I Was Stranded on a Deserted Island with a Beautiful Classmate - Chapter 22

“No way, can we finally communicate?”

If so…if we contact someone, we might get rescued!

“Riko, contact them now!”

“Leave it to me!”

Riko eagerly tapped on her smartphone. Just as she reached for the emergency call button—

The screen blacked out.

“Huh?”

Riko tried turning it on several times, but it wouldn’t power up.

“Riko, how much battery did you have left?”

“Um…it should’ve been around 3%.”

“Geez! What were you doing…too much gaming, right?”

“Waaah! I messed up…”

As the two of us shouted, everyone gathered around, wondering what was happening.

“What’s wrong, Hayasaka-kun? Riko-chan?”

“Oh…Amane, did we wake you up? Sorry.”

I told everyone about the ‘new message’ notification on Riko’s phone. The others, besides Riko and me, got excited like it was a live event.

“Seriously! Does that mean we can use the internet now?”

“Who knows? It was just for a moment. After that, Riko’s phone ran out of battery.”

“No way…can anyone else try to connect?”

“What about you, Amane?”

“I can’t. Kitakami-san doesn’t even have a phone, and Yaegashi-san and Hokkii’s phones got waterlogged.”

Oh, right.

—Wait, hold on.

As I was feeling something odd, Kitakami grabbed my arm.

She pulled me outside the cave.

“Wh-what’s up, Kitakami-san?”

“Don’t you think something’s strange?”

“Oh…like the signal?”

“No, the phone. Higanbana said her phone was waterlogged.”

That’s what felt off.

“Maybe she lied?”

“Isn’t that suspicious? Keeping quiet like that…”

“Could be the phone just turned on for a moment. Sometimes they dry out and work again, I’ve heard.”

“Hayasaka-kun…you’re being way too positive. You should doubt things sometimes.”

“Mistrust only leads to ruin. I trust you, Kitakami-san.”

“Wha-! What are you…?”

Kitakami blushed and fidgeted. She’s cute when she acts normal like this.

“It’s possible she picked up someone else’s phone, right?”

“That’s…a fair point. But still, why did the signal come back?”

“Just a guess, but maybe a luxury cruise ship with free Wi-Fi passed by. Though that’s pretty unlikely.”

“Hmm…maybe Higanbana once took a ship trip, and that same ship just happened to pass by?”

I was just saying something random, but that’s too ridiculous.

We can’t see the ocean from the cave, so…if a ship really had passed by, we should’ve asked for help immediately.

“Hmm, maybe we should just ask her. Hey, Riko, there’s something I want to ask.”

“Huh, what is it?”

Riko walked over, and I asked her about the phone.

“Hey, Riko. Didn’t you say your phone got waterlogged?”

“Oh…sorry, that was my backup phone.”

She took out another phone from her pocket. So that’s the one that broke.

“Wait, so your main phone was still working?”

“I didn’t mean to lie, but back then, I wasn’t sure who to trust…but now, it’s different. I trust you, Hayasaka-kun.”

“Alright. No more secrets, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m really sorry…”

Since she was showing she felt bad, I decided to forgive her.

“One more thing though, Riko…have you ever taken a ship trip?”

“I’ve never been on a ship.”

“Seriously? So it’s not the ship then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, nothing. Never mind, let’s get some rest.”

I let Riko go back first, then turned back to Kitakami.

She still had a suspicious look in her eyes.

“Hmm…it’s still fishy. But fine.”

“It’s getting late. Let’s go to sleep.”

“Yeah. Starting tonight, we can sleep without worrying about outside.”

“Huh?”

Kitakami had built a log fence at the entrance. When did she make that?

Logs are really versatile. You can use them for defense, or as tools for survival.

…Man, I’m so tired.

Let’s prepare for tomorrow.

＊ ＊ ＊

The next morning.

Amane, Hokkii, and I set out as a search team, leaving the cave.

Our destination was the unexplored opposite side of the island.

Since heading out without any supplies would be reckless, we brought some logs, water, and a little food.

After walking through the dense forest for a few dozen minutes…

The trees were so thick, we hit a dead end.

Come on, is this a jungle?

“Good thing we brought the logs. Let’s use them to clear the way.”

I went ahead, pushing aside the grass with the logs. We made a path, moving forward.

…Hm?

It smells like the ocean.

Could the sea be ahead?

Have we really walked that far?

“Hey, Hayasaka-kun. Don’t you hear the sound of waves?”

Amane poked me in the back.

“Yeah, I think so. Wait here, I’ll clear the path.”

I kept pushing the logs and shoving aside the grass. This is tougher than I thought.

Wiping off my sweat, I kept working until I finally saw the end.

It was light.

A blue sea spread out before us—huh?

I stopped.

Because what I saw ahead was too “mystical.”

What…is this?

At the same time those words popped into my head, I found myself staring at the people in front of me.

“Hey, don’t splash me too much! It’s salty!”

“Wow, your breasts are big!”

“Ahh, it’s so nice without any boys around!”

“Maybe all the boys have gone extinct.”

“Well, who cares? Now we can swim naked without anyone seeing us.”

In front of me were naked girls.

Five of them.

There were uniforms on the beach, so they seemed to be girls from the same school year.

All of them, completely naked, were splashing water on each other and washing their bodies.

What a sight…

Is this paradise?

As I stood there in a daze, Amane poked me in the back again.

“Hey, Hayasaka-kun. Why are you just standing there?”

“…Well, I just witnessed a miracle.”

“Huh? A miracle? Never mind that, let’s go. It’s hot and cramped here.”

“I guess so. But listen, there are five girls down by the sea.”

“Eh!?”

Both Amane and Hoshubana let out voices of surprise. Their voices were so loud that the five girls looked around suspiciously. Uh-oh!

“This is bad. I think they noticed…Amane, sorry but could you go ahead—ah.”

“Hey, someone’s there!”
“Wait, a guy?”

“No way! No way!”

“Kyaa!! Pervert!!”

“Ahh, we’re naked!!”

We’ve been found out.

With no choice, I sent Amane ahead.

“Amane, I’m counting on you.”

“Counting on me…? Ah, Nomo-san!”

Amane headed towards a girl with braids named ‘Nomo.’ Seems like she knows her.

“Amane-san!? You washed up here too?”

“Yeah, thanks to Hayasaka-kun, I’m still alive.”

“Hayasaka-kun? You mean that guy?”

“Yeah, he knows all sorts of survival stuff, and thanks to him, we’ve been able to survive.”

I quickly covered Amane’s mouth.

That was close!

“Wait, Amane. Don’t mention the cave yet.”

“Mmph! Mmph mmph—!”

“Oh, sorry.”

“Phew! Don’t just cover my mouth like that, Hayasaka-kun! I’ll suffocate!”

“Sorry, sorry. But let’s wait and see what they do first.”

“They’re fellow students. We’ll be fine.”

“Probably, but we should hear their story first.”

“Okay…but, Hayasaka-kun, you shouldn’t be looking at naked girls!”

Amane stretched out her hands to cover my view. Tch, Amane, always doing unnecessary things.

“Amane-san is right! You shouldn’t move either!”

Hokkii grabbed me from behind, holding me still. Oh boy.

I guess we’ll wait until the five of them finish changing and then talk things over.