I Was Stranded on a Deserted Island with a Beautiful Classmate - Chapter 60

“Wait! I’m not Kurashima. You’ve got the wrong person.”

“Don’t lie! You said you’d build a harem empire! You’re dragging around that many girls, and you’re not Kurashima? Impossible!”

So, that’s how it is.

It’s true that Kurashima’s goal was exactly that.

Because of that, I’ve been misunderstood.

Even in death, he’s a troublesome guy.

“Sorry, but he’s not Kurashima. He’s Tetsu Hayasaka.”

“No…that’s a lie! It’s a lie!”

Seeing the doubt in her eyes, I pulled out my student ID. This was the quickest way to clear up any suspicion. I was glad I always kept it in my chest pocket.

“Here, take a look at this.”

“Hayasaka…Oh, I see. I’m sorry for the mistake.”

“I told you. Now put your weapon away.”

“I’m…I’m so sorry.”

Kusamochi kept apologizing, bowing her head repeatedly.

I’m relieved the misunderstanding was resolved.

“No, it’s fine. But more importantly, I want to get out of this cave. May I use the rope?”

“Y-yes. I’ll be heading back too…”

Great, we’ll finally be able to get back to the surface.

“Alright, I’ll go first. Once I’m up, I’ll pull everyone else up.”

Once I had everyone’s agreement, I grabbed the rope. It seemed to be tied to a big tree growing in the forest above.

Using all my strength, I climbed up steadily.

Somehow, I managed to reach the surface.

“Wow, Hayasaka, you’re amazing!”

“Alright, now let’s get the rest of you up here too.”

“But I can’t climb…”

“It’s fine. I’ll pull you up. Just wrap the rope around yourself.”

Everyone was thin, so they shouldn’t weigh much. With the arm strength I built from working out, I should be able to pull them up. Probably.

“Okay~ I’ll go first then!”

“Alright.”

First was Chitose.

Once I confirmed the rope was securely wrapped around her, I pulled her up. As expected, she was light.

I repeated the same process, pulling everyone up one by one.

***

“We…finally made it outside.”

Sasayama collapsed on the spot, lying spread-eagle, breathing heavily.

Hey, don’t spread your legs so openly in a place like that…

Well, the other girls were exhausted too.

It looks like no one will be able to move for a while.

“Let’s rest for a bit, then meet up with Amane and the others.”

“I agree. They might’ve already found Yaegashi and the others. We could all reunite.”

Kitakami had a point.

It was getting late, and we should return to the beach before sunset.

After resting enough, we started walking again.

We kept moving forward through the forest.

Ugh, there are so many bugs.

Though we got a little lost, we eventually made it to the beach.

Once we spotted a “landmark” in the forest, we knew where to go.

“Amane and the others…Ah, there they are!”

Chitose pointed towards where Amane and her group were.

And there…wait, where’s Yaegashi?

“Hey, Amane! How did it go on your side?”

“Welcome back, Hayasaka! No luck on our end. But look! You’ve got Chitose and Momose! I’m so glad they’re safe!”

They hugged each other, celebrating their reunion. It was truly a relief that everyone was alive. This felt like a miracle.

“By the way, who’s this girl?”

“That’s a good question, Ootsuka. This girl is—”

“I’m Kusamochi Yomogi. Nice to meet you.”

Before I could introduce her, Kusamochi spoke up and introduced herself.

It seems like everyone is meeting her for the first time.

The only one who knows her is probably Riko.

If I remember correctly, Riko is friends with her.

I’ll have to ask her more about that later.

As I was pondering, Amane leaned in to whisper to me.

“Hey, Hayasaka. That Yomogi girl…”

“Yeah. She’s Riko’s friend. I think she’s the one who owns the folding shovel.”

“Thought so. We should probably give the shovel back to her.”

“Well…I’d like to keep using it, if possible.”

Shovels are really useful, after all.

It’s a shame to give it up, but there’s not much choice.

“So, what’s the plan now?”

“Let’s head back to the base. That cave is still the safest place.”

“Yeah, plus we can take a nice hot bath.”

I explained the plan to everyone, and we headed back to the base.

We entered the forest again, following the usual landmarks to the base.

Even though it had only been a day, it felt strangely nostalgic.

The drum-can bath is still intact.

The spear fences are as they were.

It really feels like I’m home.

“……”

Everyone, except for Kitakami and Kusamochi, stared at the base.

It seems we all feel the same way.

I get it.

It’s a strange feeling.

Why did we end up back here again? If we had been lucky, we could’ve escaped on that small cruiser and returned to the mainland.

Survival is tough.

I showed the base to the new arrivals, Kitakami and Kusamochi.

“This is the bath and water reservoir. The beds are in the cave, so we can sleep there.”

“Wow…!”

Both of them were impressed.

They observed everything with curiosity, clearly enjoying the tour.

“You built all this?”

“Yeah, Kitakami. We all worked together. So, I hope you’ll help too.”

“Of course! Just tell me what to do!”

“That’s a big help. How about you, Kusamochi?”

“I…um…”

Is she still worried about earlier?

“If it’s about the Kurashima misunderstanding, don’t worry about it. Besides, that guy’s not in this world anymore.”

“You mean…you killed him?”

“At first, I thought so. But it turns out he was wearing a bulletproof vest. He came back, but his own allies betrayed and killed him for real this time.”

“I see. Well, if Kurashima’s really gone…if he’s been judged for his actions…But his allies must still be out there.”

“You mean Tanaka and Akira?”

“You knew about them!?”

Kusamochi raised her voice, surprised.

“We ran into them in the cave earlier. I threatened them with a gun, and they ran away.”

“I see…Wait, you have a gun?”

“We took it from Kurashima and the mercenaries.”

“This island is really dangerous, isn’t it? But anyway, Hayasaka, nice to officially meet you.”

We shook hands, and the awkward tension disappeared.

Kusamochi was now officially part of our group.

***

For dinner, we had rations.

We still had plenty in stock, and they were pretty tasty.

We sat around the campfire, talking as we ate.

We discussed school, the day the ship sank, this deserted island, and what lies ahead.

With this many people, the conversation never runs dry.

As time passed, I found myself unfolding and staring at Captain Kidd’s map.

I wonder if that cave was connected to it.

The map definitely seemed to point to that spot.

The campfire…it was right at the site of that landslide. In other words, it could have been a man-made structure built by pirates.

But there was no sign of any treasure.

Was there some other trick to it?

I’d already tried heating the map to reveal anything hidden, but…hmm.

“Hey, Hayasaka. That map…”

“Amane. Actually, today we went to that ‘campfire’ spot. But we didn’t find any treasure.”

“Really? I heard Tanaka, Akira, and Kusamochi Yomogi were there too.”

Yeah, why were they at that spot?

Would someone really hide treasure in such an obvious place?

But we didn’t find anything…Could it be somewhere else?

Maybe even this ‘campfire’ is a fake.

“I don’t know. Maybe we’ll never find the treasure.”

“We still have to find Yaegashi and the others.”

“Of course. But we’d love to get our hands on that treasure too.”

“That’s true. It’s romantic, and we could live comfortably forever.”

“It’d be a harem empire for sure.”

As we joked around, I noticed something strange about the map.

Wait a minute.

This map…it has a weird fold.

No way!