Although it was incredibly hard to tell just by looking at her cold exterior, Kato Jun knew there were definitely some girls back home who would be deeply sorry if he disappeared.
Staring at the floating system panel, Kato Jun inexplicably wanted to know what would happen if the Affinity stat between him and Yukinoshita Yukino reached 100%.
Would a completion achievement pop up in the middle of a deserted island?
“I’m going to collect some fallen palm leaves and dry hay.
Night is coming soon.”
Kato Jun dismissed the ridiculous thought, took a short rest, and stood up from the sandy beach.
“Are you going to prepare a place for us to sleep tonight?”
Yukinoshita Yukino also stood up, brushing sand from her damp skirt; her pride dictated that she absolutely didn’t want to be a burden to others.
“Yes, while I was looking for coconuts, I found a few shallow caves in the leeward cliffs over there…”
“A cave?”
Yukinoshita Yukino asked, her eyes lighting up in genuine surprise.
If they just slept out in the open near the beach like this, they would definitely freeze in the sea breeze or be bitten alive by mosquitoes and all kinds of unknown tropical bugs.
It would be an absolute godsend to have a cave to shelter in.
“Well, no, it’s not so much a deep cave as it is a large crevice carved into the rock wall, but it should be enough to block the wind for the two of us.”
After collecting a large pile of fairly clean, dry palm leaves and sea grass, Yukinoshita followed Kato Jun through the darkness to what he had called the “cave.”
Just as he had said, it was really just a massive groove eroded into the cliffside, but it was definitely deep enough to shelter two people from the elements.
Yukinoshita Yukino carefully spread the palm leaves and dry hay across the rocky floor to create a makeshift mattress.
Then, using a few thicker branches, she subtly made a small boundary line right down the middle of the leaves.
She felt incredibly strange and awkward, because tonight she was inexplicably going to sleep in a tight, dark cave with a boy she barely knew.
Although Kato-san didn’t seem like a bad or dangerous person, a high school girl naturally still had a high level of caution in her heart.
“The bed is already paved, Kato-san…”
Yukinoshita Yukino’s tone was still as cold as ever, but in the hazy, pale moonlight filtering into the cave, Kato Jun could see her ears were a little red.
Wait, why does this exact scene feel so much like a wife urging her husband to come to bed earlier? Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Yukinoshita Yukino quickly suppressed the wild, embarrassing thoughts in her heart, and then spoke to Kato Jun, who was still standing outside, as calmly as possible.
“Okay, you sleep on the inside.
I’ll sleep out here at the entrance of the cave to block the wind.
If anything feels wrong at night, just call my name.”
Kato Jun sat down near the entrance of the crevice, leaning his back against the cold rock as he looked up at the unfamiliar stars in the sky.
Looking at the lonely silhouette of her companion guarding the entrance on this deserted island, Yukinoshita, who was lying on the soft hay inside the cave, suddenly felt she was no longer sleepy.
“Kato-san, earlier you said…
other than us, do you think there is anyone else who survived the crash?”
Yukinoshita Yukino couldn’t help but think of Yuigahama Yui, the classmate who had been sitting right next to her on the plane before the turbulence hit.
That lively, cheerful girl who always liked to cling to her like a golden retriever…
she didn’t know where that girl with the dumpling-like hair buns was right now.
“I think there should be a lot of people still alive…”
Kato Jun didn’t know whether he was comforting the frightened Yukinoshita, or just desperately comforting himself.
“There were so many people on that jumbo jet; it’s statistically impossible for only the two of us to survive.
Megumi…
she will definitely survive too!”
Kato Jun remembered his younger sister’s cute face, even how she looked when she was mildly angry, and couldn’t help but smile softly into the dark night.
Megumi, she’ll definitely be fine.
She has to be.
Is that Kato-san’s girlfriend?”
Hearing a girl’s name spoken with such warmth, Yukinoshita Yukino couldn’t help but feel a little curious.
“No, she’s my younger sister…
Speaking of which, my sister should be in the exact same class as you, don’t you know her?”
Kato Jun turned his head back speechlessly and glanced at the long-haired girl who was staring at his back from the shadows.
“Is her name Kato Megumi?
Sorry, I usually pay far too little attention to my classmates…”
Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to have a faint, blurry impression of the name Kato Jun mentioned, but even after thinking hard about it, she still couldn’t recall the girl’s face or figure at all.
It was as if Kato Megumi possessed an unnatural lack of presence that made her entirely forgettable to normal people.
“Yukinoshita-san…
it seems that you really don’t have any friends at school, do you?”
Kato Jun stretched his tired arms; no matter what happened, they just had to wait for the dawn of tomorrow.
Maybe Megumi and the others would also miraculously appear on the shores of this massive island.
“Friends?
Excuse me, but first of all, we need to clearly define what parameters can be regarded as ‘friends’…”
“Pfft~~”
Seeing her instantly become defensive and overly logical, Kato Jun suddenly laughed, flashing his white teeth in the moonlight.
He unexpectedly found this awkward side of her incredibly cute.
Before this very moment, as a staunch sis-con, he had always firmly believed that other than his sister Megumi, it was impossible for anyone else in the world to truly possess the attribute of being ‘cute’.
“What’s so funny!?”
Realizing she was being teased, Yukinoshita Yukino’s pale face gradually stiffened in indignation.
TO BE CONTINUE