Chillin' on an Uninhabited Island in Another World

After I got out of the bath, I went to tell everyone.

Everyone was gathered in the living room.

The companions who had lived with me already knew I got out relatively quickly, so they must have told the new members as well.

If everyone scattered through the house, the bathwater would cool down while we were gathering them all.

In that case, I could always fill it again after they gathered, but they must have been thinking of the trouble it would save me.

“I’m done, so all of you can go in. Oh, right, before that, I should give you this too.”

I brought out one of the prototype tinted lip balms and handed it to Shoubu.

It was lip balm in the kind of stick-shaped container often seen on Earth.

The stick was made of wood, and rather than plain lip balm, this one was tinted.

I was planning to go back to my room after this, so I had wanted to hand it over while everyone was gathered.

“For now, I guess you’d call it pale pink? I tried making it with a color that feels close to lip color.”

“Yahoo! Kuno, you’re the best!”

Saying that, Shoubu immediately applied it to her lips. After she put it on, she pressed her lips together and then pulled them apart with a pop.

“How is it? How is it?”

Since I had seen her before using it, the difference was certainly obvious.

Along with a soft, glossy texture, the added color made her complexion look healthier too.

It did not have the kind of impact that made it obvious at a glance that she was wearing lipstick, but that, conversely, seemed to draw out a natural charm.

“Oh... I see, so that’s the kind of feel it gives. It suits you really well.”

“Whoa, Kuno, you praise people super smoothly, huh? That scores you serious points.”

Maybe Shoubu had not expected to be praised so directly, because she looked a little embarrassed.

“...So-kun is growing on this island too. Before, he would have been too embarrassed to do that.”

Chiyu said it with a slight note of dissatisfaction.

Until now, even when I thought she was cute, I had either been too deep in full adolescence to say it honestly, or too embarrassed to get the words out.

And when it was a small change, I sometimes could not even notice it in the first place.

But since coming to this island, spending time with girls had become normal, and I had grown closer to everyone, so maybe that sense of resistance had been fading.

“Sousuke! I don’t want to sound like I’m begging too much, but I don’t think it’s good to give presents only to the new girl, Urume!”

Shouko deliberately sounded sulky as she said it.

“Of course I have enough for everyone. I prepared various colors for now, so use whichever ones you like.”

I placed a small basket filled with lip balm on the table.

In front of each basket, I also placed the round wooden cases I had used when filling lotion. The lids had been removed, and each case held a sample of the lip balm as a color swatch.

That way, they could check the color without removing the caps.

In an instant, the women swarmed around the table.

Ms. Luminous showed no less enthusiasm or agility than the girls.

Back at school, I had only seen her as an adult, but apparently, the teacher was also a woman.

Yumekai alone stood slightly apart, but she kept glancing at me for some reason.

“This is part of the basic treatment for companions too, so I’d be in trouble if you didn’t accept it.”

When I said that, she looked down slightly and said, “...Fine. Thanks,” before joining the circle with everyone else.

She would probably think of this as another debt she had taken on, but she did not seem able to think, “I can pay it back later, so I can borrow it openly.” Unless I said something, she had a hard time accepting anything.

I liked that part of Yumekai’s mentality.

It meant she did not simply think it was fine as long as she paid it back. She could feel the weight of borrowing something itself.

That did not mean the other companions were wrong.

They were grateful for what I did, and on top of that, they did everything they could with all their strength.

Their way of thinking was simply different from Yumekai’s, who considered each individual debt and repayment one by one.

“Also, this isn’t makeup, but I prepared enough of these for everyone too.”

Since the timing was good, I placed another item on the table.

What I had prepared were glass nail files.

I thought that when you were stranded on a deserted island, maybe nail length was not something to worry about, but after nine days, they had naturally started growing.

It was not rare for girls to grow out their nails, but that did not mean they never used nail clippers.

But on this island, at present, we could not obtain anything like minerals.

It had been a subtle problem, and I had even considered buying nail clippers in the bonus area, but when I checked the pharmacy, I discovered these.

They were made of tempered glass and apparently had an extremely fine texture, allowing them to file nails cleanly.

When I made one and tested it by myself, it was easy to use.

“Huh!? Amazing...!”

The biggest reaction came from Mamonaka, who belonged to the volleyball club.

Since long nails would interfere with touching the ball, she might have been more sensitive to this than most.

If so, the nails that kept growing on the deserted island must have bothered her quite a bit.

When something “normal” breaks down, that alone can affect your mental state, so I understood how she felt.

The others were not as dramatic as Mamonaka, but they were pleased too.

The serious Minori smiled and said, “Thank you. Having them grow out felt strangely unsettling, so I’m glad.” Roa, who was conscious of grooming as a maid, bowed once and said, “With these, I will be able to keep my nails neatly maintained. Thank you very much.”

“They can break if they’re struck, so please be careful of that. I can always make more nail files, but watch out for injuries.”

“Mm. Thank you, So-kun. If anyone gets hurt, I’ll heal them.”

“With you here, Chiyu, I feel reassured about that. Well, not getting injured in the first place is best.”

Life had gained more leeway, and our numbers had increased, so anyone who wanted one could choose nail clippers in the bonus area.

Once I had said that much, I realized I had chosen the wrong timing to hand out gifts.

“Ah, as for the other cosmetics, let’s do that after the event.”

Seeing how seriously they were examining the lip balms, I made that decision.

If I brought out other things now too, they would probably spend quite a lot of time trying all kinds of things.

Even if Shoubu’s ability could finish makeup itself in an instant, deciding which cosmetics to use before reaching that point would take time.

“Also, the bath is going to cool down, so why don’t you choose the lip balm after you get out?”

“Ugh. Y-you’re right. I’d feel bad if something like this made Sousuke refill the hot water.”

“I got carried away and forgot myself, even though I’m a teacher... I’ll be careful.”

Shion and Ms. Luminous reflected on their actions.

“I’ll leave them here until tomorrow morning, so take your time choosing after the bath.”

I could just put the leftovers in my Inventory.

I headed to my room, checked the now-spacious room again, and then turned my thoughts to tomorrow’s event.

After a while, I heard a voice from the hallway saying, “I’m turning off the lights now.”

It was Ms. Luminous’s voice.

The sphere of light illuminating the room from the ceiling waited about thirty seconds, then vanished with a soft flicker.

I had heard about lights-out, so I had lit the lantern too.

It was darker than before, but I had secured light.

A few more minutes passed after that before someone knocked on the door.

I went to the door and welcomed the visitor.

“W-welcome.”

“S-sorry to intrude.”

The one standing there stiff with nerves was the serious ponytailed Class Rep—Shijo Minori.

Yes.

Tonight, it was her turn.