NOVEL WEB Chapter 12
“I’m… going to wipe Iori’s body…!?”
While keeping her back turned to me, Iori answered.
“It’s fine, right?”
“Well, of course it’s fine, but… Are you sure you’re okay with this, Iori?”
“I’m the one asking you, so naturally!”
“O-Okay, then…!”
I swallowed nervously. And so, I tried to wipe her back, but…
“Make sure to use a clean washcloth to wipe, okay?”
“Oops, my bad.”
I had forgotten until she reminded me. I was about to use the washcloth that had nearly gotten dirtied with my sweat. I hurried back to the house and fetched another washcloth.
With it soaked in water, I was ready to go.
“Then…”
With an unprecedented sense of tension, I placed the washcloth against her back.
“Ah, it’s cool and feels nice!”
“That’s… more than I could ask for!”
My gaze was fixated on her back, water droplets dripping down from her. Her skin was flawless, without a single blemish, and her delicate figure was irresistible.
(Dangerous!)
As I wiped, I started feeling a surge of arousal. If she were to turn around unexpectedly right now, it would be disastrous.
“Ew…! You creep! Don’t you dare come near me again!”
She might react like that, getting angry and disappointed. Naturally, she would keep her distance and refuse to talk to me.
(This is bad! I can’t let this continue!)
In a panic, I quickly finished wiping her back. I had to quickly wrap up this awkward event.
“Iyahhhhhhhhh!”
I vigorously scrubbed Iori’s back with the washcloth. Frantically rubbing, rubbing, and rubbing with all my might.
“Hey! Ouch! It hurts! I said it hurts! Hey! Be gentle!”
I ended up being scolded.
◇
I managed to survive the potential disaster of an event.
(At this rate, an accident might happen sooner or later…)
Once again, I yearned to return to my normal life as soon as possible. However, the day came to an end without any rescue in sight, and night fell. With nothing to do in the pitch-black darkness, I decided to go to sleep.
“Once again, I apologize for causing you trouble today!”
As we got into bed, Iori hugged my left arm. She said she couldn’t sleep unless we were close together. Her chest was pressed against me through our undergarments.
“Well, see you tomorrow, Masato-kun!”
“Y-Yeah…”
Just like yesterday, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
(She’s really defenseless, seriously.)
Naturally, I was perplexed again today. In fact, I might be even more nervous than yesterday.
The reason was related to how we were dressed. Iori was currently wearing only her undergarments and panties. In that state, she clung to me like a monkey climbing a tree.
Her left hand was caught between her thigh and mine. On the other hand, I was only in my underwear.
Due to the sweltering tropical night, I had taken off my clothes. I was feeling so hot that I wanted to take off my underwear too.
We were clinging to each other in such a casual manner. Telling myself not to get excited was an impossible task.
(Calm down, me, calm down…!)
I spent what felt like an eternity in restless agony and eventually drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
◇
The next day.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, marking the beginning of the third day of our deserted island life.
“Hey, wake up!”
Today, Iori was up before me. I was poked on the cheek and roused from sleep. She was already dressed in her school uniform, wearing socks and all, looking completely prepared.
(Oh, this angle is dangerous…)
I gazed at Iori while lying on my back. She stood next to me in a stance resembling of a guardian deity.
Thanks to her position, I could potentially catch a glimpse of her underwear, something that’s usually hidden from view.
I already knew what kind of panties she wore because I saw them during laundry. Still, the male inclination to peer into the abyss was strong—.
“Masato-kun… Are you trying to see my panties right now?”
Gulp!
“W-What nonsense are you talking about? Hahaha!”
I sat up at lightning speed. I almost got caught there.
“So, Masato-kun is also a typical guy, huh?”
“Huh? What do you mean…?”
“You know exactly what I mean! You perv!”
Iori left while chuckling mischievously.
◇
After breakfast, we started making earthenware pots. This was a precautionary measure, considering the possibility of our island life becoming long-term.
“Well, that’s probably about it.”
We were firing a total of nine pots on the ground that once used to be a field. Flames were roaring as if mocking the summer sun.
Nearby, the smoke signal continued to send out distress signals.
“Next up is firewood!”
“Sure thing!”
After replenishing our fluids, we headed to the southern forest. We selected fallen logs of various sizes, aiming to gather manageable pieces.
“Let’s go with this one.”
Taking turns, we used a saw to cut logs into segments. We got the logs we needed.
“It’s way too hot! This is ridiculous!”
“Our uniforms are soaked with sweat already!”
Cutting the logs had us exhausted by that point. In addition to the physical labor, the scorching heat, surpassing 30 degrees Celsius, was relentless.
“Making those bamboo water bottles was a good idea.”
“Yeah.”
We rehydrated with the bamboo water bottles and carried the logs back.
◇
Our plan was to cut the logs we brought back with a firewood splitting axe.
“Let’s do the firewood splitting tomorrow.”
“Agreed! I don’t want to do any more strenuous tasks today!”
Our arms were protesting loudly. Considering the possibility of no rescue coming, pushing ourselves here would be unwise.
The two of us sat by the well, replenishing the fluids we had lost by gulping down well water. Dirtying our bottoms was the least of our concerns.
“It’s damn hot, so let’s just take it easy for the rest of the day.”
“That’s fine, but…”
Iori seemed like she wanted to say something.
“What’s up?”
“I kinda want to go fishing! We made fishing rods, after all!”
“Fishing, huh?”
“If you’re not up for it, I won’t force you!”
“Actually, that’s not a problem…”
Iori looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“I thought the journey would be too grueling.”
It would take about two hours one way to get from here to the river on foot.
For fishing, we’d need to walk for a total of four hours.
“We’ve already been walking around for nearly an hour gathering logs.”
“And considering this heat. I was worried about our stamina.”
“I see… Well, I guess that can’t be helped.”
Iori slumped her shoulders.
“You really wanted to go to the river, huh?”
“Well, yeah.”
I drained another cup of water, the count of which I’d lost track of, and got up.
“Then let’s go.”
“Huh?”
“To the river.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah! If we miss today, we might not get another chance!”
Iori exclaimed, forming fists with both hands.
“Let’s refill our water bottles and set off!”
“Alright!”
◇
“You might get heatstroke, seriously!”
“It’s so hot!”
We complained about the infuriating heat as we arrived at the river.
We first washed our faces with the river water.
“Phew! This is refreshing!”
“Feels amazing!”
Cooling down our heads boosted our energy significantly.
“Alright, let’s start fishing.”
“Should we take turns until we confirm it’s safe? One person can keep an eye out for potential danger.”
“No, let’s fish together. We can’t afford to spend too much time on this activity.”
“Got it!”
We placed the earthenware pots and fishing rods by the riverside. First, we needed to secure fishing bait.
“Let me know if you spot any good-looking bugs.”
“What kind of bugs are we talking about?”
“Worms.”
“Understood!”
We divided the task and searched for insects to use as bait.
However…
“There seriously aren’t any bugs on this island!”
“This is a problem…”
Surprisingly, there wasn’t a single worm. Mosquitoes and flies were also absent. The island had an astonishing lack of insects. It felt as if we were in the Aokigahara Forest on Mount Fuji.
“Should we check the workshop? Maybe there’s some fishing bait there.”
Hoping against hope, we searched the workshop. However, there was nothing suitable for fishing bait.
“I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.”
I had a feeling it wouldn’t be. If there were any, we would have brought them back yesterday.
“What should we do? Should we try without any bait as a last-ditch effort?”
“No use. Fish won’t bite without bait.”
“So, we have to give up?”
It’s too early for that,” I said.
“Huh? Masato-kun, do you have a plan?”
“Of course.”
My ideal plan was to find worms here and now. However, if they weren’t here, they weren’t. There was an alternative.
I grinned.
“If there are no bugs, we’ll just use a different bait.”