Chillin' on an Uninhabited Island in Another World

We had decided to fish for river fish.

Somehow or other, we ended up adding a competitive element, and we would compare the number of fish caught.

The match would be held as a team battle, and the winning team would receive a prize.

The girls would gain the right to make a request of me, while I would gain the right to make a request of all the girls if I won.

The teams were divided fairly by drawing lots.

I generated disposable chopsticks from Wood, then colored the tips of half of them.

Everyone drew one, and we split into the uncolored team and the colored team.

The result:

The uncolored team was me, Chiyu, Minori, Roa, and Ms. Luminous.

“Mm. This draw is exactly what makes me the childhood friend.”

“I have no experience fishing, but... I’ll do my best.”

“I shall support you with all my strength, Master.”

“First wine... Once barley is added, beer... Once rice is added, sake... I would like corn to be added soon as well... In fact, I believe the placement of grains should be carried out promptly, of course purely for the improvement of the students’ food situation... —Ah. Everyone, l-let us do our best!”

Ever since alcohol had come up, Ms. Luminous’s character seemed to have changed a little...

No, that was not quite right.

It was probably just that I was seeing a side of her that had not been visible through the relationship of teacher and student.

Her serious desire to get the students back to Japan was admirable, but I thought it was fine for her to show a little of her own wants too, so personally, I preferred her like this.

“Come to think of it, the other team ended up being Shouko’s group perfectly.”

The colored team was Shouko, Shion, Yumekai, Urume, and Mamonaka.

“Sorry, Sousuke, but we won’t lose in teamwork!”

“Hehe, this somehow feels like when we were back in Japan.”

“...Some people are missing, though.”

“If we’re doing this, we’re winning!”

“If we win, we can make a request of Kuno... If we win, Kuno will...”

Back at school, I had not had much involvement with Shouko’s group.

Shouko had been the only one who actively talked to me, so the fact that they were all my companions now felt strange all over again.

And Shouko and Shion were also my girlfriends.

That said, I could not hold back in a competition.

I handed everyone a simple fishing rod, nothing more than a wooden stick with line and a fishhook tied to it.

The line was made by twisting plant fibers together, and the fishhooks were made by processing Stone Material.

Even with things that were not originally suited for that use, the free shaping of my Crafting Ability allowed me to make substitutes, and I was grateful for that.

“What are we doing for bait?”

“Wouldn’t small compressed pieces of white bread work?”

Shion answered Shouko’s question.

Bugs had not been placed on this island yet, so we decided to adopt Shion’s idea.

I shaped the white bread I had stored in my Inventory into convenient pieces, put enough for everyone into boxes, and distributed them.

After that, I also prepared net bags for temporarily storing the fish we caught.

According to Minori, things in this shape were apparently called fish keepnets.

I had also prepared wooden buckets, so everyone could use whichever tools they liked.

Finally came the rule check.

“Let’s make the time limit two hours for now.”

“Hey, hey, are we allowed to use abilities?”

Shouko said that with her eyes shining.

Her smile made it clear she thought that if abilities were allowed, she had a chance to win.

That said, I did not think allowing abilities would put us at a disadvantage either.

“Uh... Then how about this? No abilities for the first hour, and abilities allowed starting from the second hour.”

No one objected, so that additional rule was adopted.

“Now then, everyone, please do not go too far away, do not approach high places, and regularly check where your teammates are. We cannot have anything happen.”

Death on the deserted island meant returning with a penalty.

It was not true death, but I did not want to lose a companion during an event meant to secure food.

I nodded deeply at Ms. Luminous’s warning.

Then everyone took their positions.

“All right. Two hours from now. Ready, start!”

I sent my hook flying toward the water, and in less than a few seconds, I felt a tug.

“Whoa!”

While consciously keeping myself from panicking, I pulled up the fishing rod.

The line rose from the water, and at the end of it, a fish had bitten down.

“Yes!”

It was astonishingly fast, but I immediately guessed the reason.

The fish here did not know humans, so maybe they had no wariness toward bait that had fallen from above.

And aside from moss and the like, perhaps small living creatures that could serve as food either did not exist here, or were extremely scarce.

I put the fish I had caught right away into the keepnet.

“This is... ayu, I think.”

I was not knowledgeable about fish, but it was probably ayu.

Looking around, I saw the others steadily catching fish too.

They were practically biting nonstop.

This was fun.

Come to think of it, what was the seasonal sense of this river like?

The vegetation on this island itself was impossible to begin with, so maybe all kinds of fish were swimming around here while ignoring their proper seasons.

“I did it! I caught one! ...Oh, but living fish are scary!”

“Hehe, then why don’t you fish together with me, Shouko? I’ll take it off the hook. Ah, it’s a rainbow trout.”

“Thanks, Shion! That one has such a pretty stripe.”

The other team seemed to be doing well too.

“W-wah! Um, um, someone, please help me!”

When I saw Ms. Luminous’s body being pulled toward the river, I immediately rushed over to her and supported her from behind.

“It looks like a big one. I’ll support you, so let’s keep pulling like this.”

“Kuno!? Y-yes...!”

When the two of us pulled it up, it was an enormous—salmon.

“Oooh, that’s huge, Ms. Luminous!”

“I-it truly is. One meter... no, perhaps about ninety centimeters?”

There was no doubt it was the biggest catch so far.

Even a big one like this only counted as one fish in the contest.

That said, when it appeared on the dinner table, its volume would surely shine.

—And then I finally realized something.

It had happened so suddenly that I had not been conscious of it, but I had been holding my class assistant homeroom teacher from behind.

A sudden awkwardness hit me, and I quickly let go.

“S-sorry, Ms. Luminous. I only meant to help...”

“...Hehe. Yes, I understand that perfectly. I was the one who asked for help, and watching you made it clear that you were serious, Kuno.”

As I returned to my own position, the sensation of Ms. Luminous’s body replayed itself in my mind.

...She had been soft, and she had smelled nice.

No, no, I thought, shaking off the stray thoughts, and cast my fishing line again.