Heroine Hunter

I regained my composure and sat up.  

“Priestess, let’s move into the shade for a bit. The sun is strong, and we could get dehydrated quickly.”  

“Yes.”  

Emilia nodded. 

We walked away from the shore, but there wasn’t much shade.  

I took off my coat and draped it over the branches of a scrawny tree to create some shade.  

When Emilia met my gaze, she shyly looked away.  

I sat down in the shade.  

“Come sit here. You shouldn’t be sweating too much right now.”  

“Yes!”  

Emilia came over and awkwardly knelt beside me.  

Her actions and speech were full of youthful energy and liveliness.  

Even after losing her sight, she retained this cheerful personality, and once she awakened her holy powers, she’d become the noble saintess Emilia Rosebloom I remembered from the novel.  

But now, because of me, she hadn’t lost her sight.  

This would change many things. 

She wouldn’t be gathering corpses on a deserted island or praying for a month without rest. After all, she had done out of pure despair in the novel.  

With her vision intact and a companion to rely on, such a miracle wouldn’t occur.  

The noble saintess she was meant to be—well, that might not happen anymore.  

Instead, we would have to survive together on this deserted island for a month until the navy came to rescue us.  

Lea must have wanted things to play out like this.  

“I just woke up myself,” Emilia said. “When I saw you collapsed over there, I was so relieved.”  

“Are you feeling okay? No injuries?”  

“Thanks to you, I’m fine. How about you, Mr. Castoloni? If you’re hurt, I know some healing magic.”  

“Fortunately, I’m unharmed.”  

There was a brief silence between us, and only the sound of the waves remained.  

Emilia broke the silence.  

“Mr. Castoloni.”  

“Yes?”  

“May I ask you something?”  

I continued gazing out at the sea as I answered.  

“You’re wondering how I knew to jump off the ship, right? It was because I smelled oil and gunpowder.”  

“Huh?”  

“You were going to ask how I knew, weren’t you?”  

Emilia shook her head.  

“Ah! No. That’s not what I—”  

“Then what is it?”  

She avoided my gaze and puffed out her cheeks slightly.  

“Hmm. Actually, yes, that’s what I was going to ask.”  

She had a bit of pride.  

“To be precise, I didn’t jump off the ship. I noticed something was off, so I grabbed you to move toward the railing. The explosion’s shockwave sent us flying out of the ship.”  

Emilia nodded in understanding.  

“I see.”  

We silently watched the ocean. 

Debris and fragments from the wrecked ship were washing ashore along with some corpses.  

Emilia’s expression darkened. 

I decided I needed to lift her spirits.  

“The navy will probably come to rescue us soon.”  

“Do you think so?”  

“There were quite a few nobles on board. They’ll search for us. And you were on the ship too, weren’t you?”  

“Me? I’m not that important…”  

According to the novel, even before Emilia was revered as a saint, she was already a well-known figure.  

From the way people on the ship had been looking at her, I was even more convinced of that.  

She was the holy idol of the empire, watched over by the gods.  

Not only did she survive the horrific accident, but even in the original story, losing her sight was seen as a miracle.

It was no surprise that she would be revered as a saint.  

“What are you saying? You’re the jewel of our empire, priestess. Of course, they’ll come to rescue you.”  

“…”  

She gave a bitter smile but said nothing.  

“Priestess, let’s think positively.”  

I was telling her to give me hope.  

She looked at me and quickly understood my intention.  

“You’re right. Of course, they’ll come for me! Don’t worry, Mr. Castoloni. Even though I may not look like it, I, Emilia Rosebloom, am quite an important person!”  

Emilia clenched her small fists with determination.  

‘Good. Her mental state is taken care of.’

Now we needed to make a plan.  

When you’re stranded in the wild, the first thing to do is…  

‘Find a safe base camp and freshwater.’  

That’s what Bear Grylls and the survival guy with the bald head always said.  

“First, let’s walk along the beach and gather anything useful that’s washed ashore.  

Then we should explore the island to find fresh water and a safe place to spend the night.  

If possible, we should also light a signal fire to call for help.”  

“Mr. Castoloni, have you been stranded before?”  

“Huh?”  

“You seem to know exactly what to do.”  

I chuckled awkwardly.  

To be honest, this whole second life of mine felt as if I was stranded.  

“Shall we get started?” 

We began collecting anything useful that had washed up on the shore.  

“I’m sorry.”  

Even Emilia helped me search the pockets of the bodies.  

[Matches] 

[Knife] 

[Crate of Canned Goods]  

It wasn’t a bad haul.  

We also took a few sets of [Clothes] from the deceased just in case.  

Emilia offered a prayer for the souls of the departed before standing up.  

“Let’s go.”  

There was no sign of the despair or exhaustion that would push her to rely solely on her faith as I had seen in the novel.  

Her clear, bright eyes were filled with positivity and a will to survive.  

It’s only natural that bodies decompose when left unattended, but perhaps the real miracle was the Emilia who was fighting so hard to stay alive.  

————

We decided to climb the highest point on the island to get a sense of its layout.  

As we walked around the island, we naturally began sharing more about ourselves—a process of building trust so we could rely on each other in this uncertain situation.  

“How did you end up on the ship, Mr. Castoloni?”  

“As a merchant, I was just moving around to sell goods. There’s not much else to it.”  

Since I didn’t know the exact details of my situation, I gave a vague answer.  

Emilia tilted her head slightly.  

“Didn’t you say you ran a toy shop?”  

“Yes. That’s right.”  

“… I see.”  

Did I say something wrong?

“So what brings you aboard, priestess?”  

“I was instructed by the bishop to visit the soldiers fighting the demons at the front lines to bless and comfort them.”  

Ah! I see.  

So this was a ship heading to the war front.  

Now, I’d inadvertently become a cold-hearted merchant selling toys in a war zone.  

I nodded as if nothing was amiss.  

“Ah! I see. In a way, our goals are quite similar.”  

“Pardon?”  

She looked at me like I was speaking nonsense.  

I quickly spun my words.  

“Toys bring comfort to the heart. If the children at the front lines find solace in the toys I distribute for free, they might remember them when they grow older and buy them. That’s my long-term plan.”  

“…”  

“Just like how you, priestess, spread the gospel. If your words comfort the soldiers and they survive through your blessings, they’ll later return to the church to give thanks to God. So, perhaps both of us are working to comfort wounded souls now, hoping to be repaid later in life… Oh dear, I may have overstepped. Please forgive me.”  

A smile spread across Emilia’s face.  

“So you’re on your way to donate toys.”  

[Emilia Rosebloom (Virgin)]  

[Occupation: Priestess]  

[Status: Understanding]  

[Ah! I see. After all, there are children in villages ravaged by war. Maybe God’s will isn’t always distant. Mr. Castoloni says he’s investing for future profits, but really, he’s helping those in need in the way he can. He even mentioned donating to the church while on the ship. He’s a good person after all.]  

Whew. That worked.  

I suddenly stopped in my tracks.  

Huh?  

Drip. Drip.

The sound of water.  

Overcome with excitement, I ran ahead and found a flowing stream.  

The water looked crystal clear.  

“Priestess, come over here! There’s water!”  

“Really? Haha!”  

Emilia ran over, her bright smile lighting up her face.  

As she moved, the thin priestess robes outlined her curvaceous figure.  

Her large breasts bounced as she ran, and through the side slits of her robes, glimpses of her pale thighs were visible.  

‘Ah! Now, this is what it’s all about.’

‘From now on, this island’s name is Paradise.’

Just then—  

Out of the bushes, a long tentacle shot out, wrapped around Emilia’s waist, and swiftly yanked her away.  

“Kyaaah!”  

“Priestess!”  

I plunged into the bushes to follow.  

‘Damn it!’  

A tentacle monster appeared before me. It was easily three meters tall.  

Thick tentacles wrapped around Emilia’s slender waist and beneath her chest.  

“P-Please help!”  

She reached out toward me.  

Before I could act, her arms and legs were also seized by the monster’s tentacles.  

“Ugh!”  

Her face contorted in pain as the tentacles restrained her arms behind her back and lifted her legs by her slender ankles.  

In an instant, Emilia was suspended in the air, bound in a torturous position.  

I drew my knife and rushed to slice the tentacles.  

Clang. Clang.

‘What the hell?!’  

It was as if the tentacles were as tough as adamantium—my blade couldn’t cut through.  

“Hngh… Mr. Castoloni…”

Emilia struggled, but there was no escape. Tears welled up in her eyes as if she knew what would happen if the tentacle monster violated her.  

‘What should I do?’  

Just then—  

Ding!

A status window appeared.  

[Bevic]  

[A tentacle monster that closely resembles common tentacle creatures but possesses a completely opposite nature. This mindless creature assists the females it captures in mating with other males. It contributes to increasing the reproduction rate of wild animals. It will not release its captured female until she has been fully mated by a male of the same species. Hermaphroditic.] 

‘Ah.’

‘So, that’s how it works.’