Enlightened Empire

Chapter 278

Followed by coughs, Corco woke up again. When he opened his eyes, he saw the clear blue sky before him, and the sound of waves was in his ears. His stomach convulsed and he sat up just in time to throw up a combination of gall and sea water.

Once he had fought off another nasty cough, he looked around to find himself on a beach, with the green waters of the Verduic Sea before him. Out in the distance floated bits and pieces of wood and cloth. In his back, he saw a dense jungle. He was stranded, but at least he was still alive.

“You're finally awake. I almost thought you were dead when I dragged you out of the water.”

When he turned back to the waves, he saw Sumaci wade out of the water. Delicate as always, she exuded elegance even in these dire circumstances. At the same time, the water pressed both her hair and her clothes to her body and outlined her curves.

Only the massive barrel she was dragging behind her along the sand ruined her delicate image. When she realized that Corco hadn't answered in a while, she dropped the barrel to the side and came towards him.

“Hey, are you okay?” Her question finally woke Corco up.

“What happened?” After he had regained his composure, the king and decided that it was best to avoid direct eye contact. So instead of looking at Sumaci, he stared out into the sea as he asked his question.

“We were attacked. The ship sank. Now we're stuck on this island, and I think we are the only ones.” Her succinct reply came in a deep and flat voice. No wonder, since everyone on that ship had been part of Sumaci's crew. Although there was a chance that there would be other survivors, the ship's hull was nowhere to be seen, and they were all alone. For now, the most likely scenario seemed to be the worst one.

“I'm sorry,” Corco replied and closed his eyes. Although the enemy attack itself wasn't his fault, he was the reason they were here in the first place. Without his hunt for niter, Sumaci would have never steered her crew into these waters, and she would have never lost them. However, rather than blame him, Sumaci put on a brave face and lightened her tone.

“You better be,” she complained. “You were so heavy that I almost pulled a muscle. I really had to fight to drag you back on land. Why would you even wear such a heavy thing at sea?”

With a worried smile that could only be fake, she pointed over to a portion of the beach. There, half-buried within the white sand, glittered Corco's chain mail. Only now did he realize that his armor had been taken off at some point, probably when Sumaci had realized that he wasn't breathing well after she had saved his life. Again he sank into thought, but her voice once again brought him back.

“If you feel alright, you should help me with this.”

While she spoke, she tried to stand up the barrel from before. Inside, she had placed a handful of tools from the ship, probably whatever she could grab from the wreckage. As he watched her at work, he studied her lithe body, which only made him feel worse.

Here he was, the guy who had caused her so much pain, and she didn't even complain to him. Yet the only thing she had ever asked of him he couldn't provide, despite everything. Stuck between guilt and desire, he realized that he had to get away for now, if only to clear his head.

“You know, I think there's something better I could do,” he said in the end. Once again, she stopped her work and looked at him. “I'm clearly a terrible swimmer anyways, and you've already worked more than hard enough. You can rest for a bit, and then sort the stuff you've salvaged so far. In the meantime, I'll scout out the island and see what we have to work with.”

Before she could reply, he had turned and left towards the center of the island.

“Don't worry, I'll be back before dusk,” he said and ran away like the coward he was.

“I'm sure Governor Mayu won't like this.” With a sigh, Sumaci turned to find a more comfortable position on the cave floor. While the leaves they had laid out didn't make for a terrible bedding, they were a bit uncomfortable to lie on while naked. In the end, she found a better position, snuggled up to Corco right next to her.

“Fuck Mayu. He's an asshole anyways,” Corco said, while he put his arm around her shoulders to help her get a better position.

“But won't this get you into trouble once we get home?” she asked, but used his arm as a pillow anyway.

“What's the world without a little bit of trouble?” Corco asked back. “I've been slaving away for years now, with no benefit to myself, all to increase the wealth and comfort of others, Mayu chief among them. At least this once, I should be allowed some selfishness and be with the woman I like.”

In response, a smile bloomed on Sumaci's face.

“How sweet. Still...” She halted as her face lost its glow. Finally, another sigh escaped her before she continued. “At least we can pretend like this for a few days more. At least until we leave the island or are rescued.”

“What do you mean, 'a few days more'?” Corco looked over to her with a bemused expression. Did she think this was some kind of one night stand?

“Things will go back to normal once we get home, won't they?” she confirmed his suspicions. “It's as you said, this isn't the best solution for those around us. We can't do this.”

Corco stared at this girl once again, the one who had been so persistent in her pursuit of his heart all these years. Now that she had finally reached her goal, it seemed like she had gotten cold feet. In fact, it seemed like she had considered her options once both of them had cooled down after a hectic night, and she had realized that Corco had been right back on her ship: The best solution for their countries and their people was still for her to marry Mayu, and to treat the previous night as nothing more than a temporary lapse in judgment.

However, this time, Corco wouldn't play along. Maybe it was the long days without pressure talking, or maybe it was the thought that they may not return from the island, but in that moment of clarity, Corco made an important decision.

“You know, I'm not actually from Medala,” he said out of the blue

“What?” a confused Sumaci sat up to get a good look at him.

“Well, technically, that's not true,” Corco corrected himself right away. Still, he needed a shocking opening to his grand revelation to get the attention of his audience. “It's better to say that I'm not only from Medala, but also from another place. Another world even. I think. Look, it's complicated.”

As he grappled with his words, Sumaci only looked more and more confused.

“I don't understand.”

“It's fine if you don't. Just listen for now.”

Thus, Corco explained to Sumaci how he had gained his new memories after several years in exile. He explained how these new memories had brought him all the knowledge of the modern world, the knowledge he had used to come home, gain his kingdom, and govern it as well as he had. He told her about life in a developed nation, about the threat of nuclear war, about modern technology from light bulbs to smart phones. Once he got started, he talked for an hour, almost without breaks. Rather than interrupt him, Sumaci silently lay by his side and listened, until he was done.

“So that's it,” Corco concluded. “There is no one who taught me, no hidden master from the east. There's just me.”

“This seems...” Sumaci looked around as she searched for a response.

“Impossible? Crazy?” Corco shrugged. “It does, doesn't it? But what else can I say if that's what happened? If you want, you can treat it like me being insane. It doesn't make much difference anyways, so long as you believe that my knowledge is useful.”

Although he expected Sumaci to make fun of him or question his sanity further, she looked dead serious.

“Have you told anyone else about this?” she asked instead.

“I've told the people near me, way back when it happened. That's Brym, Atau and Fadelio, no one else. And even with them, I have no idea how much of the story they believed and how much they just ignored. Honestly, I can't blame them. It sound like nonsense, and it'll only make people question me if it spreads. That's why I haven't shared this story much. Something like this could be used as ammunition by our enemies, calling me possessed by evil spirits and such. Plus, I don't think many would believe me in the first place. So it's a waste of breath.”

“And you are still you?” Sumaci asked with a worried face. “How can you know?”

“That's a question I've been wrestling with ever since.” Corco sighed and stared up at the cave's uneven ceiling. “In my head, I have more than just all that new knowledge. I also have two sets of memories. Two sets of childhoods, two sets of parents. Am I the same I was before, but I gained someone else's memories on top of mine? Has my mind been replaced by a foreign traveler who took over and now can't tell? Or did the two maybe mix, and now I'm both, and neither? Does my second set of memories come from another me, from a parallel universe? Or a previous reincarnation? I really don't know, and I don't think I ever will.”

After his speculation, Corco looked back down, at Sumaci.

“Though as far as you are concerned, none of this matters,” he said. “This happened long before we ever met. Whoever I am now, it's the only ‘me’ you've ever known.”

For a moment, Sumaci stared deep into his eyes, before her own brightened.

“You don't want to keep tonight a secret,” she said. “That's why you told me an important secret like that.”

“Wait, you believe me?” Corco stared at her in confusion. Shouldn't she be making fun of his nonsense story?

“I believe you,” Sumaci replied with unwavering sincerity written in her face.

“That's... a surprise.”

Even his close friends had just ignored the story and rarely mentioned it after the first time. While none of them had ever questioned its veracity, they had always tried to avoid any further mention of his delusions, possibly because they didn't want to embarrass him, or maybe because they didn't know how to deal with it.

“You're the most brutally honest man I've ever met. Why would someone like you make up some bogus story, let alone one that serves no proper purpose?” She laughed. “What's more, I've met the Arcavians, at least some of them. They're not all that advanced, really. Certainly, they are not nearly as advanced as your knowledge is. I don't think a single, reclusive teacher from the east would know as much as you, no matter how mysterious he is. And even if he did, he wouldn't be able to teach it to a single student in only a few years. Also, all your teaching material is in your handwriting.”

“Oh yeah, I didn't consider that.”

Corco's dry answer made both of them laugh.

“Why tell me all of this? Even if you want us to stay together, you could have just said so instead.”

“I happen to believe that the basis of any decent relationship is trust and co-dependence. Without those, you have nothing. That goes even more so for romance,” Corco said, now with a serious face. “What I want, what I hope for, isn't some pretty girl who can spread her legs, raise my children and then leave me alone for the rest of my life. I'd rather have an equal partner. Someone who can share all my burdens, and I will share hers in turn. It's basically cheating, playing multiplayer in a singleplayer game.”

He looked over and realized that he had lost Sumaci on the way, so he returned back to a more reasonable topic. “Either way, if you want to have a true partner, I believe you should be able to entrust them with everything, even with all of your secrets. If you can't do that even at the start of the relationship, then what's the point in going on?”

With a happy squeal, Sumaci threw herself onto Corco and kissed him again. Stunned, he looked up at the beauty on his body.

“Okay, my turn,” she said with a sly smile.

“Your turn for what?” a dull Corco asked back.

“It's my turn to tell you my secret, of course,” she said as her eyes narrowed. “You know how when you play your koto at night, sometimes a flute joins in to accompany you?”

Straight away, Corco regained his composure, and his smile mirrored hers.

“That flute was you,” he determined “Yeah, I know.”

This time, it was Sumaci's turn to look dull. “How?”

“I mean, the flute only ever shows up when you're in the same place as me, whether it's in Saniya or during a military campaign,” he revealed. “So I just asked your brother if you play the flute.”

“I'm not playing any more.” She pouted.

“Then I know something else we can play,” Corco said and looked along her naked body laying on his.

“Hah, this one I can't lose” she said as her smile returned. “Your ammo is limited, mine isn't.”

Although the sun had already come up, the two of them continued to play for a few hours longer.