Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Stranded on a Deserted Island (2)
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By the time Ken returned to the beach with an armful of firewood, the sun was already dipping toward the horizon.
The sun slowly descending along the line where sea met sky.
'Guess I woke up around afternoon.'
It had only been a few hours since he'd ventured into the forest for firewood, but the day was already fading.
That meant he'd woken up on this deserted island sometime after lunch.
"Whoa! Ken, you got the firewood? Perfect timing! Enzo caught some fish and shellfish."
"Then we can use the firewood you brought to cook them up, right?"
"Hee hee, this feels just like camping. I'm actually having fun."
As Ken approached with his arms full of firewood, the female students near Enzo rushed over to him.
They eagerly grabbed the wood from his arms, competing with each other.
"Ken, take a break."
"Hey, Tiana. Mind handling Ignis for me?"
"Sure thing, leave it to me!"
In an instant, they divided up the tasks, laid out the firewood on the ground, and tried to light it with magic.
But.
'Magic won't work here.'
Ken watched the girls struggle, thinking just that.
"Ignis! Huh? What's going on? Ignis! ...The magic isn't coming out."
"What? Is it just nerves?"
"Y-you idiot! There's no way I'd mess up a simple fire spell from being nervous!"
She wasn't wrong.
Magic simply couldn't be used on this deserted island to begin with.
The reason was that the entire stranding event was designed to build affection with Emily and the capture targets.
If cheat abilities like magic could be used freely, it'd just be a regular camping trip on the island.
That would ruin the developers' intended drama of love blossoming amid the crises of deserted island survival.
"W-what do we do...?"
The girls panicked, fidgeting anxiously now that their magic had failed.
That's when.
"Hey, girls~! Don't bother over there—come here! I already got the fire going!"
Enzo called out to them from afar, waving his hand.
A fiercely blazing bonfire roared beside him.
"Whoa! Enzo! How'd you do it?"
"Amazing! And magic doesn't even work here."
As the sun set and darkness crept in, along with dropping temperatures, the girls beamed and ran over to Enzo.
'Like moths to a flame.'
Seeing their backs as they dashed straight for the bonfire, Ken couldn't help but chuckle.
"If you do it with this fruit like this... See? It lights right up."
"Wow, that's cool."
"You know stuff like this? That's unexpected."
Enzo showed off how he'd started the fire, and the girls praised him with smiles.
In response, Enzo grinned smugly and glanced at Ken.
'How's that? Embarrassing, huh?'
The girls' satisfied reactions.
On the darkening sandy beach, Enzo felt great seeing Ken standing alone in the distance, watching them.
Ken's reaction was exactly why Enzo had used the Monkey Stone item to drag him here.
'From now on, I'll keep showing the difference between you and me. You'll end up as a completely useless guy.'
That was Enzo's plan.
'Savor the misery.'
Knowing the Monkey Stone's ability, that's the scheme he'd devised.
He, Ken, and the class's female students would end up stranded on this island.
Then he'd demonstrate Ken's uselessness and his own competence, making the girls who once paid attention to Ken realize how vital he was.
Enzo smiled, pleased with how smoothly his plan was going.
"Alright, let's have a simple meal then? Anyone know how to prep fish?"
"Oh, me! I'll do it!"
"Thank goodness Enzo's here. I feel so much safer."
In the uncertain situation of being stranded, looks didn't matter.
What women needed was a capable man to protect them.
And so, the girls began relying on Enzo instead of Ken.
"Ken~! Emily~! Come on over!"
One of the girls waved at Ken and Emily, who were watching from afar.
But Ken just waved back silently.
He didn't come closer.
'Too embarrassed to even approach.'
Men had strong egos.
Especially when a rival was succeeding while he accomplished nothing.
He must feel pretty humiliated.
Imagining Ken's dejected heart, Enzo felt a rush of satisfaction.
He looked forward to crushing Ken's pride like this from here on out.
And Ken, watching Enzo all the while.
'Looks like Enzo used the Monkey Stone after all.'
He wasn't bothered at all by the girls flocking to Enzo.
He'd simply confirmed that his prediction was spot on from Enzo's actions.
The ignition fruit Enzo had used.
It was the method for starting a fire listed in the "Strategy guide" given to whoever triggered the deserted island event with the Monkey Stone.
'And the fish and shellfish he caught... No doubt about it.'
This event was a cheat way for the protagonist Emily at Epiris Academy to skyrocket affection with capture targets in one go.
But the game developers hadn't made such cheat events too easy to access.
After all, you could just buy the item from a back-alley shop and boost affection massively.
In a game with dating sim elements, that kind of cheat would ruin the fun.
So the devs created a trap called the "Strategy guide."
'For now, better stay away from over there.'
Ken thought as he eyed Enzo's bonfire.
"Why aren't you going over? Just standing there?"
Emily sidled up beside him and peeked at him curiously.
"You're not going either, Emily. Aren't you cold?"
Unlike the other girls, Emily hadn't run to Enzo and was still standing idly with Ken.
Even though the temperature was dropping.
"Well... you're just standing here."
Not much of a reason.
But Emily gave that mismatched excuse and leaned her shoulder against Ken's.
"Still, it's pretty chilly."
In her swimsuit, Emily definitely looked cold.
So she pressed closer to him.
The feel of her soft skin against his shoulder made Ken's heart race.
"Uh, for now, should we start our own fire here?"
"Huh? You can do it? Oh, you planning to use the fruit too, Ken?"
"Nah, not using that fruit."
As the mood turned strangely intimate, Ken blushed and quickly grabbed a suitable wooden stick.
'Dangerous...'
He'd nearly triggered an affection event.
'Come to think of it, this stranding event exists for Emily, technically...'
Even though Enzo was the one who'd used the Monkey Stone.
The game system revolved around Emily.
So the current situation could play out similarly to the original game.
With Emily and a capture target growing closer.
'...Though I'm just an extra.'
But now that it was reality, Ken could be involved too.
Her leaning against him just now proved it.
In the game, Emily and the capture target fail to light a fire and spend the first night huddled together for warmth.
Something like that had almost happened.
'Dangerous...'
Truth be told, he'd been stealing glances at Emily in her swimsuit for a bit.
Skin-to-skin contact in that state was risky.
'I can't become that kind of disloyal guy...!'
Ken's heart was already with Rapne and Mary.
If this event sparked those kinds of feelings for Emily too, it'd be a disaster.
So Ken deliberately avoided her closeness and focused on starting the fire with the firewood.
"Whoa, that's impressive... ."
━Roar.
Ken used friction from the wooden stick to ignite the fire in seconds.
No magic, but his trait-boosted physical abilities were intact.
Starting a fire wasn't hard for him.
"Wouldn't it be easier using the fruit like Enzo did?"
Emily sat watching the roaring flames and asked curiously.
"Then there'd be no point in gathering this firewood."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You'll see soon enough."
Ken brushed it off vaguely.
"Hmmm... If you say so, then I guess that's that."
She didn't press for details and seemed to accept it.
She just watched Ken sitting a bit apart.
━Rustle.
Then she scooted over and sat right next to him.
"Wh-why...?"
"What?"
"No, suddenly sitting next to me..."
"I told you. It's cold."
"......Mm."
And just like before, Emily tilted her body and pressed her shoulder against his.
'It is pretty chilly...'
The bonfire's warmth quickly heated the surroundings.
But considering Emily's outfit—or that she was a girl—it might still be cold for her.
'No helping it...'
No helping it.
Ken excused himself like that and let the heart-pounding situation be.
Emily, cheeks flushed as she stared at the fire, felt her own heart race too and stayed silently pressed against him.
A tense silence flowed between them as they wordlessly watched the flames.
'...Isn't this a chance right now?'
In that quiet moment, Emily sensed an opportunity.
The current situation, feeling each other's warmth without words.
The mood wasn't bad.
Plus, the other students were far off chattering with Enzo, so it was just her and Ken.
Now she could say it.
"...Hey, Ken."
She'd waited for a chance every time.
All this time, thinking she had to tell him.
An apology for her past actions toward him.
For bullying him.
"I, I have something to say..."
"......Huh?"
Too nervous to look at him, Emily spoke without meeting his eyes.
Ken turned to her in surprise at her voice breaking the silence.
'Something to say...?'
Her words suddenly reminded him of Mary's confession not long ago.
'S-something to say...'
The tense atmosphere with the opposite sex making his heart pound.
The extreme situation of being stranded.
And the romantic bonfire-lit night.
All of it led Ken to imagine her next words as a confession.
"It's... like, um..."
Emily hesitated, glancing at him sidelong.
She was scared to apologize for the bullying.
Ken showed no resentment toward her despite it all.
But he might still harbor grudges.
So she gauged his reaction.
In case he got upset at her apology, she'd prepare her heart.
'...Huh? What's this?'
But the Ken she saw.
His ears red, eyes tense as he stared at her.
As if he was about to receive a confession any second...
'W-wait, come to think of it, what I just said sounded super suggestive...!'
Emily realized her opener sounded just like the lead-up to a confession.
And the current mood.
Her body pressed against his like she was seducing him.
'I-I mean, I do kinda want to seduce him, but...'
Emily touched her cheeks, burning hot with her pounding heart.
She sneaked another peek at Ken's face.
He was waiting for her words.
His expression wasn't discomfort or burden—it was the face of a thrilled guy.
'...Maybe, just maybe... it could work?'
Seeing his tense face sparked greed in Emily.
Until moments ago, her mind had been full of apologizing.
But now.
Maybe if she confessed right now.
She could shake his heart. Like that.
"K-Ken... I, um..."
"...Y-yeah."
Watching her like that, Ken thought.
His guess might be right.
'Emily... toward me.'
Rustle.
In the tense atmosphere, Emily unconsciously reached out and laid her hand over Ken's.
'...Ah.'
The sudden touch made both Ken and Emily tremble.
But neither pulled away.
Instead, Emily steeled herself and gripped his hand more firmly.
The soft feel of her hand.
That sensation and the tension made Ken's chest feel like it would burst.
"What I want to say is...!"
Emily looked at him with moist eyes from the nerves and opened her mouth.
Just one more word.
One more word with courage.
Cheering herself on despite the fear.
Swept up in the mood but not missing the chance.
Emily tried to convey her feelings to Ken.
"Kyaaaaaaaah━!!"
But her confession was cut off by the distant scream of the group of girls.