Chillin' on an Uninhabited Island in Another World

The fishing had been fun, but what came afterward was the hard part.

To decide the winner, we had to tally the catches, and to store the fish in my Inventory, we had to kill them first.

So we started by taking care of fish after fish.

As for how to tally them, first I stored only the fish caught by one team in my Inventory.

They were separated by species, but the Inventory also displayed quantities, so it was much faster than counting them by hand.

Once we recorded one team’s number, I would store the other team’s catch.

Then all we had to do was subtract the first team’s catch from the total, and we would know the second team’s catch as well.

The hard part was processing the fish, but everyone worked together on that.

Anyone who really couldn’t handle it wasn’t forced.

Everything came down to putting the right person in the right place.

We were companions, so we could leave things to the people who were able to do them.

Roa’s competence shone here too, but one way or another, it took us until lunchtime.

The result—

“We won.”

Shouko’s team had brought in a huge haul too, but we had secured more fish.

“Gwaaah...! We lost...!”

Shouko dropped to her hands and knees on the ground, frustrated.

Incidentally, with this tallying method, everyone had no choice but to trust what I said, but nobody seemed bothered by that.

I guessed I had earned at least that much trust.

And even if I did lie, Shion on the opposing team could tell lies, so there would be no point anyway.

“The childhood friend wins. And gets a full-day date.”

“Oh, then I’ll...”

“I will consult with you again later.”

“Ehem. I do not think a teacher should ask this kind of thing of a student, but declining here would make the atmosphere awkward, and I could hardly bear to trample on everyone’s thoughtful kindness, so... as your teacher, I would like, um, that thing we discussed earlier.”

Chiyu, Minori, Roa, and Ms. Luminous all brought up the reward for the winning team: a request from me.

Of course, I intended to keep my promise, and I had a reward of my own too.

The right to make a request of every member.

I had already enjoyed plenty of good things, so nothing immediately came to mind, but just having gained that kind of right stirred up a strange excitement in me.

Of course, I had no intention of asking them to do anything they hated.

“Shouko, you look really upset. What were you planning to ask for?”

Shion asked while stroking Shouko’s back as if to comfort her.

“Ugh... We talked before about wanting to go to the ocean with Sousuke and everyone, but we’ve been busy with all kinds of things, right? So I thought I’d win and ask again...”

True, we had talked about that before.

The ocean was also where Shouko had helped me by hand, so I remembered it well.

“For real? I wanna go too, though.”

Urume reacted to Shouko’s words too.

“What are you going to do about swimsuits?”

“Also, we lost...”

Yumekai spoke with an exasperated look, while Mamonaka sounded dejected.

“The ocean, huh... In that case, once we finish making deals with the remaining boys, let’s all go.”

At my words, Shouko whipped her face up.

“Huh!? Really?”

“We did promise before. Besides, it’s not a personal request from you. It’s a proposal to go together with everyone, right? So anyone who wants to can come. We can collect materials around the ocean while we’re there too.”

Seawater, shells, seaweed, sponges, even sand—with my Crafting Ability, all of them were materials that could shine in a big way.

“Yahoo!”

“By the way, Yumekai. I can’t make anything too authentic, but I can make swimsuits with my ability too. We’ve about got the materials we need now, and everyone can choose some in the bonus area as well.”

“...Kuno, you’re really soft on Shouko.”

“Well, yeah. Sousuke totally loves me, after all.”

Shouko immediately started getting carried away.

The frustrating part was that I couldn’t deny it.

I thought someone might complain that I was granting the losing Shouko’s wish, but no one said anything.

If anything, everyone started chatting excitedly about what kind of swimsuits they wanted.

I see. So everyone wants to go to the ocean too.

And as I’d said earlier, Shouko’s wish wasn’t something for herself alone. It was a plan for the entire party to enjoy together.

That probably had an effect too.

Then Shouko’s stomach growled.

“Ugh, I’m hungry... Wait, am I turning into the only always-starving character here?”

Her face went red.

Now that I thought about it, Shouko did seem to complain about being hungry pretty often.

“It’s fine. I’m hungry too, and it’s just about the right time for lunch anyway.”

“Should we go home and make something?”

We could also take out some of Shion’s cooking that I had preserved in my Inventory, but since we had the chance, I also wanted to eat something made with fish.

“That’d be good too, but why don’t we eat here? You know, the thing you see on TV. I kind of want to try it.”

Several of us, including me, nodded with an “Ohhh” because we understood what Shouko meant.

Not many people had never seen footage on TV of people eating salt-grilled ayu by a river.

“That might be nice. Let’s do that.”

“I will assist.”

Shion and Roa immediately started moving.

The desks and chairs we had prepared before starting the fishing were still there, so we could keep using them.

I prepared enough ayu for everyone. For the people who disliked bitterness, I removed the innards.

Some people said that part was delicious too, but everything came down to preference.

With the formation function of my Crafting Ability, handling little details like that was easy.

I quickly generated skewers and prepared salt as well.

Everyone gathered around the bonfire and waited while the fish roasted.

A good smell soon began drifting through the air.

By the way, I gave Ms. Luminous red wine generated from grapes.

I didn’t know much about alcohol, but I also generated a bottle based on a vague image and handed it over together with a glass.

“Wow... Th-there really is alcohol on a deserted island... Thank you, Kuno.”

Her smiling face was beautiful, but since she was hugging the wine bottle in her arms, she also gave off a strong impression of someone who loved drinking.

“Not at all. I can make more right away, and once we gather the materials, I’ll try making other kinds too.”

Right now, I was generating it according to what my Crafting Ability showed me, but if my own knowledge increased, I would probably become able to adjust various things even with the same wine.

Ms. Luminous seemed eager to drink it right away, but she also appeared hesitant because we were going to look for the boys after this.

“Ms. Luminous, it’s okay. Even if you get drunk during lunch, I’ll heal you when we leave.”

“Iyama... To think a student would show me this much consideration. I truly am a fortunate teacher. Well then, I’ll have some!”

Ms. Luminous slowly poured the wine. Her first sip was no more than a taste on her tongue, but she quickly began drinking it down.

Then she trembled.

“...It’s delicious.”

The words sounded as if they had come from the bottom of her heart.

Ms. Luminous had come to the deserted island on the ninth day, and now it was the tenth, which meant she had only gone without alcohol on the island for one day...

No, it wasn’t as if she necessarily drank often before the transfer either. Maybe she had actually been holding back for quite a while.

Either way, as long as she was happy, that was what mattered.

“Everyone, they should be ready soon.”

At Shion’s words, everyone picked up a skewer.

The fatty salt-grilled fish was guaranteed to be delicious before we even ate it.

At first, everyone was surprised by how hot it was, but soon they were nibbling and huffing at the fish.

It was fragrant and tender, and the saltiness that made it even more appetizing was perfectly balanced. Before I knew it, I had finished the whole thing.

“This is bad. It’s too good.”

The words slipped out of my mouth.

Even Shouko, who usually had big reactions, was eating in silence.

“Hehe. Anyone who wants seconds, just say so.”

Almost everyone silently raised a hand.

I stood up to take out more ayu, and Shion and Roa followed.

And so, we successfully secured a massive quantity of fish.