READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 9
The cabin by the riverbank was smaller than the one we were using as our base. It was probably around four tatami mats in size.
“What should we do, Masato-kun?”
“Of course, let’s go in!”
We approached the cabin and, just to be polite, I called out, “Excuse me.” As expected, there was no response, so I said, “Alright then,” and we entered without any need for lockpicking since the door, like the main cabin, didn’t have a lock.
“This looks like a workspace.”
There were various tools of different sizes hanging on the walls. Most of them were carpentry tools like hammers and saws. It seemed like this cabin had been used as a workshop.
To avoid confusion, we decided to call the cabin we were using for living our “home.”
“Look, there’s a millstone!”
“Wow!”
The millstone was a kind of crushing tool consisting of two stacked round stone discs. The upper stone had a hole in it where you put the material, and you would use a handle to rotate it. In simpler terms, it was a large and more efficient version of a mortar and pestle.
“While there was only the loin cloth at home, here it’s surprisingly modern.”
“They probably set this up later for various tasks.”
“Maybe the ratings weren’t doing well!”
We laughed as we made light of the situation.
“Anyway, this cabin seems like a handy place to prepare things. If we need to make fishing rods or other tools, we can use this space.”
“Agreed. It’s a good find.”
I glanced at Iori, who was busy exploring the cabin with a curious look on her face. It was nice to see her in good spirits despite the earlier dangers.
“Let’s go back to the main cabin and bring back some materials. We’ll need things like wood and vines to make fishing rods and pottery tools.”
Iori nodded and we left the small workshop cabin, ready to gather the necessary supplies.
“Doing a survival show on a deserted island wouldn’t be very serious. The image of the Bubble Era is unnecessarily glamorous too.”
We thoroughly examined the steamy workshop cabin. Then, I found something hidden under one of the workbenches against the wall.
“Whoa, it’s an erotic magazine!”
“An erotic magazine!?”
Iori was also intrigued.
“This is amazing. This was published before we were born, you know.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen an erotic magazine!”
“Me too. They’re almost extinct now, but back in the day, they used to be sold in convenience stores. My old man said that when he was a kid, you could sometimes find them discarded by the riverbank.”
Erotic magazines from the Showa era were shocking. There were clearly 40 to 50-year-old women posing in schoolgirl uniforms. The headlines often read “Active High School Girl.”
“There’s no way they look like high schoolers,” I chuckled.
“No, Masato-kun. This person is a ‘kou’ character, meaning ‘school.'”
“You’re right. You’re clever with words, huh.”
Iori pointed at the “校” character in the title.
“That’s true. You really caught that subtlety,” I added.
We continued flipping through the erotic magazine out of curiosity.
“Why do they have erotic magazines here?”
“Well, maybe it’s for relieving urges when they get horny.”
“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t people keep them at home? It’s easy to hide in a drawer.”
“Maybe their homes were under surveillance by fixed cameras.”
“I see! That would make sense!”
It wasn’t the kind of conversation you’d expect between the school’s most attractive pair. As I was thinking this:
“Do you also get horny and need to ‘relieve’ yourself, Masato-kun?”
Iori asked an unexpectedly bold question.
The truthful answer was “yes,” but I definitely didn’t want to admit it to her. On the other hand, saying “it’s a secret” would be too obvious a lie.
“Showa-era erotic magazines are really something! They’re so fresh!”
I pretended not to hear her.
Iori sighed with an “ugh,” but she didn’t bring it up again.
We continued flipping through the magazine, and finally, we reached the last page.
“Ah! Masato-kun, your guess was right!”
“Yeah, it seems like this island was used during the bubble period.”
The publication date of the erotic magazine was 1988. It was right in the midst of the economic bubble when Japan was at the center of the world economy.
“Well then, let’s head back soon.”
“What about the things here?”
“I’d like to take as much as I can, but carrying everything is impossible. Let’s pack what we can into the empty toolbox there and take that back.”
“What about the millstone? Masato-kun, your eyes were sparkling when you saw it.”
I chuckled, realizing she had noticed.
“I’d love to take the millstone too, but it’s heavy, so I’ll have to pass this time. We’ll save it for another opportunity.”
“Got it!”
We split up and started putting items we deemed useful into the toolbox. Since we weren’t sure what would be useful, we mostly relied on our intuition. Since we weren’t sure what would be useful, we basically decided based on intuition.
“Alright, that should do it.”
I attempted to lift the packed toolbox with both hands, but I was stopped by Iori.
“I’ll carry this.”
“Why? It’s heavy, you know.”
The total weight of the toolbox was probably over 10 kg. It was not something our slender arms could easily lift with one hand.
“But Masato-kun, you need to have your hands free. You’ll need to swing the hatchet if we encounter any wild animals!”
“That’s true.”
Satisfied with her reasoning, I didn’t insist any further.
“My apologies for burdening you with something heavy.”
“Don’t worry about it! But seriously, this thing is really heavy!”
“If it gets too uncomfortable, let me know.”
“Got it!”
Leaving the workshop, we headed back to the house guided by the smoke signal.
◇
We arrived back home without any issues. After rehydrating with well water, we had some fruit for lunch. The inside of the house was stiflingly hot, so we decided to eat outside.
“Now, it’s finally time to make the fishing rod!”
Iori raised both hands in excitement.
“Originally, we were planning to use a random stick as the fishing rod, but…”
I looked at the saw inside the toolbox.
“Now that we have a saw, let’s improve the quality,” I said.
“Improve it? What do you mean?” Iori asked.
“Check this out.”
I pointed westward. There were unfamiliar types of trees, and beyond them, a bamboo grove was visible.
“Let’s cut down some bamboo and make bamboo fishing rods. They should be flexible and work well.”
“Sounds great!”
The distance to the bamboo grove was probably around 50 meters from where we were, maybe even closer.
“Alright, let’s quickly go gather some bamboo.”
“Yes, let’s do it!”
With high spirits, we set off toward the bamboo grove—or so we thought.
“Tsuh…!”
After walking a few steps, Iori’s expression twisted.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“N-nothing! It’s nothing at all!” Iori replied, clearly trying to hide something.
“Are you sure?”
While asking, I glanced at her legs.
There didn’t seem to be any visible injuries. Her legs were beautifully shaped, to the point where even someone not with a leg fetish might want to kiss them.
(Did she twist her ankle on the way?)
No, that’s unlikely. If that had happened, I would have noticed at the time.
“I’m telling the truth! I’m really fine!”
Iori was trying to act tough, but it was clear that she had hurt herself somewhere. The way she winced while walking indicated that there was some discomfort in her leg.
(Her legs are beautiful, and her ankles seem fine…)
As I thought about it, I identified the possible cause.
“Iori, sit down and take off your shoes.”
“Huh…”
“Come on, quickly.”
“Okay, fine.”
Iori complied reluctantly, lowering herself to the ground.
As instructed, she removed her loafers. Since she was barefoot, it seemed a bit difficult for her to take them off.
“If my guess is right…”
I moved around to face Iori and examined her feet.
“As I suspected.”
The injured area was on the soles of her feet. There were several blisters on the pads of her toes.