Chapter 29
Nathan treated me like a child being paraded in public, and suddenly, I wanted to prove something to him.
That I could do this perfectly well without his help—or the help of his subordinates.
“I’m really fine. You can trust me. No—please trust me.”
I would act like a reliable partner, not a child.
The moment I made that resolution, I turned on my heel.
I needed to make sure I had all the necessary supplies.
“Claudia?”
His voice calling after me carried a hint of bewilderment, but I didn’t stop.
A petty revenge for him underestimating me.
By the time I finished packing and was ready to leave, I faced Nathan one last time and left him with a determined remark.
“Wait for me. I’ll find the spirit and show it to you right before your eyes.”
He let out an incomprehensible sigh.
“If you can’t find it within three days, just give up and come back. Seizing the throne isn’t that hard even without a spirit.”
Give up? Wasn’t that the word I hated most?
A fiercer determination burned inside me than before. I spun around and set off immediately.
Behind me, a few knights who had been selected for the expedition exchanged glances with Nathan before hesitantly following.
For a journey embarked upon for a grand purpose, it was an uncomfortably awkward start.
Not a single moment of the journey to find the spirit went smoothly.
The island’s terrain was far too treacherous.
On top of that, the howls of monsters echoed endlessly from somewhere.
Before even three hours had passed since our departure, we encountered a horde of monsters.
“Monsters!! Maintain formation and protect the ladies!!”
They took the form of bees—except these were as large as a man’s forearm, setting them apart from ordinary bees.
If there was any silver lining, their size made them easier to attack one by one.
Soon, humans and bees were locked in a fierce battle.
“They’re going that way!! Block them!!”
“Argh! They’re shooting poison stingers!!”
“Kyeek!!”
While the knights fought, I desperately racked my brain for a way to repel the monsters.
What do insects hate…? Fire? But we couldn’t start a fire right now, so then—
“Everyone, get into the stream nearby! Right now!”
I shouted and jumped in first to set an example.
And my guess turned out to be exactly right.
A few bees that followed us couldn’t enter the water, hovering above the surface before eventually leaving.
‘Just as I thought—winged insects are afraid of water!’
Seeing this, the other knights followed suit, jumping into the water one by one.
Nayla and Luke did the same.
We fled along the shallow part of the stream to the opposite bank.
After shaking off the bees and barely making it back to land, the knights finally let out sighs of relief.
“That was close…”
“This place is way more dangerous than I thought.”
Meanwhile, I gathered my thoughts.
‘First, we should head to higher ground where we can see the whole area. We don’t have a map, and we don’t know where the center of the island is.’
Once I decided, I turned to the knights.
“If you’ve rested enough, shall we get moving? We need to reach the middle of that peak over there by today.”
I felt bad for the exhausted knights, but we had to hurry.
With no artificial light, the moment the sun set, it would be so dark we wouldn’t even see what was right in front of us.
Then, despite having barely made any progress, we’d be stuck in place.
Not to mention, our food supplies were limited…
Of course we had to move quickly.
Suppressing my guilt, I was about to urge them on when someone suddenly stepped in front of me.
Surprisingly, it was Nayla.
“Sister, those of us who didn’t do anything and were just protected might be fine, but the knights fought the monsters. They must be exhausted—they should rest a little longer.”
“……”
All the knights’ eyes turned toward Nayla.
Their gazes were filled with admiration, as if they were looking at an angel.
Thanks to that, my position became a little awkward after insisting we keep going.
But if we dawdled any longer, we might fail the mission.
I couldn’t back down.
“Our food supplies aren’t unlimited, so we need to hurry.”
“Are you saying finding the spirit is more important than the knights’ lives?”
With her hands neatly clasped, Nayla stood as the knights’ representative, looking every bit like an angel—or even a saint.
My position grew even more awkward, but the more that happened, the calmer I had to be.
“I’ve never taken the knights’ lives lightly. Don’t twist my words.”
“Then?”
“I’m just making a rational judgment. Hurrying before it gets dark is for everyone’s safety—and for the mission.”
At this point, she should’ve had no comeback.
Sure enough, Nayla let out a deep sigh.
“Fine, then…”
This time, she addressed the knights—saying what I should’ve been the one to say.
“Please hang in there a little longer, everyone. Once we reach that point, you’ll be able to rest properly.”
Hearing Nayla’s words, the knights slowly rose to their feet, then prepared to set off again toward our destination.
‘It feels like Nayla keeps trying to make me the villain. And despite having no authority, she’s naturally giving orders to the knights…’
A bad feeling kept nagging at me.
I watched her back for a while before trudging along after the others.
After several more hours of walking, we barely managed to reach the middle of the peak.
Even if we wanted to go further, the sun was setting, making it too difficult.
We decided to set up camp and resume our journey in the morning.
Fortunately, all the knights seemed experienced in camping, working together seamlessly.
‘They all know what they’re doing, so I don’t think I need to worry. Maybe I should go gather some herbs?’
We needed medicinal herbs to treat those who had been attacked by the bees.
Planning to gather them before dinner was ready, I quickly grabbed a basket.
Of course, I didn’t intend to go far because of the monsters.
“Sister, where are you going?”
As I was about to enter the forest, Nayla followed me.
I showed her the empty pouch.
“I’m going to gather some herbs. A lot of people are hurt.”
“Let me come with you.”
“…Sure.”
I readily agreed to her company.
After all, I had something to say to her alone.
‘I should give her a clear warning while we’re by ourselves.’
Since she kept putting me in awkward situations today, I planned to warn her properly.
If she kept this up, I’d have no choice but to respond firmly.
Lost in thought, I realized we had already wandered far from the campsite.
Casually, I brought up my concern.
“By the way, Nayla, why did you say that earlier?”
“Say what?”
“You made it sound like I cared more about finding the spirit than the knights’ lives.”
“The knights looked so exhausted… I’m sorry. Did I make a mistake?”
I stopped walking and looked straight at her.
A flicker of confusion passed over her face.
“A little. I’m the one who planned and is leading this expedition. From now on, don’t make things difficult for me.”
“……”
“If you keep this up, I’ll have no choice but to send you back first. Do you understand?”
“…Yeah.”
If she had refused to admit fault or argued back, I would’ve really lost my temper.
But she just lowered her gaze as if reflecting.
Her expression was the kind that made people’s hearts soften.
“I didn’t realize you’d be upset. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine. Let’s drop this and gather the herbs.”
Just then, I spotted an herb nearby.
It was one I’d memorized from playing games before coming to this world.
‘If we gather that, it’ll be really helpful.’
With its bright red flowers, it wasn’t hard to find.
I plucked the herb and showed it to Nayla.
“Look for ones like this and gather them.”
“What kind of herb is this?”
“If you crush it and extract the juice, it stops bleeding when applied to wounds. We’ll need a lot, so gather every one you see. But don’t go too far from the campsite.”
“Okay, got it.”
Nayla nodded and went off to gather herbs.
I headed in a different direction.
It’d be more efficient for us to work separately.
After about 30 minutes of focused gathering, my pouch was half full.
‘Nayla must’ve gathered about the same by now, right?’
I straightened my back, cleared my throat, and called out.
“Nayla! Where are you? Let’s go back!”
For some reason, there was no answer.
A wave of unease surged through me.
‘…What’s going on? Did she go too far and run into a monster?’
The thought made the blood drain from my face.
“Nayla!”
Still no response.
The thought of bringing back herbs had completely vanished from my mind.
I ventured deeper into the forest, calling out louder than before.
“Nayla!! Where are you?! Answer me!!”
Three calls without a response—this wasn’t normal.
I immediately sprinted back toward the campsite.
I tripped over a tree root, but I couldn’t even feel the pain.
‘I have to tell the others!!’
The moment I reached the campsite, breathless, I shouted.
“Help! Right now, Nayla is—!”
I abruptly cut myself off.
The Nayla I had been desperately searching for was right there.
She was moving casually among the knights, applying something to their wounds as if nothing had happened.
