Besides, the humans she had met had never looked at her like this. Even if they looked, they looked at her with fear and reluctance.
To humans, she was only one of the two.
A god, or a monster.
But to this man, she⊠.
In fact, he didnât even look at her as a person, but more like a dog.
If Doyeong finds out that sheâs actually aware, heâll be surprised. Camar was actually quick-witted.
âAre you done?â
Doyeong asked.
âUmm.â
Camar tied the last knot and reached out to support Doyeong. Doyeong, who had already gotten used to her, took her hand and stood up.
However, the surface of the rock on which he was standing was uneven, so Doyeong stumbled slightly. Camar held him up quickly. At the same time, Camarâs shoulder and Doyeongâs underarm bumped together abnormally.
Their eyes met in the distance that got closer.
Camarâs eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Doyeong lifted his arm around Camarâs shoulder.
âLetâs go.â
I have to keep this in mind. This is purely a survival game, not a romance manga.
***
When he woke up in the morning, Camar was sticking to his back again. Doyeong looked at her.
âWhy is this woman so muddled?â
Statistically, people with good physical condition were most likely to win the infection and become a luas, therefore, many people say that thatâs the reason why all luas look good. But even among the top, Doyeong was sure that Camarâs appearance was still in the top 1%.
If she had lived outside, she might have lived with a harem. Even if she didnât like it, men would stick themselves to her and fall for her.
Camar slowly opened her eyes. It almost felt like witnessing a miracle when her eyelashes lifted and revealed her red eyes.
Camar also looked at Doyeong, but didnât say anything. So, the two were simply staring at each other. Somewhere through a crevice in the trees, a light shone across them.
And a faint sound of the waves was heard.
As the sound of the waves were crashing in and out, it felt as if the blood in his body were rippling.
âLieutenantâŠâ
Camar said in a low, husky voice. And with that voice that gave faint goosebumps on his back, she asked,
âAre you hungry?â
***
Watching Camar tidy up the earthenware, Doyeong asked the stuff he was curious about,
âWho did you learn French from?â
Basic communication was possible, but the words she uses sometimes are old-fashioned words that can only be seen in textbooks, and the pronunciation was a bit strange. It didnât seem like she learned it from a French.
âJohannes.â
âJohannes?â
It was a real first name.
Camar nodded.
âHe was stranded. His ship drifted here.â
It seemed to mean that the ship that Johannes boarded had sunk and he had been in distress. Doyeong asked.
âWhen did it happen?â
âLong ago.â
âHow long ago?â
Camar looked at Doyeong blankly.
âLieutenant has a lot of questions.â
âLook. Iâm also in distress and got stranded on this island.â
To be precise, âI jumped off the plane and swam to this island.â But Camar didnât need to know that.
âMy family doesnât know if Iâm dead or alive, and I donât know where I am. Shouldnât I at least understand the extent to which Iâm asking questions to know exactly where my situation is between âworstâ and âtolerableâ?â
At that, Camar answered, looking unsure of herself, and there was nothing Doyeong could do about it.
âI donât know for sure. I donât count the date. Itâs been a long time.â
If his name was JohannesâŠ
âWas he a German?â
âNo, Holland.â
If so, he wondered if Johannes was part of the East India Company. Then it would have been at least a hundred years ago.
âJohannes spoke a little French. He taught me.â
Then her face brightened as if she had a good idea.
âOh, I speak Dutch well. I talked a lot with Johannes.â
âI canât.â
Doyeong, who is of mixed French and Korean ancestry, has good language skills in English, Spanish intermediate, and beginner Russian, in addition to his two mother tongues, French and Korean, but Dutch was difficult.
It would have been possible if there was an interpreter, but unfortunately, such a thing was a luxury in this place.
Anyway, she learned French used by foreigners in the old days, no wonder her speech was like this.
Once the doubts were cleared. Doyeong asked the following question.
âHow was Johannes?â
âDead.â
Doyeong paused. Camar had a face that looked so innocent that it was hard to believe that she had just said such a thing.
âHow did he die?â
âHe was old. In his sleep.â
It was a bit funny to imagine, but then, Doyeong realized that this beautiful being in front of him was like a stone, different from himself. She would neither decay nor disappear before time.
Camar was still here after the man who had been drifting in distress died of old age.
For some reason, Doyeong struggled to shake off the ominous feeling that ran down his back. Iâll go back somehow.
âDid anyone else drift here?â
He had to gather information first. And a lot of it.
âDone.â
But Camar got up with a basket of earthenware. He didnât think she wanted to talk any more. Doyeong leaned on his back and asked directly,
âDo you have any desire to live outside?â
Camar looked back as if she had heard the word for the first time.
âOutside?â
âThatâs right. Outside the island.â
In fact, it wasnât a big deal to leave the island even now if Camar helped him escape. With the strength of a vampire, you can do anything, whether swimming or building a raft. But Camar shook her head.
âNo.â
Doyeong asked calmly, even though he wanted to shake her and ask, âWhy the hell?â
âWhy?â
âI like it here.â
âThere are Floss outside and there are many things that make life easier, at least compared to when you were born. It wouldnât have been the era of baking with earthenware and cutting things with a stone knife, wouldnât it be inconvenient to live like this?â
âNot inconvenient.â
Camar tried to go back. But Doyeong did not give up and said,
âI donât know when you last left this island, but it would have changed a lot in 10 years. I bet itâs a completely different world. Donât you want to go out?â
Camar looked back and spoke like an adolescent girl who was annoyed by adults.
âThat stone-headed child. Why canât my words get through?â
Camar took a few steps and looked back. Doyeong stayed there as if he had given up.
The shade of a tree hung at his feet. He looked up and saw the top of the tree, but the sunlight shining through it only made his eyes cold.
***
It was night, and there was no sign of Camar coming in. Doyeong waited and looked outside. But Camar was sitting on the wooden stairs at the entrance just like a runaway teenager. Doyeong asked,
âWhy arenât you coming in?â
âYou want to go outside, Lieutenant?â
But instead of answering Camar, he said in reply.
âHome.â
Doyeong corrected what she had said.
âI want to go home.â
Camar hugged her knees and fell into deep thought. Doyeong was looking forward to it. It was because there was an atmosphere in which words such as âLetâs go outsideâ could be said.
Camar looked at the sky in the distance.
âI had a home too. And Mati and Tawa.â
It was a word he didnât know, but then he realized that it meant mom and dad.
âAdawi too.â
Camar added.
âAdawi?â
It was an unknown word, so Doyeong asked. Then Camar replied bluntly.
âI was married. I had adawi.â
Doyeong shutted his mouth. Considering the fact that child marriage was prevalent in the past, it was not strange that Camar had already had a husband or even had children when she was a human. She was also about twenty-five, the age when it was normal to have three children.
Still, for a moment, he couldnât figure out why it felt like someone had slapped his face.
Shrak.
Camar turned around at the sound and saw Doyeong sat down next to her. Then he asked in a calm tone.
âDid you have children?â
Camar shook her head.
âAdawi died, the day we got married.â
Doyeong frowned.
âHow did he die?â
âAccident.â
Camar only said that and didnât say anymore. Then she told a different story.
âTrees bloom in my hometown. A lot. I liked the fruit because it was delicious. I still remember.â
âWhat kind of tree is it?â
Doyeong asked to continue the conversation. Then Camar shook her head.
âNo more. I havenât seen any since some time ago.â
âYou mean theyâre extinct?â
âExtinct?â
âIt means theyâre all gone.â
Camar nodded.
âUmm. Theyâre all gone.â
Even without humans causing the destruction, the vast majority of living things on Earth have disappeared for various reasons. Food shortage, weather, appearance of natural enemies, etc. It was the law of nature, and it was an irresistible flow.
So the tree Camar was talking about was just following the laws of nature.
Still, for some reason, Doyeongâs calm tone sounded more sullen. Perhaps, it was because Camar was neither good nor bad, but simply out of order. Everything but her was slowly disappearing.
âNot only that tree, but there was nothing left in my hometown.â
Suddenly Camar spoke in a grammatically perfect sentence.
âEven Mati, Tawa, and Adawiâs grave.â
A cool wind blew, and Camarâs bangs fluttered, revealing her forehead.
Doyeong asked quietly.
âSo thatâs why you live here alone?â
âIâŠâ
Camar opened her mouth, swallowed her words, and spoke about another topic.
âPeople come, sometimes. With ships.â
âLike Johannes?â
Doyeong wondered what words Camar had swallowed, but he thought she would stop talking if he asked too hastily, so he moved on.
Camar nodded.
âMany people before him. Rodriguez sprained his ankle. I thought it was a small wound, but it swelled up. Died few days later. Bill also died of wounds. I couldnât fix it.â
No matter how great vampires are, unless they have medical knowledge, their ability to heal wounds were the same as that of humans. Looking at the treatment of Doyeongâs injured leg, Camar had quite a bit of medical knowledge, but it was still at the level of folk remedies.
âMilla couldnât accept coming here alone. She threw herself off the cliff after a brief moment she opened her eyes.â
Camar looked really sad when recounting the story.
âLieutenantâŠâ
Camar talked about the people who came to the island. There were more people than expected, but there were only about ten people who arrived here alive. No, more precisely, the people Camar met.
Perhaps even when Camar was asleep, people came to this place. Some people, like Rodriguez or Bill, died of wounds, some committed suicide, and a lucky one or two could have been rescued.
However, this sea area was difficult to navigate because there were many islands. And even in the modern era with advanced technology, if you look down from an airplane, the possibility of being rescued is low in that it is difficult to pick one specific island from among the numerous islands.
With that in mind, this was a sad island.
âThere is a grave. There.â
Camar pointed towards the mountain.
âI buried them all. I didnât want to see anyone anymore.â
Camarâs eyes were wet, and seemed like the water might pour out at any moment.
He realized something. Camar is a vampire, but the fact that she has a kind and soft side makes him wonder how she became a vampire in the first place. Human nature that was not stained by vampire nature occasionally popped out.
At first, he thought it was just a setting or acting, but no matter how old a vampire she was, the more cunning she was, the more she wouldnât be able to hide it.