READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 4
It was on the bottom shelf of the chest of drawers. A bunch of old, tattered A4 papers held together with staples. They weren’t filed and were just randomly placed.
“These documents have seen quite a few years,” I thought.
For now, I grabbed some and placed it on the coffee table.
“Someone’s written something here!”
I heard Iori’s voice from right across. Since the paper was facing the other way, the text was hard to read.
The faded ink didn’t help either.
“It looks like some kind of script.”
I flipped through the pages. There were characters written in a script format.
“Could these have been used in a movie?”
“That’s possible.”
The pages inside had clear and readable text. The pages were filled with extensive dialogue and scene descriptions in an old-fashioned font. As I looked at it, it clicked.
“All the lines seem to be for a single character.”
“And it’s not like something from a drama or movie. It has lines like ‘Shot in close-up on the camera.'”
“It feels more like a script for a show rather than a drama or movie.”
“Definitely!”
We concluded that these were scripts for an unmanned island survival show. Such programs had been filmed here before, and this cabin was a relic from that time.
“Let’s check the other materials too.”
We turned the chest of drawers upside down and started going through the dusty documents one by one. Through this process, our conclusion, or rather hypothesis, gained more confidence.
“Look, Masato-kun, there are maps here.”
“Wow!”
Iori discovered maps of the surroundings.
There were two of them, but both had a different type of paper compared to the other documents. They probably cut out only the pages they needed from an atlas.
“This is the first time I’m looking at an analog map.”
“Come to think of it, me too!”
I had only used online map services until now. Because of that, it felt different and was harder to read.
“Probably this is our current location, right?”
“I think so too.”
What we understood was that there was a red circle around one of the small islands on the map. Without that circle, the map would have been useless.
“If we assume this red circle is our current location, then we are somewhere south of Shizuoka.”
About 50 km to the north is Hamamatsu City.
“We were navigating around this area when we encountered the maritime accident, so I’m sure the red circle indicates this island!”
I nodded in agreement with Iori’s opinion.
“Knowing our current location is significant. Even if rescue doesn’t come, we can attempt to escape on our own.”
“Huh, like making a raft?”
“In a worst-case scenario, yes. Of course, we’d want to avoid that if possible. But having such an option for emergency situations is crucial. Until now, we couldn’t attempt to leave the island because we had no idea which direction to go.”
“I see! If we didn’t know our current location, we’d have no choice but to keep staying on this island! It’s certain death to venture out into the sea blindly.”
“Indeed.”
Although the situation hadn’t changed, a sense of relief quickly spread.
“But it’s still strange, right? Why would there be a lion on the island? I’ve never heard of lions being on uninhabited islands in Japan.”
Iori’s question was only natural.
I had thought the same thing when I first started going through the documents.
“I can make a reasonable assumption, though it’s speculative.”
“Really!?”
I nodded.
“The fact that filming was done on this island means that the TV station owns this place. There’s no doubt about that, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Presumably, the TV station heavily modified the island for filming purposes. The lion is likely part of that.”
More than that, the fruit trees we encountered on the way to the cabin were also part of it. Monkeys, chipmunks, and other animals might have been introduced as well.
“The TV station brought a lion here!? That’s impossible, right?”
Iori laughed and said, “No way,” but I didn’t find it amusing. Because I was serious.
“Certainly, it wouldn’t make sense in modern times.”
“Huh?”
“The filming that took place here was probably more than a decade before we were born—during the Showa period. More precisely, it was during the economic bubble when Japan was experiencing an unprecedented economic boom.”
“――!”
I had heard about this from my father. During the bubble era, there were no strict broadcasting ethics for television shows. Apparently, it was common for nude women to appear on primetime shows.
“The bubble era was different from now. The internet wasn’t as developed back then, and the influence of television was several times greater than it is now. To boost ratings, they invested substantial budgets to develop the entire island.”
“Due to the collapse of the bubble, the island was probably left abandoned.”
“Or perhaps the show didn’t win the ratings battle and got canceled. Either way, the island was left untouched for about 30 years, resulting in the formation of its unique ecosystem.”
It was easy to deduce this from the materials, as there wasn’t a mention of smartphones, let alone cell phones. They likely weren’t widespread at the time.
“You’re really something, Masato-kun.”
“What do you mean?”
My embarrassment made my voice tremble slightly.
“You can deduce so much just from the materials here.”
“It’s speculation, so there’s no certainty.”
“I think you’re onto something. It’s really convincing!”
“Y-You think so? Hehe.”
I couldn’t help but grin.
“If I had ended up stranded on this island alone, I think I would have been crying by the shore the whole time. I was able to come this far because I was with you, Masato-kun. That’s why I really think you’re amazing!”
“W-Well, um? I’m glad you think that way.”
I could no longer conceal my grin.
“I’m counting on you! Let’s definitely make it back alive!”
Iori smiled sweetly, and she was so adorable that I felt like I was going to burst.
“Y-Yeah! We’ll definitely make it back!”
I made up my mind to survive no matter what. After all, I had become close to the school’s number one beauty, Iori Nikaido. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I had to cherish it.
“Alright then, Leader, give us the next instruction!”
Iori saluted while still sitting.
“Leader!?”
“Well, of course! Here, you’re the leader, Masato-kun! I’m just team member A following your orders!”
I laughed, saying, “The responsibility is heavy.”
“Well then, for now—”
I picked up the script we had first seen, flipping through the pages. And then, pointing at a certain word, I said,
“Let’s dig a hole!”