Chillin' on an Uninhabited Island in Another World

Shijo Minori.

A serious Class Rep who wore her lustrous long black hair in a swaying ponytail and fought every day to preserve order in class.

Maybe people found her proper yet strict attitude hard to approach, because she did not seem to have many friends, but I had always liked her.

And what she had chosen was—Attribute Magic.

I had never had the chance to learn this at school, but apparently she had an ordinary person’s longing to become a mage, too.

After we reunited on this island, the distance between us closed rapidly, and today, we were about to cross the final line.

After lights-out, she came to my room.

She held a lantern in one hand, its faint light illuminating her face.

Her eyes were moist, her cheeks were flushed, and her lips shone.

A faint, flower-like scent drifted from her.

“You used the lip balm already...?”

“Y-yes. Does it look strange?”

“No, it suits you. Honestly, it made my heart skip.”

Minori seemed, for some reason, to lack confidence in her appearance, so I made sure to tell her exactly what I thought.

“I-I see. Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”

“I’ll make more when it runs out, so don’t hold back.”

“Ha ha. I didn’t mean I was going to use it sparingly.”

“I know.”

She probably wanted to say she would use it with gratitude.

Minori smiled at my joke.

Had that eased her nerves a little?

“I saw it once already, but this really is a large room.”

Only my room was split into a private room and a bedroom, but even beyond that, each room was bigger than everyone else’s.

“Yeah. At this rate, when we go back to Japan, my room there is going to feel cramped.”

“That’s true. Being transferred to a deserted island and ending up with a larger room than before is a strange {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} story, though.”

“It really is.”

We looked at each other and laughed.

Then Minori’s face turned serious.

“It’s all thanks to you, Sousuke.”

“We were able to secure wood and stone because of your magic, Minori. At first, I was spending ages chopping trees down with an axe.”

I remembered the time just after the transfer when I somehow managed to cut down one tree while leaving my hands covered in blood.

Now Minori’s wind magic could slice through them cleanly, and that helped tremendously.

“...If I’m being useful, I’m glad.”

Minori let out those words in a small voice, looking truly happy.

“You know so much, you’re calm, you work hard, and you’ve really helped us in all kinds of ways.”

“I-I see...”

Minori toyed with her ponytail, embarrassed.

Then silence fell for about ten seconds.

“Hey, Minori.”

“Y-yes.”

Her voice rose with tension.

“...You’ve probably heard this from the three of them already, but right now, I’m dating Chiyu, Shion, and Shouko. All of them.”

“Y-yes.”

Minori nodded, looking uneasy. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Even so, I like you too, Minori.”

“————”

A confession was nerve-racking no matter how many times it happened.

Minori’s eyes widened, and then she blinked several times.

“...You’re not saying that out of consideration for me, are you?”

“I wouldn’t do that. It’s true that if we’d stayed in Japan, I probably never would’ve thought this way. But we really did come to this island and spend time together. It wouldn’t be strange for us to have thoughts and feelings different from the ones we had in Japan, would it?”

“N-no, it wouldn’t. If I hadn’t come to this island, I don’t think I would ever have become this close with everyone. And I-I’m sure I never would have done all sorts of things with you, Sousuke.”

Maybe she had remembered what we had done so far, because Minori’s face turned red.

“I get it.”

“T-then it’s true?”

“Of course.”

Minori trembled for a moment, then threw herself into my chest.

“Whoa.”

I gently caught her.

Both of our lanterns swayed, and the shadows in the room rocked dramatically.

As I felt her body heat and the sensation of her against me, she looked up at me through her lashes.

“I love you too, Sousuke.”

She had told me she loved me during our previous intimacy, but today’s words were far more powerful than anything before.

The impact struck me straight through the heart, and no words came out.

After we gazed at each other for several seconds, our lips met as if by mutual pull.

When our lips parted, Minori leaned in again as if it still was not enough.

Soft kissing sounds continued for a while, and just as our breathing began to grow slightly rougher—

I realized something.

Until now, my private room and bedroom had been the same room, so even after a girl came to visit, things could naturally shift in that direction.

In the first place, sometimes the conversation had started with us sitting on the bed.

But now that the bedroom was separate, there was a necessary step called “inviting her to bed.”

Once again, I realized just how much the girls’ assertiveness had helped me until now.

I pulled slightly away from her, took her hand, and gently drew her toward the bedroom.

“Minori, is this okay...?”

“Y-yes.”

With Minori at my side, I headed for the bedroom.

In the bedroom stood an enormous bed that made me want to ask what king it belonged to.

Since I was also the one who made it, that was basically me criticizing myself, though.

We placed both lanterns on the bedside table, and I blew out one of the flames.

While I was doing that, Minori moved to the center of the bed.

She flopped onto her back, then looked at me with only her head turned.

“I was a little frustrated, feeling as if I’d fallen behind the three of them... But this may be nice in its own way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because I’m the first one in this bed.”

The bewitching air coming from the serious Minori made me swallow without thinking.

I quietly climbed onto the bed as well and moved closer to her.