In my spare time, I crafted a fish trap.
Thanks to a YouTube tutorial I'd watched, it wasn't too hard.
The bait? Bread crusts.
Crusts suck anyway.
I thought about tossing them to starving Lena, but she tried to rob me, so they became fish food instead.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much.
But when I woke up—boom! Fish caught!
Three fat ones, no less…!!
"Hey, hey!!! You juicy ocean bitch!!! Handing out your kids like that makes you a deadbeat mom?!?! Kek kek kek."
Thanks, Mother Nature!
Breakfast was shaping up to be a hearty protein feast.
While prepping, I planned the day.
Eat, then hit some morning exercise…
Wait, no equipment means I can't work out properly. That's a problem.
Maybe I can use a tree for a pull-up bar?
With protein this easy to get, I'll give it a shot if I have time.
Morning: explore the forest, hunt for chests.
Afternoon: fix up the shelter.
It's my first build, so it's kinda flimsy. Gotta put in some effort since I'll be here a while.
Forest exploration goals: food and artifacts.
Artifacts are key.
Hecate's weaker than usual right now!
A few more artifacts, and I can make her mine.
Chomp chomp-
The fish was delicious.
First protein in a day, so it's hitting hard.
Good call bringing salt.
But…
Why's Lena still not up?
She didn't pass out after one day, did she…?
***
The island's night was unexpectedly cold.
The sea breeze was brutal.
Even with her jacket draped over her, Lena woke up shivering multiple times.
What ruined her precious morning sleep? A smell.
'That savory smell… I'm starving…'
Waking up, she saw smoke drifting her way.
Kim Taeyang was grilling fish.
Lena mustered what little energy she had and shouted.
"Your smoke's blowing over here!"
"Huh? What am I supposed to do about the wind?! Got a problem? Move your ass!! You're a homeless bum who thinks lying down makes a house!!!"
"I'll curse you…"
Ouch, that was a sharp exchange.
Even while snapping back, her eyes were glued to the grilled fish.
'How'd he catch such big fish…?'
She remembered catching small fish as a kid.
But that was in a stream, with tools like a paper cup.
Bare-handed ocean fishing wouldn't be easy.
'I haven't eaten… I'm dizzy…'
She stared helplessly at Kim Taeyang's meal.
She knew it was pathetic, but pride shrinks before instinct.
'He's eating fruit too? Is that safe…?'
Kim Taeyang casually peeled and ate a blue-skinned fruit.
If he wasn't keeling over, it was probably edible.
She resolved to gather those fruits while exploring.
"M-Mana stoooone…"
Hecate groaned.
"Just hold on, Hecate-nim. We'll get out today, I promise."
Squeezing out her strength, Lena headed into the forest.
Hours of searching, and nothing.
Another day without finding a chest.
'Keep going like this, and I'll starve… Gotta find food…'
Soon, she spotted blue fruit.
Definitely the same kind Kim Taeyang was eating.
"Found it…! But it's too high…"
The tree was tall.
Lena looked around, snapped a long branch to use as a pole, and started poking at the fruit.
"Fall! Come on, fall…!"
Poke! Poke!
Her stamina drained fast.
Her shoulders ached first, then her neck, back, and calves.
The fruit didn't budge.
"Haa."
Flop.
Lena collapsed, staring at the sky.
The ripe fruit dangling high above was just a tease.
"If only I could use mana…"
Lena realized just how frail she was.
Kim Taeyang.
That guy would've climbed the tree in one go, snatching the fruit with his beefy arms…
The fruit he'd gathered was probably collected that way.
"That bastard… How's a morally bankrupt jerk like him so lucky…?"
Lena hadn't exactly lived a saintly life either.
She'd spent her childhood cursing others, steeped in a dark, vengeful existence.
But compared to Kim Taeyang, who turned students into sows, wasn't she at least a bit better?
"The world's unfair…"
The thought brought tears to her eyes.
Fear crept in too.
"Can I even get out of here…?"
Stories of heroes trapped in dungeons, never returning, were common.
Lena wasn't immune to such a fate.
"I miss Hajeong-nim…"
Seol Hajeong was Lena's mentor and emotional anchor.
Thinking of her sparked a flicker of determination.
Lena shot up and grabbed the pole again.
"You tall tree bastard…! I curse you…!! Break in half when a typhoon hits!!!"
Poke! Poke! Poke!!
Thud…!
Finally, the fruit fell.
"Got it…!"
Just three fist-sized fruits.
But enough to make Lena's eyes well up.
'Not much, but… I worked all day for these, so I'll savor them…'
She clutched the fruit like precious eggs and headed back.
Thwack!
Lena struck the fruit with a rock.
It refused to crack.
"From start… to finish… nothing goes my way…!!"
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!!
Her furious rock-throwing continued.
At this point, it felt like saving energy might be smarter than eating the fruit.
Meanwhile, Kim Taeyang was eating too.
"Yo!!"
Crack!!
With one swing, he split the fruit's shell.
"Wohoo~ Sour and sweet, juicy tropical fruit secured!"
His crude commentary came with every peel.
"Hey! This one's too easy!! Opening up like that, you got no shame hiding your naked body?!"
"Look at this ripe, soft one. Total milf fruit, huh? Kek kek kek."
"Underripe, tangy, juice-packed tropical fruit! Time to dig in!!!"
'Shut up, you bastard…!'
Lena had no energy to yell, so she swallowed her anger.
And finally—
Crack!!
Lena managed to open a fruit.
"Done…!"
As if someone might steal it, she hurriedly brought it to her mouth.
Right then—
"Hey."
"?!"
Kim Taeyang, who'd crept up, called out.
"You trying to steal it?! No way I'm giving it up!!"
"Huh? You think I'm as low as you?"
"Then what?"
"You need this, don't you? Kek kek."
In his palm was the mana-stone ring.
"M-Mana stoooone…! Please…!"
Hecate trembled, sensing the mana.
Lena pointed at the pen.
"Get lost. I'm not doing your sow declaration."
"Hey, hear me out, sow. Hand over all your fruit, and this artifact's yours."
"The… fruit?"
"Yeah. Pretty sweet deal, right? You can always pick more."
Trading a measly fruit for an artifact?
A hell of a deal.
And a hell of a dirty one too.
'This bastard… He waited for this moment!'
Clench-
Lena gritted her teeth.
Kim Taeyang was exploiting her most desperate moment.
It was an obvious ploy…
"A-Ahhrtifaaact…! Urghhh…!!"
Hecate's frantic cries couldn't just be ignored.
'I'm suffering too… but Hecate-nim must be in way more pain…'
In the end, Lena gave up her fruit.
"Fine… Deal."
"Hey! More devotion than I expected, huh? Kek kek kek."
"Here…"
"Hey, hey! Hand over the one you peeled too!"
"Ugh…!"
All the fruit went to Kim Taeyang.
Lena was left with nothing but air.
"Now give me the artifact."
"Oh, this? You're just gonna use it to pump mana into your constellation, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'll do it myself. Yo, hand over the pen."
"Don't mess around, just give it."
"Huh? Don't like it? Then forget it! I don't need this!!"
Hecate trembled at my words.
"C-Child of darkness… P-Please… Do as he says…!!"
Lena had no choice but to hand over the pen.
'I can't help it… It's for Hecate-nim…'
"Yo!"
Kim Taeyang's rough, calloused hand.
Seeing Hecate in that massive grip made Lena uneasy.
"Mana's filling me…! The curses sleeping within me stir…! I'm starting to envy the darkness and the sun…!! Bow before Hecate!!!"
The pen rambled on.
Hecate, the constellation of curses.
Basically a chuunibyou with a flair for drama.
"You who unleashed my power, wanderer of darkness! Name what you wish to curse! I'll grant you a mighty curse to change your fate…!!"
Hecate was still just a pen, flapping in the air to show gratitude.
I don't really have anything to curse.
What I want is Hecate herself.
[You saved Hecate from a near-death state!]
[Hecate's affection skyrockets!!!]
[Hecate's affection skyrockets!!!]
[Hecate's affection skyrockets!!!]
The mana stone ring was destroyed.
But becoming Hecate's savior? Worth it!
"Hey, I'm good on curses. Seeing you perk up, Samsuni, puts me in a good mood."
"Samsuni…?"
"You're three colors, so your name's Samsuni."
"Hm… A name wholly unfit for Hecate, but since you saved me, I'll allow it."
I activated the NTR Solution on her.
◆ NTR Solution
◆ Hecate
[Bound Hero: Lena Erandel]
[Relationship with Bound Hero: 39]
[Trait: Narcissism]
◆ Solution
+ Mana exhaustion has drastically lowered the relationship with her hero!
+ Keep inducing mana exhaustion!
+ When the relationship drops into the negatives, gift Hecate a mana stone or artifact!
+ Hecate will see you as a capable hero!
Lena and Hecate's relationship was once near 90.
Now it's down to 39.
A couple more exhaustion rounds, and it'll hit -100.
That's my chance.
"Wanderer of darkness, do you have more mana stones or artifacts…?"
"Nah, that was it."
"I hate asking an outside hero, but if you find any mana stones or artifacts, could you help me…? This island… it's tough on constellations…"
Mana in stones and artifacts doesn't leak out—it's sealed inside.
But mana circulating in a constellation's body drains fast.
Hecate's recovery won't last more than a few days.
"Don't state the obvious! Helping a human-friendly constellation is just common sense, right?"
"As expected…! I sensed the aura of darkness, moonlight, and curses in you! We might just get along!!"
"Kek kek kek. But your bound hero's that sow, huh? Yo! Get back to your useless hero!"
"Urk…?!"
Whoosh-
I tossed Hecate toward Lena.
She caught the pen and glared fiercely.
"You dare throw Hecate-nim? You cursed bastard…"
Hecate snapped at Lena.
"Lena Erandel. If you've got the energy to curse my savior, go find more artifacts."
"…Yes. I'm sorry."
Lena slumped, defeated.
That's what you get for acting cocky.
But…
Seeing her like that, I almost felt bad.
Lena hadn't eaten or drunk anything for two days.
She looked severely dehydrated.
I grabbed a 500ml PET bottle of water and tossed it to her.
"Hey! Drink some water at least!"
"?"
Lena looked baffled.
"This… it's really drinking water? You're not messing with me with seawater?"
"Even when I'm being nice, you complain?! Annoying sow…"
"..."
She cautiously opened the cap, sniffed it, and took a sip—
"...!"
Tasting it, Lena tilted the bottle back and chugged.
"It's my piss, purified to perfection, so don't worry."
"Pfffttt!!!! Cough!! Hack!!!!"
Whoa!
Why's she spitting it out? What a waste!
"Hey, hey! Don't spit out liquid that's holy water to sows!!"
"You crazy bastard!!!! Feeding me piss?!?!"
"Don't like it? Give it back!!!!"
Lena wiped her mouth, muttering.
"I curse you… May you be covered in filth…"
Even so, she tightly capped the bottle and hid it.
***
Three days since Kim Taeyang and Lena vanished.
Ark's atmosphere was still chaotic.
Martial law was lifted after safety was confirmed, but that didn't matter anymore.
Seol Hajeong sat in the student council president's office, hands clasped, lost in thought.
'Please come back, Lena…'
She wanted to turn back time.
If she could, she wouldn't have let emotions drive such a foolish plan.
No, at the very least, she would've jumped into the gate instead of Lena…
Regret was useless now.
On her desk, a coin stood upright and spun on its own.
'Charon-nim…!'
The coin was a constellation.
Charon, the ferryman of the underworld.
Clink.
The coin stopped, showing its front.
Charon's engraved figure moved as if alive and spoke.
"Found it."
"Where?"
"It's complicated. It's a dungeon managed by a constellation from another star system."
"Can't we go there?"
Charon, the ferryman of the underworld, escorted souls to or from hell.
He also occasionally connected heroes with star systems as a side gig.
"The problem is, that constellation's not human-friendly. But this'll fix it."
Charon made a circle with his thumb and index finger.
Money.
"I'll pay anything."
"Oh? Really? My fee's gonna be higher than usual. Opening a gate to another star system's no small task. Gotta eat, drink, and bathe with those guys… It's exhausting."
"Of course."
Not real-world money, obviously.
But Seol Hajeong was ready to pay any price.
'There's no time. I need to get to the dungeon and save Lena and Kim Taeyang fast.'
She could wait longer, but Seol Hajeong chose to act quickly.
Waiting too long might mean no turning back.
"Alright. Get the payment ready and wait a few days."
"How long?"
"Tch. Why's this lady acting like an amateur? Upfront payment's the rule. Forgot?"
"Just give me a rough estimate. I'll make it worth your while."
"Hmm. A week at the earliest. Once I confirm the payment, I'll move."
Seol Hajeong nodded.
Her trip to the deserted island was set.