Chillin' on an Uninhabited Island in Another World

Dessert after lunch was fruit.

The four kinds Shouko had found were apples, oranges, bananas, and pears.

Shion and Roa quickly peeled them and arranged portions for everyone on plates.

Bananas, meanwhile, were being handled in a grab-one-from-the-bunch-if-you-want-it style, but maybe because they didn’t really fit the image of an after-meal dessert, nobody touched them.

“I like how refreshing pears are.”

Shouko popped a piece of pear into her mouth with a wooden fork, looking thoroughly satisfied.

“Hehe. Bananas are nice with breakfast or lunch, and banana pancakes could be good too.”

Shion said it with a smile.

“Parfaits too.”

“Pancakes and parfaits both sound amazing! I want them!”

They were sweets that hardly fit the image of life on a deserted island, but with us, we could probably make them happen.

“Um... what is this?”

Roa, who had been cutting one of the fruits, tilted her head.

“That’s the fruit from a sapodilla tree.”

It was the same sapodilla tree we’d gotten chicle from, the main raw material for chewing gum, but apparently the fruit was edible too.

“Mashiro found it for us,” Chiyu said.

“Right, that was there. Wait, the fruit was edible too? I remember being surprised when I heard the sap was used for gum.”

Minori and Shouko, who had been on the exploration trip, added their comments.

“I want to know what it tastes like.”

Chiyu was the adventurous type.

Since I couldn’t exactly let only my childhood friend try it, I decided to eat some with her.

“It looks exactly like a round potato...”

But once it was cut open, the cross-section looked properly fruity. Pale yellow flesh, black seeds, and plenty of edible part.

I popped a piece Roa had peeled for us into my mouth, and it immediately reminded me of a taste I knew.

“This is... kind of like a soft persimmon?”

“It’s really sweet.”

Seeing our reactions, everyone else started reaching for the fruit too.

“So good!”

“Wow, it really is. Soft and juicy.”

“Yes. More than fresh persimmon, it’s closer to dried persimmon, maybe.”

“It is quite delicious, indeed.”

By the way, a little late to mention it, but Roa was eating at the table with us too.

At first she’d said things like, “As a maid, I should wait until after my masters are finished...,” but I’d had to make her give that one up.

And so, after the fruit was also met with general approval, lunch came to an end.

“Phew. I can’t eat another bite.”

Shouko rubbed her stomach, apparently full.

“Since everyone seems to be finished, I should begin cleaning up...”

“Ah, Roa. That’s fine.”

I stored away all the utensils we’d used for lunch.

“My...! C-could it be that when you take something back out after storing it, any dirt or residue on it is gone?”

“Yep. That’s how it works.”

“T-that is a truly astonishing power. No dishwashing, no laundry... As expected of you, Master.”

“It really is amazing. Carrying things, cleaning up, getting everything tidy—those things always eat up time, but when Sousuke-kun is here, it’s all over in an instant.”

“Sorry my childhood friend is such a cheat.” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“It’s another round of ‘as expected of Sousuke’ today.”

“Yes. He handles so many different roles, I almost feel bad about it.”

“No, no... everyone helps too. There’s no way I could live like this on my own.”

Without Chiyu, even a small injury could turn fatal. Without Shion, we wouldn’t have anything close to proper cooking. Without Shouko’s fluffy companions, our mobility would drop hard. And without Minori’s magic, gathering wood, stone, and other materials would still be painfully inefficient.

“I, too, shall do everything in my power to be of use to all of you.”

Roa renewed her resolve.

Shion said she’d make tea, so we headed back inside and toward the living room.

“Roa.”

As we went down the hall, I quietly stopped my classmate maid.

“What is it, Master?”

“There’s something I wanted to ask of you.”

The moment I said that, Roa pressed a hand to one cheek and blushed bright red.

“You mean relief for your sexual urges? ...I am prepared.”

That hit me hard enough to make my heart skip, but then I remembered she’d stayed behind with Chiyu all morning.

My childhood friend had definitely been filling her head with unnecessary things.

“N-no, not that. I wanted you to quietly tell me what everyone wants.”

“My, what a terrible misunderstanding on my part. Please forgive me.”

“Y-yeah. Sure.”

More importantly, had she just said she was prepared...?

I was a healthy teenage boy, so hearing something like that naturally made me fidgety.

“Well then, first, an explanation of my ability. The more I focus, the more deeply I can understand what the other person desires. Normally, what I see is whatever has risen to the surface of their heart.”

“By surface, you mean... what they want right this second?”

“As expected of you, Master. That is exactly right.”

I see. What someone wants right now and what they’ve wanted for a long time aren’t always the same.

And some people probably want many different things.

If she could perceive all of that without limit, the amount of information pouring into her would probably be overwhelming, so I guess the precision changed depending on how much concentration Roa put in.

“Then could you give me that surface-level information? I know it’s personal, but... if it’s something I can get, I want to provide it.”

Roa placed a hand over her chest and closed her eyes as though moved.

“This Roa is deeply touched by Master’s compassion. Then allow me to tell you quietly, one by one.”

“Thanks.”

Chiyu’s number one had apparently changed. Since Condoms had been obtained, that desire was gone, and now strawberries had jumped into first place.

—I see. She ate fruit and got reminded of her favorite kind.

Shion’s was seasonings. She’d been making do creatively with what we had, but as the one in charge of cooking, she probably wanted more range.

Shouko’s was melon... right, of course. She had wanted that. Since we hadn’t found any during the morning exploration, her ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ desire for it must have gotten even stronger.

Minori’s, apparently, was cute girly underwear.

That surprised me, but at the same time it made sense.

If she were by herself, maybe she wouldn’t care, but when bathing with the other girls in the same house, there had to have been moments where she noticed. It wasn’t strange at all that she minded being the only one who’d gotten transferred in plain underwear.

“Hmm. It’s a problem that there isn’t much I can make yet, but at least these seem like things I might be able to manage if I look around.”

I’d start searching this afternoon.

“I am sure everyone will be delighted.”

“And Mashiro... well, I already know his. Could you check on Micron’s wish later too?”

I already knew Mashiro was satisfied as long as he could carry girls on his back or bathe with them.

“Lady Micron wishes to fly through the sky alone with Master.”

Apparently she had already checked.

“Ahh, I get it. Then I can grant that this afternoon. All right, then—what about you, Roa?”

“Hm?”

“You’re one of us now too, aren’t you? And besides, you should know what you want even without your ability.”

Roa’s eyes widened in surprise.

“...I-I have already received a maid outfit.”

“No, the outfit is separate. We’re asking what everyone wants, so that doesn’t count.”

“............”

“Ah, I’m not trying to force it out of you. If you don’t want to say...”

“N-no, it’s not that. I was merely surprised to be asked so suddenly, so please don’t trouble yourself over it...”

Had she really not expected anyone to ask what she wanted?

For some reason, Roa’s cheeks were red again. What was that about?

“I see. If you don’t mind, I’d be happy to hear it.”

“Um... well... then, if it is possible to make them, perhaps shoes that would match the maid outfit...”

“I see. Shoes.”

Not something you could really make by hand on a deserted island—at least, not the kind you could wear in normal life back in Japan without it seeming strange.

But now that we’d found rubber trees, rubber had become something I could produce.

Couldn’t I use that for soles?

“U-um, please don’t overexert yourself. And rather than someone like me, please give priority to the ladies.”

I gave the anxious-looking Roa a smile.

“It’s fine. More importantly, let’s get to the living room.”

Shouko and Chiyu had noticed we weren’t coming and were peeking at us from the living room.

“Men like maids. That’s just what they are.”

“Guys find anything sexy if it’s an outfit.”

“It’s not like that.”

Wryly smiling, I headed into the living room and enjoyed tea together with everyone.