Seo Kangrim slung the Earth Boar’s carcass over his shoulder and began walking away.

Choi Sangwon spoke urgently.

“Does that matter? Let’s ambush him now!”

“Hmm… I don’t think there will be any food even if we attack Seo Kangrim…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why would he take the corpse? Especially after selling us a large amount of food.”

Only after hearing those words did Choi Sangwon seem to understand the scout’s intention.

He let out a smirk.

“Is he planning to eat the demon beast? What an idiot…”

If demon beasts were edible, Choi Sangwon’s group wouldn’t have starved so much.

When their food ran out, they had tried hunting and eating demon beasts, but failed.

“It seems he doesn’t know yet that the demon beasts in this area are poisonous.”

The moment Choi Sangwon’s group took a bite of the demon beast’s meat, their mouths went numb, and they collapsed on the spot.

If they hadn’t bought antidotes in advance, they might have died right there.

They barely managed to detoxify themselves, but after that, they didn’t dare touch the demon beasts.

“He must have sold the food intending to hunt and eat the demon beasts. Then his food will run out soon enough.”

Choi Sangwon muttered to himself and stood up.

A faint smile played on his lips.

‘I’d love to beat him up to vent my frustration… but watching him collapse from poisoning will be far more satisfying.’

They still had a surplus of antidotes.

If Seo Kangrim didn’t have an antidote, they could sell it to him at an exorbitant price and get back everything that was stolen from them.

But what if Seo Kangrim did have an antidote?

Even then, it wouldn’t be a problem.

Seo Kangrim wouldn’t have any food anyway, so they could just resell the dry rations at an even higher price.

“Forget it for now. Let’s wait until that guy eats the demon beast and collapses.”

At Choi Sangwon’s instruction, everyone nodded.

In the meantime, the scout cautiously spoke up.

“Um, would it be okay to visit the orchard while we wait?”

“The orchard? Do you want your tongue ripped out?”

“No, it’s not that… But Mr. Seo Kangrim killed quite a lot of them, so wouldn’t the security be lax now?”

He still felt anxious, but he missed the fragrance of the fruit that had wafted right under his nose just moments ago.

It was a scent that dry rations couldn’t satisfy.

“Alright. Let’s go check it out. Two of you keep an eye on Seo Kangrim, and the rest come with me to the orchard.”

“You too, Mr. Choi Sangwon?”

“Is there a problem?”

“N-no…”

Choi Sangwon was the type to avoid dangerous places, but this time was different.

What if those guys picked all the fruit, ate it, and then lied about not finding any?

Suspicious that they might pocket the fruit behind his back, Choi Sangwon followed behind them.

As they cautiously approached the orchard, no monkeys were in sight.

Only the scattered corpses of dead monkeys littered the ground.

Choi Sangwon addressed his group.

“I’ll keep watch here, so go pick the fruit.”

“Y-yes…”

Glancing at Choi Sangwon with an ‘I thought so’ look in their eyes, the people stealthily entered the orchard.

Tense and worried that monkeys might appear, Choi Sangwon scanned his surroundings.

Meanwhile, the others carefully climbed the trees and began picking the fruit.

One person’s expression turned to surprise.

“Huh?”

It was unclear what he saw to make him so surprised.

They picked several fruits and hurried back to Choi Sangwon.

“Mr. Choi Sangwon, look at this!”

“What? What’s going on?”

Choi Sangwon was simply anxious to eat the fruit.

The moment he snatched the fruit away, Choi Sangwon’s eyes also widened in surprise.

“Uh…? What is this?”

* * *

When I set down the Earth Boar I had been carrying, the ground echoed with a thud.

Father Yohan looked utterly startled at the sight.

“Ah, Brother. You’re back… Gasp, what in the world is that?”

Unlike a regular pig, the Earth Boar had large horns and a fearsome appearance.

I sat down nearby and spoke.

“It’s an Earth Boar that inhabits this area. Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”

“Yes. You were late, Brother, so I was debating whether to go look for you.”

I had been delayed because I ran into Choi Sangwon’s group while picking peaches.

Well, I made some money thanks to that, so I couldn’t complain.

While I checked my wristwatch, Father Yohan examined the Earth Boar in front of the tent from various angles.

“An Earth Boar… But why did you bring it all the way here?”

“I have a use for it.”

The egg tucked inside my coat was throwing a tantrum, demanding food.

Even after feeding it the fruit I had pilfered from the orchard, it still didn’t seem satisfied.

Before butchering the Earth Boar, I needed to appease this little guy first.

I glanced at Father Yohan and spoke.

“Father, I’m planning to butcher this demon beast… I don’t mind, but will you be able to handle watching?”

“No! I’ll stay inside the tent!”

Father Yohan’s face turned pale as he retreated into the tent.

For me, his timidness and weak stomach made him much easier to handle.

After Father Yohan went inside, I took the egg out of my coat.

-Ttak-ttak-ttak!

When I took out a peach from the Storage Pouch, the little guy frantically began devouring the food.

[The Earth attribute of ‘??? Egg’ increases by 0.5%.]

[Growth status: 62.5%]

The Unknown Egg’s growth rate had already exceeded 60%.

It seemed to have grown subtly larger than when I first saw it.

When I gently squeezed it in my hand, I thought I could feel a heartbeat from inside.

The excited chatter of the gods reached my ears.

【Wow, the egg is going to hatch soon!】

【I wonder what will hatch.】

【Wanna bet on what comes out?】

【Alright. I bet 1,000 Spirit Jade that an Imugi hatches.】

【I bet 1,000 Spirit Jade on a Three-legged Crow!】

Various names of spirit beasts poured from the gods’ mouths.

They were getting excited, and the amounts they wagered began to grow larger and larger.

【2,000 Spirit Jade!】

【3,000!】

【5,000 Spirit Jade!】

【Hey, do you even have any Spirit Jade?】

It was amusing to see them getting all worked up and hyping it up among themselves.

Meanwhile, the egg was protesting, demanding more food.

-Ttak-ttak-ttak!

It seemed to want the Earth Boar right in front of it.

It looked ready to pounce on it, so I pushed the egg away with my hand.

“No. This isn’t yours.”

However, the Unknown Egg, incapable of understanding my words, continued to clamor for food.

At this rate, it was going to steal my meat.

I put the egg back inside my coat, cut the Earth Boar into manageable pieces, and stored them in the Storage Pouch for now.

I would process it later.

After tidying up the surroundings, I called Father Yohan out.

“Father. Let’s eat first.”

“Ah, yes! I’ll be right out!”

Father Yohan rustled around inside before emerging with something in his arms.

Hugging a pile of dry ration bags to his chest, he smiled with satisfaction.

“I’m glad I brought a lot of dry rations just in case. With this much, the two of us can sufficiently… Hm?”

After stepping outside, Father Yohan looked down at the food laid out on the ground.

On the cloth spread across the floor, the food I had bought was lined up in abundance.

Samgyetang with a strong herbal medicine scent, ginseng jeonggwa, five-colored dumplings, Ten-Ingredient Great Tonic…

Having been stored in the Storage Pouch, they were still warm.

Startled, Father Yohan dropped the dry rations he was holding.

“B-Brother, what in the world is this…?”

“I brought them just in case.”

I had only sold the emergency dry rations to Choi Sangwon’s group.

I kept all the food that provided stat-boosting effects.

I could have sold these foods at a higher price, but for now, I needed to feed Father Yohan well.

He had a lot to do here.

I picked up the dry rations he had dropped.

“I like dry rations. I’ll eat well.”

“No, it’s just dry rations…! I’ll eat that!”

“It’s fine. Your stamina is low, Father, so you need to eat well. That way, you can help me when I’m in danger.”

“But…”

Father Yohan hesitated, but after I persuaded him a few more times, he finally nodded.

He tentatively sat down on the cloth.

“Then I will eat well, Brother. Thank you so much.”

Father Yohan made the sign of the cross and offered a short prayer.

He hesitated before carefully placing the food laid out before him into his mouth.

His eyes widened, apparently finding it delicious.

But the taste wasn’t the only important thing.

“It’s really delicious. I never expected to eat food like this here… Plus, it has a magic power recovery effect!”

“Yes. The food sold at the cafeteria comes with special effects.”

[The magic power recovery speed of ‘Yohan Richter’ increases by 5%.]

[The magic power recovery amount of ‘Yohan Richter’ increases by 5%.]

[The maximum magic power of ‘Yohan Richter’ temporarily increases by 10%.]

Messages indicating that his magic power recovery speed had increased and his magic power recovery amount had risen were popping up before Father Yohan’s eyes.

It was worth buying them at such a high price.

While he eagerly ate his meal, I tore off a chicken leg and chewed on it before opening my mouth.

“Father, there’s something you need to be careful about in this Demon Realm.”

Father Yohan, who was devouring his food, suddenly looked up.

He asked, completely tense.

“Ah, yes. What should I be careful of?”

“Be careful of people. This time, there will be people from another zone here, not from our zone.”

The people we would encounter this time were from Zone 1.

In my past life, I heard that Zone 1 and Zone 2 had clashed severely, leading to frequent fights between people rather than against demon beasts.

It wasn’t like there was a murderer like in the previous zone, but the conflict was even worse.

I heard they fought with their lives on the line, but I didn’t know why it had escalated to that point.

I heard the dispute arose over the First Clear reward, but…

Whatever the reason, I had to be wary of people.

Someone like Father Yohan, in particular, needed to be extra cautious of others.

He was the trusting type, making him vulnerable to being easily deceived.

“There was severe conflict with another zone in the previous Demon Realm as well. It will likely be similar this time, so be careful if a stranger appears.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

“For now, it’s the first day, so let’s get some rest. Things will get tough starting tomorrow.”

Father Yohan nodded with a tense expression.

We finished our dinner like that and entered the tent.

The inside of the tent was more comfortable than I expected, making me glad I had bought it.

Thus, the first night on the Deserted Island deepened.

A bleak wind was blowing outside.

Father Yohan was fast asleep.

As I lay there with my eyes closed.

I sensed a presence outside and opened my eyes.

…They had finally arrived.