
“When that bird grabbed me, I lost something, so…”
“I see.”
Kamil Beltier stared into empty air without a word. He didn’t seem the least bit interested. In that case, the only thing to do was change the subject quickly.
“Kamil. Do you always wander around alone like this…?”
Grrrrumble.
“….”
The conversation veered in a direction I hadn’t intended. Elodie flushed and buried her face. Of all the times for this to happen—
“Tch. You don’t have a single muscle on you.”
Kamil looked down at Elodie’s golden hair as if she were some worthless insect, then rummaged through a leather pouch hanging at his waist.
Thud.
Elodie caught the banana that had been tossed her way and widened her eyes.
“Eat that and get lost. Don’t make a nuisance of yourself.”
Her grip tightened around the yellow fruit. What a nasty piece of work. Even when he’s saying the same thing, he manages to sound like a complete jerk. Elodie started to scowl, then glanced down at the banana and changed her mind.
The banana… isn’t to blame.
‘I didn’t even tell him about the strawberry field.’
Handing out food in a situation like this. Kamil Beltier might be more humane than I thought. Her violet eyes narrowed.
‘Kamil survived a full year on his own.’
Sheer strength alone. If he were with me, the journey ahead would feel a lot more secure. …But.
“Thanks for everything. I’ll repay you someday.”
Elodie smiled sheepishly and hugged the banana to her chest. Kamil looked down at her with an expressionless face.
“Then go on your way however you see fit.”
“Yeah, take care of yourself.”
“Move.”
Elodie’s smile faded, and she gritted her teeth as she stepped aside. Kamil Beltier was a talent so valuable I’d want him as an ally, but—
‘He’s just too strong.’
I can hardly believe it. Elodie would end up being dragged along again. Kamil would surely never go along with her opinions.
‘Because I’m weak.’
I can’t carelessly reveal the fact that I’ve regressed, so I can’t share my plans with him either.
“Don’t go picking up just anything to eat!”
With eyes full of lingering regret, Elodie waved at Kamil as he walked away. His black hair vanished from sight in no time.
“Hk.”
Elodie spun around in a hurry and peeled the banana with trembling hands. Her fingers shook as they worked at the skin.
‘I thought I was going to starve to death.’
The yellow tropical fruit tasted like something from heaven.
And about thirty minutes later.
“Ha. Finally.”
Elodie arrived at the foot of a massive green tree.

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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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