Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

Since Paige Summers and Marcus Monroe were waiting, Rhonda Rhodes didn’t agonize over it for long.

Even so, he knew that his aloof and mysterious image in Paige’s eyes was likely gone for good, and he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

Fortunately, the four of them quickly reined in their stray thoughts, all aware that business came first.

After all, they still had to find a way back.

And according to The Shaman, the passage back would take some extra effort to find.

Using the small stone that had been dripped with Finn Sherman’s heart’s blood, they confirmed their direction and headed for the northern part of the island.

The area they were in was extremely desolate, but the farther north they walked, the more signs of civilization they began to see.

Their clothing was obviously different from that of the locals.

Keeping this in mind, when they came across the first inhabited house, they snuck inside to take some clothes. After changing and making a few alterations to their appearances, they no longer stood out so much from the locals.

Just as Paige Summers had initially suspected, the island was quite vast. While smaller than a major base like Southreach, its size was still remarkable.

This was Rovarian territory, and naturally, everyone spoke the local language.

The Shaman could not only understand and speak the language, but he was also remarkably fluent. Marcus Monroe and Paige Summers couldn’t speak it, but they could listen and grasp the general meaning of conversations. Rhonda Rhodes was the only one who didn’t understand a word, but given his cold and aloof demeanor, no one was inclined to strike up a conversation with him anyway.

If you wanted to gather information, a tavern was the place to go.

They were currently in a tavern in District R-3, the closest location the stone had led them to.

It was only afternoon, yet the tavern was already quite crowded.

Though no one was shouting, the place was bustling with activity. The Shaman and his group of four didn’t attract any attention as they entered. They found a table in a corner, ordered drinks, and settled in to listen freely.

Of course, most of the patrons were just making small talk, gossiping about all sorts of things. But if you listened carefully, you could find plenty of clues hidden in the chatter.

For instance, they learned that further inland were Districts R-1 and R-2, which were supposedly inaccessible to ordinary people. District R-1 wasn’t particularly large, but it was the Island Master’s personal domain. District R-2, on the other hand, was quite large and belonged to the Island Master’s inner circle. To get into these districts, not even Crystal Cores would work; a special token was required. As for what that token was, Paige and her group had yet to find out.

Paige Summers didn’t spend much time worrying about how to enter those districts.

’With The Shaman around, he’ll figure something out. It’s not my problem to solve.’

She was, however, more interested in the other news she was hearing.

For example, the outer edges of the island had been far from peaceful lately. There had been a surge in Sea Beast attacks, and the creatures were particularly ferocious, giving the local Superpower Users a major headache.

Here, too, many people made their living by hunting the mutated Sea Beasts from the ocean.

As Paige Summers listened, she gathered from the descriptions that the Sea Beasts were likely much harder to handle than any land-based beast. ’That makes sense,’ she thought. ’Humans are at a natural disadvantage in the water.’ But as a result, many of the island’s inhabitants had evolved water-related superpowers.

Paige was listening with great interest to the various private conversations when a particular voice suddenly caught her attention.

”...Twelve, you have to help me with this!”

The man’s voice was a mixture of exasperation and forced restraint as he pleaded softly. But that wasn’t important. What was important was that the man was speaking Astorian!

He wasn’t in the main hall; he must have been in a private room. But with her exceptional hearing and acute sensitivity to her native tongue, Paige still managed to catch the sound.

A cold male voice replied, ”I can’t help you.”

It was also Astorian.

The man who had been pleading seemed to fly into a rage, using the other’s full name. ”Summers Twelve! We went through hell together! I helped you back then, didn’t I? Now Seventh Brother is in trouble, and you’re just going to stand by and do nothing?!”

After a moment of silence, the man called Summers Twelve replied, his voice just as cold. ”Went through hell together? If you hadn’t wasted our chance, we could have gotten back without a problem...”

”So that’s how it is! You’ve been holding a grudge this whole time! Are you trying to kick me while I’m down now?! You...” The man’s furious accusation trailed off as his tone abruptly shifted, as if he were about to burst into tears. ”Twelve, I’m begging you, please! Isn’t that enough?! I only came to you because I truly have no other options...”

At this point, Summers Twelve seemed to be responding, but his voice suddenly dropped so low that Paige could no longer hear. She frowned, frustrated. She impulsively grabbed the cup in front of her and downed its contents, only to realize it wasn’t alcohol at all—it was tea!

She looked up at Marcus Monroe.