I’m Yame.
I had grown accustomed to life on the island. I even thought I was enjoying it in my own way. It was lonely being by myself, but I had Ivan the doll and the birds, so I was doing just fine. Really, I was perfectly okay.
I had missed a few ships along the way. About twice, I managed to send up smoke at just the right time, but the ships never changed their course. I wondered if the smoke was hard to see, so I even tried adding some color to it, but it didn't help. Well, I suppose just because smoke rises from an island doesn't necessarily mean people will assume someone is calling for help. It would have been nice if the Sea Race had come closer, though.
I never considered building a boat myself to escape the island. I couldn't swim, for one thing. And even if I did leave, I wouldn't have known where to go. Drifting aimlessly would have been miserable. Since I couldn't die, I would have just suffered forever. The mere thought of that was more than I could bear.
So much time had passed that I started thinking it might be fine to never leave the island at all. The bird had found a partner, hatched chicks, and now even had grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was one big family. Not that I was jealous or anything—I had Ivan the doll.
He was already the fourth generation. Being made of wood, the Ivans lacked durability. It wasn't because I handled them roughly, probably. I personally thought the island's environment was just harsh.
The change happened suddenly. A group from the Sea Race appeared in the waters surrounding the island. Based on their equipment and numbers, they weren't just a few stragglers; it was a magnificent Sea Race military force. Naturally, I hid. I thought about asking for help, but there were so many of them and I didn't know their objective. If they were on a top-secret mission, they might have killed me just for seeing them. Fortunately, while the Sea Race came quite close to the shore, they never actually made landfall. It was a little scary.
While that fear still lingered, an airship arrived. It was a type I had never seen before. I wondered where it had come from. When it came down to it, it was hard to ask for help when I didn't know who the other party was. I hate to say it, but I was a member of the Demon Race, and I had many enemies. I wouldn't have cared if I weren't so weak, but at the moment, I was at a serious disadvantage. If they were humans or demons, I thought I could manage somehow.
I stayed hidden and focused on observing. The ones who stepped off the airship were God-kin. They were the absolute worst. You just couldn't talk to them. There were those who threw spears out of nowhere, those who thought about it before throwing, and those who were already in the middle of a throw—they were all lunatics. I had been killed by them many times in the past.
My only option was to run. However, if I moved in a panic, I would be spotted. God-kin had a strange intuition for that kind of thing. Furthermore, the ones who descended were clearly on reconnaissance and were on high alert. Moving now was a bad idea. I decided to stay hidden and wait until they let their guard down.
I continued my observations. It was difficult to escape if you didn't know your enemy. Four God-kin had descended from the airship. It was a tricky number, but I didn't want to antagonize them. There might have been more inside the vessel, too. However, the four who descended were moving as if to protect a single human girl... no, a young girl.
God-kin were best suited for aerial positions, yet they were staying close to her on the ground. Did that mean the girl was a princess of some country? A nation that could afford to hire God-kin must be quite wealthy. At the very least, they were rich enough to operate an airship.
Hm? Was that an Ice Monster? Even from a distance, I could feel a significant amount of power radiating from it. Should I be more wary of that than the God-kin? No, taking my eyes off the God-kin was out of the question.
But what was the girl's objective? She was looking around, but she didn't seem to be searching for anything in particular. The God-kin and the Ice Monster were the same way. They didn't stray far from the beach where the airship was moored.
If I waited, would they go home? Or would they stay? I really wanted them to leave. Oh, but there was a possibility they could take me off the island... No, probably not. Not with God-kin there. Honestly, I didn't want to get anywhere near them.
Oh, this was bad. At this rate, they were going to find the campfire I’d built. What should I do? I hadn't used it in a while, so maybe it would be okay? Should I go ahead and try to hide the fire? No, impossible. If I tried that, I would be the one found first. I wanted nothing to do with those God-kin.
Wait—the bird's great-grandchild! What are you doing over there?! I told you to run if anyone suspicious showed up! Aah, don't get close to the God-kin!
Ugh, fine!
I stepped out and stood in front of the girl and her group. If it came to this, I would just have to force my way through!
"You there! What business do you have in my territory?!"
"..."
Um, it was a bit of a problem if they didn't say anything. I didn't think it was very polite for them to whisper amongst themselves right in front of me. Oh, great-grandchild of the bird, don't come over to me. Hurry up and run away!
Hm? The girl took a step forward. It seemed they had decided on a plan through their whispering. Were they retreating? Were they going to say they were sorry for the intrusion?
...Wait. Wait, wait, wait.
I stopped the girl. She seemed like a very sensible person. Didn't this mean there was a chance she could take me off the island? Even God-kin surely wouldn't ignore their employer and attack... Well, actually, they might. They were God-kin, after all. But the girl and the Ice Monster standing behind her seemed reasonable. They were communicating properly.
Was this my chance to leave the island? I couldn't afford to panic. I had to be careful. I needed to carefully maintain the conversation and gather information.
"Er, before you leave, could you at least tell me what your purpose for coming here was?"
They were searching for an uninhabited island? Since I was here, this place wasn't an uninhabited island, so it was being removed from their list of candidates.
...And what was their business with an uninhabited island?
Ah, it was a present for her father. How devoted to her parents she was. The scale of the gift was massive, though. She really was a princess. But wouldn't someone be troubled by being given an uninhabited island as a gift?
That wasn't the case? If it was her father, he would definitely develop the uninhabited island? To the point where it wouldn't lose to any nearby town? If that happened, ships would come, and shops might even be built...
H-Huh. But since I was here, they were going to go look somewhere else.
...Don’t give up! Dig your heels in!
I couldn't help but scream it out.