Splash!
Water splashed.
Natsuki and Tsubame surfaced from the sea together.
"It's Natsuki-kun and Tsubame!"
"They're out, they're out!"
"Everyone's fine, thank goodness!"
"..."
Seeing Natsuki and Tsubame emerge, the anxious girls on the shore all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Tsubame-senpai, what did you encounter in the sea? Why did it take so long to come out?"
"We encountered it."
Natsuki said, while single-handedly exerting force to throw the unlucky shark from the sea onto the shore.
Thud.
Sand splattered.
This shark weighed at least several hundred kilos, and after it landed, it directly created a dent in the beach.
"It's a shark!"
"What a big shark!"
"There are actually sharks in the sea?"
Except for Kaguya and Yukinoshita who remained calm, the other girls were all startled.
After all, the terrifying image of the Great White Shark had long been deeply ingrained in people's hearts and was known worldwide.
No one could remain indifferent when a terrifying killer suddenly appeared beside them.
Tsubame covered her chest with one hand and her lower abdomen with the other, her pretty face slightly pale, and explained:
"The shells in the shallow sea had all been picked. I searched around the sea and didn't find any, so I swam deeper to see if there was any food. Who knew I'd encounter a shark? I was almost bitten and could only hide in the coral reef. Later..."
At this point, Tsubame's voice paused slightly, her gaze a little unfocused, and she whispered:
"Later, while I was praying, Natsuki-kun suddenly appeared. After dealing with that shark, he took me and escaped."
Natsuki took over the conversation and said:
"The light in the sea was too dim, so I couldn't see anything clearly. Most of the time was spent looking for Tsubame."
"Tsubame-senpai, I'm sorry." Chika bit her lip, her face full of guilt, "I didn't know there were sharks in the sea."
"It has nothing to do with Chika-chan." Tsubame shook her head gently, "Everyone went into the water to look for food; it's just that I was unlucky."
"Perhaps it's not a matter of luck." Kaguya pondered, "Tsubame must have gone deep into the ocean, which is why she encountered a shark."
Juju nodded and said:
"In the hunger sea disaster version, there are already sharks in the sea, and you can also encounter the Octopus King boss... Tsubame-senpai only encountered one shark, so her luck is already very good."
Hayasaka walked over with a towel and said:
"Tsubame-senpai, you've worked hard. Quickly wipe yourself dry; be careful not to catch a cold. From now on, we don't need to go into the sea to look for shells, nor do we need to eat spiders anymore."
"Eh?"
Tsubame looked over in confusion.
Haruno smiled and said:
"When Natsuki-kun explored the island today, he discovered a Red Mangrove Forest, and it's full of crabs."
"That's right, they're all super big crabs!" Chika put her hands on her hips and said, "From today onwards, we only need to catch crabs!"
"Eh, wait a minute--"
Chika suddenly blinked, "Can this shark be eaten?"
"Most likely not." Natsuki shook his head, "Shark meat is actually very unpalatable because it has a fishy smell. Fishermen usually just throw away the sharks they catch, only cutting off the shark fin."
Juju asked curiously:
"That's the shark fin in shark fin and bird's nest, right?"
"That's right." Natsuki nodded, "However, shark fin has no taste whatsoever; all the deliciousness comes from the various ingredients added during the cooking process."
"Cut it off, cut it off." Chika said excitedly, "Whether it has a taste or not, we'll know once we try it when we get back."
Natsuki, resigned, took out an axe and chopped off the shark fin.
"How about cutting off another piece of shark meat?" Chika was full of curiosity, "I've never actually tasted what shark meat is like."
Natsuki didn't say anything, then cut off another piece of shark meat and handed it to Chika.
"Let me smell it."
Chika leaned in and sniffed with her small nose, then quickly widened her eyes and covered her mouth, gagging.
"H-how can it smell so bad?!"
"Perhaps it only smells bad, but tastes good." Natsuki coaxed, "This whole piece is for you to eat."
"No, I won't eat it!" Chika quickly shook her head, "Natsuki-kun, throw it away quickly!"
Clearly, even a foodie has foods they can't accept.
"..."
While Natsuki was diving into the sea to find Tsubame, the girls on the shore had already cleaned the crabs.
Now that Tsubame had put on her clothes, everyone picked up crabs and carried firewood, preparing to head back.
At the edge of the cliff.
The girls who were willing to grab the rope and rappel down went down themselves. The remaining girls on the cliff were still those few.
Tsubame.
The daughter.
Juju.
And Shoko.
Natsuki first sent Tsubame and the daughter down, then looked at Juju and Shoko, and smiled:
"It's time to choose again, Juju, Shoko... Who stays last?"
"Damn it!"
Juju clenched her fists, gritting her teeth, wanting to hit someone.
Always taking advantage of people, does this guy have no shame at all?!
"Let Juju..."
Komi timidly raised her right hand, gathering her courage to step forward, wanting to protect Juju.
Juju had stayed last twice for her sake; she must be panicking and scared, right?
She couldn't continue to be weak.
She had to gather her courage!
She couldn't let Juju sacrifice herself for her again!
Unfortunately, Komi's courage was only this much. At most, she could gather the courage to take Juju's place. As for standing up to overthrow tyranny and revolt... she couldn't do it, absolutely couldn't do it.
Slap.
Juju grabbed Shoko's wrist and pushed the the timid girl down, gritting her teeth and saying:
"Let Shoko go down first!"
Saving someone to the end, sending the Buddha to the west.
If she retreated now, wouldn't all her previous sacrifices be in vain?
So she couldn't back down!
Besides that, there was actually another reason Juju vaguely discovered but was unwilling to admit.
That was... she didn't dislike it.
He was clearly a stranger.
He was clearly a shameless person who took advantage of others.
His words were clearly frivolous, and his actions were clearly light-hearted... but for some reason, Juju couldn't dislike him at all.
Although her innocence was taken, she didn't feel any disgust or revulsion.
If the person threatening Shoko was a greasy middle-aged man, she probably would have abandoned Shoko and fled in a hurry, right?
Natsuki smiled and nodded:
"As expected of Juju-sama, truly righteous and loyal. For a friend, even going through fire and water is no problem."
"Lewd!"
Juju couldn't help but lightly spit, giving him a disdainful glare.
Natsuki smiled and said:
"I'll send Shoko down first, Juju, get ready and wait for me to come up."
"Tsk~"
Juju lightly snorted, her face full of disdain, and turned her small face away.
Not long after, Natsuki sent Shoko down and then returned.
"If you want to kiss, kiss quickly!"
Juju still had a look of disdain, lightly snorting, "I'll just pretend I was gnawed by a dog."
Natsuki said:
"Aren't you afraid of dogs, Juju?"
Juju looked over warily: "How do you know?"
"Of course, you told me before, Juju." Natsuki lowered his voice, his gaze meaningful, "Rather, there are no secrets between you and me anymore, Juju... Do you want to hear what secrets of yours I know?"
Juju covered her chest with both hands. For some reason, she felt Natsuki's gaze was full of aggression, and she nervously took half a step back and said:
"Less nonsense, I won't fall for your trick!"
"Alright." Natsuki spread his hands, "I was going to talk about 'those secrets between Juju and me in the hotel', but it seems there's no chance now."
"What are you talking about?!" Juju's small face quickly flushed, and she couldn't help but shout, "How could I possibly go to a place like a hotel with you!"
"Juju, haven't you noticed that your body is different from what you remember?" Natsuki lowered his voice, "For example, your breasts, aren't they a bit bigger than you remember?"
"Y-you're talking nonsense!"
Juju subconsciously covered her chest, but her small face became even redder, and even steam rose from the top of her head.
In fact, when Juju was bathing by the sea yesterday, she discovered that her former 'flat chest' had unknowingly turned into 'small buns', clearly a size larger.
At the time, she didn't pay too much attention, just assuming it was natural growth.
Now that Natsuki brought it up, Juju realized the seriousness of the matter.
C-could it be that it wasn't natural growth, but this boy in front of her... Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Juju quickly shook her head, trying to banish the terrifying thought from her mind.
"Whether I'm talking nonsense, Juju should know very well," Natsuki stepped forward half a step, lowered his voice, and continued, "Also, when we kissed before, did Juju notice that your kissing technique was actually quite skilled, already becoming a bodily instinct?"
Juju was both embarrassed and annoyed, she would rather die than admit it:
"Impossible, I'm not skilled at all... Ugh!"
Before she could finish speaking, Natsuki sealed her lips.
Juju's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she involuntarily closed her eyes, then her body instinctively cooperated.
"How was it?" Natsuki wiped the corner of his lips and looked at Juju, "Still saying you're not skilled?"
Juju: "..."
What exactly did her real self experience?
Why...
Why is she so skilled!
Natsuki picked up Juju, who was both embarrassed and angry, closing her eyes and acting like an ostrich, then leaped off the cliff.
Thud.
Natsuki landed steadily and handed Juju over to Shoko to take care of.
"Juju?"
Komi nervously tugged at Juju's sleeve, her eyes looking over with concern.
Juju, who was staring blankly and not saying a word, looked as if she was broken, making everyone super worried.
"I'm fine..." Juju took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and whispered, "Let's catch up with everyone and quickly return to the cave."
Stupid Natsuki said that one mushroom can be produced per day, and there are only so many people, so it will soon be her turn, and then all the truth will be revealed!
No words were exchanged along the way.
Back in the cave.
Natsuki found that the cave had gotten bigger, apparently someone had excavated it during the day, and there were also piles of dry, soft-looking straw in the cave.
This was the advantage of having many people for island survival; everyone could cooperate and divide tasks, instead of having to do everything themselves from beginning to end.
Clap.
He pressed the lighter and lit the firewood.
Bright flames ignited, quickly dispelling the darkness in the cave.
With a cave dug out by themselves, there was no need to worry about snakes, insects, rats, or ants, making it a safe place to live.
The firelight flickered.
The girls sat around, preparing to grill today's dinner, which included large crabs, fish, shrimp, and shellfish that Chika and others had fished out of the sea, as well as shark fin hunted by Natsuki.
"Natsuki-kun, you worked hard today," Haruno sat over and smiled, "And thank you for taking care of Yukino. Shall I help you grill the food?"
Natsuki didn't stand on ceremony and handed over the food, saying:
"Thank you, Haruno-nee."
"You're welcome~" Haruno tilted her head, closed one eye, and stuck out her tongue, "Natsuki-kun, you should rest for a while."
Maliciously acting cute, huh?
You're already a university student, don't make such childish expressions!
However... this Haruno is quite cute, so even knowing she's maliciously acting cute, it's impossible to dislike her.
"Stare—"
A clear gaze swept over.
Kaguya raised her delicate brows slightly, looking over with a half-smile.
Natsuki quickly sat up straight, looking forward, and went to Kaguya's side, extending his hand:
"Kaguya-san, you've worked hard, let me grill."
"No need," Kaguya said nonchalantly, "I can grill it myself."
Natsuki: "Please, you must let me."
"Eh?"
Haruno was slightly stunned, and while grilling food, she looked at Yukino and quietly asked:
"Yukino, is Natsuki-kun really dating you?"
Yukino said expressionlessly:
"We're not dating."
A scumbag bug who accepts anyone as long as they're cute? Of course, she wouldn't date him!
The firelight flickered.
Outside the cave, the sky had completely darkened.
However, the atmosphere inside the cave was quite lively.
"Delicious!"
"Crab is indeed super delicious!"
Braised crab received unanimous praise from the girls. To be fair, the taste was indeed very good, especially the crab meat in the pincers, which was incredibly tasty.
The fish, crab, and shellfish tasted ordinary. As for the shark fin that was cut down, it was even blander and tasteless. Each of the girls took a bite and quickly blacklisted the shark fin.
After eating and drinking to their fill.
Everyone left the cave again, brushed their teeth, washed up, and after tidying up, another mushroom successfully came into being.
"Kaguya, Yukino, who should this mushroom be given to?"
Natsuki looked at Kaguya and Yukino, quietly asking for their opinions.
Kaguya didn't speak, only glanced at Yukino.
Yukino lightly pursed her lips and softly said:
"Give it to Chika-chan."
According to the order of importance, Chika's priority was clearly higher.
Kaguya softly said:
"I agree, it's very suitable for Chika."
Natsuki nodded and said:
"Then it's for Chika."
The discussion concluded.
Natsuki called Chika over, preparing to plant the mushroom.
"Eh? It's my turn so soon?" Chika blinked, both anticipating and hesitating, and whispered, "Shouldn't there be someone more suitable than me?"
"Chika-chan..." Natsuki extended his right hand and placed it on Chika's head, planting the mushroom, "You have no idea how important you are."
Chika: "..."
The mushroom planting was complete, and the next mushroom would have to wait until the next day.
Everyone returned to the cave and began to rest.
The third day of island survival quietly ended.
A night passed without incident.
Natsuki opened his eyes. Outside the cave, a faint light had already appeared, indicating that daylight was about to arrive.
"It's dawn, get up."
Natsuki was about to wake Chika.
"Ugh..." Chika opened her eyes, her gaze hazy, and she responded groggily, then turned over and continued to sleep, "So sleepy... I'll sleep a bit more."
She can still sleep, how carefree are you!
Yesterday, when I called Yukino, I didn't even touch her, and Hirano had already opened her eyes vigilantly!
Natsuki pondered for two seconds and said in a low voice:
"Time to go to the Red Mangrove Forest to catch crabs."
Chika quickly got up:
"Count me in!"