The Bathroom and the Threat

The bathroom. It's not just a place to relieve yourself—it's an essential facility for hygiene and health. Modern people are so used to flush toilets where everything is taken care of with a simple pull of a lever. For humans accustomed to that convenience, living in the wild without even a proper bathroom is almost impossible to imagine.

Maybe it was because I didn't feel the urge yet, but the bathroom hadn't even crossed my mind. Of course, even if I had thought about it, there wouldn't have been any sharp solutions.

"Mom. There's no bathroom here."

"No... bathroom?"

At my calm statement, Mom blinked as if she'd heard something unbelievable.

"Yeah. You'll probably have to do it in the open somewhere nearby."

"Open... urination..."

Was the lack of a bathroom on a deserted island that shocking? For a moment, Mom looked completely out of it, like her soul had left her body.

"Ah, no, it's not that I really need to go right now. I was just curious and asked."

Mom tried to brush it off with a forced smile.

"Mom. This isn't something you can just hold in."

I understood that a woman's open urination was much harder than a man's. But brushing it off wouldn't solve anything. People have to expel what they consume eventually. You can't hold it forever, and stalling won't magically create a bathroom that doesn't exist. In that case, it was better to take care of it now while we still had some leeway. It would be even more troublesome if the urge hit when we were in a pinch.

"Mom. Just go somewhere close. There's no one watching anyway."

"Ugh... even so..."

"And after you're done, I'll take care of the cleanup—"

"You don't have to do that kind of cleanup!"

Mom's face flushed bright red as she snapped at me. I was talking about the big one being hard to deal with. If you didn't bury it properly, wild animals might come sniffing around.

"Uuu... Now that you've said it like that, I actually feel like I need to go even more..."

"...I see."

Mom had a troubled expression as she rubbed her thighs together. Just watching her was starting to make me feel awkward too.

"Mom, stop that and just go already. I'll stand guard right beside you."

"No! I told you it's fine!"

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"Then should I go inside for a bit?"

"That won't do either!"

...Hmm. This was a difficult problem.

Honestly, my personal feelings were that I wanted to stay by her side even while she was doing her business. You never know what might come out. Even if Mom told me to go inside, I planned to secretly wait nearby.

"Ah! That's it!"

Mom, who had been pondering for a moment, seemed to have come up with an idea.

"Changjae, check your phone."

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"My phone?"

"Yeah. Maybe that shop sells bathrooms."

There was no way the shop would sell bathrooms. Even as I thought that, I checked my phone anyway.

The categories in the shop were [Equipment], [Consumables], [Tools], and [Base]. Four in total. There probably wasn't anything like a bathroom in there...

"That one! Base!"

"Oh."

Now that she mentioned it, there was that option. Mom's eye for detail was impressive.

When I tapped [Base], a 2D cross-section of the cave where Mom and I were staying appeared. This must be our base. The walls were jagged and it wasn't very deep—a truly simple cave.

The product list under [Base] included things like [Floor Leveling], [Space Expansion], [Room Division], and [Facility Installation].

"There it is!"

Just as Mom said, [Facility Installation] included bathrooms. And several types at that.

A 30-coin traditional toilet (requires coins to empty the tank).

A 200-coin flush toilet (includes plumbing facilities).

And even a 1,000-coin state-of-the-art toilet (what the hell is this one?).

There were even options for bidets and washbasins. Of course, just because they were for sale didn't mean we could buy them all.

"Mom. We don't have enough coins."

"No way...!"

Once again, coins were the problem.

"We only have 6 coins left. That's not even enough for the cheapest toilet."

"Th-then what do we do?"

Mom asked me with a restless expression. She seemed to be thinking, 'Can't we do something like we did with the bug-repelling bikini?'

There was a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looked at me. But I had to deliver the harsh reality.

"Mom. As you probably already know, even if we had the coins, we couldn't buy a toilet right now. There are things we need to buy first. For the time being, even if it's inconvenient, we have to handle anything we can without coins that way."

Even if we got more coins, a toilet was way down on the priority list. Right now, securing items for our safety was the top priority.

"I understand..."

Mom looked like she'd fallen into a pit of despair.

"Then instead... could we at least get some toilet paper somehow?"

"I'll check."

Following Mom's words, I searched the phone again. There it was, in the shop's [Consumables] category.

Toilet paper rolls. One roll for 1 coin, or 20 rolls for 10 coins. This much spending couldn't be helped. I bought one roll for 1 coin. Suddenly, a roll of toilet paper popped into existence in mid-air with a poof.

"Mom. Here."

"Yeah..."

Mom took the toilet paper and hesitated for a moment before suddenly declaring in a loud voice.

"This is! Not for the big one! Women need toilet paper even for the small one, okay!"

"I didn't say anything."

I had thought about it a little on the inside. But I wasn't judging her or anything. Those kinds of physiological phenomena were perfectly natural.

"...Then, I'll be back in a bit. Changjae, you stay right here, okay?"

"Yes. I'll be here. Mom, don't go too far."

"Okay."

"And be careful because there might be snakes on the ground."

"I know."

"For the cleanup, I'll—"

"I said it's fine!"

After our conversation, Mom walked alone into the forest. The grass brushed against her legs, but she didn't seem to mind. It looked like the bracelet was doing its job.

I watched her back for a moment when—

...The familiar alarm rang. As expected, it came. I'd predicted this one might show up too.

"Don't look!"

Mom must have heard the alarm too. She turned toward me in shock and shouted.

"Yes. I'm not looking."

"This time I mean it! You really can't look!"

"Okay."

...I had no intention of looking, but checking the rewards shouldn't be a problem.

A rare item. So it was rare equipment. Logically speaking, a bamboo spear shouldn't be any better than an iron one. But I couldn't think only in logical terms here. The fact that it was labeled rare probably meant it had some special effect unlike normal weapons.

...Not that I was planning to peek or anything.

It was true that I needed a weapon right now. But this mission was practically impossible to complete. How was I supposed to secretly watch her genitals while she was urinating? To finish this mission, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd have to run over while she was in the middle of it and stare openly. That would completely destroy Mom's trust in me for good.

"Mom! I'm really not going to look, so don't go too deep in!"

Mom seemed to be finding a spot, but then she glanced back at me, stood up again, and went further inside. The mission content must have been bothering her. Above all, I already had a prior offense.

...But even so, she was going way too far in. I took a few steps toward her so I wouldn't get too far away.

"Mom! I swear I'm not going to look! Please trust me!"

Maybe my sincerity got through, or maybe she just couldn't hold it anymore. Mom finally settled on a spot and squatted down.

"Changjae, turn around!"

"Yes."

Obviously, even with the grass, I couldn't see her lower body anyway. But I guess it still made her nervous. Without a word, I turned my back to her.

It was a shame about the weapon, but I'd have to wait for the next opportunity. Whether by collecting coins, completing missions, or finding another way. Or I could just make ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one myself. There were plenty of stones and wood around.

While I waited for Mom to finish her business, another alarm rang out.

Huh? What now?

As I fumbled to take out my phone, an ominous message reached my ears.

"What—"

"Kyaaaaa—!"

Immediately after, Mom's piercing scream rang out. There was no time to think. I kicked off the ground and sprinted toward her.

"Mom! This way, quick!"

At the sound of my voice, Mom turned and our eyes met. Her eyes were filled with terror. This was different from when she'd been startled by the bugs. These were the eyes of someone facing a threat to their life and falling into panic.

"Ch-Changjae!"

"Run! Now!"

At my shout, Mom stumbled to her feet without even properly pulling up her panties. As I ran toward her, I focused every visual nerve on her lower body with a prayer in my heart. I needed a weapon. Anything would do. Right now.

"Shut the hell up!"

Large dog-like beasts were bursting out of the grass and charging toward Mom. They were creatures I'd never actually seen in real life before, yet somehow felt strangely familiar.