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

A wide-open wolf’s mouth was closing in on me. Moreover, both of my shoulders were being held, so I couldn’t move my arms.

“Masato-kun!”

Iori’s scream echoed.

Amidst all this, my action was…

“Uoaaaaaaa!”

A roaring shout to rouse myself.

And then, I forcefully moved my forehead slightly upwards towards the wolf.

A headbutt.

It was an instinctive counterattack, and surprisingly, it worked.

I hit the wolf’s jaw.

“Kyaaa!”

The wolf let out a pathetic sound as it leaped backward. I hurriedly got up.

“Here!”

Iori was about to charge at the wolf with a hatchet.

“Wait!”

I quickly grabbed her back.

“What’s wrong, Masato-kun!?”

“Put down the hatchet.”

“Why!?”

I saw a puppy—no, a young wolf.

“Absolutely do not hunt in front of a child.” It was an act that went against my principles, a taboo of sorts.

“Garrrooo…”

The wolf growled at us while glaring. It must have attacked to protect its young. Perhaps seeing Iori petting its offspring, it mistook us for enemies.

“But if we don’t defeat it, we’ll be done for!”

“I know! So we have to figure something out…!”

If things continue like this, as Iori says, we won’t survive. It’s something that must be avoided at all costs.

(This situation is certainly not one where I can spout idealistic statements.)

I took the hatchet from Iori’s hand.

“Masato-kun…?”

“I’ll handle this.”

In this world, it’s survival of the fittest. If unpleasant killing is necessary to live, then there’s no choice but to do it. I had made up my mind.

“Stay behind me, Iori.”

I held the hatchet and stared at the wolf. I aimed for a counterattack since charging in head-on had no chance of success. If things went well, I could win without a scratch. Even if not, I should be able to take its life in exchange for an arm.

“Now, come!”

“Woooooon!”

The wolf howled in response.

And at that moment…

“Woof! Woof!”

The young wolf began to bark. It wasn’t directed at me but towards its parent.

…

The adult wolf gazed quietly at its offspring. And then…

“Huh? It’s moving away!”

It turned its back on us and began to walk.

It was deactivating its combat stance.

“Did this pup just let us know that we’re not enemies?”

“That’s probably it.”

The young wolf looked back and let out a cute bark, then rubbed against our legs before sprinting toward its parent.

“I guess we’re safe now…”

A rush of tension left my body.

—

We left the river area as if fleeing. Due to the intense heat, we prioritized movement over conversation.

We finally crawled back to the house.

“We’re exhausted…”

Near the well, we set down our tools and collapsed inside the house.

My shirt was drenched with sweat, sticking uncomfortably to my back. However, I had no energy left to be bothered by it.

“Putting the wolf incident aside, the river is just too far.”

“Yeah… Going there isn’t too bad, but the way back is tough!”

Our conversation ended there.

Honestly, I wanted to discuss more, but it was just too hot.

Even though we were likely past the peak of the day, it was still over 30 degrees Celsius, way too hot to ignore.

“Let’s start by eating some fish. Their freshness has probably started to decline.”

“It’s time for iwana!”

Iori’s eyes sparkled as she sat up.

I followed suit a moment later, and the two of us left the house together.

After drinking well water to quench our thirst, it was time to cook.

“Grilling them on skewers should be fine, right?”

“Of course! Grilled skewered river fish is the best!”

“Alright, let’s start the preparation. Iori, can you handle it?”

“I don’t know how to handle live fish! Plus, I’m scared if they start flopping around!”

“Then should I do it? I don’t know either, but I guess I can manage.”

Handling fish shouldn’t be too different for any type. Just remove the scales, gills, and innards, then rinse the body.

“Let’s start with this iwana.”

I grasped a suitable fish with my left hand. It was already on the verge of suffocating, so it hardly resisted. Still, it moved slightly, so I had to be careful.

“Here we go!”

I placed it on a banana leaf, acting as a makeshift cutting board, and pushed a skewer near its gills.

“It’s like how you fillet eel, right?” Iori remarked.

“Exactly, I imagined it that way.”

Normally, before filleting a fish, you’d bleed it out. I’d heard terms like “ikijime” or “ikejime,” but I didn’t exactly know what they meant or how to do them. Hence, the single thrust with the skewer.

“Iori, can you show me the toolbox?”

“Sure!”

“Uh… Let’s try using this.”

I picked up a carpenter’s file. I decided to use it to remove the scales.

The reason I had been relying on carpentry tools was that we didn’t have a proper knife. But using an axe would be too unwieldy for delicate work.

“It’s turning out better than I thought… but I ended up damaging the skin along with the scales.”

“That can’t be helped!”

I nodded, and began removing the innards. Splitting the belly was no problem with an axe.

“Removing the innards is simple in theory, but how do you actually do it?”

“Well…”

I scratched my head while gazing at the gruesome interior of the fish.

In the end, I resorted to using a wrench, as I had no clue. I inserted the larger end of its bifurcated tip into the body. Miraculously, it fit well and allowed me to cleanly remove the innards.

“Wow, Masato-kun, you’re amazing!”

“I’m surprised myself.”

It was an unconventional method, but it seemed to be working fine.

After rinsing off the blood that had clung to the insides with water, the fish was ready.

“Iori, can you skewer them randomly?”

We used bamboo for skewers. They were made from the leftover bamboo used for making water flasks and fishing rods.

“Got it! Oh, by the way, the gills?”

“Gills?”

“We haven’t removed the gills from this iwana, have we?”

“I forgot.”

I used the axe to chop off the iwana’s head.

“This should be fine. I don’t really know, but I guess I got rid of the gills too.”

“That’s way too forceful! Also, it’s weird to have skewers without heads for grilling, isn’t it?”

“We have absolutely no knowledge about cooking. We have no choice but to go with the flow!”

After that, I utilized various tools to fillet the fish. Though I referred to all the fish as “iwana,” they were actually of various types. I had no idea if true iwana even existed.

“Alright, that’s the last one.”

“Got it!”

Iori skewered the last fish. We placed it beside the campfire we had used for firing the pottery.

“All that’s left is to wait for them to cook!”

While waiting, we managed the necessary tasks.

First, we dealt with the water from the pottery. We dug a hole in a suitable spot and let it drain there.

Then we thoroughly cleaned the fish-smelling tools with well water. They looked cleaner, but a bit of the smell remained. I learned that the drawback of filleting fish was the odour it left behind.

We also replenished branches and leaves from the southern forest. By the time we finished those tasks, the grilled skewers were ready.

“We’re ready to dig in!”

We started eating right away.

“It’s pretty good! This fish is delicious!”

“This other fish doesn’t have any fishy taste and it’s great!”

Fish of various sizes brought excitement to us. We didn’t have any seasonings, so the flavor was subtle, but that wasn’t a big concern.

“Eating fish you’ve caught yourself is the best!”

“I know, right!”

We enthusiastically devoured the fish.

“If only we had some seasoning, it would be even better,” Iori said.

“Fish definitely need salt.”

“Or lemon!”

“Lemon would work too.”

“Exactly! There’s a lemon tree not far from here. We should bring some back next time we eat fish!”

“I agree.”

“Wooooooon!”

As if agreeing with us, the howl echoed.

It came from behind us.

We quickly turned around, only to exclaim, “Oh no, not again!”

The source of the voice was a wolf—the same parent wolf we had battled at the river.