Finally, the two of them reached the summit.
Their field of vision expanded endlessly in an instant.
“We’re here…”
Standing on the highest rock, with nothing blocking them in any direction, the wind rushed over the peak and dried the sweat on their bodies.
It carried with it a faint salty scent from the sea.
Aoyama stared at the view before him and froze.
There was no road.
No town.
No farmland, no villages, no smoke rising from chimneys, no traces of human activity anywhere.
As far as the eye could see, there was only endless untouched forest stretching toward the horizon, followed by a dazzling white beach.
Beyond the beach was an endless ocean.
The deep blue water shimmered beneath the sunlight, stretching all the way to the horizon where it merged with the sky.
They were on an island.
A deserted island completely surrounded by the sea.
“…”
Aoyama opened his mouth, but no words came out.
It felt as if something inside his mind had collapsed.
According to his original plan, they would follow the mountain ridge, find the road, stop a vehicle, and call for help.
At most, they would return to civilization within three days.
But the ocean surrounding them had crushed every part of that plan into pieces.
He looked down at the steel bar in his hand, then at the rocks beneath his feet, before finally turning his gaze toward the endless blue beyond the horizon.
Could it be…
that I transmigrated again?
Utaha stood beside him, staring blankly at the distant sea.
Her lips moved slightly, but there was no fear, despair, or even surprise in her beautiful eyes.
She simply looked at the ocean, as if confirming something she had vaguely suspected but refused to believe until now.
The wind lifted her black hair and brushed it across her face.
She quietly said, “…No wonder we never heard any rescue response, even after the school bus fell for so long.”
Aoyama turned his head toward her.
Her profile looked almost translucent beneath the sunlight, with her eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath her eyes.
Her shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly, but the moment she turned to meet his gaze, that trace of weakness disappeared completely.
“Aoyama-kun.”
Her voice was calm, almost unnaturally so.
“We’re stranded on this island, aren’t we?”
Aoyama remained silent for two seconds.
“Yes.”
“…”
Utaha lowered her eyes and looked down at her feet.
She stayed silent for a long time.
Aoyama didn’t rush her.
He also needed time to accept reality.
He had once believed that after living in this anime crossover world for eighteen years, he understood everything.
The school bus accident had been an accident, but as long as he stayed calm and responded properly, he would be able to escape safely.
But now he understood.
He had already left the world he knew.
A second transmigration.
He had fallen from an ordinary slice-of-life anime world into a completely unknown wilderness.
“Aoyama-kun.”
Utaha’s voice pulled him back from his thoughts.
“Hm?”
She raised her head.
The crimson light in her eyes had returned.
Not fear.
Something else.
A bright spark called hope.
“Over there.”
She raised her hand and pointed toward the sea on the northern side of the island.
Aoyama followed her finger.
About one or two hundred meters from the beach, a massive dark shape could vaguely be seen beneath the water.
Part of it remained above the surface, but it was covered in rust and decay.
Even so, its outline was still recognizable.
It was the upper structure of a shipwreck, tilted into the sea like a giant beast that had run aground.
“A sunken ship?!”
Aoyama’s pupils narrowed slightly.
“Yes.”
Utaha’s lips curved into the faintest smile.
“I was about to cry, but when I saw that ship, I suddenly didn’t feel like crying anymore.”
“Do you think there might be something useful inside?”
Aoyama stared at the wreck, his mind already moving rapidly.
If part of the upper structure was still above water, then the surrounding area couldn’t be deep enough to completely submerge it.
“If there are still supplies inside…”
Canned food, tools, fuel, maybe even communication equipment.
Those could become the resources they needed to survive on this island.
“Yes.”
His voice regained its usual calmness.
“But first, we need to find a way to get close.
We don’t know if there’s anything dangerous in the water.”
“Then should we head back down the mountain first?”
Utaha asked.
“Yeah.”
Actually, another possibility had already crossed his mind.
Could it be that, besides him and Utaha, other people had also transmigrated here?
Lost in thought, Aoyama turned around and prepared to follow their original path back down.
Then he stopped.
He glanced at Utaha.
Her school uniform was still soaked and clinging to her body.
Fine beads of sweat covered her delicate face, and her lips had become slightly pale from dehydration.
Yet those crimson eyes held something he couldn’t quite understand.
“Kasumigaoka-san.”
“Hm?”
Aoyama asked curiously,
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Being trapped on a deserted island.
No rescue.
An unknown future ahead.”
Utaha tilted her head slightly.
Her crimson eyes reflected the sunlight with a clear brilliance.
“Of course I’m scared.”
“But being scared won’t change anything, will it?”
“And besides…”
She stepped forward half a step and stood in front of him, looking up at him.
The distance between them suddenly became less than a foot.
She could clearly see the fine beads of sweat on his jaw, while he could smell the faint scent of sweat mixed with her hair.
“If I was alone, I probably would have broken down already.”
Her voice was so soft that it almost disappeared into the wind.
“But Aoyama-kun is still here, isn’t he?”
“When you used that steel bar to smash the crocodile’s head yesterday, I already thought about it.”
“If I follow you, at least I’ll be able to survive a few more days.”
“Even if it’s only a few more days, or even a few more hours, that’s still better than nothing.”
After saying that, she stepped back and returned to her usual lazy and composed demeanor, as if what she had just said was nothing more than casual conversation.
“Let’s go, my great adventurer.”
She turned and walked down the mountain ridge, her skirt swaying gently in the wind.
“Let’s take a look at that ship.
Maybe we’ll find a few boxes of canned food.”
Aoyama watched her figure disappear down the ridge.
After remaining silent for a moment, he followed.
“By the way.”
Utaha suddenly spoke again from ahead without turning around.
“What?”
“When you pushed me onto that stone ledge earlier…”
She paused.
“That feeling of your hand sinking into my butt…”
“Don’t forget about it, okay?”
“…”
Aoyama’s footsteps stopped for a moment.
Then he continued walking with the same expressionless face.
The wind blew in from the sea, carrying the salty moisture across their heads.
Below them, the endless forest swayed beneath the breeze.
And beyond the sea, the shipwreck quietly rested at an angle on the water, like a sleeping sea beast waiting to be awakened.