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

The lake’s water was crystal clear, yet we hadn’t noticed the crocodile. Most likely, it had been lurking beneath the lake’s surface. Even though the water was clear, the bottom was obscured by water plants, making it nearly impossible to see.

But none of that mattered now. The problem was the significant difference in speed between the crocodile and us.

Not widely known, crocodiles are faster underwater. They’re said to swim at speeds of several tens of kilometers per hour. To put it into perspective, that’s about as fast as the world record holder in the 50-meter sprint.

On the other hand, humans experience a substantial decrease in speed underwater. Even professional swimmers can only manage speeds of around 8 kilometers per hour. For amateurs like us, it would likely be even slower.

Despite all this, we had ventured far enough from the shore. We were in a place deep enough to swim.

The distance between us and the crocodile was about 10 meters at best. Realistically, there was no chance of escaping.

(Should we fight and hope for a miracle?)

No, it was impossible. I had left the hatchet behind when I took off the makeshift clothes.

If I were to fight, I’d have to rely on my bare hands. If luck was on my side, I might be able to land a punch right in the crocodile’s snout. But there was no chance that the crocodile would get scared and run away. The likelihood was zero. Not even a 0.000000000001% chance. It was an absolute 0%.

(In a situation like this…)

I glanced at Iori for a brief moment. Her face was pale, and she was trembling.

“I-I-Iori!!”

I shouted loudly, startling her.

“Run, Iori!”

“M-Masato -kun!?”

“I’ll be your shield! Run while you can!”

That was my answer.

“What are you saying, Masato-kun? That’s not an option!”

“We don’t have time to argue! Just run!”

I splashed water on Iori’s face.

“But…”

Tears streamed down Iori’s face as she hesitated, but gradually, she began moving towards the shore.

Her emotions conflicted. She didn’t want me to be her shield, but she also didn’t want to render my efforts in vain.

“Run faster! You idiot!”

“I’m sorry, Masato-kun… I’m so sorry…”

Wiping away her tears, Iori sprinted towards the shore with all her might. She seemed to have made up her mind.

“Survive on your own. I know it’s scary, but do your best,” I told Iori.

She didn’t respond, maybe she said something but I couldn’t hear it.

“Come on! Crocodile!”

I stared at the crocodile. Without paying attention to its surroundings, the crocodile started coming towards me. As the distance closed and the crocodile opened its massive jaws, ready to strike—

“Growwwwwll!”

Something attacked the crocodile from the side. A spray of water soared high into the sky. The surface of the water trembled violently, and I, who was right nearby, was blown away.

“What the…?”

The spray subsided, revealing a gigantic hippopotamus.

“Roaaar!”

The hippopotamus let out a furious roar as it clamped down on the crocodile.

“The crocodile wasn’t enough, so a hippopotamus had to join in too,” I remarked.

Hippopotamuses are herbivores, but they are aggressive creatures. Their bite force is incredibly strong, and they have a strong territorial instinct. Their combat abilities surpass even those of crocodiles.

“Masato-kun! Get away while you can!” Iori’s voice snapped me back to reality.

I nodded and hastily made my way to the shore.

“Here, take this!” Once on land, Iori handed me my clothes.

I immediately put it on and took the machete from her.

“Let’s get out of here!”

In a panicked frenzy, we distanced ourselves from the lake.

◇

“That lake was dangerous despite its peaceful appearance,” I mused.

“Definitely… At one point, I was really worried about what would happen,” Iori responded.

Having successfully escaped the lake, we continued our journey towards the east, walking through the forest while catching our breath.

“Masato-kun, you really stood up to protect me,” Iori said.

“Well, I did suggest the swim in the first place,” I responded.

“And I agreed to it,” Iori added.

After a brief pause, Iori smiled.

“Thank you for protecting me.”

“Oh, well, of course,” I replied, grinning.

“I’m also sorry for using you as a shield.”

“Well, that was my idea, so don’t worry about it.”

“But I do worry. I feel like I acted cowardly.”

I chuckled softly.

“In that situation, the worst-case scenario was both of us dying. Without the hippopotamus, one of us would have definitely died. If it happened to be me, then that’s just how it turned out. It’s not cowardice on your part, Iori.”

“Masato-kun, you’re kind.”

“Well, my last name does have katakana in it, after all,” I joked to lighten the mood.

Iori laughed, saying, “Haha.”

“Alright, when we reach the river, we’re going to catch a lot of fish!”

“Sure… I’d like to say that, but once we reach the river, let’s turn back for now.”

“Huh? Aren’t we going fishing? Making fishing rods?”

“That was the plan, but I want to avoid doing any work by the riverbank. Just like what happened at the lake earlier, unexpected dangerous animals could be lurking on this island. So, I’d prefer to make the fishing rods in the cabin where we can work calmly,” I explained.

“I see! That does sound like a better idea!” Iori responded.

“We’ll also need pottery to carry the fish we catch!”

“Oh, I totally forgot about the pottery!”

“Actually, so did I.”

We both laughed.

By the way, Iori’s pottery was completed safely. Its shape was neat, so it should work just fine.

“Anyway, first we need to find the river.”

“I wonder if it really exists. We’ve walked quite a bit.”

I nodded in agreement.

“If we don’t find it after a bit more walking, let’s head back. There’s no point in going too far to reach a river.”

I agreed energetically, “Got it!”

However, this exchange turned out to be unnecessary.

“We talked about it, and it showed up!”

We had arrived at the river. It was an unremarkable river that one might expect in the countryside, flowing through the mountains.

Just like the lake, the water here was clear and seemed drinkable. While not particularly deep, the current was strong enough to warrant caution. It would be wise to avoid walking through it.

“It’s really here, the river!”

“Maybe due to the incident at the lake, achieving this feels even more satisfying.”

Iori agreed with a laugh, “I get that!”

“Alright, now that we’ve confirmed the river’s location, shall we head back?”

I turned around to head back after reaching the riverbank.

“Wait! Masato-kun!”

Iori stopped me.

“Over there! There’s a cabin!”

Iori pointed upstream of the river.

A cabin was standing in a spot that seemed high enough to endure some flooding if it were to happen.