The news brought by the ice and snow maiden left everyone silent. Duwei's heart weighed heavy, his brow furrowed in thought.
A monster capable of easily swallowing a dragon!
A monster capable of defeating a dragon plus an eighth-level mage!
Duwei left the sisters behind and walked to the edge of the sea, trying to calm his troubled thoughts with the cool sea breeze.
Hmm, a monster... a place that suppresses magic... unable to use magic... no food, no fresh water...
Duwei sighed, muttering to himself, "It seems there's no other choice..."
With that, he turned back to the woods, returning to the side of the two sisters who were currently engaged in a heated argument.
Well, perhaps "argument" wasn't the right word, as it seemed only the ice and snow maiden was speaking. Essentially, with Vivian's speech impediment, she couldn't possibly engage in any verbal dispute with her.
"What's going on?" Duwei walked over, glanced at Vivian, who looked crestfallen, her eyes red and teary. She cautiously looked at Duwei. "Nothing... nothing."
"I mean, what's the deal with you two sisters? One seems as innocent as a newborn chick, and the other as violent as a mother dragon." Duwei sat down, busying himself with gathering twigs for a fire.
The ice and snow maiden snorted, though she was somewhat annoyed by Duwei's audacity, she had promised not to trouble him again after he saved her once. So, she restrained her temper and swallowed her pride.
Vivian glanced at her sister, then at Duwei, couldn't help but move a bit closer to Duwei's side.
The ice and snow maiden saw this, muttered under her breath, "You little scoundrel who kidnaps girls!"
Duwei didn't back down, retorted immediately, "You female bandit who steals from others!"
The ice and snow maiden was furious, glaring at Duwei with widened eyes, ready to explode...
Duwei couldn't help but chuckle, giving the ice and snow maiden a smirk.
Her face flushed red, this time with less anger and more shyness, with about seventy percent embarrassment and only thirty percent remaining anger, which didn't seem all that intimidating.
"Huh... how strange, did I hear wrong? Wasn't there a sound just now? Could it be the monster on that island making noise?" Duwei intentionally spoke loudly to himself.
The ice and snow maiden's face turned crimson, nearly dripping blood, as she glared at Duwei with hatred, gritting her teeth as she muttered under her breath, "Yes... it was me!"
"You?" Duwei widened his eyes intentionally.
"...," The ice and snow maiden felt like her lungs were about to explode. Finally, she blurted out angrily, "Yes! It was me! I'm hungry! It's almost dark! Don't you people eat?!"
"Eat? Of course, eat." Duwei lazily stretched, "If there's food, I'd certainly like to eat too."
Beside him, Vivian reached into her pocket and, under the ice and snow maiden's widened eyes, pulled out a dark, suspicious-looking plant root. She whispered, "Sister, if you're hungry, you can eat this first."
"What's this?" The ice and snow maiden frowned, then suddenly flew into a rage, jumping up and glaring at Duwei, "You vile brat! You want my sister to eat this kind of thing? These roots??!"
Duwei responded coldly, "If you don't want to eat, you can starve."
The ice and snow maiden's anger intensified, "Bastard! Can't you catch a few wild animals?!"
Duwei chuckled, "Wild animals? You go catch them! If you manage to catch any, I'll sing praises to the Almighty for your greatness! Go ahead!"
Vivian quietly tugged at the ice and snow maiden, whispering, "Sister... there's... there's nothing on this island..."
But Duwei had already turned away. His voice was indifferent, "It's up to you. Either you eat these things or you starve. When you're too weak to move tomorrow from hunger, I might just take the opportunity to exact revenge and kick you into the sea."
That threat seemed to work better than anything else.
The ice and snow maiden immediately snatched the grass roots handed to her by Vivian and began gnawing on them reluctantly.
As she ate, she frowned... she probably hadn't eaten anything this unappetizing in her entire life! Dear heavens! Is this really happening... am I... eating grass? Am I a horse or a cow?!
She ate faster and faster as her anger grew, wolfing down the root until it was completely gone. Despite its unappetizing taste, it filled her stomach a little, and she couldn't help but glance at Vivian. "Is there more?"
"...No, there isn't," Vivian replied helplessly.
"...None left?" The ice and snow maiden was stunned.
What kind of world was this? No fish or meat was one thing, but after being forced to eat grass roots, weren't they even allowed to eat until they were full?
"Listen," Duwei turned around, his gaze icy as he stared at the ice and snow maiden. "I think it's necessary for you to understand the situation we're in right now! We're on a deserted island, with no food or water! Do you know that what you just ate were the rations Vivian saved up today? Do you know that I spent almost the entire morning trying to gather this little bit of food? And what about you? You just sat down and ate without a second thought. After finishing your sister's rations, you didn't feel a shred of guilt or gratitude. Instead, you just complain... Well, let me tell you, if you still feel hungry, go find your own food! I hope you don't take someone else's rations tomorrow! Here, no one is a noble, neither you, nor me, nor Vivian! No one will serve you!"
Even though Duwei's unkind expression made the ice and snow maiden angry, and his accusations made her feel embarrassed, she found herself unable to refute a single word. Facing the stern gaze of this frail young man, she suddenly felt a bit guilty... yes, guilty! So guilty that she couldn't even meet his eyes.
For the first time in her life, the ice and snow maiden found herself unable to muster any resistance against such a stern reprimand. The frail figure before her seemed as solid as a tree in the night.
"I... I understand, I... I didn't mean to eat Vivian's food, I..." The ice and snow maiden began, but then she realized her tone was too weak... unlike herself!
Why should I bow my head to this child?!
Duwei, however, just smiled lightly and turned his head to look at the sky.
The mist had yet to dissipate, and not a single star could be seen in the sky...
Duwei sighed, "Let's sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
He added a few more branches to the fire, then glanced softly at Vivian, who was sitting silently. His heart softened, and almost instinctively, he reached out and patted her head, his tone gentler, "Silly girl, are you hungry?"
Vivian shook her head at first, but then she nodded shyly.
"Sorry, I'm the only man here, so technically I should take care of you," Duwei chuckled bitterly. "But unfortunately, I let you go hungry. Well, here's the deal, go to sleep. You can imagine this island as a big cake, and all these trees around are candles stuck in the cake. You're lying on a big, sweet, and fragrant cake... Sleep, and you can feast in your dreams."
Cake? Vivian's eyes lit up.
Duwei had already turned away, but Vivian continued to quietly watch his back.
...
In the morning, Duwei woke up.
More accurately, he was awakened by hunger. Having eaten just a few sour fruits yesterday, his stomach felt like it was eating itself. The fruit was barely edible, and coupled with his stomach acid, Duwei had been tormented by the sensation all night, hardly getting any sleep.
When he woke up, he found that the ice and snow maiden was already awake, sitting there holding her stomach in contemplation.
"Awake? Hungry?" Duwei felt like he might have been too harsh with his words last night, especially since this woman didn't know the situation on the island yet, so he softened his tone a bit.
"Not hungry!" The ice and snow maiden shook her head, though it was obvious she was lying. After a moment's thought, she added, "Where's the water? I want to wash my face!"
"Go outside for a bit and you'll see the sea."
"...You want me to wash my face with sea water?" The ice and snow maiden widened her eyes.
"Sorry, we have very little fresh water, barely enough for drinking."
This time, the ice and snow maiden didn't argue. Instead, she sighed and got up, heading towards the direction of the sea.
In the morning, Duwei went out again to look for food. This time, it took him longer because there was one more person to feed. He came back with another handful of plant roots.
This time, the ice and snow maiden didn't hesitate and ate them without a word.
Duwei chuckled. "Hey."
"What?!"
"You know..." Duwei suddenly felt that this woman wasn't so bad after all. From her current behavior, she seemed more like a child acting out of stubbornness. Duwei suppressed a smile. "Although it's a simpler meal... at least you can wash off the dirt before eating."
"..."
Seeing the woman's expression darken again, Duwei quickly changed the subject. "Now that we're stranded here together, we're like companions on a ship... I still don't know your name."
With a smile, Duwei stood up, performing a standard noble gesture. "Current head of the Roland family, Deputy Chief of the Imperial Command, son of Count Raymond."
The ice and snow maiden hesitated for a moment, visibly unwilling, but she still said, "My name is Joanna."
Joanna... That's a pretty name.
Beside them, Vivian saw that Duwei and her sister were finally not arguing, so she quickly added, "You can also call her JoJo."
What a strange name.
"Shut up, Vivian," Joanna snapped coldly, then glanced at Duwei. "That name is reserved for my parents only. If you dare to call me that, you're in big trouble."
"Okay," Duwei shrugged it off. "Miss Joanna, now that we've been introduced, it's time to get to work."
"Work? What kind of work?" Joanna inquired.
Duwei's expression turned serious. "We need to find a way to leave this place! I have an idea..."