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

We hadn’t noticed that the pride of lions had been lying in ambush. The nearby grass was dense, but it was still lower than our waists. The trees were not a dense jungle either; they grew with plenty of space between them.

And yet, we didn’t notice them until they raised their bodies.

“So, this is the hunting technique of wild beasts.”

We would have been impressed if we weren’t the prey. It was incredible how they managed to hide their massive bodies within the undergrowth.

“Masato-kun, what should we do…”

Even Iori’s face had turned pale in this unprecedentedly desperate situation.

“We have no choice but to fight.”

“Fight, against this many…”

“I know, it’s not a situation where we can win by fighting straightforwardly.”

They were ten in number. And they were cooperating while maintaining a reasonable distance from each other.

(Should we try to make a run for it?)

No, that’s impossible. The moment we charge, others would attack from different directions.

We’d end up surrounded and overwhelmed.

“It’s going to be tough, but let’s aim for counters.”

“Counters!? Against this many!?”

“If we attack head-on, we’ll be destroyed. If there’s a chance, it’s in counterattacks.”

“Understood…!”

We positioned ourselves back to back, alert and ready.

“We’ll turn the tables…”

I took a deep breath and roared at the male lion in front of us.

“Prepare to face death!”

“But it seems like we’re the ones who might face death here!?”

With Iori’s accurate retort, the battle began.

“Rooooooaaaaaaaaaaar!”

First, a female lion attacked from the right.

“haiyaaaaaaaa!”

I quickly turned and thrust my spear at it.

“Grrh!”

The female lion stopped abruptly and canceled its attack. It avoided my counterattack.

“Roooaaaaaaaaar!”

Taking advantage of the opportunity, another lion lunged at us. It was the male lion that had been in front earlier.

“They saw through us!”

Without hesitation, I adjusted my stance and extended my spear.

“Masato-kun, watch out! There’s one coming from the side too!”

Following my movement, a different female lion was approaching from my left.

“This is bad!”

“Masato-kun, don’t let your guard down!”

Iori took care of the female lion. While I was dealing with one side, she attacked from the other. However, her attack was narrowly avoided. The lions halted their attacks again and retreated.

“Roooaaaaar! Roaaaaar!”

They let out intimidating roars. It was as if they were saying, “Surrender.”

“No matter how much they roar, we won’t go down easily!”

Being stranded on this island had allowed me to strengthen my bond with Iori. My dull and boring school life, my life in general, had finally begun to shine.

I couldn’t let it end here.

◇

The battle with the lions turned out to be much longer than expected. We were solely on the defensive, while the lions struggled to mount an effective offense.

This was due to the lions’ strategy. They were aiming for an unscathed victory. With such a significant difference in strength, winning should have been easy.

However, aiming for an unscathed victory made things more challenging.

“Making those spears was the right call.”

“Yeah.”

Iori’s reply was brief.

Beads of sweat the size of marbles appeared on her tense face. I was in the same situation.

The ongoing tension combined with the scorching sun was agonizing. My body was overheated, and sweat dripped from under my headgear. It wouldn’t be surprising if I collapsed from heatstroke at any moment.

(We’re stuck in a back-and-forth battle…)

This situation wasn’t sustainable.

A battle of endurance clearly favored our opponents.

“Masato-kun, is there something you’d like to say before you die?”

“What I say depends on the moment right before death. It’s not that time yet.”

“You’re so cool saying things like that.”

Iori smiled.

“How about you, Iori? Is there something you regret not saying before you die?”

“I don’t have anything unsaid, but I do have regrets.”

“What’s that?”

Entering the Northern Forest, perhaps? If so, I had similar regrets…

“I regret not talking to you more at school.”

“Huh?”

“I wanted to talk to you more, play together more.”

“Iori…”

Even in this dire situation, my heart was filled with joy.

“If you put it that way, I can’t just die here,” I chuckled.

“But what should we do? We’re going to die if we stay like this,” Iori said.

“Let’s break through the enemies to the south and head back to the house.”

“Eh?”

“That’s…?”

“I know. It’s extremely tough. Most likely, no, 99 times out of 100, it’ll fail. Either one or both of us will get injured or die. Still, it’s better than maintaining this battle. If we continue like this, we’ll definitely be wiped out.”

“So… should we take a desperate gamble?”

“Yeah.”

I tightened my grip on the spear.

“I’m sorry, Iori.”

“For what?”

“It’s my overconfidence that got us into this situation.”

“I agreed to this, so it’s not your fault.”

Without saying anything more, I moved next to Iori. I twisted my body around and faced south, just like her.

“Let’s do this, Iori!”

“Got it!”

We ran side by side.

“Rooooooaaaaar!”

The male lion in front roared. At the same time, the other nine lions charged at us.

“Masato-kun!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll break th… Whoa!”

Suddenly, my gaze dropped to the ground. My body leaned forward, and I was on the verge of falling. I tripped out of nowhere.

The heat had temporarily slowed down the transmission of signals in my nervous system. Unbeknownst to me, I might have succumbed to heatstroke.

“Masato-kun!”

Iori looked back.

“Don’t stop, Iori! Go! Run!”

I tried to stand up in a hurry, but my body wavered and I struggled. Using the spear as a makeshift cane, I managed to pull myself up.

It was more serious than I had thought.

“No!”

Iori came to my side, holding her spear ready.

“I won’t run away anymore!”

“Both of us will end up dead!”

“I’m fine with that!”

“Fine with that!? What stupid…”

“When we were attacked by the crocodile at the lake, I regretted it so much. I tried to use you as a shield to escape back then too. If I abandon you here, I won’t be able to forgive myself!”

Iori’s eyes welled up with tears. Her words were powerful, showing unwavering determination.

“Well, well, has the heat fried my brain…”

I let out a wry smile as I glared at the approaching lions.

“I’ll take at least one of them down with me! Whoever wants to die, come at me!”

“Don’t underestimate high school students!”

“Roooooooaaaaaaaar!”

Unlike before, the lions didn’t stop. No, they couldn’t stop, as they were already in attack mode.

“Roooaaaarrrrrrr!”

The bravest male lion at the front leaped. It was the individual that had warned us when we first entered the forest.

“wahhhhhhhhh!”

I mustered my last bit of strength and extended the spear.

“Rooooooaaaaaaaaar…!”

The spear pierced the lion’s mouth and went straight through its head. Instant death.

“Rooooooaar!”

Still, the other lions didn’t give up on their attack.

“In that case!”

I released the spear and drew the hatchet.

“I won’t back down either!”

Beside me, Iori extended her spear.

(This will be our final attack…)

Eight lions, excluding the one on the south, were ready to launch a full assault. With them not fearing retaliation, victory was now impossible. Still, we wouldn’t give up. We would fight until the very last breath.