I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

After riding the luxurious yacht owned by the President for about thirty minutes across the sea, we arrived at a large island.

It was originally an uninhabited island, but apparently the President’s grandfather bought it for her as a present on her 10th birthday.
Truly befitting a chaebol family—the scale of the gift was in a different league altogether.
Soon, the sleek, white luxury yacht we were aboard docked at the pier directly in front of the island.

Once the yacht came to a complete stop, I grabbed the luggage we brought from home and jumped up onto the dock.
The stone-carved pier was rough but sturdy, and I could feel with certainty that I was now on solid ground.
“It’s beautiful.”

The words escaped my mouth unconsciously as I took in the view of the island before me.
A crescent-shaped bay, a sea of broadleaf forest that filled the island, and far in the distance atop a cliff, a Western-style mansion.
The Vice President, standing next to me, puffed up proudly as if he were the one being praised.

“Of course. Everything here was designed by members of the Akagi family.”
“We went through quite a bit of effort developing what was essentially an empty, barren island.”
Even Minami, who never normally admits when something was difficult, seemed to be quietly boasting—suggesting a massive amount of manpower must have gone into shaping this island.

“Then let’s head to the mansion.”
“Yes.”
Minami politely bowed and pulled a walkie-talkie from her waistband, issuing a command into it.

In the distance, a four-seater buggy with a roof came rolling toward us.
“What’s that?”
“The island’s so big that we generally use vehicles to move around.”

“But there’s no one in the driver’s seat.”
“It’s equipped with autonomous driving.”
Eeeeeek—!
The buggy came to ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) a clean stop right in front of us and the doors opened automatically.

“Just load your bags into the basket in the back.”
Saying that, Minami climbed into the driver’s seat of the buggy.
The Vice President naturally took the passenger seat, and the President hopped into the back.

Watching this unfold, I asked in disbelief, “Minami, you don’t even have a license.”
Minami replied without changing her expression, “This place is outside legal jurisdiction.”
“I don’t think that’s the issue here.”

As I tried to call out this absurd declaration of being an unlicensed driver, the Vice President interjected.
“Kim Yu-seong, you’ve ridden bumper cars at amusement parks, haven’t you? This thing is about that level of difficulty. And if anything happens, we can just switch it to autonomous mode—there’s no problem.”
“Just get in already. You’re not planning to walk around alone all day, are you?”
“…Sigh, fine.”

Realizing that pointing out more would just be a waste of energy, I obediently climbed into the back seat of the buggy.
“By the way, isn’t that guy not coming with us?”
I pointed toward the white-clad old man still on the yacht, and the President covered her mouth with her ever-present fan and replied,

“If you mean the captain, he’s heading back to the mainland and will return in three days to pick us up.”
In other words, just like the President said, we wouldn’t be able to leave this island for the next three days.
The four-seater buggy cruised leisurely along a gently rising hill, open on all sides.

Before I knew it, I was so absorbed in the scenery I’d completely forgotten I was grumbling earlier.
Living in the city makes you forget how beautiful nature can be.
It was the same feeling I got when we went to Mt. Fuji—standing before something so massive and primal makes you feel like a mere ant.

After driving for about twenty minutes from the dock, the buggy finally came to a stop in front of the Western-style mansion built atop the cliff.
A tall iron fence surrounded the mansion—probably to keep wild animals on the island from entering.
At the mansion’s front entrance stood a middle-aged man and two women in maid uniforms.

As we got out of the buggy, the middle-aged man at the entrance bowed deeply and said,
“Welcome, Young Lady.”
“It’s been a while, Mr. Meguro.”

The man called Meguro by the President looked genuinely touched as he spoke.
“You remembered my name…”
The President covered her mouth with her black fan and laughed, “Ohohohoho!”

“I never forget the names of those who work under me.”
“To think that you would remember the name of a lowly servant such as myself—it is truly an honor.”
With another deep bow, the man then introduced the two women standing behind him.

“These two are the twin maids working under me, Miyabi and Shinobu. Should either the Young Lady or her companions need anything during their stay, please feel free to call on them.”
“I’m the older twin, Miyabi.”
“I’m the younger one, Shinobu.”

They must have been identical twins, because aside from their hairstyles, their faces looked completely the same.
Honestly, I only called them maids because of their uniforms—“attendants” would probably be a more accurate term.
Both of them looked startled when their eyes met mine, but quickly returned to their poker faces and adopted a professional demeanor.

“Well then, shall we head inside? We’ve already prepared lunch in the dining room to coincide with your arrival.”
“Oh my, how thoughtful!”
“Fufu, this much is expected.”

Smiling in satisfaction, Mr. Meguro took the lead and guided us into the dining room.
***
Inside the dining room was a long Western-style table that looked like something straight out of a foreign movie. But since the entire villa was designed in Western fashion, it didn’t feel out of place.

“You all must be hungry after traveling since this morning, so we’ll guide you to your rooms after lunch.”
“Thank you for being so considerate, Mr. Meguro.”
The President slipped naturally into “young lady” mode and took the seat at the head of the table.

I, the Vice President, and Minami took seats nearby.
Despite the entirely Western setting, the meal was a standard Japanese meal.
It felt a little off, so I asked—and the answer was that the food was prepared this way because the President preferred Japanese cuisine.

“Does it not suit your taste? Should I ask the chef to prepare something else?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just… not what I expected.”
I really didn’t think I’d be eating butter-grilled salmon, white rice, and mushroom miso soup in a place like this.

Hearing my answer, Meguro looked visibly relieved.
“I’m glad to hear that. Since the dishes were tailored entirely to the Young Lady’s tastes, I was worried they might not suit our guests.”
“I like homemade meals. Honestly, I doubt many people dislike them.”

Saying that, I scooped up a big bite of the rich-colored curry that came on the side, mixed it with rice, and took a mouthful—and it tasted divine.
The cooking here was no joke.
“Well then, I’ll dig in.”

“Please enjoy. Let me know if you need anything—we’ll bring out refills right away.”
And just like that, the four of us began our lunch.
***

It took about an hour to finish lunch.
That might sound like a long time, but that included dessert and tea afterward.
After replenishing our energy, we were assigned our rooms for the next three days.

I was placed in the room right next to the President’s—the best room in the villa. To be honest, it was so luxurious I started to question whether I was even allowed to stay there.
Considering that just a week ago I was sleeping in a cramped tatami room with the guys during our guesthouse trip, this was pure luxury.
Though, I’ll admit that sleeping in a small room with friends had its own kind of charm.

After unpacking a little and stepping out of the room, I ran into Minami in the hallway. She, like me, was considered staff and had also been given a room adjacent to the President’s.
“Where’s the President?”
“She’s changing into her casual outfit in her room. Are you trying to sneak a peek?”

“No.”
I shot her down instantly, and Minami shrugged, pulling out her walkie-talkie.
“By the way, why are you using a walkie-talkie instead of your phone?”

“Oh, there aren’t any base stations or signal towers here, so phone reception is pretty bad. The internet still works, but for simple communication, walkie-talkies are faster.”
“Huh.”
Unless it was just my imagination, I felt like a lot of red flags were being raised.

“No way… right?”
I brushed the thought off as coincidence and asked Minami,
“So, what exactly are we doing on this island? I mean, it’s supposed to be a special intensive student council retreat, but I honestly have no idea what that means.”

“Ah, that.”
Minami looked like she’d only just remembered, but suddenly closed her mouth.
“What is it?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just thought it wouldn’t be very fun to spoil the beginning.”
“Then just tell me the first part.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Minami let out a small sigh and answered.

“For now, we’ll be playing at the beach.”
In swimsuits. Every single student council member.