Episode 29
I rubbed my eyes and looked again, unable to believe what I was seeing.
But nothing changed.
The seven eggs simply lay there on the floor.
“Mari, you… how do you have so many eggs?”
“Hehe. Well, you could say this was my means of earning a living…”
It meant she had been a pickpocket back when she lived on the streets.
I was debating whether to praise or scold her when Rosemary added brightly, seemingly misinterpreting my silence.
“Ah! I put appropriately-sized stones in the other kids’ pockets.”
“Oh, that… Good job.”
Since this was a battle royale where the means didn’t matter, I chose to praise her.
“But Mari, you mustn’t steal from others ever again once we’re out of here, okay?”
“Of course! I’ve washed my hands of that life for good!”
…For someone who’s supposedly washed their hands of it, your body seems to remember the moves a little too well.
“Mari, but why didn’t you crack the eggs as soon as you stole them?”
Seeing as her gait had slowed from the weight of them in her pockets, it would have been better to just break them on the spot. Besides, even if she held someone else’s eggs, she couldn’t exchange them for her own.
“Ah, this? I was going to throw them if anyone got close. I can’t just throw rocks at them, can I?”
My head spun at her cheerful remark. I felt a slight sense of betrayal.
I thought only Raspi was like this, but I guess you can’t call them twins for nothing…
I realized I would have to watch the twins very, very closely to ensure they didn’t fall into old habits.
With Rosemary’s eggs tucked away and shared with Raspi, we resumed our walk. We roamed the forest, taming every demonic beast we encountered to accompany us.
Just as I thought we had gathered a sufficient number of beasts,
Bang—!
A signal flare exploded in the distance, and red smoke billowed into the sky.
It was the signal announcing the start of the battle royale.
As soon as the match began, Raspi spoke to me as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
“Tania-nim.”
“Yes?”
“From this point on, could you leave everything to me?”
“What do you intend to do?”
“If you stay here under the protection of the demonic beasts, I will eliminate everyone and return. So that you can seize the victory.”
Raspi seemed to think that taking me and Rosemary along would be a strategic disadvantage.
It wasn’t a bad assessment. Rosemary was a commoner who hadn’t awakened yet, and my ‘Precognition’ was useless in a direct fight.
“Okay, go ahead.”
I accepted his opinion and decided to actively do nothing.
When I readily agreed, Raspi’s face brightened, as if thankful for my trust, and he added a request:
“If someone comes here, just run while Rosemary buys you some time.”
Excuse me, that’s your sister; how can you tell me to use her as a shield and run?
However, Rosemary didn’t seem to mind at all; she clenched both fists, her eyes sparkling.
“Just leave it to me, Hero! I’ll be an excellent decoy for you!”
…Isn’t that something a hero is supposed to say?
However, instead of nitpicking, I laughed heartily and replied.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Princess.”
“No! The Princess is the Hero who will soon become a Duchess!”
“……Ye-yeah.”
Is my role supposed to be the Hero, or the Princess?
I don’t know which beat to follow.
I’m certain that the adult Rosemary from the previous timeline didn’t have this personality. She was far more quiet and calm. I suppose her brother’s disappearance and death had significantly impacted her character back then.
I looked at the innocent Rosemary and curled the corners of my lips upward.
“Brother, go and take care of all those nuisances!”
“Yes. Tania-nim, I will be going now.”
With that, Raspi left half of the tamed demonic beasts as our guards and departed alone.
[Overwriting the current timeline onto Timeline 1.]
I plopped down on a nearby tree stump and watched his retreating back.
Although I had said I wouldn’t do anything…
I never expected Raspi to be able to eliminate Elision.
Elision was an opponent who could never be defeated by mere force. So, while I could use Raspi’s help to eliminate others, Elision was someone I had to take down myself.
✦ ✦ ✦
Left behind with the beasts, I spent time chatting peacefully with Rosemary.
“……So, I proudly told them I didn’t know how to read, and they were suspicious, asking how on earth I got into the Talent Development Center!”
“Gasp, and then?”
“I told them, ‘I just guessed and passed, so what?’”
“Did they say anything about you not having the qualifications to be here?”
“Ahem. I told them that guessing is a skill, too!”
“Hahaha! Our Mari, you did well not to lose your nerve.”
I was listening to how Rosemary had spent her time at the Talent Development Center when I heard a rustling sound nearby.
“Found you!”
A boy with a nasty expression curled his lips as he looked at us. He must have thought we were easy prey since we looked weak at a glance.
“If you don’t want to get hurt, hand over your eggs and get lost.”
I rested my chin in my hand and grinned, finding the situation amusing.
“You’re the one who should leave.”
“Ha, by what right? Do you think this is your territory?”
“Sorry, but this is the ‘No-Strength’ seat.”
“If you’re weak, just tear a scroll and go into the Safe Zone quietly!”
The boy, perhaps an Abilitator who handled fire, lunged at us with flames wrapping around his hands.
Oh my. I warned him enough.
I clicked my tongue and pointed at him with my index finger.
“Keureungs, block him!”
Immediately, the beasts scattered around jumped out, blocking the boy’s path.
“Wh-what is this!”
He was so startled that he fell backward onto his bottom.
“H-how are there so many demonic beasts gathered here…”
Naturally, it is easy to stand out when demonic beasts gather in one place abnormally. That was why I had them hidden and scattered around us.
I looked at the terrified boy and kindly explained it to him again.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding. This isn’t the ‘No-Strength’ seat; it’s the ‘NO-Strength’ seat.”
“Wh-what?”
“It means that weaklings like you aren’t allowed in.”
“Wh-who are you calling a weakling!”
When the boy shouted, unable to grasp the situation, Rosemary stepped forward.
“You! Hand over your eggs for the Hero while we’re asking nicely and leave!”
“I-I don’t have any eggs!”
“Haha. Why don’t you know that you get hit even more if you lie and get caught?”
“Are you an idiot? Of course, I hid them! Who carries them around openly?”
“What… is he really a useless husk?”
Rosemary looked visibly disappointed.
Hiding eggs? Of course, I hadn’t failed to consider that. Even the innocent-looking Rosemary had suggested it to me earlier.
*“Hero, wouldn’t it be better to hide our eggs and move?”*
*“No. It’s safer to carry them.”*
*“Why?”*
*“Because there’s a high probability that an Egg Worm lives on this island.”*
In such a vast place, who could find them if someone was determined to hide them? It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. The Duke of Papiope wasn’t a fool; he would have certainly taken measures.
Therefore, it was highly likely that a giant earthworm known as an ‘Egg Hunter’ inhabited this island.
Egg Worm.
Wherever there were eggs, the Egg Worm would find them like a ghost—whether underground or in the trees—and devour them. Its sense of smell was excellent, and its ability to track eggs was unparalleled.
Once considered an ecological disturbance, the population of Egg Worms had plummeted at one point to the point where they became rare. It started after rumors spread that Egg Worms were incredibly delicious. Perhaps because of that, Egg Worms wouldn’t even come near if they smelled humans.
In other words, carrying the eggs was much safer.
The moment the boy’s eggs left his hands, it was essentially a death sentence for them.
However, Rosemary seemed angered by the boy’s provocation.
“Eggs… are there. And two of them, at that.”
Rosemary’s pure yet chilling gaze locked onto something.