READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 19
“Yaaah!”
Iori launched a powerful thrust, but the targeted lion leaped sideways, evading her attack.
“No way!”
“Leave it to me, Iori!”
Stepping forward, I swung the hatchet down. —Yet, this attack also missed, falling short due to the limited range of the hatchet compared to the spear.
“Grrrrrrrrr!”
As we finished our attacks, the lion pack lunged at us.
“Uwaahhh!”
It was all over. Facing the approaching foes, I was ready to accept death.
But at that moment—
“Awooooooooooooooooo!” A howl echoed through the forest. The source of the sound was a pack of wolves.They charged in, numbering several dozen.
“Wolves!?”
By the time we were surprised, the battle had already begun. The wolf pack attacked the lions, biting and tearing at them.
“Grrrrrrrrrr…!”
Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, the lions were overwhelmed.
“Incredible…!”
Iori was left speechless in awe. I surveyed the scene calmly.
“I don’t sense any intention to attack us.” The wolves were solely targeting the lions.
“Awoooooooooooooo!” Another distant howl echoed.
I turned my gaze in the direction of the sound. There, I saw the wolf that had given us the badger, along with its offspring.
“That’s the individual that gave us the badger! Even from here, I can tell.”
Its resolute gaze was directed towards us. The young wolves by its side seemed to be clinging to their parent, perhaps afraid of the battle.
“They’ve come to our rescue! Could this be their way of apologizing for the river?”
“I don’t know…!”
Anyway, the appearance of the wolves had rescued us from our dire situation.
“The sun seems to be setting. Let’s head back home for today.”
“Got it! But before that, we need to rehydrate!”
“You’re right.”
We finished our water bottles and began our cautious retreat. We gave a nod to the wolf that seemed to be the pack’s leader, the one with the offspring.
“Grrrrrrr!”
A roar echoed back. I felt like it was saying, “Consider the debt repaid.”
—
“Water! Give me water!”
“Water’s right here, Masato-kun!”
We returned home in a frenzied state. We had to, or else we could have ended up dehydrated and dead.
The water in the containers disappeared fast. Our bodies felt wobbly, and our heads were swimming.
“I seriously thought I was going to die.”
“More like we were halfway to death!”
“More like we were 80% gone!”
Thanks to the well water, we survived. But the situation was far from comforting. Even drinking the water was a struggle.
It didn’t go down as smoothly as usual. Clearly, it was a precarious state.
“Just water isn’t enough; I need oral rehydration solution.”
My body was craving sodium and glucose. Citric acid too.
“Masato-kun, how about going to pick some fruits?”
“Let’s do that.”
After a short break, we went to the southern forest and gathered some suitable fruits.
Instead of taking bites, we crushed them in our hands and forced ourselves to eat them. The heat had left us with no energy to chew properly.
Once that was done, we returned home and showered in water from a clay pot, feeling our bodies lighten up.
“Masato Ichinose, resurrected!”
“Iori Nikaido, resurrected too!”
Finally, our vitality was returning.
“Now, let’s think about what to do next.”
As the sun was about to set, we decided to have a discussion at home. We sat across from each other around a small table.
“We had plans to cross the northern forest and reach the sea, but as expected, we were attacked by lions. And it was a pack, which nearly cost us our lives.”
“It’s safe to say that surviving was a miracle.”
“But Masato-kun, do you still think we should cross the northern forest?”
Iori looked at me with a serious expression.
“Hmm…”
I pondered for a while, contemplating the lion battle and other risks in my mind.
And the conclusion I came to was—
“We had a frightening experience, but I still think we should cross the northern forest.”
“What’s your reasoning for that?”
“The lions, our enemies, were decimated by the wolf attack. We don’t know if any survived, but even if they did, they wouldn’t likely come after us. Wild animals usually only attack when they’re confident they can win.”
“You’re thinking that the wolves might come to our aid if we’re attacked… and that’s why it’s safe to proceed?”
“Exactly. So, assuming the lions and the wolves aren’t a problem, the wolves won’t attack us as long as we don’t provoke them. I don’t think they’ll help us again in the future, but that doesn’t mean they’ll turn hostile either.”
“You don’t sound very sure with your ‘likely’ and ‘should.'”
Iori chuckled lightly.
“I have confidence, but not certainty.”
“So, if we take your word that the lions and wolves aren’t an issue, is there a possibility of other animals attacking us? Dangerous creatures aren’t limited to just lions, right?”
“That’s true.”
Bears and boars were common dangers. Among them, summer bears were known to be quite active.
“To be honest, I think taking a detour might be better.”
“Our opinions are divided.”
Iori smiled and said, “Yeah.”
“If we go on a detour, we’ll definitely need a lot of water. We’ll need to stay hydrated as we wander by the sea. You’d need to carry an incredible amount of water to avoid heatstroke.”
One disadvantage of being by the seaside was the direct exposure to sunlight. Even within the forest, where the curtain of leaves acted as a barrier, it was unbearably hot.
“I have an idea about that!”
I grinned, and Iori responded with curiosity.
“Let’s hear it, Miss. Straight-A Student’s brilliant idea.”
“Well…,” Iori said with a mischievous smile.
“—How about we proceed in rainy weather?”
“Are you suggesting we go out intentionally when it’s raining?”
“Exactly! It should be cooler that way!”
“Well, it might be cooler, but…” I offered a wry smile.
“—That’s definitely a no.”
“Why not!”
Iori puffed up her cheeks, showing an adorable expression. However, despite her proposal, my thoughts remained unchanged.
“First of all, walking around the island on a rainy day without paved roads is dangerous.”
“Ah…”
“And the walking speed will slow down as well. The detour route already takes around 4 hours one way on a sunny day, but on a rainy day, it could increase by another 20 to 30 percent.”
“So, it could take over 5 hours…”
“Furthermore, the rain drains your energy. And of course, even after we reach the sea—”
“No wayyyy!”
While you were speaking, Iori interrupted with a shout.
“I’m with you—I vote for crossing the forest after all!”
So, it was decided not to change the route.
“Let’s head to the sea tomorrow.”
Iori sat down and saluted with an enthusiastic “Yes, sir!”
It was oddly cute and almost made me melt.
—
Night fell, and once again, no rescue came.
We hadn’t been expecting it, but it still felt disappointing when it didn’t happen.
“The ‘Golden 72 Hours’ have already passed, huh?”
“What are those rescue people doing!?”
We laid on top of the light bedspread and talked. Even this thin bedspread felt too heavy to cover ourselves with.
The scorching heat was relentless.
“Let’s think of this as finally reaching a decision and try to sleep positively.”
“Yeah, you’re right!”
Iori snuggled up to my left arm. My hand brushed against her camisole and panties.
The robe we had worn during the day was hanging outside to dry.
(It’s unbearable, it’s too hot…)
The heat was so intense that I couldn’t even entertain any strange fantasies. Despite having the windows and doors open, the night breeze refused to come in.
Furthermore, the school’s prettiest girl was clinging to my arm.
(I want to take my clothes off…)
Right now, I was wearing just a thin undershirt and underwear.
I felt that if I were to take them off, I might feel a bit more comfortable. However, I couldn’t bring myself to suggest it.
In this situation, asking something like “Can I take off my clothes?” might be misunderstood.
My brain might even misunderstand and my body could react inappropriately.
(Please, Iori, please say something like, “Let’s take off our clothes!” I want to sleep naked!)
I was praying even though I knew it was completely unrealistic. And then…
“Hey, hey, Masato-kun… How about we sleep naked tonight?”
Something I thought was entirely impossible happened.