Chillin' on an Uninhabited Island in Another World

When I opened my eyes, I was standing in the shopping mall’s central hall in my school uniform.

This was only my second time here, but that overflowing sense of “Japan”—or maybe just “Earth”—still made my heart jump.

Like maybe I’d actually made it back to Japan.

But unfortunately, that wasn’t it.

This was the bonus area that had been unlocked because I’d obtained a Right to Return, then postponed using it.

Every night, my companions and I were summoned here and allowed to bring back one item each from whatever was being sold.

“My...! S-so we really are summoned to that shopping mall...”

The one reacting in awe was Roa.

Since this was a dream, she was in her school uniform too.

Given the nature of the bonus area, having one more person with us was an advantage, so for now I’d had her join the party.

Since it was a local facility, she seemed to recognize the place too.

But the other three girls besides Roa weren’t looking at the building so much as they were sneaking glances at me and Chiyu.

And, as if answering them, Chiyu gave a firm thumbs-up.

“Mission accomplished.”

She probably meant things had gone well between us.

The three of them instantly turned red.

“S-so the seventh night is mine, right...?”

“Y-yeah. And then the eighth is me...”

“So I’m the ninth, then... though, well, that depends entirely on you, Sousuke.”

The three of them huddled together and whispered.

Roa watched them with an amused little smile.

For some reason, that made me feel unbearably awkward.

“A-anyway. Roa, this is your first time, so I’m sure you’re nervous, but you understand how things work here, right?”

Realizing I was trying to change the subject, Roa answered with a bright smile anyway.

“Yes. You already explained it to me. We discuss things in advance within the party and narrow down the products we want to bring back, so we ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) do not waste the bonus area’s three-hour time limit.”

I’d already explained the bonus area, and before bed we’d all finished deciding what to buy.

“Right. Since we’ve got one more companion now, that means we can bring back six items.”

“Even so, Master truly is remarkable. Not only did you obtain a Right to Return, you also overcame the temptation of going back to Japan and chose instead to remain here with your companions.”

“That was the promise. There’s no way I could leave everyone behind.”

“That resolve is something special. In an extreme situation, I imagine there are people who would prioritize their own safety even if it meant abandoning the person they love. I would not necessarily call that feeling especially ugly. But to remain for someone else’s sake is, without question, a noble act.”

Roa’s expression was serious enough that I couldn’t just laugh it off.

“...Thanks.”

“No. It is precisely because you are that kind of person, Master, that everyone places such complete trust in you. As your maid, I could not be prouder.”

Even though she was wearing her school uniform, her maid presence was so natural by now that for a second I could practically see the maid outfit instead.

“Mm. My proud childhood friend.”

“Yep. Total that’s our Sousuke. Can’t even shorten it anymore.”

“Hehe, I’m happy Roa noticed one of the wonderful things about So-kun too.”

“Honestly, yes. If it weren’t for you, Sousuke, I don’t think this group could ever have come together like this.”

I was getting praised to death from every direction, and it honestly made me blush.

I cleared my throat and forcibly steered the conversation elsewhere.

“Let’s not waste time here...!”

Everyone was smiling at me in that warm, knowing way, but at least they let it drop.

“Then let’s do that. Um, one thing is another hair dryer, right? Since Roa joined us, and we might get more companions later.”

That came from Shion.

With two hair dryers, two people at a time could dry their hair, but now Roa had joined us.

She was still only a provisional member for now, but seeing how serious she was and how naturally she fit in, I had a feeling she’d become an official companion before long.

“One thing should be an additional solar panel. We know now that it works properly even in our environment, and we’ll be able to use it for any electrical appliances we purchase from here on out.”

Minori was right.

“And after that, a big-screen TV! There’s way too little to do once it gets dark!”

Shouko cried out.

On that point, everyone agreed.

Well, once it was my turn for the night, one of the girls came to my room, so I didn’t exactly have any complaints myself...

But even putting that aside, it was dangerous to explore after sunset, and there was only so much we could do in the house, so we’d definitely started to feel a little bored.

I’d heard stories before about how, in the old days, once it got dark there was nothing but moonlight, candles were too precious to waste, and people just had no choice but to sleep.

It really was kind of like that.

Modern kids weren’t made for that kind of life, and I understood that perfectly, so this was something the whole group had chosen together.

And from here on, we were testing things.

“Question for the mystery blackboard. What would happen if we tried to set up equipment on that island that required an internet connection?”

That was Chiyu’s question.

Connecting to the internet is impossible. We cannot answer whether that function will be implemented in the future.

The words scrolled across the monitor.

“Too bad. If it worked, we could’ve just plugged in a video output device and watched all kinds of stuff forever.”

There were devices you could connect to a TV and use to watch streaming services, assuming you had Wi-Fi and a subscription.

If internet-based functions were banned to begin with, then buying one of those would be pointless anyway.

“Then we’ll just have to buy software the slow way.”

“Let’s get complete box sets and stuff so we can watch as much as possible.”

Shouko jumped on what I said.

It wasn’t like we were all going home tomorrow.

We’d probably have plenty more chances to come here after this.

Even with my Crafting Ability, I couldn’t generate movies or anime, so this place was where we’d have to rely on for things like that.

That made four items total in video-related stuff.

“After that... textbooks.”

“Are you really sure about that?”

Minori looked uneasy, but everyone else looked bright and enthusiastic.

“Of course! I mean, it’s not just for you, Minorin. The rest of us can use them too. Honestly, I’d want you to teach us.”

“We’re going to go back with our memories intact, right? If we study here, it might help us a lot once we’re back in Japan.”

“Mm. Eventually we should get every subject. And once we do, we can start buying reference books too and raise everyone’s grades.”

“This is only possible because Master’s party has already established such a stable way of life. What a remarkable way to make use of deserted-island living.”

“Everyone... th-thank you. Well, then... let’s have study sessions whenever you want.”

Minori looked genuinely happy.

For the last item, we decided on a home game console.

Even if we brought it back today, we wouldn’t be able to use it right away without any games, but it was for tomorrow and beyond.

The girls had all pressured me to name something I wanted, so this was what I gave them.

Apparently they were worried because I kept focusing so much on the girls—like when I made gifts for everyone—that they wanted me to think about what I wanted too.

If that was how they felt, then I figured I could accept it.

As we bought games later and maybe picked up extra controllers, the number of games we could play—and the number of people who could play together—would keep increasing.

As someone who loved games, that made me happy no matter how I looked at it.

So that made six items total.

With our target purchases secured, we spent the full three hours exploring the mall.

We looked for things we might want next, and checked ingredients, materials, and manufacturing methods so I could aim to reproduce them with Crafting Ability.

And like that, the three hours passed.

We finished selecting all of our items.

My vision turned white, and we were transferred to the usual white space.

The two choices that came after the end of Day 6 were about to begin.