Chillin' on an Uninhabited Island in Another World

The adorable cat’s true identity was a girl from the volleyball club.

Even as I said it myself, I was not sure I understood it, but on this deserted island, something like that worked.

She had “transformation ability.”

That was probably how she had turned into a cat.

“Ugh... Why did you figure it out...?”

Red hair down to her shoulders. Tall, slender, yet with a toned body.

She was in her school uniform, but it did not look dirty. Maybe that was because she had been transformed the whole time.

When she was a cat, she had not been wearing anything, but when she returned to human form, she was wearing her uniform, so maybe equipment worn during transformation was stored away somewhere.

Like my “Inventory.”

Mamonaka Miyao.

Miyao, Myao, Myaa... Maybe that was why people called her Myao.

Her nickname sounded catlike to begin with, but I wondered if that had anything to do with her transforming into a cat.

“It’s Myao!” “It really is Myao.” “Myao.” “I knew it was Myao.”

Her nickname came flying one after another from the girls in the same group—Shouko, Shoubu, Shion, and Yumekai—and Mamonaka shrank in on herself.

“Don’t all meow-meow at me...”

Mamonaka covered her face with both hands, her voice going shrill.

“Mamonaka. I’m glad you’re safe, but why did you approach us in cat form?”

Even if she had wanted to become one of our companions, I thought she would end up making people wary if her identity was revealed like this afterward.

“...Because cats are cute.”

My image of her was that she usually spoke a little more clearly, but maybe because she was embarrassed after having her identity exposed, her voice was small now.

So small that if the wind blew, I might not be able to hear it.

“Well, cats are cute.”

I still did not really get it.

Then, right at that moment, her stomach growled magnificently.

Mamonaka’s face turned even redder.

Even her ears were red.

“Maybe we should have her eat something inside first?”

Shion suggested that.

Since they were friends, she did not seem all that wary.

“Right. Before that, Mamonaka, I’d like to confirm two things. You aren’t part of another team, are you?”

“...No. I was alone the whole time.”

“One more thing, then. Can I take this as you wanting to become one of our companions?”

“...Yes. Kuno was... No, um, Serina and Urume were here too, and I didn’t want to be alone anymore.”

When I looked at Shion, she looked at me and nodded.

For some reason, she had a faintly wry smile on her face, but what did that mean?

In any case, it seemed to be true that Mamonaka had been acting alone, and that she wanted to become our companion.

“Then let’s head into the base for now.”

And so, everyone returned to the base together.

I will skip over the now-familiar new-member reactions to the barrier and the base.

We brought her to the living room, and I took out bread, jam, and soup from my “Inventory.”

For now, I thought it would be better to get something into her stomach.

Mamonaka was surprised by that too, but hunger seemed to win out, because she devoured everything at an incredible pace.

“Mmgh. Mmph. Thank you. It’s been so long since I had a proper meal...”

“Shion made the food.”

“She did? Shion, that’s amazing.”

“Hehe, thank you. Once you’ve settled down, would it be all right if we asked you some questions?”

“Ugh... Yes.”

Mamonaka’s face turned red again.

To summarize, it was not that complicated.

After being sent to the deserted island, she had apparently survived until now by making full use of her transformation ability.

If she transformed into an agile cat, running from beasts was not difficult. She had endured by climbing trees and doing similar things.

However, no matter what she transformed into, the amount of food she needed seemed to depend on her human body, so she had struggled to secure food.

She said she had somehow survived by returning to human form only when eating, then spending the rest of the time transformed into an animal.

“Ugh, ugh... You had such a hard time, Mamonaka.”

Ms. Luminous teared up, thinking of what she had gone through.

“Turning into animals myself might’ve been an option too.”

Shouko, who had chosen a summoning ability, murmured.

“It certainly is an ability one would admire.”

“It is an ability one dreams of as a child.”

Minori and Roa agreed as well.

“...So what are we doing? She’s one of the three girls you were looking for. Are we sending her to Suou?”

Yumekai said.

It sounded somewhat cold, but we could not keep adding companions without limit.

Someone had to say it calmly, so Yumekai had taken on that role.

“W-wait. If possible, I want to become part of this group.”

Mamonaka said it in a hurry.

Personally, it seemed like we would still be spending a long time on this deserted island, so I did not mind if our members increased.

Of course, only if the member in question could get along well with us as a companion.

If Mamonaka was motivated and my companions accepted her, then “transformation ability” was useful too, so it seemed like an option.

“Can you follow our rules?”

Chiyu said, folding her arms.

“I’ll do anything!”

“Then, into So-kun’s harem—”

“Mamonaka! You must not say things like that lightly.”

Ms. Luminous swiftly cut off Chiyu’s words.

“Yeah, yeah. Value yourself, okay?”

Shoubu said it gently, as if admonishing her.

“I mean, after listening to Kuno and everyone, I understand that not just anyone can become a companion. But I think my ability can be useful!”

Mamonaka stood up from her seat, looked me in the eye, and said it.