Stranded on a Deserted Island with the School’s Number One Beauty, So I’ll Give It My Best Shot.

“I thought the cause might be on the soles of your feet, but I didn’t expect blisters,” I remarked.

“It’s really not a big deal!”

Iori insisted, but I shook my head.

“Even at this level, pushing yourself to walk will only make it worse. You should rest at home for the day.”

“I don’t want to! It’s embarrassing, and I feel bad!”

“I’m sorry, but this is an order, not a request.”

Setting the handsaw down on the ground, I lifted Io into my arms.

It should have been a picture-perfect princess carry, but reality was quite different.

“Ugh… You’re heavier than I thought…!”

Staying upright was more difficult than I anticipated.

“Hey! Don’t call me fat! I’m not, I’m actually pretty slim!”

“I know. The problem is my lack of strength.”

Iori’s height was around 150 cm, probably 157 cm at most. Despite being slender, she weighed more than 40 kg. For my skinny frame, it was quite a challenging weight to bear.

“I’ll walk on my own, so you don’t have to carry me.”

“No, I’m carrying you all the way home! I won’t let you take a single step until you’ve recovered!”

“Ugh… Well then, just don’t drop me, okay?”

Iori wrapped her arms around my neck.

If I could stand upright, it would have been a picturesque scene. In reality, I was slightly bent forward at the waist, looking rather awkward.

“Yaaahhhh!”

I stepped firmly onto the ground, bellowing as I went. Step by step, I made my way through the open door and into the house.

“Hyaaaaa!”

Contrary to my shout, I carefully lowered Io onto a bedroll inside the house.

“I… I made it… Okay… Rest now…!” I panted, catching my breath.

“It’s you who should rest, Masato-kun!” Iori said with a smile.

“Thank you for allowing me to. With the heat of midsummer on top of this, I feel like I might die…!”

After retrieving the handsaw from outside, I entered the house as well. Drenched in sweat pouring out like a waterfall, I sat down next to Iori, propping myself up with both hands on the floor.

“Sorry for slowing us down,” Iori apologized.

Iori’s right hand rested atop my left hand’s back.

“There will be times when I hold us back as well, so don’t worry about it. Besides, it’s not a big deal. Is your foot okay now?”

Io nodded in response.

“I think the cause was walking barefoot while wearing loafers.”

“You mean blisters from friction?”

“I can’t say for sure, but if you had been wearing socks, it should have been fine!”

“Maybe we should skip washing our socks from now on.”

She had been going barefoot because her socks were drying. I was in the same situation.

“I’d like to wash them at least every three days.”

“In that case, after washing, give them a good shake to encourage drying. With the summer heat, they should dry quickly.”

“That’s a nice idea! Let’s do that!”

“Well, that was just a joke.”

“Huh?”

Io looked surprised.

“But we’ll probably be rescued today or tomorrow, right? So, there won’t be another chance to do laundry.”

“Oh, right!”

As she said that, Iori’s eyes seemed somewhat lonely.

“Rescue… I kind of wish it would take a little longer,” she murmured. “I’ve been thinking that I’d like to spend about a week here. Maybe it’s because I’ve always been in the city, but the sense of being in a different world is so exciting. And being with you, Masato-kun, makes me feel like we could do anything.”

I didn’t say anything, just turned my face away. I wanted to hide the nauseatingly pleased grin that was forming on my face.

“Sure, living here is fun, but I can’t stand the idea of eating only bananas and apples for a week.”

“Oh, I’d hate that too! I definitely want to be rescued soon!”

“Hahaha. Well, summer break is coming up. You can always go to some rural mountains after we’re rescued. You should be able to have a similar experience there.”

“That sounds great! You’ll come with me, won’t you, Masato-kun?”

“Eh, I’d rather stay in an air-conditioned room and be comfortable.”

“No way! I’ll drag you along even if I have to!”

“I guess I have no choice.”

We both laughed.

Since I had fully recovered, I stood up and said, “Well, I guess I’ll head out to cut some bamboo.”

“Hey, that’s not fair if you go alone!”

“If you have a complaint, then focus on healing your injury!”

Iori pouted, her cheeks puffing up.

“I’ll be back soon, so behave yourself.”

“Got it! But promise you’ll come back. We can’t have you being the only one killed by a wild animal, okay?”

“I can’t guarantee that.”

“I won’t believe it unless you promise! I’ll walk around so much that the blisters will burst, get infected, and my foot will rot!”

That was an outrageous threat.

I chuckled and said, “Alright, I promise. I’ll come back for sure, so behave yourself.”

“Okay!”

“Phew.”

I picked up the saw that was leaning against the wall.

◇

Though I had seen it from a distance, the bamboo grove turned out to be rather small.

“It’s great that we have the saw.”

Using a machete or a splitting maul to cut bamboo would have been cumbersome and dangerous. Thanks to the saw, the work was much more comfortable.

“Let’s head back.”

I brought back thin bamboo for fishing rods and thicker bamboo for other purposes. I shouldered them on my left shoulder and retraced my steps.

◇

“I’m back as promised!”

“Welcome back!”

Iori welcomed me as I returned.

After arriving back home, I checked on Io first.

“Oh, it seems you kept your promise and behaved yourself.”

“I was incredibly bored though!”

Io was sitting in the same spot as when I left. She definitely looked bored.

“We should’ve brought back the erotic books.”

“I don’t need those! …I mean, I’d say I don’t, but I really just wanted something to pass the time, anything would do! I wish I had my smartphone in times like this.”

“Even without internet access, there are still things you can do.”

“That’s true!”

We chatted for a while before I started making the fishing rod.

“Can you see it?”

“Yes, I can!”

I was outside the house, while Iori was inside observing.

“Now, let’s start making the rod!”

I cut the thin bamboo we had collected to an appropriate size.

“Done, the rod is finished.”

“That was fast! You only cut the bamboo, though!”

“Yeah, that’s all there is to it. A bamboo rod is fine. Besides, it’s all I know how to do!”

“Hahaha.”

“So, next is the string.”

“The one I was most looking forward to! You’re using plants for that, right?”

“Exactly. We’ll process the stem part.”

Making string from plants is quite simple. You peel the outer layer of the stem, wash it in water, and lay it flat on a board. It would be better to have specialized tools, but since we don’t, I used a screwdriver.

“After that, we dry it or do something like that.”

“Something like that?”

“I’ll take shortcuts around that part, so I don’t know the details!”

I finished peeling the skin, which turned into thin strips in my hands. I twisted these strips together to complete the string.

“See, it’s done!”

“Wow! You actually made string from a plant, Masato! It’s like magic!”

“Magic sounds nice, but in reality, it’s the result of mundane work that might make your neck ache.”

“Haha.”

“By the way, this string is a bit of a shortcut, so its strength might be questionable. It might break easily if used for fishing.”

「No good!」

“That’s where divine intervention comes in! If we need strength, we might as well ask a spider for help!”

“Hahaha.”

With the fishing rod and fishing line completed, only the fishing hook remained.

“Fishing hooks are a hassle, so let’s just use store-bought ones.”

I retrieved a small bag of fishing hooks from the toolbox.

While I left the rod behind, I brought the fishing hooks and fishing line back. However, since the fishing line had deteriorated over time, I wasn’t sure if it could still be used.

“Tying the fishing line to the fishing hook… and done!”

Holding my homemade bamboo rod, I proudly said, “Tada!”

“Wow!”

Iori applauded.

“Masato, I want to make my own fishing rod too!”

“Sure thing. I figured you’d say that, so I prepared the materials.”

“Amazing!”

The two of us worked together to make Iori’s fishing rod. Since she was more dexterous than me, the quality of her work surpassed mine.

“Ta-da! Introducing the fishing rod of Nikaido Iori!”

“The ‘ta-da’ sound effect doesn’t really make sense, but the finished product is perfect.”

“Hehehe.”

Once the fishing rod was completed, I started working on something else.

“What are you making, Masato?”

“This is a tool to make our life here more comfortable.”

“A tool to make life more comfortable?”

I nodded in agreement.

“This is called—”