READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 2
The cabin they discovered looked visibly aged, even from a distance. Within the forest, the area around the cabin was devoid of trees, creating an open space. Its expanse could be described as having a radius of about 15 meters. The cleared area was enclosed by a waist-high fence. While easily surmountable by a person, it was likely meant to deter animals.
“That cabin has to be someone’s house!” Iori’s voice brimmed with excitement.
“What sort of cabin, if not for humans…? Built by monkeys, perhaps?”
“It’s not about that! You get it, don’t you? What I’m trying to say!” Iori pouted, her cheeks puffing out.
I chuckled and said, “I understand.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to enter the property without permission. Let’s try calling them out.”
“Yeah!”
We stood just before the fence and called out, “Excuse me!”
“………………”
However, there was no response from the cabin. There wasn’t even a sound of someone coming out.
“It seems unoccupied. Let’s go in.”
“Huh?Can we just barge in like this!?”
Iori was surprised as I started to climb over the fence.
“At this juncture, we can’t really hesitate.”
“You’ve got a point!”
Iori attempted to follow suit, trying to climb over the fence after me. However, it seemed a bit too high for her, and she struggled.
“Need a hand?”
“Nah, I’m fine! I’ve got this!”
She insisted while desperately attempting to straddle the fence. Her thighs were exposed from beneath her skirt, which was of a shorter length. The destination remained tantalizingly out of sight.
I couldn’t help but feel a mix of annoyance and admiration for her daring choice of panties, challenging the limits.
“See! I told you it would be fine!”
Having successfully crossed the fence, Iori raised both hands in a triumphant gesture.
Seeing her like that, I chuckled softly. “Just so you know, you didn’t have to force yourself to climb over. We could have easily entered from there without any acrobatics.”
I pointed to a gate a few meters away. It had a rusty latch, but any adult could easily open it.
“Hey! You should have said that earlier!” Iori smacked my chest with the palm of her hand.
“Hahaha, sorry, sorry.”I said, while inwardly quite surprised.
(Here I am, casually chatting with Iori Nikaido…!)
Iori was the school’s most beautiful girl. Rumors had it that she was being scouted by entertainment agencies left and right. On top of that, she was known for her wonderful personality. She treated everyone equally, was approachable, and easy to talk to. Naturally, she was incredibly popular at school.
During break times, her surroundings were always overflowing with people. She was more like an idol from another world than just an unattainable beauty. People like me wouldn’t even dare to entertain the thought of falling for her. And here I was, alone with her, sharing laughter. I was so happy that I momentarily forgot about the hopeless situation we were in.
“Hey, Ichinose-kun? What’s wrong?”
“Sorry, I was just savoring a little bit of happiness.”
“In this situation!?” After her initial surprise, Iori doubled over with laughter.
“Ichinose-kun, you’re quite something, funny.”
“Well, I guess it’s because there aren’t many people with katakana in their last names…!”
Now, the mysterious cabin. We approached it cautiously, keeping an eye on our surroundings.
“Excuse me!”
I knocked on the door of the cabin. Though I believed there probably wasn’t anyone inside, I still decided to call out.
“………………”
As expected, there was no response.
“Should we try going inside?”
“Huh, is it unlocked?”
“There’s no keyhole, so it should be unlocked!”
I turned the doorknob and pushed the door, which creaked open with a squeak.
“Cough, cough!”
Iori started coughing the moment she inhaled the air inside.
And rightfully so, as the interior was covered in dust. The very air seemed dusty.
“Looks like it’s been neglected for quite a while.”
“Yeah… The air itself feels contaminated!”
The cabin consisted of just one room, with a layout of around 8 tatami mats. In one corner, there was a chest of drawers, and diagonally opposite was a small cooking area. Though saying “cooking area” might be an overstatement, as there was only a rusty sink; not even a stove, let alone a faucet. Naturally, there were no electrical outlets either.
“There’s a ‘tatami’ space here, so it seems that Japanese people once lived here.”
“What’s ‘genkan’?” Iori tilted her head in confusion.
“It’s the area where you take off your shoes near the entrance.”
“Oh, I see! I didn’t know this place was called ‘genkan’! You really know a lot, Ichinose-kun!”
“What can I say, I――”
“Because you have katakana in your last name?”
“Exactly!”
Perhaps due to the cabin’s compact size, even the space for the genkan was small. When we lined up our loafers, it immediately felt cramped.
“Excuse us!”
Iori greeted courteously before stepping into the cabin.
I was impressed by how diligently she even bowed. (There might not be anyone here, but this place is a blessing.)
There was no guarantee that rescue would arrive promptly. If we were forced into a prolonged struggle, this cabin could become a useful base.
“I wonder if someone lived here alone.”
“Seems likely.”
I turned my gaze to the interior. There was a set of bedding and a small low table in the room.
“This area seems usable.”
In a corner diagonally opposite to the entrance, there was a large box. Inside it, various tools like frying pans were haphazardly thrown.
“Ichinose-kun, be careful. There are knives in there.”
“I’m aware.”
Wood-splitting axes and hatchets were lying with their blades exposed.
“Let’s resume our journey for now. I’m starting to get thirsty. Shall we look for a river?”
“There was a well right next to the house.”
“Really? I didn’t notice. Let’s try drawing water from the well.”
We left the cabin and moved to the nearby well.
“Hey, it’s working.”
The hand-operated pump of the well was functional. Moving the handle up and down produced a creaking sound akin to a sigh as water came out.
However, the water that emerged was as murky as a ditch.
“No good, we can’t drink this.”
“If we keep at it for a while, clean water might come out.”
“You think so?”
“If the well itself isn’t broken, that should be the case.”
We took turns vigorously working the well’s pump. Initially, the water was horrendously turbid, but gradually, it became clearer. After about an hour of determined effort, it finally turned clean.
“We actually got clean water!”
Iori was getting excited.
“Should we try tasting it?” I suggested.
“Are you sure?”
“We won’t know until we taste it.”
“Bold move, Ichinose-kun.”
Wanting to appear cool in front of Iori, I could only respond nonchalantly with “Well, yeah.”
With that, I brought my mouth to the water coming from the well and took a hearty gulp.
“It’s cold and delicious!”
“Really!? Not poisonous?”
Iori’s concern was evident.
“It’s probably fine! My body feels fine!”
“Then I’ll drink too!”
I operated the hand pump to draw water from the well, and Iori drank directly from it.
She refrained from using her hands since they were dirty from our earlier activities.
“You’re right! It’s delicious!”
“With fruit and water, we’re at least a bit relieved.”
“Now, the next question is how to call for rescue. It’s a bit cliché, but should we make an SOS sign on the sandy beach using stones?”
“That’s a good idea, but I have an even better one.”
“Ooh! What is it?”
“Let’s use smoke signals. We’ll burn some suitable leaves to produce smoke.”
“Wow, that’s brilliant! You’re amazing, Ichinose-kun!”
“I’m surprised myself.”
Undoubtedly, I was more awake than usual. Perhaps it was due to the excitement of being alone with the school’s most beautiful girl in this situation.
“Alright, Nikaido, let’s gather a ton of leaves!”
“Sure!”
We exited through the fence on the opposite side from where we entered and headed straight into the forest.
“It feels like I can survive any environment as long as I’m with you, Ichinose-kun.”
She said something heartwarming. If I responded, I might have made awkward and cringeworthy sounds like “Uhuhu” or “Hehehe,” so I just smiled and chuckled.
(In this moment, I’m shining brighter than ever in my life.)
I thought such things. However, the arrogance of that feeling wasn’t tolerated by fate.
“Growl!”
“Huh?”
Hearing what seemed to be an animal’s deep growl, we raised our heads.
And there it was, before us――
“A lion!?”
――The king of beasts.