“It feels like forever since I last had a proper hot meal with meat…”
The rich aroma of grilling fish was already making Kato Jun’s mouth water—his lips glistened with anticipation (and to clarify, it was strictly drool).
“It’s grilled.
Here, Kato-kun.”
Yukino Yukinoshita was unusually gentle before meals, and today she was even more cordial than usual.
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony!
Time to dig in!”
Kato Jun eagerly took a large bite out of the skewer.
“Hot…!”
He blew on it quickly to cool his tongue.
The outer skin was crisped to golden perfection while the white meat inside remained tender, infused with the subtle fragrance of coconut milk and the natural salinity of the sea.
It was downright delicious.
Because the fish had very few fine pin-bones, Kato Jun devoured the entire skewer in just a few ravenous bites.
“How does it taste?”
Yukino Yukinoshita asked with evident pride.
Having acquired the Deft Craftsmanship passive skill, even her rudimentary cooking techniques had ascended to an entirely new tier.
“It’s absolutely delicious…”
Kato Jun cast a lingering, hungry glance toward the remaining fish sizzling over the fire pit.
“That’s a relief.”
Yukino Yukinoshita nodded in quiet satisfaction.
“Don’t worry, there’s still plenty.
I’ll grill another skewer as soon as you finish this one.”
She handed him another freshly roasted fish.
“Thank you…”
After dinner, comfortably full, Kato Jun leaned back against the smooth stone wall of the cavern, gazing out at the magnificent sea of stars.
The sunset had long faded into twilight, leaving behind a slender crescent moon.
Countless unfamiliar constellations glittered across the velvet sky, yet no matter how hard he searched, Kato Jun couldn’t recognize a single celestial pattern.
“It’s breathtaking…”
Yukinoshita sat down nearby, joining him in watching the night sky—one of the few luxuries of entertainment available on this desolate island.
“Tokyo never has this many stars…
But could we be in the Southern Hemisphere?”
She noted after failing to spot the familiar guiding light of Polaris.
“You noticed it too?
Strangely enough, neither the North Star nor the Southern Cross is visible here…”
Kato Jun rested his head against his interlaced hands, a blade of grass dangling lazily from his lips.
“Really?”
Yukinoshita hadn’t studied astronomy in depth, but she confirmed that the iconic cross-shaped cluster was nowhere to be seen.
“It defies all scientific logic…
but then again…”
I’ve already witnessed far more unscientific things over the past couple of days.
Floating status panels, supernatural passive skills, shifting affinity ratings…
The game-like system in his vision served as an omnipresent reminder that this island was fundamentally abnormal.
“What we need to do is focus on surviving, keeping our fire lit, and watching for passing ships or rescue aircraft…”
Since Yukinoshita couldn’t perceive the numerical reality of this world, there was no reason to burden her mind with unnecessary panic.
“Mm…”
Yukinoshita nodded thoughtfully.
With the hour growing late, she began preparing for bed.
Before lying down, however, she took great care to weave a low partition of flexible branches and driftwood between their respective beds of hay.
Otherwise, when morning arrived, who knew what compromising position she might wake up in again…
At the mere thought of that morning’s embrace, a faint crimson blush crept onto the tips of her ears.
“Yukinoshita-san…”
Kato Jun spat out the stem of grass.
“What is it?”
She paused her hands and looked back at him.
To be honest, the primal anxiety that he might eventually lose control and force himself on her still lingered in the back of her mind.
Even though that distrust had been rapidly waning, an abrupt shift in his tone still caused her heart to skip a beat.
Earlier that afternoon while crafting the bow, she had intentionally held back several intact latex packets from the flight attendant’s handbag, keeping them tucked securely in her skirt pocket just in case the worst ever happened.
“Tomorrow morning, I’m planning to push into the jungle…”
With a reliable food supply, fresh water, and a fortified camp secured, Kato Jun felt it was time to actively explore the interior.
His sister Megumi might be stranded elsewhere on this very landmass, and the thought of her suffering alone made it impossible for him to stay idle.
“Yukinoshita-san, you should remain here at the beach camp while I scout ahead alone—”
“Kato-kun, are you heading in to search for your sister?”
Before he could finish his sentence, Yukinoshita cut him off.
“Yes.
Not just my sister, either—I want to look for any other survivors.
There’s no way we were the only two who made it.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
Yukinoshita had no intention of being left behind in the silent cave.
“If a rescue boat or search plane passes by while we’re away—”
“It won’t be an issue.
I’ve already arranged a massive SOS in white stones on the beach that’s visible from the air.
Besides…”
The image of a bright, cheerful girl with pink hair flashed through Yukinoshita’s mind.
“I also have someone out there I need to find…”
“There will be venomous snakes, thickets, and swarms of biting insects…”
Kato Jun’s eyes involuntarily drifted toward the bare porcelain skin of her legs and her delicate feet resting on the hay.
“…Kato-kun, please refrain from staring at my bare legs with such an unabashedly lewd gaze.
I already prepared for that.”
Yukinoshita reached behind her bedding and pulled out a protective overskirt and leg gaiters expertly fashioned from supple tree bark and woven broadleaves.
“There could easily be large predatory animals deeper in the forest…”
“Kato-kun, have you already forgotten this afternoon?”
Yukinoshita reached up and plucked the reinforced wooden recurve bow from the wall.
“You couldn’t even land an arrow on a stationary fish.
If we run into real danger, it’s far more likely that I will be the one protecting you.”
Guh…
Her sharp, sarcastic retort struck Kato Jun right in his wounded pride.
Every word she uttered was technically true, which only made it sting that much more.
“In that case, I shall humbly place my safety in Lady Yukinoshita’s capable hands!”
Realizing she had no intention of backing down, Kato Jun gritted his teeth, turned over onto his side, and refused to indulge her sharp tongue any further.
“Are you sulking, Kato-kun?”
Yukinoshita asked with an amused, teasing lilt as she finished planting the partition.
“Not in the slightest.
Get some sleep, Yukinoshita-san.”
He pulled a layer of dried grass over himself.
Since tomorrow promised to be an arduous expedition, resting early was non-negotiable.
The night passed peacefully.
Thanks to the sturdy partition separating their spaces, Yukinoshita woke up without finding herself entangled in Kato Jun’s arms.
She breathed a massive sigh of relief, quietly slipping out from under her blanket of leaves.
As she stepped carefully over Kato Jun’s sleeping form, a gentle smile graced her lips.
So the reliable Kato-kun actually pouts like a child when he’s teased.
It’s strangely endearing.
In high spirits, Yukinoshita revived the embers in the hearth and began preparing a pot of seafood broth using the ocean fish they had salted the previous evening.
“Mm, no foul odors at all!”
After retrieving the preserved fillets from the hanging plastic container on the shed, she sliced in chunks of coconut meat.
Within thirty minutes, the rich, savory aroma of steaming chowder filled the campsite.
“That smells incredible…”
Kato Jun was roused from his slumber by the scent alone.
“Yukinoshita-san, you’re awake remarkably early…”
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he strolled down to the surf to rinse his mouth with clean seawater and scrape his teeth with fine sea salt.
“It’s not that I woke up particularly early; it’s simply that Kato-kun overslept.
You were the one so eager to explore the jungle, yet you remained fast asleep until now.”
“Right, right, my apologies…”
Kato Jun lacked the energy to trade barbs so early in the morning.
His entire focus was locked onto the steaming bowl of fish soup being held out to him.
“Delicious…”
A single gulp of the rich, warm broth chased away the morning chill and invigorated his senses.
The gentle sea breeze and early morning sunshine created an unusually tranquil atmosphere.
Yukinoshita leaned back against a driftwood log with half-closed eyes, relishing the pristine ocean air that felt infinitely purer than the smog of Tokyo.
Yukino Yukinoshita: Hunger: 130 / 130 (Satiated) Health: 140 / 140 Stamina: 130 / 130 Sanity: 170 / 170 Affinity: 59 Passive Skill: Deft Craftsmanship
Her baseline stats increased again…
Crafting, archery, and cooking all contribute to her progression.
At this rate, she might actually hit the 200 attribute milestone before I do.
Kato Jun evaluated her profile during their brief rest.
Her affinity had climbed all the way to 59—virtually on the threshold of genuine affection.
No wonder her demeanor had grown considerably softer and more attentive over the last day.
Even so, Kato Jun still remembered her playful mockery from the previous evening.
Just you wait.
One of these days, I’ll turn you over my knee and spank you until you apologize!
Sitting across from him with her eyes closed, Yukinoshita suddenly felt a strange, cold shiver run down her lower back.
After packing their gear, the two set off toward the jungle’s edge.
Their survival kit included clean drinking water, cured fish fillets, the sharpened rectangular iron machete, the tuned slingshot, the recurve hunting bow with a quiver of arrows, and the mechanical watch.
Kato Jun carried the machete and slingshot, while Yukinoshita took charge of the bow, arrows, and the timepiece.
Both of them understood how an analog watch could be used as a solar compass.
“Is this island situated in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere?”
Yukinoshita asked as she checked the movement of the second hand.
In the Northern Hemisphere, pointing the hour hand at the sun placed true South halfway between the hour hand and the 12 o’clock marker.
In the Southern Hemisphere, that same bisecting angle pointed North.
“Don’t overcomplicate it. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
As long as we establish a consistent reference point, that’s enough.
Let’s designate this heading as North and the opposite as South!”
Kato Jun pointed into the dense greenery ahead.
Seeing the practical logic in his suggestion, Yukinoshita nodded in agreement.
“Watch your step around the underbrush.
Let’s use long walking sticks to probe the brush ahead.”
Kato Jun handed her a stout branch, leading the way north through the perimeter foliage.
“Ah!
It’s huge…”
Parting a dense thicket of ferns, Yukinoshita froze in terror.
Suspended between two thick trunks directly along their path was a web spanning several feet, occupied by a mottled arachnid the size of a human palm.
Having lived her entire life in modern suburban Japan, she had never witnessed an invertebrate of this scale.
Trembling, she instantly ducked behind Kato Jun’s back.
“That really is massive…”
Spiders of this size were typically ground-dwelling cave dwellers; seeing an orb-weaver reach such proportions was bizarre.
Still, observing that the creature remained motionless in the center of its web, Kato Jun tried to steady her nerves.
“Don’t panic.
Most spiders are solitary hunters, especially orb-weavers, unless it happens to be their mating season—”
“Kato-kun…
look behind it…”
Yukinoshita whispered, her trembling finger pointing past the initial web into the canopy beyond.
“How…
how is that even possible…?”
Cold sweat broke out across Kato Jun’s forehead.
Deeper along the trail, the entire upper canopy was woven together by an endless labyrinth of thick, shimmering silk.
Dozens upon dozens of monstrous, bird-sized spiders hung suspended in the dim jungle light, forming a colossal communal nesting colony.
Gulp…
Neither could tell whose throat had produced the sound, but a cold prickle of terror raced down their spines.
“It looks like this path is completely impassable.
Let’s retrace our steps very slowly and hope we don’t provoke spiders the size of seabirds…”
“M-Mm…”
Yukinoshita clutched Kato Jun’s arm with both hands, tears of panic brimming in the corners of her eyes.
Step by cautious step, the pair backed away from the nightmarish web forest until they broke through the brush and tumbled back out onto the sunlit beach.
“Hah…
hah…”
Both of them collapsed onto the sand, their chests heaving as their racing pulses gradually settled.
What an ominous beginning.
“That’s completely absurd…
How could an orb-weaving species grow to that scale and dwell in colonies?
Those things looked more terrifying than Goliath bird-eaters…”
Kato Jun muttered, wiping the cold sweat from his neck.
It was no wonder the coastal tree line was eerily devoid of birds.
“It was horrific…”
Yukinoshita murmured, her knees still visibly shaking beneath her woven leaf skirt.
“Yukinoshita-san, you really should head back to the beach camp.
The interior of this jungle is far more hazardous than we anticipated.”
“I…”
For a fleeting second, the urge to retreat to the safety of the cave was overwhelming.
“No, there’s no need.
I am fully capable of handling this difficulty.”
Her fierce pride refused to let her yield to fear so easily.
“Alright.
In that case, let’s test our luck in another direction.”
Kato Jun shook his head with a faint smile, recognizing the stubborn resolve behind her pale face.
In truth, if not for his burning determination to confirm his sister’s safety, he wouldn’t dream of stepping back into that bizarre jungle either.
“Let’s try heading east.”
He pointed toward an alternate ridge where the tree canopy appeared thinner and more open to the sun.
“Understood.”
They re-entered the tree line, but this time Yukinoshita stayed glued to Kato Jun’s side, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of his uniform jacket.
Fortunately, the eastern route proved far less terrifying, offering clear animal trails and scattered bamboo groves.
Kato Jun beat the tall grasses with his staff, keeping a sharp eye on their bearings.
“Hold on…
there are fresh tracks pressed into the mud here.”
Pausing near a damp depression in the soil, Kato Jun knelt down to inspect a cluster of deep impressions.
“Cloven hooves, rounded impressions…
Could this belong to a wild boar?!”
He swept his gaze across the dense bamboo thicket, gripping the hilt of his machete.
“A wild boar?”
Yukinoshita immediately raised her recurve bow, notching an arrow with one hand while her other hand refused to let go of his jacket.