I Was Stranded on a Deserted Island with a Beautiful Classmate - Chapter 66

A terrifying amount of messages had flooded in.

I understand that everyone wants to rely on me, but practically the whole group…?!

As I was contemplating what to do, Amane woke up and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

“Good morning, Hayasaka-kun. What are you doing?”

“Morning, Amane. I got a ton of messages from everyone.”

“Oh, really? Let me see.”

I showed her my phone, and for some reason, Amane started to cry.

“Wh-what’s wrong!? Why are you crying?”

“Hayasaka-kun…your home screen…it’s a picture of you and Kitakami-san together. Why am I not in it?!”

She started sobbing uncontrollably. Dang, I forgot to change the photo! It wasn’t on purpose…but Amane, you really shouldn’t just check my home screen like that.

“Sorry about that. I just didn’t get a chance to take one with you…”

“Then, just take one with me! I’ll even let you take it with me naked if you want!”

“Naked is a no-go! I got it, I got it. We’ll take a picture together with all three of us later.”

“Promise, okay? If you break it, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Alright, I promise. But more importantly, it’s about these messages.”

“Oh, right. Everyone’s in trouble, huh? Their lives have changed too drastically.”

Ever since we returned from the island, things had somehow taken a turn for the worse. But I kind of understood why.

The island incident had become a historical news sensation that shook the world.

There were even conspirators among the students, and unrelated students were being affected by strange rumors.

Especially those of us who survived—we were the center of attention. Even though our names were kept confidential, the media was going wild with reports about a fight to the death over treasure hidden on the island.

With that kind of information out there, the internet message boards were a frenzy—a chaotic festival of backlash.

It seems that the discussion threads were moving at an unprecedented speed, with all sorts of speculation swirling around Tachikawa at the center of it. And Kurashima too.

That guy was just too famous in the underworld.

Because of him, connections to anti-social organizations had been exposed, sparking even more flames.

Tachikawa and Kurashima had become the playthings of the internet crowd, and as a result, we were also under suspicion—purely as collateral, though.

“To think we’d be forced into a life of hiding. Better than life on a deserted island, but still.”

“There have even been threats sent to the school by phone and email.”

Just as Amane said.

Thanks to Tachikawa and Kurashima, the school was a complete mess. Even completely unrelated first- and third-year students were having a hard time dealing with it.

“There are people who are trying to find us to go after the treasure.”

“Yeah. It’s scary, isn’t it?”

Amane, being an idol and all, was especially well-known.

Even though her group, Winter Daphne, was currently on hiatus, speculation about her relationship status and involvement in the island incident was rampant.

—Well, most of it is true, though.

While we were talking, Kitakami also woke up, looking sleepy and dazed.

“Good morning, Kitakami-san.”

“Good morning, Tetsu-kun. And good morning to you too, Amane-san.”

Perhaps still upset from earlier, Amane greeted her with a somewhat complicated expression.

“Morning. Now that we’re all up, we need to talk about what’s next.”

Stretching, I headed to the living room. Amane was making coffee, and I started talking to Kitakami in the meantime.

“Hey, Kitakami-san. Everyone seems to be in trouble.”

“I can imagine. I’m in trouble too.”

“Are we really going back to the island? We’re finally back, living comfortably. Why go through such danger again?”

“It’ll be fine. This time, we’re going in fully prepared.”

“But we don’t have the funds to equip ourselves properly.”

“I anticipated this, so I already started a crowdfunding campaign.”

“What?!”

She showed me her phone, and I was shocked by what I saw.

Kitakami had started crowdfunding over a month ago.

And the title read, “High School Girls on a Treasure Hunt! Let’s Share the Wealth!” Wait, are people really going to support this kind of thing?

But surprisingly, the target amount of ten million yen had already been surpassed.

“Heh.”

Kitakami looked at me with a smug expression. I couldn’t believe she had been this thorough in her preparations.

“It’s amazing you found supporters. You couldn’t even talk about the treasure island.”

“Don’t underestimate the power of high school girls, Tetsu-kun. I hid my face, but posting in my school uniform attracts tons of support.”

There are just too many weirdos out there. No wonder people wanted to support a cute girl on a treasure hunt.

“That’s incredible. Are you going to use the funds to rent a ship?”

“Yes, I’m planning to rent a pretty impressive one. And I’ve already arranged for the equipment.”

She was absolutely ready to go!

So Kitakami had intended to return from the beginning.

“I guess Amane, myself, and everyone else should go too?”

“Yes, the more people, the better. If we could bring Ooi-san and another one or two people, that’d be ideal.”

Maybe Chitose or Momose would work. Kotobuki and Kusamochi are dealing with their own issues, though…

“Understood. I’ll call everyone together.”

“That’s a good idea. Those who can’t come can join the meeting online—smartphones work too.”

“Yeah, Zoom will do the job.”

First, I needed to contact everyone.

I sent out a message in our group chat.

Most of them decided to come to Amane’s place.

However, Yaegashi, Sasayama, and Nomo would join us online. Apparently, Yaegashi was in the hospital.

It seems he developed some issues with his legs and back during our time on the island.

Sasayama was currently reclusive. He didn’t seem that way before, but with the world in turmoil, he had no choice but to stay at home.

And Nomo was staying with relatives in Aomori and wouldn’t be able to return for a while.

“Sorry to keep you waiting—I brought the coffee.”

“Thanks, Amane. We made some progress on the conversation too.”

“So what’s the decision?”

I told her about the emergency meeting and that, except for Yaegashi, Sasayama, and Nomo, everyone else would come over.

“So that’s the plan. Yaegashi, Sasayama, and Nomo will join the meeting online.”

“I see. So we’ll discuss and decide from there.”

“Yeah. I’ll be using your place for this…is that alright?”

“I don’t mind. In a way, I was thinking of giving this apartment to you, Hayasaka-kun.”

“What?!”

“Dad pulled some strings. He said we could transfer it to your name.”

“What the—?!”

Stunned by this unexpected surprise gift, I couldn’t believe it. Amane really is an angel…