The trio went ahead and did a thorough search on the underground chambers and the unfinished castle all around, but they did not find anything that could be useful. With this disappointing result, the group returned back to square one.
At this point, the three of them had been stranded on this uninhabited island for nearly six weeks. The bad news was, they were still not sure how much longer they would have to wait for the rescue to come for them.
The moment they walked out of the unfinished castle, the red-haired girl let out her irritation one more time. However, what surprised both Emery and Silva was what she did afterward.
The girl approached Silva and suddenly placed her hand around the girl's arm, before proceeding to speak in such a friendly tone that caused the eyebrows of the two to raise up.
"Sister.." said Annara with a smile. "Now that our lives have once again become uncertain, let us forget all our past grudges and open a new blank page."
In an instant, both Emery and Silva thought that the girl must have some ulterior motives for doing such things. The sudden change in her behavior was simply too suspicious for them to ignore. However, they didn't know what her intention was exactly.
Seemingly ignorant of the two's thoughts, Annara spoke once again. "We haven't eaten together for a while. You know what? Let's celebrate our hard-fought victory with some feast!"
Before the two could contemplate what could possibly be the reason for her abrupt change, Annara had turned bossy like usual as she told him to later get some fish for the feast. Meanwhile, the two of them would go ahead and have some girl's time.
When he heard Annara's suggestion, Emery couldn't help but think that it wasn't just her that should reconcile with Silva, he was too. However, his situation with the latter had become so difficult that he couldn't just go ahead and do the same as what Annara did.
Therefore, it's probably a good idea to have a little get-together. Not only would it be a great way to celebrate what they had accomplished, it could also potentially break the ice-like situation between the two of them.
Shaking his head inwardly as he thought about the awkward atmosphere between him and Silva, Emery cast the [Spatial Gate] spell for the three of them back to the shore where the ship was. Then, he left the two girls alone and went out to sea to catch fish.
…
As he searched for their meal deep in the sea, Emery suddenly thought of what might be another reason why Annara chased him away under the pretext of catching fish. He couldn't help but think that she was trying to separate them because she was planning to do something unbecoming to Silva.
The moment this thought sprouted, Emery seemed unable to shake it away from his mind. Hence, he quickened his pace and caught the fish as fast as he could before returning to the stone house. He was greatly disturbed by the thought that his brisk walk had turned into a sprint without him noticing.
However, the sight that welcomed Emery when he returned caused him to be stunned. It was at this moment that he discovered that the so-called girl's time was actually the two of them taking a bath together, cleaning each other's bodies exhausted from the fight.
"Go away, you pervert!!" Annara shouted loudly while swinging her whip, quickly making him [blink] away in retreat.
Emery went ahead and prepared all the things they needed for the feast to lessen the consequences he had to suffer. The moment they finished their bath, both Silva and Annara looked at Emery with resentment on their faces. He could only smile wryly at their reactions. Fortunately for him, the two's resentment didn't go on for long.
Eventually, things went on as Annara planned. And this time around, it was apparent that the red-haired girl really depended on Silva, as she was the only one who could make a decent meal between the three of them.
When they finished the pleasant fish stew, Annara said her thanks to Silva and took something out of her interspatial ring. Under the surprised gaze of the other two, she offered them a bottle of drink which she had apparently kept for special occasions.
"This is the best drink that you can find on my home planet. You two should be grateful that I am willing to share this with you," said Annara with a proud expression on her face.
What Annara did right now brought the suspicion Emery had to another level. Even though the red-haired girl took a sip of the drink first, he still acted cautiously and used [Analysis] on it.
The result he got was that the drink was a heavy and somehow toxic kind, but it's on the level that would not endanger them.
Unlike Emery who was overly cautious, Silva on the other hand didn't seem to care much as she nonchalantly grabbed the cup where the drink had been poured and gulped it entirely in fast motion.
Annara who saw it couldn't help but comment, "That's a good one, girl! Cheers!"
Then, the two of them watched in surprise as Silva showed off her prowess in drinking. She quickly refilled her cup as if she feared the drink would vanish at any moment as she continuously drank cup after cup until it surprised the red-haired girl.
"Hahaha, save some for me, girl!"
Emery, who didn't like drinking, took his cup and just held onto it as he sipped its content occasionally while watching the two girls compete in a drinking competition.
After dozens of cups worth of drink, the two girls seemed to be getting tipsy. However, Emery was not that worried as this was as much as a drink could do for a high-rank acolyte like them. Still, even though the drink wouldn't really get them drunk, it would affect their judgment a bit.
Out of nowhere, Annara started talking about her past, how she had no real intention to harm anyone, the fact that she was just something called an egoistic opportunist, and so on. Simply put, she's just making the most out of their current situation.
Looking at the expression Annara had as she spoke those things, Emery could tell that the girl must have gone through quite a difficult time in the past to be what she was now. For a moment there, he could also see that Silva showed some sympathy to the girl before drinking some more.
It really was, surprisingly, becoming quite an enjoyable night for the three. Well, until Annara started to say stuff about Emery.
Annara leaned her body towards him and narrowed her eyes. "What is it about this guy that makes so many girls like him..? Sure, he's handsome, but not that amazingly handsome. Furthermore, he's a bit slow in the head…"
Emery actually didn't mind to be the topic of their talk, but he was worried because he knew this kind of topic was sensitive for Silva. However, he was soon proven wrong when surprisingly Silva was laughing loudly at her remark.
"He is! Hahaha! ..Only a foolish girl would like this kind of man."
The two were laughing hard at Silva's remark. Then, they started to talk about different kinds of men as if Emery didn't even exist.
Contrary to expectation, Emery had no reason to be mad. He genuinely enjoyed watching the two girls being friendly and laughing together like this.
Now that it's already late and seeing the two girls in harmony, Emery decided it was time for him to take his leave and go to his bed, leaving the two in their fervent conversation. But when he stood up, Annara stopped him.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked Annara, to which Emery immediately responded. "..Stay.. We won't talk about you anymore.. Let's talk about something else."
A thoughtful look appeared on her face for a second before she excitedly said, "The fruit! Show us that pearly fruit!"
Emery had no intention of keeping the tier 5 item for himself, so he unhesitantly took it out and placed it on the table. The two girls' attention was immediately diverted to the fruit.
Turning her head to Emery, Annara asked, "So what are we going to do with it?"
He shrugged his shoulders before replying, "It's whatever, actually. I can bring it back and make something out of it when we return to the Apothecary Institute, or we can sell it at the best price we can get."
Silva, however, disagreed with Emery's suggestion. "No, both options are not good. Let me bring it to my home. After all, my Oroboros Clan is one of the best apothecary families in the alliance."
Noticing that the two were about to argue, Annara quickly interjected herself.
"No no! No bickering tonight." Then, with a proud smile on her face and a tap to her chest, she continued, "Just leave it to me… I will make it fair to you both."
The girl suddenly pulled out a knife and this startled Emery. He immediately readied to pull his sword expecting her to try to do something bad. However, the girl went against his expectations and swung the knife towards the pearly fruit instead.
Swish! Splat! Splat!
In the blink of an eye, the fruit was cut into three perfectly even pieces.
Emery's eyes were quivering as he watched the three pieces on the table.
"Why did you do that?!" He was shocked, entirely so. Because this might cause the item to completely lose its value or effect.
Unfortunately for the young man, the red-haired girl only laughed loudly. "Hahaha! Isn't this the fairest solution?"
Then, Annara's laugh came to an abrupt stop. The other two were also the same, as everyone sensed something was happening.
Emery could smell a strong aroma coming off the sliced fruit, a scent so intoxicating that it affected his mind. "What is this really?"
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Written and Directed by Avans, Published by W.e.b.n.o.v..e.l,