I stood on the deck of the ship, watching the endless ocean stretch before me. It had been fourteen days since we'd set sail from the last port.
"Land! An uninhabited island!"
"We're saved, Sir Lancel!"
Before I could fully embrace Marigold in our moment of relief, I grabbed the oars. Using the last of my strength, I rowed us to the shore.
"Ugh..."
"No, Sir Lancel!"
The moment I collapsed from exhaustion, Marigold leapt from the boat. She immediately climbed a nearby palm tree and began dropping coconuts to the ground.
"Wake up, Sir Lancel! You can't die yet!"
"...Mary. I think this is as far as I go."
"Don't talk like that! It's not like you!"
I closed my eyes.
"Hmm?"
Something soft touched my lips. As my lips parted, sweet juice rushed into my mouth.
Gulp.
"...!"
A wave of euphoria ran down my spine.
I could feel life force spreading through me, flowing from my throat to my nerve endings.
Moisture, sugar, calories. Things I hadn't tasted in a long time.
Gulp. Gulp.
"Phew! I'll give you more."
"...Mary? Mmph!"
I finally realized how the coconut juice was entering my mouth, but it was too late to stop her.
With each successive transfer of calories, I felt strength returning to my body.
"Whew, one more time!"
Slurp.
"Stop."
"Mmm?"
I quickly stopped Marigold, who had her mouth full of something. The coconut juice went down her own throat.
"I'm conscious now, so that's enough."
"Sir Lancel!"
Marigold clung to me with tears in her eyes.
"I almost had to live with Sir Lancel's corpse. Sniff..."
"You'd have to bury it, not live with it."
Pia, the bird perched on her head, stared at me intently.
*I almost experienced starvation for the first time.*
With my strength returning, I immediately surveyed our surroundings.
A wide stretch of white sand, dense jungle behind it, and countless seabirds flapping their wings as they flew toward the center of the island.
It seemed to have everything we needed.
"Let's stay here until a ship passes by."
"Do you think any ships pass through a place like this, Sir Lancel?"
"Well, one will come eventually. There are plenty of ships crossing the archipelago seas."
With that, I dismissed Marigold's concerns.
Waiting for rescue, Lancel, Marigold, and one bird began their life as castaways.
* * *
———
[Fallen Lady Simulation]
Schedule for the 1st week of June:
Monday - Build temporary shelter. (Location: Island beach)
Tuesday - Collect shells and oysters. (Location: Island beach)
Wednesday - Find fresh water. (Location: Island jungle)
Thursday - Hunt animals. (Location: Island jungle)
Friday - Spear fishing. (Location: Island sea)
Saturday - Free time. (Location: Island sea)
Sunday - Make dried fish. (Location: Island beach)
â»Though stranded in a strange land, there's something oddly appealing about this situation. Surviving day by day! Strength, Stamina, Charm, and Sensuality UP!
———
Life on the uninhabited island was monotonous.
1. Repair the shelter.
2. Find food and water.
3. Repeat.
The hastily built shelter was reinforced over time, and within just one week, it had become a hut with a bed and cooking facilities.
"Got it! A wild boar!"
"Let's roast and eat it all!"
"That would be wasteful. We'll dry it and smoke it."
"Ohhh!"
After a month, a food storage shed appeared next to the hut, with smoked seabirds and fish hanging everywhere.
Beyond that, we built dew collectors, animal traps, spears carved from wood, axes ground from stone, and more.
Proving that humans are adaptable creatures, I established a complete settlement in a short time.
"Mary. It's hot."
"I'm hot too."
"Then move away."
"I don't want to."
"That's an officer's order. Move away."
"There are no officers or soldiers on a deserted island."
"..."
"Hehe."
We lay side by side on a bed made of stacked bamboo.
Nothing particular happened between Lancel and Marigold.
We just often slept pressed against each other, confirming each other's existence.
A world where all I could see was the island, the sea, and Marigold. Day by day, I grew accustomed to her presence.
After another year passed.
"Sir Lancel."
Marigold, now eighteen and an adult, approached me.
To prevent our clothes from wearing out, we had removed our naval uniforms completely. We lived covering only essential parts with animal skins.
"I don't think it would be so bad to live like this forever. Food is plentiful, we have no worries. Even Pia likes you now."
===============
[Game Guide]
-Available ending list has been updated!
1. Lovers of the Deserted Island.
2. Marigold, Ruler of the Island.
3. Pirate Boss, Gold D. Mary.
â»Drifting—in other words, a paradise for just the two of you.
===============
*Well, paradise might be stretching it...*
But it wasn't bad, that was true.
Perhaps I was finally taking a vacation here.
BOOM-!
"Eek!"
On a stormy night.
Marigold trembled and curled up.
"Mary."
I quietly pulled her closer. The presence of Marigold, who had grown somewhat since becoming an adult, nestled into my embrace.
I could feel her trembling subside and her breathing become steady.
BOOM-!
I slowly recalled everything from the moment I first met her until now.
Marigold arguing with a homeless person in the train's caboose. Marigold coming to become a mercenary. Marigold when she was blind. Marigold traveling around rural territories running shell games.
Each memory existed only in my mind. Perhaps this Marigold on the deserted island would meet a similar end.
An existence no one would remember.
A presence that would remain only within me.
*...happy ending...*
Someday Marigold would end this regression.
Even if the Marigold at that moment was happy, would it truly be a happy ending? Is that really what I wanted? Is everything fine just because the regression ended?
The images of countless Marigolds who had stayed in my mind for ten years before disappearing continued to haunt me.
"Sir Lancel. I'm an adult as of this year."
"...?"
"Just saying."
In the midst of the storm, Marigold whispered with trembling eyes.
I could feel her body burning hot.
I pondered for a moment what to say.
-Peeeep!
Pia, who had been sleeping, wedged herself between us.
As if she knew what was about to happen.
"Let's sleep."
"...Pia!"
Marigold glared at Pia with resentful eyes.
-Peeeep!
"What a chance I had...!"
-Peeeeeep!
"I should be the one getting angry!"
Whew.
That was dangerous.
I quickly calmed myself with a deep breath, nearly having been swept up in Marigold's momentum. I was almost headed straight for an ending.
"Tomorrow I will... definitely catch... lift up..."
What is she talking about?
Watching Marigold mutter and make some kind of pledge, I quietly closed my eyes.
When the storm that had raged overnight subsided, a dazzling sun rose.
"What's that?"
That's when it happened.
I opened my eyes at the sound of a human voice.
It had been so long since I'd heard a voice other than Marigold's that I could barely remember.
*Rescue team?*
A rescue team from the navy? Lancel and Marigold exchanged glances simultaneously.
"Here! There's some kind of house!"
"What? It really is a house! Did you build this?"
"Why would we waste time building something like this?"
"Look at this! Women's clothes! There are women's clothes hanging!"
"A woman? Where! Where is she!"
"What luck!"
"Let's capture her and sell her at the slave market!"
"Someone's inside!"
"Go in now!"
I should have known.
I pulled out the stone axe from under the bed. Marigold was quietly lifting up a wooden spear.
BANG-!
"Husband's home, you bitch!"
The stone axe crashed directly into the head of the man who kicked open the door.
THUD!
"Gah!"
"Who are you calling husband?"
Blood sprayed as his face caved in instantly.
I coldly glared at the dozen or so men visible behind him.
Each one gripping a knife—it was obvious what kind of men they were. Pirates.
"A man...!"
"K-kill him!"
15.
"What have you incompetent navy men been doing for three years?!"
Lady Iceford's shrill voice lashed out at the naval officers.
"Ah, yes, there, good."
Lying on silk spread across the beach, she had no less than four attendants diligently massaging her back.
Lady Iceford's attire had become incredibly revealing, having grown completely accustomed to archipelago life and become more open-minded.
She was practically naked.
"A-are you alright, my lady?"
"Hehe. What a cute boy. Do it some more."
Three years was enough time to transform Lady Iceford from an imperial noble.
"Ah, more, there, yes! Mmm!"
"..."
She looked like someone thoroughly enjoying a vacation. Sweat beaded on the naval officers' foreheads.
"Anyway!"
But she lit up her temper once more.
"Do you know what will happen if something happens to the 3rd Princess? Rumors will spread among the nobles of the capital. They'll say the archipelago's navy was too incompetent to rescue her in time."
"That's...!"
The naval officers broke into a cold sweat.
For officers secretly looking for opportunities to advance to the capital, this would be a terrible mark of dishonor.
"I've warned you. Bring me results."
"...Understood."
Baron Coral could only bow his head while inwardly cursing.
Despite her appearance, Lady Iceford was the daughter of a duke's family and an imperial lady-in-waiting. Even a count wouldn't dare treat her carelessly.
There was nothing to do but comply.
"Commander! Baron Coral!"
Just then.
A naval guard came running frantically across the beach from the distant shoreline.
"They found her!"
"Found what?"
"T-the Princess!"
"...!"
Everyone on the beach looked up.
Even Lady Iceford, who had been enjoying her massage, suddenly raised her upper body.
"...Is that true?"
"Yes! Lady Iceford! It's certain! Pirates captured today c-confessed! Sir Rox Ruin just heard the news and has already set sail!"
"Where is she?!"
The naval guard caught his breath and spoke again.
"An island... they said their base is on an island disguised as uninhabited!"
"An uninhabited island?"
"Yes! The pirate boss there has a woman he treasures... and her appearance matches the Princess exactly! This information is reliable!"
This is real.
The intuition struck everyone's minds.
This information felt genuine.
"Prepare the fleet immediately! We'll follow!"
Baron Coral's shout.
The officers' movements became frantic.
Only one thought dominated their minds.
*If it's really the Princess, I must rescue her first!*
*I won't give up the title of Imperial Hero!*
*Rox Ruin, you cunning bastard!*