NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2
“What?”
…Do I really look like a monster?
I stared at her blankly after her shocking statement spilled from those pretty lips. Her skin was so white it was almost pale, her features were gaunt yet still stunning, and her odd-colored eyes, though dulled, had not lost their sharpness.
And let’s not forget her curvaceous figure, modestly covered.
Ah.
I quickly turned away.
“I’m not a monster.”
Hearing that from a saint, of all people, was a bit shocking. Does my face really look that monstrous? I walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall and examined my face from side to side; I didn’t look inhuman at all. What on earth was she seeing to call me a monster?
Not fair. I may not be handsome, but I’m not ugly enough to be called a monster. I wondered if something was on my face as I walked toward the mirror hanging in the corner. The mirror I had salvaged from a shipwreck washed ashore looked pristine.
Ah.
The reflection in the handmade mirror was… hmm, I had to admit, it was a touch rough. Sure, I had a neatly shaved beard, but the scar crossing my face, my unkempt hair that fell over my eyes, and my bare torso didn’t exactly help.
And my upper body was riddled with bruises, tears, and melted scars. I guess my rugged life left its marks. The fact that the body I possessed was somewhat large might have contributed to the intimidation factor.
Overall, it wasn’t surprising that a guy dressed in nothing but pants would cause shock. But to be treated like a monster…
“Uh, I’m sorry! I was so surprised that I misspoke…”
“It’s alright.”
I returned and sat in front of her. Neither of us spoke for a while. Was she choosing her words just like I was?
Now that I think about it, the communication was working. I scratched my head in realization. Surely a saint couldn’t speak Korean, so did my possession somehow grant me a language patch? I couldn’t quite decide if I should be happy or displeased about this newfound information after ten years.
Compared to a decade of hardship, this was just a minor consolation prize.
“Um…”
At her call, I turned my head and met her gaze.
Oh, she looked away.
After a while, she glanced back at me, then looked away again, repeating this little dance of avoidance.
It’s so awkward I might choke!
Talking to someone after ten years isn’t easy. Figuring out how to keep the conversation going, how to respond, and how to avoid hurting feelings—it felt like my brain was going haywire.
I needed to lighten the mood, but what should I say? What if I stumbled over my words? Even though we could communicate, saying the wrong thing could mess everything up right from the start!
Biting my lip in silence, the weak saint mustered her courage to speak first.
“You’re the one who rescued me, right…? Thank you.”
“I just did what I had to do. That’s all.”
If there’s a living person, you have to pick them up first. I lived without humans, but my humanity didn’t die.
Karina smiled warmly at my response, then coughed a bit. Even though we were in front of a brazier, she must have overexerted herself. I quietly wrapped my arms around her and gently laid her back down, covering her with a blanket.
“…Thank you, nameless gentleman.”
“Johann Quartz.”
That was the name written on the status window. There was no need to give my original name. Since I had lived in this body for ten years, I had no hesitation in stating the name of the body I possessed. Karina repeated my name softly, then asked from her lying position.
“About the meal…”
Ah, I should feed her first. They say good food comes before anything; it’s best to let her eat first before asking anything. I stirred the contents of the pot with a ladle, and once it had cooled down enough to eat, I ladled some soup into a bowl.
The rich green soup filled half the bowl. It wasn’t a huge bowl, but for a patient, even this amount would be tough to digest. I used a wooden spoon I had crafted to scoop the soup, blowing on it gently before spilling it over her slightly parted lips.
Karina eagerly consumed the soup like a baby bird. Once the bowl was empty, she looked up at me with a sad expression.
“…Could I have some more?”
“If you eat too much at once, you’ll get sick.”
Since she had been starving for a long time, her stomach probably hadn’t functioned properly. It was time to gradually revive it with small meals. Karina stared at the pot longingly, but it simply wasn’t possible.
I cleared the dishes and placed the pot back on the makeshift table over the brazier. When I glanced back at Karina, she was now staring intensely at the pot on the table. Maybe I should have given a little more. My resolve was wavering.
“Wait for the next meal.”
“Right… Ah, is there anyone else besides me…?”
Instead of answering, I shook my head. Seeing my reaction, Karina murmured, “As I thought…” with a gloomy face. I didn’t know exactly what had happened, but considering it was a shipwreck, finding any survivors other than her seemed difficult.
The fact that I had buried dozens of people on this island speaks volumes. People caught up in the unknown vortex surrounding this island had lost their lives. Karina’s miraculous survival might be due to a god’s blessing.
On the flip side, that means a hefty amount of luck was required to have survived drowning and washed ashore.
Then how did the previous owner of this body survive… oh. Since I possessed the body, they must have died. Like in many common possession stories, the original owner’s soul didn’t try to communicate with me. They probably ascended to heaven.
“Renny…”
Renny, Renny… that name felt vaguely familiar. While I racked my brain over the sad expression on the saint’s face as she murmured the name, I recalled it was the name of a character from a game.
Renny, the knight who protected Karina.
She was strong enough to be referred to as a ‘motherless Ren,’ it seemed. A knight treated as the final boss in a betrayal route, siding with monsters after betraying humanity. How absurd it was that she would speed around in heavy armor!
It seemed unlikely that such a boss would drown.
A boss considered one of the toughest in the Survival Academy drowns…? Renny should have been able to leap across the ocean like a warrior from martial arts novels. It just seemed foolish that she could actually drown after clearing the game with insane patterns after 72 attempts while wrapped in every kind of cheat item.
“Lord Johann.”
“What is it?”
“Where is this place?”
That was a question a castaway might ask. Looking back, I concluded this place was a deserted island only a month after waking up here. I had experienced so much internal confusion during that time that the memories were still vivid enough to haunt me in nightmares.
What would it feel like to hear someone declare it a deserted island? So, I opened my mouth to respond to Karina’s question.
“A deserted island.”
“A deserted island?”
“There’s no one here. That’s what a deserted island is.”
“But Lord Johann is here, right? So it can’t be a deserted island… I’m here too…”
Is that really what matters? Faced with that suddenly thrown challenge, I fell silent. In this bizarre conversation that felt like it was destroying my brain cells, I brought a wooden cup to the makeshift water purifier and filled it up.
I replaced the cup, noticing a peculiar gaze prickling my back, so I hunched down again. I carved small tools out of wood for fun, causing the cup to overflow. After filling two cups with water, I squatted down in front of Karina.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all.”
I carefully let some water trickle into Karina’s mouth. She drank up the water like a baby bird. I stared dully at her. If a person were excessively beautiful, even drinking water could look like a photoshoot.
I realized that merely watching her was therapeutic in its own right.
After drinking, Karina looked much more at ease, as if her thirst had been quenched. As I gazed at her, noticing her slightly drowsy eyes, I remembered that I needed to wash her clothes. They looked intact, so if cleaned properly, she could wear them again.
I couldn’t leave her dressed only in underwear forever, so it was a reasonable choice. Um. This was definitely not a simple trick to escape this awkward situation.
“Where are you going?”
“To wash.”
“Ah… washing. Um. That’s important, isn’t it?”
There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. Did she not want to be left alone? Having spent so long in an orc barrel, it wouldn’t be surprising if she longed for company. I also did whatever I could to combat the loneliness I felt during a decade of solitude.
When I ended up creating my fifth air friend, I felt so much self-loathing that I gave up.
Having five imaginary friends made me feel like I was being bullied. I would ramble on, but then have five people just ignoring me? It was like being the only one in a group chat where nobody replied to me.
“Lord Johann?”
“What is it?”
“Did I ever tell you who I am?”
Ah. Now that I think about it, I hadn’t. Though I knew the character Karina well, I hadn’t introduced myself, and considering how awkward it was, she probably wouldn’t suspect anything, but I still should let her know.
“…No.”
“My name is Karina. I’m a priestess of the Kalon Church.”
…Well, she is indeed a priestess. After all, a saint is essentially a priestess. I wondered if she was deliberately downplaying it to avoid feeling burdened when I called her a saint. If she was the Karina I knew, she’d likely want to ease any pressure.
So I guess I should reintroduce myself as well.
With a bit more effort this time, I introduced myself again.
“Let me introduce myself again. My name is Johann Quartz. I’ve been living on this deserted island for ten years.”