I’m Stuck on a Remote Island With the Male Leads - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 38

11. The Person Who Holds the Key

I transferred the bombs into the bag that Kaiden had made by weaving tree branches together.

I didn’t forget to wrap the bomb bodies tightly with the cushioning material from the wooden box so they wouldn’t explode from impact.

Archbishop Luzef, who had been quietly watching what I was doing, asked.

“Young Lady, where on earth do you find such magical tools? It’s also amazing how quickly you learn how to operate them.”

“I found the magical tool by chance. I learned how to operate it by touching this and that.”

Archbishop Luzef looked at me with a face that said the explanation was insufficient, but I didn’t provide any additional explanation. It seemed better to stay silent rather than risk making a slip of the tongue by adding unnecessary words.

After packing all our belongings, we set off on our journey to find the next settlement.

Naturally, we couldn’t find a suitable settlement right away, so we had to camp for about two days.

On the third day, we were all exhausted and just walked in silence.

When I had climbed alone to the mountain peak, the cliff I had spotted earlier as a likely place for a cabin began to come into view.

“Should we go this way? There might be a cave near that cliff.”

At my words, the three men looked at each other’s faces once and then nodded.

“If Margaret says so, then it must be right.”

“I’ll do whatever you want to do.”

“I’ll trust only the Young Lady as well.”

Enoch, Kaiden, and Archbishop Luzef answered in turn.

No, why are they all leaving the decisions to me? This makes it seem like I’m the leader of this team.

Actually, even I think there probably isn’t anyone among us who surpasses me as a survival expert. Naturally, I wasn’t happy about it.

This is a romance fantasy, right…?

I ended up taking the lead.

After walking for quite a while longer, we finally discovered the cabin that had appeared in 【Something More Important Than Survival】 at the bottom of the cliff.

‘I finally found it!’

I had wondered if it would really be there, but I was very relieved that we found it without wandering the island for too long.

However, the cabin wasn’t the only thing we discovered.

I stopped when I saw three people walking through the bushes on the opposite side.

One woman with light brown bobbed hair wearing clerical robes, one man with short brown hair wearing an imperial guard uniform, and one man with pink hair wearing a prince’s uniform all discovered us at the same time and looked surprised.

It was definitely the Female Lead Yuanna, Captain Diego, and Prince of Asdal.

Damn, life is definitely made up of shitty timing. I’m certain of it.

‘Should I run away? Or should I claim the cabin first?’

“Oh my, there’s a woman here?”

The first person to speak was Yuanna. She looked very pleased when she spotted me.

Come to think of it, Yuanna in the novel didn’t dislike Margaret either. Rather, she liked her as a fellow woman. It was Margaret who disliked and tormented her.

“It’s dangerous.”

Prince of Asdal blocked Yuanna as she tried to approach me.

Befitting a male lead from a tragic novel, Prince of Asdal was also handsome. With his mysterious pink hair and drooping eye corners, he looked gentle, so he probably would have been popular with women.

Moreover, even in this wilderness, he exuded noble dignity, and his languid-looking eyes gave off a different kind of intimidating aura from Enoch’s.

Yuanna quickly lost interest at Prince of Asdal’s restraint and stepped back. More precisely, it would be correct to say she stepped back because arguing with Prince of Asdal seemed very bothersome.

Prince of Asdal smiled leisurely and spoke once more as if driving the point home.

“She looks like a woman I know. Don’t go near her because it’s dangerous. That woman is a lunatic.”

No matter how I think about it, having the modifier ‘lunatic’ attached to a noble young lady isn’t normal. Damn.

Prince of Asdal was even controlling Yuanna as if warning her to be careful not to get bitten by a mad dog.

I seriously thought I’d like to meet the past Margaret.

“Really? Hmm… now that you mention it, her shoes are a bit strange too…”

After hearing Prince of Asdal’s words, Yuanna tilted her head while looking at me, then cast a subtle glance down at my feet. She seemed to have noticed the wooden slippers I had made myself.

I felt unnecessarily embarrassed and wiggled my toes.

‘Don’t feel shabby. My slippers are something to be proud of! They’re handmade deserted island slippers!’

After thinking that, I felt even more miserable, so I stopped.

Just like Enoch, Kaiden, and Archbishop Luzef had when they first saw me, Prince of Asdal wasn’t favorably disposed toward me either.

He spoke as if warning me.

“Stop right there. How about we avoid bothering each other and try to assess the situation here.”

Prince of Asdal looked over our group with a displeased face. His gaze, which swept over Enoch, Kaiden, and Archbishop Luzef in turn, finally fixed on me.

Then Enoch and Kaiden simultaneously blocked my front. Prince of Asdal disappeared from view.

Come to think of it, Enoch and Kaiden met the Female Lead Yuanna, but are they unaffected?

Though I was puzzled, they still didn’t move and were concentrating all their attention on protecting me.

Then Diego drew his sword and pointed it at us.

Oh right, I had forgotten that Diego was a captain of the guard. When he came to the deserted island, he was the only one among the male leads who woke up armed. In other words, he was carrying a sword.

That lumberjack bastard, despite being a dress thief…!

Diego is the captain of the Langrid Empire’s guard, so why is he pointing his sword at our side where Enoch is?

“Don’t you two meet periodically to exchange information?”

I leaned toward Enoch and whispered quietly enough for only him to hear. Then Enoch furrowed his brow and sighed.

“It wasn’t like that from the beginning. He’s becoming increasingly disobedient.”

Enoch looked at Diego with the face of a teacher looking at a wayward student.

…Is Diego going crazy? That’s probably what it is.

‘Damn, there’s no one here who isn’t crazy.’

There are many people competing for Margaret’s lunatic title. It was a more popular title than I thought.

“Why is the Bishop over there?”

Then Diego asked, directed at Archbishop Luzef who was standing behind me.

Archbishop Luzef slowly walked out from behind me with a startled face.

“That’s what I’d like to know. I thought the Bishop was dead? Come here.”

Prince of Asdal gestured toward Archbishop Luzef again. Archbishop Luzef, who had been hesitating, looked back at me.

He seemed to have something to say to me, but Archbishop Luzef hesitated, reluctant to speak.

He walked toward Prince of Asdal with very slow steps, constantly looking back at me. As if asking me to stop him.

He’s filming a wistful melodrama movie by himself. He did suit the female protagonist role well, at least. Archbishop Luzef, not me.

Regardless, Enoch pointed out Diego’s insubordination.

“It seems you don’t even intend to greet me. Diego Bastian Vilterheim.”

I could see Archbishop Luzef stop walking halfway and breathe a sigh of relief.

On the other hand, Diego, who heard Enoch’s words, looked like he realized his mistake and belatedly knelt on one knee. Then he placed his clenched fist over his chest and bowed his head in greeting.

“For the glory of Langrid. I greet Your Highness Crown Prince.”

Only then did Prince of Asdal also acknowledge Enoch and greet him.

“Right. I was late with my greeting too, wasn’t I? It’s been a while, Half-Emperor. It’s truly surprising that you’re here.”

What’s Half-Emperor? Is it an abbreviation?

Something like ‘Crown Prince Who Dies If He Falls in Love’? Or maybe something like ‘Crown Prince Who Kills If You Rebel’…?

I looked up at Enoch with a puzzled face. Enoch furrowed his brow with an annoyed expression.

The two seemed to know each other well.

“You’re one to talk, how did you end up here, Arrogant One.”

Arrogant… what? Not hardtack? This seems like an abbreviation too.

Something like ‘Master of Arrogance’? It can’t be something like ‘Sincere Defense Asdal’.

My uncreative mind only came up with ridiculous nicknames that seemed to have no connection whatsoever.

Anyway, I looked at Enoch with unfamiliar eyes as he responded to the strange nickname with an even more childish nickname.

It was a very un-Enoch-like way of speaking.

Was Enoch someone who could speak so childishly?

Seeing my puzzled expression, Enoch gave a brief explanation.

“The Hestia royals call that guy ‘arrogant Asdal.’ Arrogant-dal is just shortening it.”

Come to think of it, Enoch had studied abroad at Hestia Kingdom Academy when he was young.

Recalling Margaret’s memories, I nodded.

More than anything, I was pleased that I had roughly guessed the abbreviation correctly.

“So you’re saying he’s like hardtack?”

Prince Hardtack. How amusing.

“Not hardtack, but arrogan—…”

Asdal started to object to my question, then closed his mouth with a doubtful expression.

I continued questioning.

“What’s Half-Emperor?”

“It means half-baked prince. Now he’d be a half-baked Crown Prince.”

To give someone such a nickname based on their birth status. How cruel.

Perhaps my feelings showed on my face, because Asdal looked at me and smiled with his eyes.

His gaze seemed to say ‘What, got a problem with that?’ As if Half-Emperor and Arrogant-dal were all the same to him.

Even so, calling someone half-baked. How truly rude, for a hardtack prince…!

It was a statement that would surely cause an uproar if the people of Langrid Empire heard it, since blood is thicker than water.

Enoch frowned.

“Still as arrogant as ever.”

“This place is neither empire nor kingdom, so who would scold me for saying such things?”

Asdal replied cheekily.

However, Enoch ignored Asdal’s cheekiness as if it were laughable.

“Does anyone know where this place is, or how we came to be here?”

“Well, I opened my eyes and found myself here. Half-Emperor, you didn’t kidnap us, did you?”

“What reason would I have to do such a thing? You’re the suspicious one. Isn’t this some scheme of Hestia Kingdom?”

The war of nerves between Enoch and Asdal continued. Meanwhile, Yuanna sat on a wooden post with a bored expression, taking a rest.

She looked clearly annoyed, as if whoever won would be on her side anyway.

She was very different from the original Yuanna I knew. She seemed to have no interest in any of the men here.

I glanced at the cabin. In front of the cabin sat a large, ownerless backpack.

The backpack had moss growing on it, and fallen leaves that looked wet and dried were stuck to it like they were part of it.

It seemed like it had been there for quite a long time.

‘Why on earth is something like that there? Who put it there?’

Inside the backpack, a black rod that appeared to be a sword sheath was half-inserted. The shape was clearly a sword sheath at first glance. A long sword used by knights, at that.

It was an absolutely necessary weapon in this perilous wilderness.

‘We absolutely must get that!’

With firm resolve, I was about to step toward the backpack when Diego pointed his sword at me.

As soon as Diego’s sharp sword blade turned toward me, Enoch and Kaiden both startled and simultaneously pulled me into their arms.

“What the hell are you doing right now, Diego!”

“You scared the shit out of me, you fucking bastard!”

The two men seemed really shocked.

Diego didn’t lower his sword even though Enoch had stepped forward. He really seemed to have no regard for Crown Princes or anything else.

Asdal watched us while stroking his chin as if pondering something. Then he soon stood beside Diego and pointed at the backpack.

“I don’t want this squabble either, but it seems we can’t give up that bag.”

“Being a prince doesn’t get you any special treatment, so if you threaten our Margaret, we won’t let it slide, you fucking bastards. Stop acting like shit and get lost right now, assholes.”

Kaiden spewed a string of fierce, crude curses, but Asdal and Diego didn’t even blink.

“Seeing how frantic those people are, there must be something important inside… I’m curious what it could be.”

Yuanna, who had been sitting quietly, smiled prettily and spoke to Asdal and Diego.

“Let’s compromise. If that’s difficult, then either steal the bag or choose one of the two. I’d like to become friends with that lady over there.”

Yuanna grinned and looked at me.

Even when I looked around with a puzzled expression, the only ‘lady over there’ Yuanna wanted to befriend was indeed me.

I had suddenly become a villainess being hit on by the female protagonist.

So. Why me, leaving the male leads aside…?

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