Chapter 25
* * *
Day 11 of Being Stranded on a Deserted Island, 07:33
A warm fire, pleasant air, and soft breasts.
They were the perfect conditions for falling asleep with a full stomach.
It might sound like an excuse for putting off yesterday's task—building a bathroom—until today.
But it was an excuse.
Honestly, it was too dark to do any work at night.
I had Detection Magic, so I could perceive things through mana even at night, but...
An ordinary person would have waved me off, saying it was pitch-black.
Even a smartphone flashlight has its limits.
As usual, I was the first one up, so I checked the campfire first.
Thanks to the magic-dried firewood, the flames that had burned through the night were almost dead by morning.
I gently coaxed the embers with the Glyph of Wind and pushed in a few of the logs I'd prepared.
Whoosh!
There was just a little liquid gas sloshing around in the bottom of the lighter.
…There are only one or two uses left, so I should treasure the remaining flame.
It's light out now, so I should get started on the bathroom.
I quickened my pace, thinking I should do it before Assistant Manager Kang started nagging me.
I'd use the materials I'd prepared yesterday.
The hardest part of making a dry toilet was digging a hole deep enough.
If it was too shallow, the smell would rise and bugs would gather.
The soil was harder than it looked, so digging down without tools would take forever.
A shovel… As if we had one.
But that's all right.
I have the Wind Shovel.
And this was much more versatile.
First, I chose where to dig and focused on the flow of mana.
At first, I spun out very thin strands of wind like thread and sent them through the gaps in the soil.
From the inside, I gradually pried apart places where gravel and dirt were interlocked, where fine roots were tangled, and where a shovel blade might catch.
This was something human hands couldn't do.
It was work only possible with magical wind: getting the soil into a state that was easier to dig.
Even just making gaps in the tightly bound structure of gravel and soil, so they could shift against each other, made the ground much easier to dig.
That was because things packed together into one large mass became easier to break apart.
Of course, it would've been much harder if the ground were frozen solid in midwinter...
But this was enough for now.
After taking enough time to loosen the soil evenly, I pushed in the Wind Shovel.
Crumble.
The advance work paid off, and the soil gave way easily.
Once I'd dug a deep enough hole, all that was left was to put a wooden toilet structure around it.
I laid a board with a hole cut in it, then added a cover to keep the smell from rising.
After that, I put up walls and a roof for privacy.
It had almost no value as a well-built structure.
It'd probably fall right over if someone body-slammed it.
Though I couldn't imagine anyone crazy enough to pick a fight with a toilet...
For something built on a deserted island, it was pretty decent quality.
Now I just had to add a door...
Haha, doors are too difficult, so I'll pass.
I don't think I could add anything with moving parts to it in the first place.
"Mr. Woojin."
Just then, the assistant manager suddenly appeared behind me.
"Gah!"
"Did I startle you?"
How had she shown up right as I finished?
Had she been watching me? She was terrifying.
The assistant manager took a quick look inside the bathroom I'd made.
"Not bad. Did you throw this together this morning?"
"Yes."
"We can put the toilet paper here... and there's water for washing your hands..."
I was bothered by how thin the roll of toilet paper was.
When that ran out...
Could I semi-automate the Glyph of Water here and turn it into a bidet?
That might actually be possible.
"What about the door?"
"There isn't one."
"Making something like hinges would be too difficult, right?"
I thought she'd say something else, but Seoyoon's tone was quite gentle.
"I've never done anything like this outside before."
"I understand. Everything feels awkward the first time."
Huh?
"What's gotten into you, Assistant Manager...?"
"W-what? Is it weird for me to say something like that!?"
"It's pretty weird, actually."
What was she building up to?
With an embarrassed look, Seoyoon pulled out what she'd been hiding against her chest.
"It's my first time, so don't laugh at me."
It was...
Something woven from the leaves we'd found yesterday—the fake palm leaves.
It seemed the assistant manager had made something while I was making planks yesterday.
"If we hang this over the entrance, won't it make the inside feel a little less exposed?"
Rustle, rustle.
As if she didn't want me to see something so poorly made, she was embarrassed, but...
Seoyoon had made something because she wanted to help, too.
"Looks good to me."
I had no desire to laugh at her.
"I haven't done this in my whole life, either..."
Of course, it wasn't the work of a handicraft expert.
It was clumsy, but you could tell she'd woven it carefully.
"Just a moment."
Making a peg to hang this on was much easier than making hinges.
I carved a wooden peg and drove it in, then hung the leaf screen Assistant Manager Kang had made.
That made it a much better bathroom.
"This is a joint effort between you and me, Assistant Manager."
"I just chipped in a little."
She said that, but she looked rather proud.
"All right, then... Now that we've made a bathroom, there's something I have to do."
"What is it?"
"I'll take the first dump."
I pretended to lower my pants and walked into the bathroom.
"W-wait a minute! I haven't gone yet!"
The assistant manager hurried away in a panic.
* * *
When I got back and told them the bathroom was ready, both Manager Han and Luka were delighted.
"Ah, honestly... Thank you so much."
Manager Han Jia looked deeply relieved.
The difference in her expression showed how much she'd been worrying about the bathroom all this time.
"You can make anything in a flash, Oppa. It's like magic!"
"Because I'm a wizard."
Now we had to go look for food.
We'd eaten everything we'd found yesterday.
Some people might say, 'You guys have no plan at all. Can't you ration the food?'
Honestly, that was impossible.
What could I do when I kept stuffing my mouth full while telling myself the food would go bad by tomorrow anyway?
Instinct was scary.
Instinct...
There was one thing I desperately wanted right now.
Ah~ I want to fuck.
Assistant Manager Kang and Manager Han were walking around braless. Any man would naturally have those thoughts.
Luka was the only one who understood how hard I was holding myself back.
Should I ask them?
No...
The women wouldn't exactly be thrilled if I asked them to go at it in a roofless jungle while we were busy struggling to survive day by day.
It wasn't that kind of atmosphere, and one of them was even married.
"Today..."
Manager Han Jia glanced at me cautiously and said,
"Should I go?"
......
So there was one more person who understood how hard it was to hold back.
And she was married, too.
"No, Manager. You're already taking care of everyone's laundry. I'll go."
Assistant Manager Kang Seoyoon!!
She had absolutely no sense of timing at moments like this.
Not that I could talk, but she really had no sense when it came to sexual desire.
Assistant Manager, pay me back with your body!!
──No, I couldn't say that, could I?
"? Why? Is there something on my face?"
"No. Nothing."
"Hehe, you have it rough, Oppa."
Luka rubbed herself against me with a mischievous look.
"Can you bring back crabs again today, Oppa?"
Should I?
There might be more male crabs to catch if we went today.
My eyes met the assistant manager's.
"Let's bring back more leaves, too, Mr. Woojin."
"Sounds good."
Let's get going.
When we reached the fake palm grove, we gathered leaves first.
"Let's take more of the fruit, just in case."
Hadn't we left all of it untouched yesterday, in the end?
But it wasn't like we could afford to be picky about supplies on a deserted island.
If it was something we could put in our mouths, we should take it. I agreed with that policy, too.
A little while later,
when we reached the rock crab area, we couldn't help but groan.
"Ah..."
"Mm..."
Today, the rocky area was submerged.
It was high tide. The rocks that had been exposed at low tide were now all underwater.
───It had been fine when we found it yesterday, but it turned out to be a limited-time event.
I slapped the innocent water with the Glyph of Wind.
"This won't work today..."
"Should we wait?"
"Who knows when the tide will go out..."
With enough observations, we might be able to figure out the timing of high and low tides.
But we'd only visited for the first time yesterday, and we didn't know the tidal patterns in this area.
"It might go out in five or six hours if we're lucky..."
"Hmm."
Was that long enough to wait?
"If this area only has one big tidal cycle a day, it might be too late even if we wait until night."
"We're screwed."
I was counting on this place today!
I'd been thinking things were going too well, eating and pooping on a deserted island, and now the world was already screwing us over.
Once again, we realized just how damn helpless we were in the face of nature.
"...Let's go back and empty our bags for now."
Thinking we couldn't just hang around here, Seoyoon made the call.
It was the first time we'd returned to camp empty-handed.
We might be in a bit of a bind...
"Oppa, Oppa. Did you bring back lots of crabs?"
Luka looked disappointed when nothing but a pile of tasteless fruit came out of the bag.
"Eeh..."
"There weren't any crabs."
These things happen.
But it was too early to give up. The sun hadn't completely set yet.
"Let's look one more time."
Seoyoon was full of enthusiasm, too.
That was when it happened.
Everyone turned at the sound of someone approaching. It was a wild boar.
"Eek!"
Luka jumped in surprise and clung to my forearm.
"Oppa, Oppa, look at that!"
It wasn't a wild boar standing on two legs... It was Vito noona, wearing a hide like a costume.
"Noona, what are you doing?"
"It's boar hide."
Well, I could see that...
Vitoria strode over and casually handed me the boar hide.
Huh?
Was this a gift for me?
"O-oh, wow."
I accepted it, touched.
They say good deeds get rewarded!
"Did you prepare this yourself, noona? Is it a premium boar-hide rug?"
It'd be perfect spread out on the platform!
Then Vito suddenly started laughing.
"It's not for lying on top of."
Oh, that's not what it's for?
I'd imagined a luxurious carpet like the kind on the floor of a rich Gothic mansion.
I guess not.
"Just toss it over there and use it."
"Oh, it's just for everyday use?"
"Yeah. Shake it off if it gets dirty. Dry it if it gets wet."
Well, without chemicals to treat it, how could she make a luxurious rug like that?
It seemed to be a memento of the boar hunt, more like a trophy.
I handed it to Assistant Manager Seoyoon.
"Eek! That's gross!"
When Seoyoon recoiled and refused, Vitoria chuckled.
"It's a gift, so don't be that horrified, Assistant Manager."
"B-but... Ugh."
"She says it's a hide you can use however you like. A souvenir."
"Thank you..."
Seoyoon reluctantly accepted the hide and bowed her head to Vito in thanks.
"Did you come just to give this to us?"
“Now, the main point."
The main point...?
"I found a cave nearby that looks useful, but I need your help."
"Huh?"
Why would she need my help just because she'd found a cave?
I had a slightly ominous feeling.
"I want to check inside, but there's something in the way."
As expected, it was a request to hunt something.
My first thought was that it sounded like a pain, but it also seemed like a good opportunity.
"Could we get some meat from it?"
"Unfortunately, I can't promise that. It might be poisonous."
She couldn't promise there'd be meat? It might be poisonous?
What on earth had she found?
"We'd better get rid of it soon. It's the kind of thing that would eat people, too. Green skin, and a vicious look in its eyes."
Green skin and a vicious look...
What was that supposed to be?
Anyway, a hunting request had come my way...
Should I accept it or not?
"Mr. Woojin."
Seoyoon carefully set down the hide and gently tugged at my sleeve, as if asking me to translate.
"Vito noona's asking me to hunt something for her. I don't think it's a boar."
"Can you eat it? No, I mean..."
Seoyoon suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth.
Maybe she regretted asking so bluntly; her face turned red.
"Haha. Are you craving meat?"
"U-ugh..."
Right on cue, Seoyoon's stomach growled.
"Ah~."
The digestive system really doesn't care about human feelings!
It growled as soon as she imagined meat.
"But from what noona said, she can't promise it'll be edible, so I'm not sure."
"It's an animal, but she doesn't know if we can eat the meat...?"
"It sounds like it might be poisonous."
I could use Detection Magic to tell whether it was poisonous, but...
If I went hunting with Vito noona, worst-case scenario, we'd go hungry tonight or have to chew those awful fruits that were basically rubber.
It was a shame, but I had no choice but to refuse.
"Noona. As you can see, I have a lot of people depending on me. I need to find food."
"I'll give you some."
Huh?
Vito noona took a bundle of meat out of her bag. It was fresh, raw meat.
It wasn't boar; it seemed to be meat from an animal she'd hunted separately.
"You're just giving this to me?"
"Not for nothing. I'll give it to you if you deal with that thing."
It wasn't enough to eat our fill like yesterday, but it would be plenty for dinner tonight...
That was a lot of meat. It had to be a significant sacrifice for Vito, too...
"You don't have much meat yourself, noona. Are you sure?"
"We need a place to live urgently. That's how troublesome an enemy it is."
Hmm...
If the food was guaranteed, that changed things.
"Assistant Manager, she says she'll give us meat if I go take care of a dangerous beast. What should I do?"
"Wouldn't it be dangerous for you, Mr. Woojin?"
"I'll be fine. I'm a wizard."
"..."
The assistant manager seemed torn, too.
It was a high-risk hunting request.
If I caught it, I could get a chunk of meat prepared by Vito noona.
"If you're confident, Mr. Woojin, then take the job."
"Should I?"
"We can trust Vitoria. Besides, if something like that is roaming around, who knows when it might run into us?"
That was true.
It might be better to hunt dangerous beasts before they came across us.
"Then I'll go."
"Please do, Mr. Woojin."
Vitoria had been waiting for my answer.
"Lead the way, noona."
At that, she grinned as if she'd known I'd say yes.