"Hey, Kenth," I called out, holding up my hand. "Lend me your blade."
He glanced at me, then at the massive Silverfin lying on the sand.
"…You're really going to process that thing here?"
"Unless you want it to rot."
He clicked his tongue and handed me one of his blades.
"Don't dull it."
"No promises."
Nagi stepped forward, already rolling up the sleeves of his suit's innerwear suit she was wearing.
I didn't comment on it, I knew why she still had to wear it.
We both knelt beside the fish.
Up close, it was even more ridiculous.
Nearly five meters long. Thick scales. The smell is already starting to turn.
"Alright," I muttered. "Let's open it up."
I drove the blade into the underside.
The skin resisted for a second.
Then...
"Slice!"
The blade gave way.
A thick line split open along the belly.
And immediately—
Everything spilled out.
Warm, slick, heavy.
Organs pushed out from the opening, sliding onto the sand with a wet sound.
The smell hit right after.
Rotten. Salty. Metallic.
"—UGH!"
Emma gagged from a distance.
"Okay, nope! I'm staying over here!"
Azalea covered her nose with her hand and turned away.
"Warn us next time!"
Even Finster backed off, his face scrunched up.
"…Yeah, I'm going back to spear fishing."
Kenth, who had been watching proudly a moment ago, took one step back.
He walked off immediately.
Coward.
Nagi didn't even flinch.
She leaned in closer, completely focused.
"Cut deeper along this line," she said, pointing at the bloodline.
I followed her direction, slicing further.
More insides slid out.
We pulled them aside, clearing space as thick fluids soaked into the sand beneath us.
"You've done this before?" I asked.
She let out a small laugh, scratching her chin.
"Not exactly like this."
"Then how do you know so much about fish?"
"I told you, right? I'm from the mountains."
"Yeah. Which is why I'm asking."
She smiled a little.
"My uncle was an adventurer and a really strong one too."
She grabbed a section of flesh and held it steady while I cut.
"Whenever he came back from a job, he'd bring food for the village. Sometimes boars, sometimes even magical beasts…"
She paused for a second, then laughed softly.
"But most of the time? Fish."
"Fish?" I raised a brow.
"Yeah. Big ones too, sometimes even bigger than this one."
We continued cutting, carving out massive slabs of meat.
Each slice revealed clean, pale flesh beneath the scales.
"He said it was because he loved eating them. It didn't matter where he went. If there was water nearby, he'd come back with a fish."
"He sounds eccentric."
"That's an understatement."
She smiled faintly.
"For us, it was always a feast when he came home."
For a moment, only the sound of cutting filled the space between us.
Then—
Slice.
Another thick slab came free.
We set it aside with the others.
Soon, a pile of meat was forming beside us.
Nagi finally leaned back slightly.
"I'll take it from here," she said. "You should go wash up."
I glanced at my hands and chest.
Blood. Scales. Bits of flesh.
"…Yeah."
I head back to Kenth's direction, though he was nowhere near us anymore.
"Thanks."
Then I stood up and walked back toward the ocean.
The water rushed over my feet as I stepped in.
I dipped my hands first, scrubbing off the blood.
Then went deeper, letting the water wash away the smell clinging to my skin.
Behind me, I could still hear the faint sound of slicing.
Nagi, still working.
I let out a breath and leaned back slightly into the waves.
"…Yeah. That's better."
I floated there, staring up at the clear sky.
.....
The portal wasn't opening anytime soon.
Where we were… this wasn't even the same world anymore.
Paimon did this.
A Prince of Sinners candidate, and one of the requirements for that title, was a conceptual ability tied to space itself to test us.
If there were another candidate among the students.
My eyes narrowed slightly as I stared at the sky.
Finster.
With his lineage, he could be considered a candidate.
Though that didn't necessarily mean he was one.
It wasn't really explained in the novel why Paimon dragged the group here, or why he forbade his subordinate from harming us while remaining suspicious of him.
If a true candidate had been hit directly by that kind of conceptual interference, there would have been a reaction.
Yet… nothing happened.
Which meant-
Paimon's suspicion would likely ease for now.
"…For now, huh...." I muttered under my breath.
The waves gently rocked me.
That didn't mean we were safe.
It just meant the game had moved to a different phase.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Variables.
Too many of them.
Paimon.
Finster.
The others.
Even me.
Especially me.
I sank slightly deeper into the water before pushing myself back up.
If I wanted things to go the way I needed…
I had to start cutting down those variables.
One by one.
I made my way back to Waffel and dropped a few more things out of my storage.
Sunscreen first. A few more bottles this time.
Then, extra cloth wraps, spare innerwear, and a couple of lightweight blankets. A compact cooking set followed, along with metal utensils, a small foldable rack, flint kits, water containers, and a bundle of dried kindling I kept sealed. I even pulled out a coil of thinner rope, a few lanterns, a basic first aid kit, and salt and pepper.
It piled up fast.
Waffel just stared at it.
"…Do you actually constantly have this stuff on you?"
"I want to scout deeper into the forest. Permission?" I said
Waffel blinked once, still looking at the supplies, then nodded.
"…Granted. Emma, come here. Help me take note of everything he just dropped."
Emma jogged over, already pulling out something to write with.
"Got it."
"Thanks," I said, turning away.
By the time I stepped past them, the shelter had already taken shape.
It wasn't bad.
A rough wooden shack stood a short distance from the shore, built mostly from thick logs they had gathered earlier. The structure was simple, though sturdy. The walls were tightly packed, reinforced with layered wood and bits of earth pressed into the gaps.
The waterproof tarp I gave them had been stretched across the top as a roof, tied down firmly with rope, and weighted at the corners with stones.
There were support beams dug into the sand, angled to keep the whole thing from collapsing under strong winds. A small fire pit had already been marked off nearby, with stones arranged in a circle.
And Maku—
There were four of him.
One was carrying logs.
Another was tying down a rope.
The third was digging.
The fourth just stood there for a second before running off to grab something else.
"…This camp's MVP," I muttered.
I didn't stay long.
The forest was waiting.
As soon as I stepped past the tree line, the temperature shifted.
The ground turned uneven, covered in moss and slick stones that shifted under every step. Mushrooms grew everywhere, clustered in patches along fallen logs and between cracks in the rocks.
Just like Waffel said.
Not a place you'd want to build anything.
Still, that wasn't what I came here for.
I went deeper.
After a few steps, I pulled out a gas mask and secured it over my face.
The air changed the further in I went.
It was visibly thicker and almost sweet, though wrong in a way that made your head feel light if you stayed too long.
Blightcap spores.
I kept moving.
Every large tree with thick, spiked bark I passed, I stopped.
I raised the blade borrowed from Kenth and made a clean incision across the surface.
A line cut through.
Then I moved on.
Another tree.
Another cut.
Again.
Again.
Again.
In the novel, it was described clearly as a bright red sap, and when it came into contact with thrum, it would turn orange.
I kept going, repeating the same motion over and over as I moved deeper into the forest.
No color change.
No reaction.
Just normal sap slowly oozing out.
By the time the light began to dim and the sky shifted toward sunset, I stopped.
"…No luck today, huh."
I exhaled through the mask and turned back.
The walk out felt longer.
I pulled the mask off.
Nagi and Cwal were nowhere to be seen.
Kenth was… doing something else.
He was crouched in front of a crab.
A stick in his hand.
The crab was also holding a stick.
They clacked against each other.
Back and forth.
I blinked.
"…Did he give it a stick just to sword fight it?"
I glanced to the side.
Where the Silverfin had been earlier—
There was nothing left.
Just a massive skeleton, picked clean.
I walked over.
Kenth noticed me and stood up.
"Where've you been?"
"I scouted the area," I said casually. "Wanted to see the mushrooms Waffel was talking about."
I looked around.
"Where are Cwal and Nagi?"
"Oh, they already went back to camp. I stayed to wait for you."
He stretched a bit and tossed the stick aside. The crab scuttled off.
"They said we should head back and eat together."
"…Sounds good," I said.
We made our way back to camp just as the fire was settling into a steady burn.
The smell hit first.
Grilled fish.
Thick slabs of Silverfin were laid across a makeshift rack, the surface crisping slightly while the fat dripped into the fire below with a steady hiss. The flames flickered brighter each time it did, carrying that rich, oily scent into the air.
Nagi was the one tending it, flipping a piece with surprising care.
"Perfect timing," she said without looking up.
I sat down near the fire as one of the slabs was handed over.
Just a chunk of fish big enough to feed three people.
Kenth already tore into his.
I followed.
The outer layer had a slight crisp to it, though the inside was soft and juicy.
The fat melted the moment it touched the tongue, rich and heavy without being overwhelming. There was a faint fishy taste, though it wasn't unpleasant
I took another bite.
"…Yeah. That's good."
"Right?" Kenth said through a mouthful.
Across from us, the reactions were… mixed.
Tasora stared at her portion for a long moment.
Then quietly set it aside.
"I'll pass."
She instead picked up a piece of coconut flesh, sitting beside Fanna who was already happily eating the same thing.
Fanna nodded approvingly.
"This is enough for me."
Emma took a small bite on the fish.
Chewed slowly.
"…It's not bad," she admitted.
Azalea nodded in agreement.
"But the smell sticks to your mouth."
Solaris, sitting beside them, took a delicate bite.
Then another.
"…It's edible."
That was apparently her highest praise.
The rest of us didn't care.
We kept eating.
By the time we were done, only bones and scraps were left near the fire. The rest were hanged for smoking.
The sky had already darkened.
Waffel stood, brushing her hands lightly.
"Alright. We'll need someone for night duty."
She glanced around.
"Fanna, can you—"
"I'll take it."
Everyone looked at me.
Waffel raised a brow.
"…You?"
I nodded.
"I'm not tired yet."
She studied me for a second.
Then gave a small shrug.
"Then we'll take up on that. Please wake someone if anything happens."
"Got it."
One by one, they retreated into the shack.
The fire dimmed slightly.
The waves continued in the distance.
I stayed tending to the fire.
Three hours passed.
Maybe four.
I didn't keep track.
Beside me were ten stainless steel bowls, each filled with seawater.
Prepared for what's about to happen.
The fire crackled softly.
The shack door shifted.
Someone stepped out.
It was Solaris.
Her steps were uneven and rushed.
Her face was red and completely flushed.
She walked straight past me, heading toward the forest.
"…Hey, princess, are you going to take a shit?"
An ice blade formed instantly in her hand.
I stepped back just enough for it to miss.
"Calm down, moron."
She let out a hiss just like a kitten driven to a corner.
I turned, grabbed one of the prepared bowls, and held it out to her.
Then reached into my storage and pulled out a pack of wet wipes.
"Here."
She froze.
Looked at me.
Then at the bowl.
Then the wipes.
Her face somehow got even redder.
She nodded at me and snatched both out of my hands without a word and quickly walked off into the forest.
I watched her disappear between the trees.
Then glanced back at the remaining bowls beside me.
"…Hah."
I sat back down.
"That's one out of ten."