“Yukinoshita-san…
I’m so sorry about what happened back there.
I had just returned from the sea and didn’t see you anywhere near the cave, so I thought you might have wandered into the jungle alone…” Kato Jun apologized with a wry smile, trying his best to explain his sudden appearance once Yukinoshita Yukino returned to the campsite fully dressed.
Now that they were the only two people trying to survive on this deserted island, any serious conflict between them could be fatal to their future cooperation.
“Let’s just leave it at that,” she replied coldly.
Yukinoshita had no intention of dwelling on the topic.
Deep down, she knew that Kato Jun hadn’t been intentionally peeking, but even knowing that, she still couldn’t completely suppress her anger and embarrassment.
Yukinoshita Yukino’s current affinity level: 10
“It’s good that you made it back safely, Kato-kun,” she added, her face completely devoid of expression.
“By the way, Yukinoshita-san, I managed to salvage a lot of things from the plane wreckage.
Take a look at this!” Kato Jun suddenly remembered his massive haul.
He eagerly unpacked his makeshift float, laying out the scavenged items one by one in front of her.
There was a sealed cutlery box, the precious reading glasses, a box of tissues, a waterproof first-aid kit, an elegant mechanical watch, a woman’s handbag most likely belonging to a flight attendant, a bundle of plastic cord, and a rectangular piece of sheet metal.
“With this, we can finally start a fire!” Kato Jun declared, excitedly holding up the intact lens of the reading glasses.
“You really found so many things…” Yukinoshita murmured, genuinely overwhelmed by the sight of the supplies.
Her eyes landed on the box of tissues, feeling a wave of relief.
At least now she wouldn’t have to worry as much about hygiene when her period came.
Her previous icy demeanor melted away as she inspected the pile.
“Are you planning to focus the sunlight through that lens to ignite something?” she asked, her curiosity piqued. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“Exactly!
And since we have tissues, we can use a sheet directly as the perfect dry tinder,” he explained.
After spending a few minutes gathering a large pile of dry twigs, driftwood, and fibrous hay from the jungle’s edge, Kato Jun carefully tore out a single tissue.
Placing the paper on a flat rock directly in the sunlight, he held the convex lens steady, focusing the intense afternoon rays into a tiny, blindingly bright dot on the paper.
The tropical sun was at its absolute peak around two o’clock.
Before long, a thin wisp of black smoke began to curl up from the white tissue, rapidly followed by a glowing ember and a bright orange flame.
“It’s on fire!” Kato Jun shouted triumphantly.
He quickly but gently placed a handful of dry hay over the burning tissue.
After blowing steadily on the ember to feed it oxygen, the hay suddenly burst into a crackling blaze.
“This is amazing, we actually have fire now!” Yukinoshita cheered softly, immediately kneeling down to help by carefully feeding small, dry twigs into the growing flames.
As the flames grew thicker and more stable, both Yukinoshita and Kato Jun sat back, washing their hands in the warmth.
Watching the lively fire dance, an overwhelming sense of peace and security washed over them.
If water was the source of life, then fire was the ultimate guarantee of human survival in the wild.
“I’m going to try catching some crabs and shellfish in the shallows later.
We can have roasted crab for dinner tonight,” Kato Jun suggested, finally calming down from his adrenaline rush.
He was incredibly relieved that they wouldn’t have to force down raw coconut meat again.
“We only have this because you risked your life to find these things…
Thank you, Kato-kun,” Yukinoshita said sincerely, giving him a small, polite bow as he poked the base of the fire with a long stick.
“I have to thank you for making sure I brought those two coconuts with me.
If I hadn’t had them for hydration and buoyancy, I probably wouldn’t have had the stamina to swim back,” Kato Jun replied with a modest smile, gesturing for her not to be so formal. Find the original chapter at novelping dot com.
“Really?
Then I’m very glad I was able to help,” Yukinoshita smiled softly, her eyes reflecting the warm glow of the campfire.
“Oh, that reminds me!
I found a spot with some fresh water earlier, although there isn’t very much of it,” Yukinoshita suddenly announced.
After arranging some thicker logs to ensure the fire would burn steadily for a long time, she led Kato Jun along the rocky coast toward the water source she had discovered before her bath.
“This is it!” she said, pointing to a series of deep, natural depressions carved into the shaded face of a rocky cliff.
Because the area was shielded from direct sunlight, several large and small pits had collected and retained a decent amount of rainwater.
“However, the water looks a bit stagnant, and the total volume isn’t that large…”
“Are you kidding?
This is plenty to keep us hydrated for a long time!” Kato Jun exclaimed, overjoyed.
He was so thrilled that Yukinoshita had actually managed to locate a natural fresh water reservoir that he almost impulsively hugged the girl.
However, remembering his precarious affinity rating of 10, he wisely restrained himself.
“It doesn’t matter if the water is a little dirty, as long as it’s fresh and not salty.
Have you forgotten?
We have a fire now.”
“Ah, you’re right!
We can boil the water to completely sterilize it!” Yukinoshita realized, a rare, excited expression lighting up her delicate face.
When she first found the puddles, they didn’t have fire, so she hadn’t considered boiling as an option.
“Let’s go grab those plastic cups from the plane and fill them up!” With a roaring campfire and a reliable source of fresh water secured, both Kato Jun and Yukinoshita Yukino felt a surging wave of confidence in their ability to survive the days ahead.
TO BE CONTINUE