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

“What did you do, Yasuto-kun?” Iori exclaimed, her eyes filled with astonishment.

“It’s simple,” I said with a chuckle, pointing at the clay pots at our feet. “I poured the water from inside these pots into it.”

“Huh?” Iori looked baffled.

“To operate the pump, you need to have water stored inside it. This water is called ‘priming water.’ For some reason, it had run dry, and no matter how much we pumped, it wouldn’t respond.”

“Now that you mention it… the inside of the pump did feel different this time,” Iori said, recalling.

“That’s right,” I confirmed.

Then, something seemed to click in Iori’s memory. “Wait, but on the first day we washed up on this island, we could use it just fine, right? There was no water in it then.”

“I don’t remember clearly, but I believe it had water in it from the beginning.”

“Is that even possible? It’s been left untouched for over 30 years!”

Iori’s skepticism was valid. However, I had a plausible explanation.

“Do you remember the heavy rainfall we had a few days before coming to this island?”

“Oh yeah, that camp we were supposed to have got canceled because of it!” Iori recalled, referring to the school event that led to us getting on the ship.

“I think that’s when the water got inside,” I explained.

“Ah,” Iori nodded in agreement.

“Still, Masato-kun, you noticed that quickly, attributing it to priming water.”

“Actually, I’m embarrassed I didn’t realize it sooner.”

Iori chuckled and said, “Normal high school students wouldn’t have figured it out! I didn’t even know that without priming water, you couldn’t use the pump! Masato-kun, you really are knowledgeable and reliable!”

“Well, as long as it worked out in the end,” I replied.

With the well now functioning again, we breathed a sigh of relief.

—

In the evening, after finishing our meal and doing some random tasks…

“Masato-kun, let’s use more of these clay pots!” Iori suggested.

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied.

“Exactly!” Iori exclaimed with enthusiasm. “We have ten of these clay pots here, right?”

I glanced at the row of clay pots outside the house and nodded. “We do.”

“But you know what? We’re only using four of them properly!”

“The rest are backups,” I explained.

“We have more backups than the ones we’re using! So, let’s put them to work!”

“Hmm,” I considered.

Currently, we were using two of them for food storage, temporarily storing the fruits we gathered. The remaining two were water bottles, which we used to store well water for various purposes, like daily face washing.

“Alright, let’s use them for storing fruits,” I agreed. “But do you think the fruits will spoil?”

Despite her earlier enthusiasm for using the clay pots, my somewhat reserved response seemed unexpected to Iori.

“True, it’s sweltering hot, and that might make fruits go bad faster than usual. Figs, for example, might not last long in this heat. But something like bananas should be good for about two days,” I explained.

“I see!” Iori responded.

“Additionally, how about not just putting the fruits in the pots but also soaking them in water for storage? The water might help mitigate the effects of the heat to some extent, potentially prolonging their freshness,” I suggested.

“That’s a great idea! I love it!” Iori clapped her hands in excitement.

“Well, it’s just a spontaneous idea, and there’s no guarantee it’ll work. It might even have the opposite effect,” I cautioned.

“That’s okay! You won’t know until you try, right? Let’s soak them in water!” Iori replied enthusiastically.

So, we went to the southern forest and gathered some fruits. After filling two clay pots with them, we filled the well water to the brim and increased the number of water bottles from two to four.

“Now that we’ve used more clay pots and you seem satisfied, how do you feel?” I asked.

Iori smiled happily and said, “Good!”

“Having multiple clay pots filled with stuff inside makes us feel like Jomon people, even though we’re from the modern era,” she remarked.

“We’re definitely modern people,” I reminded her.

“Don’t sweat the details!”

With that, Iori changed the topic, saying, “By the way…”

“How did people in the past store food? They didn’t have refrigerators like we do, right?” Iori inquired.

“While they didn’t have modern refrigerators, they did have some alternatives. For example, they used wooden boxes filled with ice. There were also icehouses, which were used for storing ice,” I replied.

“I’ve heard of those before. But I think icehouses were mainly accessible to wealthy people, especially during the hot summer months. So, what did common folks do back then? In an era without even wooden box refrigerators!” Iori wondered.

“It’s not something we learn at school. History classes usually focus on important events and some basic facts related to those events,” I said. However, I happened to have an answer to Iori’s question.

“During the Edo period, it’s said that people bought food from traveling merchants only for what they would eat,” I shared.

“Really? I can’t believe you know the answer, Jin!” Iori exclaimed.

“I heard it from my middle school history teacher. I’m not great at memorizing study materials, but I tend to remember interesting trivia like that,” I explained.

“Interesting! Okay, okay, so what did they do if they bought too much from the traveling merchants and couldn’t finish it all?” Iori asked.

“Hmm, this is just speculation, but they probably processed the leftovers into preserved foods,” I replied.

“Preserved foods?”

“Things like dried fish and pickles,” I clarified.

“Ah! I’ve always associated old-timey people with making dried fish and pickles!” Iori said with understanding.

“That’s right,” I confirmed.

“Talking with you, Jin, is so fun! I’m learning so many new things!” Iori exclaimed.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” I replied.

With this conversation, we spent a pleasant evening together.

◇

Night had fallen, and after a day of various tasks, it was time to sleep.

Just like the previous nights, we slept naked without any prior discussion. Holding hands came as naturally as breathing.

“Thank you for today, Jin! See you tomorrow!” Iori said cheerfully.

“Goodnight,” I replied.

“Goodnight!” she responded, squeezing my hand tightly before drifting off to sleep.

I, too, began to doze off, but I didn’t fall asleep as easily as Iori did.

(This is becoming routine)

I thought to myself, observing my current state. It was strange; I wasn’t as excited as I should be.

Typically, this situation would be unimaginable. I was lying right next to Iori, the most beautiful girl in our school. Moreover, we were both completely naked. Yesterday, I had at least worn underwear, but today, there was nothing, as it was still wet from laundry.

As we prepared for bed, there was another peculiar moment. While drying my back with a towel, something unexpected happened. Usually, I only saw her back, but today, I inadvertently caught a glimpse of her chest. Her enticing collarbone and nape were included in the view. Nevertheless, my emotions were no more than a mere “lucky.”

A few days ago, I would have been incredibly excited, tormenting myself for hours.

(Is this what they mean by “growing up”?)

I wondered if I had lost my instincts as a male.

(Well, there’s no point in thinking about it.)

I concluded. Regardless, not feeling tormented allowed me to sleep peacefully. I decided to stop overthinking and rest for the challenges of tomorrow.

But then…

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter…

I heard sounds from outside.

(Huh? Could it be an animal walking nearby?)

I thought. There was a fence around us, so it should be safe. But then…

Whoosh, whoosh!

The outside sounds changed dramatically.

(Rain!)

I exclaimed.

Suddenly, a heavy downpour struck the island.