I Was Stranded on a Deserted Island with a Beautiful Classmate - Chapter 68

The next day.

With all the necessary equipment packed, I headed outside.

“Alright, I’m off.”

“Got it! Be careful…I know, it might sound strange, but please be careful.”

“Yeah, thanks, Riko.”

After exchanging farewells with everyone else, I loaded all our gear into the minibus that Amane arranged.

The driver, who seemed to be one of Amane’s father’s company associates, was a cheerful older guy. Since Amane vouched for him, he seemed trustworthy.

After loading everything, I got on the bus.

The bus headed for the port. Kitakami had rented a “fishing boat” to get us to the deserted island.

As we drove toward the designated spot, the sea came into view.

“…We’re almost there,” Kitakami said.

“You seem pretty excited, Kitakami.”

“Yeah, I haven’t felt this excited in a while. I’m basically a wild child at heart.”

I could understand. This wasn’t a typical trip—it was an adventure with treasure at stake. A little excitement wouldn’t hurt.

Just as I was thinking that, the bus suddenly bypassed the port.

“Hey, Kitakami. Aren’t we drifting away from the port?”

Amane was right. Weren’t we supposed to take a boat?

“Oh, about that fishing boat…I lied.”

“Huh?!”

Everyone in the back—Ooi, Kotobuki, Kusamochi—was just as surprised. We’d all assumed we were taking a boat.

The bus kept heading toward the mountains.

Where was this taking us? You can’t reach a deserted island from the mountains.

Soon, something came into view.

“…Wait, is this?”

“You recognize it, Kotobuki?”

“Hayasaka, you’ve never been here? There’s an airport up ahead.”

“An airport!? Are you serious? I had no idea.”

Not like I ever come out to these mountain areas.

The bus climbed up a winding road for another thirty minutes until the airport finally appeared. So this was it.

“We’ve arrived. Everyone, board the plane.”

“Plane!?”

Everyone but Kitakami looked stunned. Hold on a minute—this was nothing like the original plan. What happened to the fishing boat?

After unloading our stuff at the airport, Kotobuki turned to me, looking puzzled.

“Hey…Hayasaka.”

“What’s up, Kotobuki?”

“Did you know about this from Kizuna?”

“Nope, just found out now.”

“She’s still as secretive as ever, huh.”

“Seems that way.”

“Yeah. Kizuna loves keeping secrets.”

Secrets, huh? I hope there aren’t any more huge surprises.

Anyway, I grabbed the bags and headed inside the airport.

“Kitakami, isn’t a plane…kind of overkill? I thought we were going to a deserted island.”

“It’s a private jet.”

“Private jet?!”

“Yes. I arranged it with a military friend of my father’s. It’s big enough to hold about ten people.”

Incredible. Even Amane seemed a little envious, like he could have pulled this off if he’d thought of it. Does that mean Amane’s family has a private jet, too? Just how wealthy is he?

We walked down a private hallway toward the plane.

Standing by the jet was a man in sunglasses who looked like he could only be a military officer.

“I’ve been expecting you, Kizuna.”

“It’s been a while, Marcus. Are we ready to take off?”

“Yeah, everything’s in place. Is this everyone?”

“Yes. No introductions needed; these are my treasure-hunting companions. Marcus, I’ll leave it to you.”

The man named Marcus came over and offered me a handshake. He was huge, all muscle—a real force to be reckoned with. Definitely looked like an American. And his Japanese was flawless.

“You must be Hayasaka.”

“…Y-Yes, but how do you know my name?”

“Kizuna told me a lot about you.”

So that’s it. I wonder what she told him.

“Glad to meet you. Looking forward to the journey.”

“Leave it to me. I’m a former transport pilot for the U.S. Air Force. Served in the Gulf War and Afghanistan.”

A real military man.

That means he was part of the U.S. Air Force…amazing. I’d never met someone like that.

“We’ll be counting on you to get us to the island safely.”

“Alright, let’s get moving.”

We loaded all our luggage onto the private jet.

“Wow, this is my first time on a plane,” Kusamochi said.

“Really, Kusamochi?”

“Hayasaka, you’re way too calm! How can you stay so cool? I thought we’d be taking a boat, and now it’s a plane out of nowhere…”

I was freaking out too. One minute, we’re at a port, the next there’s an actual soldier waiting for us—it’s hard to process. Who knows what Kitakami’s thinking.

Still, it’s probably safer than a boat.

At least we don’t have to worry about getting lost at sea.

Planes don’t capsize; they just fly. As long as we don’t crash, everything should be fine.

In fact, this unexpected flight is kind of exciting.

The inside of the private jet was spacious, with eight seats. I took one near the middle, by the window. The girls were arguing over who’d sit next to me.

“Come on, everyone. Let’s settle this fairly with rock-paper-scissors.”

“Fine, if that’s what Hayasaka wants. Let’s play rock-paper-scissors.”

Amane seemed determined to win.

The rock-paper-scissors showdown…ended with Kitakami sitting next to me. She really is unbeatable in these kinds of things.

“I did it!”

She looked surprisingly smug, which wasn’t like her. The others, looking disappointed, took their own seats.

Finally, the plane began to taxi down the runway.

…Oh, I could feel the force pressing me back.

So, we’re really about to take off.

“Kitakami, I’m impressed you managed to get us a plane.”

“Actually, there was suspicious activity around the fishing boat.”

“Suspicious activity?”

“Yes, some people seemed to be watching us. I decided it was too risky.”

“So that’s why we switched to the plane?”

“Yes. It costs a lot more, so I would have preferred to avoid it if possible.”

Makes sense. Just flying a private jet must cost thousands, maybe millions. Looks like Kitakami plans to cover the costs with the treasure, but…what if we don’t find anything?

Finally, the plane took off into the sky.