Chapter 23

Day 1 on the deserted island.

Sitting in the shaded forest to avoid the scorching sun, I quietly listened to the sound of the waves.

Come to think of it, how long has it been since I last saw the sea?

Having lived in the game world for five years, I had no reason to visit the sea, so I was enjoying an unexpected summer vacation.

Of course, calling it a summer vacation was a stretch since there was nothing but a vast sandy beach and a forest.

My phone was dead after falling into the sea.

This place seemed to be an island, so there was no chance of getting a signal.

Judging by the position of the sun, we were probably on the opposite side of the Earth.

All I could do now was dry my salt-soaked clothes.

Thanks to that, I was sitting in my pants, staring blankly at the sea.

Rustle—

At that moment, I turned my head toward the sound coming from behind.

There, Siho was sitting quietly in silence.

She had hung her cardigan, school uniform top, and skirt on a tree branch and was only wearing a T-shirt and underwear, looking quite pitiful.

Maybe it was because of her small stature.

She couldn’t meet my eyes and just stared at the ground.

“……I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

Another apology came from Siho’s lips.

She seemed to feel guilty about what had happened because of her Space Movement ability.

It was usually her confident area, and she had never failed before, so she was even more heartbroken.

According to her speculation, a blind man wearing black glasses had interfered with her space, causing the coordinates to go haywire.

It wasn’t her fault to begin with.

“Besides, if you had moved alone, it would’ve been a bigger problem. How scary would it be to be alone in a place like this?”

Siho silently bowed her head.

Even jokes didn’t work; she seemed deeply upset.

She usually seemed to have high self-esteem.

No wonder she was so down.

“How are you feeling now?”

“……Still not good.”

It had only been a few minutes since this situation started.

As such, Siho’s Space Movement ability hadn’t returned yet, so we had to wait until it did.

“Then there’s nothing we can do. Shall we explore the island?”

“The island?”

“We have nothing else to do anyway. Who knows? There might be people living here.”

Humans have traveled the Earth so much that there probably aren’t many deserted islands left.

It could be a tourist island like the Maldives.

“Our clothes are mostly dry anyway.”

Thanks to the strong sunlight, our clothes dried quickly.

Although they still had some saltiness, we could get bitten by mosquitoes.

In areas like this, mosquitoes are likely to carry malaria.

We had to avoid getting bitten by them at all costs.

As I said that and stood up to put on my clothes, Siho followed me without a word.

Sitting around like this wasn’t going to solve anything.

‘Above all, I want to find some water just in case.’

Since we didn’t know how long it would take for Siho’s ability to return, water was essential for survival.

Both Siho and I had swallowed a lot of seawater, so we were bound to get thirsty.

With this much sunlight, we could easily get dehydrated.

‘I’m the protector. I have to do my best.’

Siho was only 19 years old.

Of course, I was only 26, but as the elder, I had a responsibility.

“Shall we go?”

I picked up a slightly thick branch nearby and started walking through the forest with Siho.

Using the branch to push through the bushes, we managed to move forward without much trouble.

“Ahhh?!”

At that moment, a scream came from behind.

“Siho?!”

Startled, I swung the branch defensively and quickly tried to shield her, but I soon froze.

Because there was a huge bug on Siho’s shoulder.

No, seriously, I’d scream too if I saw that.

“Ah! Ah! Die! Siho, die!”

Siho seemed to be in a worse panic than during the Space Movement incident, screaming like crazy, so I hurriedly punched the bug away.

The squishy feeling as it hit my hand made me shudder, but at least the bug fell off Siho’s shoulder.

Siho was trembling in fear from the bug, and I brushed off her shoulder and said,

“Siho, it’s okay. The bug’s gone now.”

“Hng, ing.”

Siho sniffled and buried her face in my chest.

Does she regress to a child-like state when scared?

Given her small stature, I gave a bitter smile and patted her head until she calmed down.

If a bug like that landed on my shoulder, I’d probably regress too.

“Hold onto my clothes. We’ll walk slowly and keep going.”

We couldn’t just stay like this, so I had Siho hold onto my clothes from behind and started walking slowly forward.

After a while, I lifted my head, sensing moisture carried by the wind.

It felt different from the salty sea breeze.

It was certain. There was water.

As I pushed through the bushes and quickened my pace, a small stream flowing through the forest soon came into view.

It wasn’t a large stream, but the water was clean.

“Siho, there’s water!”

When I called out cheerfully, Siho, who was behind me, flinched.

When I turned to look, she was blushing and looking down.

She seemed really embarrassed because of the earlier bug incident.

Come to think of it, Siho often acted quite cool.

It’s no wonder she was so flustered after making such a fuss.

The best thing to do in such situations is to pretend not to notice.

I went to the water and dipped my hand in the flowing stream.

The water felt incredibly cool on my hand.

‘Is it safe to drink?’

It looked fine to the naked eye.

In Korea, I often drank water from mountain streams, so in a natural environment like this, it should be even safer.

Thinking that, I scooped up a handful of water and drank it, feeling the thirst in my throat instantly relieved.

My mouth, which had been saturated with salt from the seawater, finally felt alive.

As I continued to drink, Siho, who was beside me, hesitantly sat down and cupped her hands to take a sip.

Then, her eyes widened, and she started drinking the water eagerly.

It seemed Siho was really thirsty too.

“I feel alive now.”

“Really.”

Thanks to the water, Siho’s mood seemed to lighten, and she looked much more relaxed.

“Let’s remember this spot and explore a bit more.”

We had found water.

That alone was an achievement, so we decided to explore the island a bit more.

And after a while, we realized that the island we were on wasn’t very big.

Because after walking through the forest, we came out on the other side.

All we could see was the vast sea again.

The emerald color of the sea was beautiful, but that was all.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone here.”

“Yeah, the island is small.”

We had hoped it might be a tourist spot, but with this size, it probably wouldn’t even be marked on a map.

Feeling a bit disappointed, I didn’t mind too much.

Since the island was small, there probably weren’t any dangerous animals.

Besides, ordinary animals wouldn’t pose any threat to Siho, who was a Hunter.

Siho’s Space Movement ability might be down, but her physical abilities were still that of a Hunter.

Honestly, even though I’m the protector, Siho would have to protect me.

I’m just a regular person.

“Let’s rest for a bit.”

After walking through the bushes, my ankles were a bit sore.

When I suggested resting, Siho nodded, and we sat in the shade.

After exploring the island, we ran out of things to do.

I thought about finding something to eat, but I couldn’t tell what was safe to eat.

If I wasn’t careful, it could lead to bigger trouble, so I decided to only look for food if it became absolutely necessary.

‘They say a person can survive for 10 days without food.’

With water available, there was no need to rush.

It was more likely that Siho’s ability would return before then.

“Siho, there’s something I’m curious about.”

So, I decided to talk to Siho during the spare time.

When I spoke, Siho’s gaze turned toward me, and I asked the question I had in mind.

“Siho, you’re not an A-class Hunter, are you?”

Siho had clearly said she was an A-class Space Movement ability user.

But no matter how A-class she was, she couldn’t have moved to the opposite side of the Earth with Space Movement.

At best, she could move within Korea, but no A-class Hunter could move such a distance without any burden.

That’s why I concluded that Siho wasn’t an A-class Hunter.

She was likely an S-class, like her brother.

“Did you hide it on purpose?”

When I asked again, she seemed hesitant.

But soon, realizing there was no point in hiding it now, she spoke.

“No. That’s what the Hunter assessment said. I just didn’t say anything.”

The Hunter assessment.

I was puzzled by that part.

That meant she didn’t measure up to S-class during the assessment.

“There must be some circumstances.”

The two Returners who were after Siho.

Orzia had called them Returners, so that was certain.

Why were those two targeting Siho?

It must be because Siho had some special power.

“Honestly, I’m very curious about you, Siho. Like why you were in the forest that night.”

There were many strange things about Siho.

“But if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”

However, I didn’t press her.

She and I had only just met.

Prying into her uncomfortable secrets wouldn’t benefit me in any way.

At best, it would only satisfy my curiosity.

“We’ve only just met. Let’s talk about it later when you’re ready.”

As her handler, I wanted to maintain a good relationship with her, so I didn’t want to create any discomfort.

Seeing me like that, Siho was silent for a while, then leaned her head against a tree.

“……Would you listen to my story?”

The moment her lips parted, I quietly nodded.

Honestly, I was really curious.