I Was Stranded on a Deserted Island with a Beautiful Classmate - Chapter 41

By the time I realized it, Kitakami had already kicked what seemed like a grenade into the air. So fast! It was like the speed of a cheetah.

I couldn’t even see it happen just now.

BOOM!

The metal object flew through the air and caused a massive explosion.

What a blast…!

If that had hit us directly, we’d be dead for sure. Blown to bits. Instinctively, I shielded Amane and threw myself to the ground. I had to protect her, at least.

Eventually, the blast cleared.

“D-damn it!!”

The big man, frustrated by his failure, gritted his teeth. He was tied up and couldn’t resist, but we still couldn’t let our guard down. He might have another weapon hidden somewhere.

“Kitakami, that guy…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll confiscate all his weapons right away.”

Kitakami expertly patted the man down. We could count on her to handle this without any mistakes.

“You, blond woman…Who the hell are you? That move just now was clearly from someone trained…like a soldier.”

“…Shut up.”

Kitakami struck the man on the back of his neck with a swift chop. There was a dull thud, and the man instantly lost consciousness. She’s really skilled. But thanks to her, we were saved. Without her, we would’ve been blown to pieces.

“What are we going to do with the foreign guy?”

“We’ll get ‘information’ out of him. He’ll tell us where the school head, Tachikawa, is hiding. We might even learn something useful about this island.”

Exactly.

We have to proceed carefully. Fortunately, this foreign man understands Japanese, so we’ll get him to spill everything he knows.

Maybe we’ll even learn how to escape this island.

As I was thinking that, Ooi and the others crouched down, their faces pale.

“…Why did it explode?!”
“This is insane…”
“I want to go home…”
“Why are we the only ones being targeted?!”
“What are we supposed to do now?”

The girls were falling into despair. I understood their feelings well. Even I didn’t expect to be targeted by mercenary-like people.

The idea that the school head didn’t care about our lives and had set up such a terrifying plan…It seemed unbelievable.

But this was reality.

Many students were still missing.

We had no idea how many survivors were left.

By some miracle, only we had washed ashore.

…No, maybe we just hadn’t found the others yet. They could be hiding somewhere, still waiting to be rescued.

But we can’t save everyone.

Not even the most righteous hero could do that.

At the very least…at least, I want to do something for the people right in front of me.

So—

“Everyone, listen to me calmly.

We’re in a difficult situation, that’s true. We were thrown off the boat and swept away…only to end up stranded on this deserted island. We’ve lost everything, and we’re isolated. But as long as we’re alive, there’s always hope.

After all, this is still Earth. We’re not drifting through space. Someday, we’ll find our way back.”

As I desperately tried to rally them, Sasayama weakly clutched her head and said:

“Hayasaka-kun, we were betrayed by Kubo-san. And now the school head wants to kill us…I don’t know who to trust anymore!!”

“Then trust me. I’ll definitely get everyone back home.”

“B-but…”

“Now is the time to unite. If we split up, we’ll lose to more than just Tachikawa. We’ll fall to nature itself. In some ways, it’s even worse than fighting people.

Nature is unpredictable.

It won’t consider our intentions. It will attack without mercy.

Listen, we’re now facing…the wild. This place is a vast ocean, a jungle-like forest, and caves surrounded by towering cliffs. There are dangerous animals, insects, and plants all over. Too many to count.”

Humans are so fragile they could die from just a mosquito bite. That’s how weak we are. That’s why we need to learn how to survive and share our wisdom. We must cooperate to coexist with nature.

Amane followed up on what I said.

“Everyone, Hayasaka-kun is right. Now is not the time for us to be fighting among ourselves. We should focus on surviving.

At the very least, let’s try to trust the people who are here with us.”

Amane squeezed my hand.

As if in response, Kitakami did the same. Then Chitose, Momose, Yaegashi, Hokkii, and Riko followed.

Even Ooi and the others, though looking conflicted, placed their hands on top.

“I’m sorry…we’ve been overcome by suspicion. We’ll forget about Kubo-san for now. Maybe she’s even trying to call for help…There’s still a part of me that wants to believe in her.”

“Ooi-san, Nomo-san, Sasayama-san, Ootsuka-san…I know you four are anxious, but I need your help.”

“Alright. In return…you’ll get us back home, right?”

I could see the seriousness in Ooi’s eyes, and I knew I couldn’t answer irresponsibly. But without the resolve to see this through, I wouldn’t be able to lead anyone. I wouldn’t deserve to.

I had to change.

I wasn’t meant to be a leader…But someone had to take the role, and it just happened to be me.

I never imagined this would be my fate. —No, the path ahead might be even tougher.

“Fine. I’ll get everyone back safely. So don’t complain, just follow me!”

“As expected of Hayasaka-kun! You’ve been really cool lately.”

“R-really?”

“Everyone thinks so. And everyone trusts you.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Our hearts were united.

That’s right, this isn’t the end for us.

After that, Kitakami and I took turns keeping watch over the foreign man…John Smith, as we called him for now.

“It’s been a while since we’ve done something like this.”

“Yeah, remember at the beginning? We took turns keeping guard like this, Kei-kun.”

“Yeah…it feels nostalgic.”

As we talked, John started to regain consciousness.

“…Tch. I see…So, I lost.”

“That’s right, John Smith. You lost. And now you’re going to tell us everything.”

“I’m not saying a word. My employer will kill me.”

John stubbornly clammed up.

But Kitakami raised her knife.

“Cutting that mouth open would be easy.”

“…! Are y-you going to torture me? You’ve got a scary face for such a pretty girl. Hey, kid, you’re called Hayasaka, right? This woman is dangerous!”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve had my life targeted enough already. I’m used to it.”

“Wh-what do you mean, used to it?!”

Kitakami suddenly pointed the blade at John’s neck. She always acted abruptly.

“…I’ll kill you.”

“I-I won’t talk! If I spill the information, something much worse will happen!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I can’t say! The moment I speak, they’ll…track us down, and this whole island will be turned to ashes. Everything will be over.”

Turned to ashes?

Could they really be planning something that terrible? No way…it’s a bluff. There’s no benefit in turning this deserted island into ashes.

The only thing to do now is extract the information from this man.

“Talk, John Smith.”

I pointed my Desert Eagle at him.

“F-fine! Fine, just spare my life!!”

Now we’d get the information we needed.

And from the details we extracted from John, one thing shocked me the most…

Tachikawa…just how far are you willing to go?