As Ken returned to the beach with firewood, the sun was already setting.
The sun gradually descending on the horizon.
‘Looks like I woke up in the afternoon.’
It hadn’t been long since he entered the forest to gather firewood, yet the day was already fading.
This meant he had woken up after lunch on the deserted island.
“Wow! Ken, you brought the firewood! Just in time! Enzo caught some fish and clams!”
“Then we can cook with the firewood Ken brought, right?”
“Hehe, I suddenly feel like we’re on a camping trip!”
Carrying a pile of firewood, several female students dashed towards Ken, who was near Enzo.
They all grabbed the firewood from his arms in a competitive manner.
“Ken, take a break.”
“Hey, Tiana. Can you help with Ignis?”
“Sure, leave it to me!”
In a flash, they divided roles and laid the firewood on the ground, starting to cast spells to ignite it.
But…
‘Magic probably won’t work.’
Ken thought as he watched the flustered female students.
“Ignis! Uh, um? Ignis! …The spell won’t come out.”
“What? Are you just nervous?”
“Idiot! There’s no way I can’t use simple fire magic because I’m nervous!”
She wasn’t wrong.
On this deserted island, magic couldn’t be used at all.
This was because the whole drifting event was intended to build affection between Emily and the chosen characters.
If they could freely use cheat-like magic, it would simply be a camping trip on an island.
Then, it would make it difficult for the developers to orchestrate the romance that blossoms amidst the crises on the deserted island.
“Uh, what do we do now…?”
The female students panicked and fidgeted as the magic failed to activate.
At that moment.
“Hey guys~! Don’t just stay there, come here! I’ve got the fire going!”
From afar, Enzo waved his hands, shouting over.
Next to him was a roaring campfire.
“Wow! Enzo! How did you light it?”
“Amazing! Guess you can’t use magic after all.”
As the sun set and the temperature began to drop, the female students cheerfully ran toward Enzo.
‘They’re like moths to a flame.’
The sight of them rushing towards the campfire made Ken chuckle.
“Just mash these fruits like this…. See, it catches fire, right?”
“Wow, that’s incredible.”
“You really know your stuff. Who knew?”
As he proudly demonstrated how he lit the fire, the female students began to praise him with smiles.
Enzo looked at Ken with a satisfied grin.
‘How’s that, feeling embarrassed?’
The girls’ delighted reactions pleased Enzo.
Ken, standing afar on the darkened beach, caught Enzo’s expression and felt a swell of satisfaction.
Ken’s reaction was exactly why Enzo used the monkey stone item to summon Ken to this spot.
‘From now on, I’ll keep showing you the differences between us. That way, you’ll become a useless man.’
That was Enzo’s plan.
‘I hope you thoroughly enjoy the feeling of humiliation.’
Knowing the power of the monkey stone, Enzo devised this strategy.
They would get stranded on this deserted island with Ken and the female students, and he would demonstrate Ken’s ineptitude alongside his own competence, making the girls realize his importance instead.
Delighted with his smooth plan, Enzo smiled.
“Alright, shall we have a modest meal? Is there anyone who can clean the fish?”
“Oh, I can! I’ll do it!”
“Thank goodness for Enzo. I feel so reassured.”
In this uncertain situation on a deserted island, looks meant nothing.
What mattered to the girls was having a capable man who could protect them.
So the female students began to rely on Enzo instead of Ken.
“Ken~! Emily~! You both come over too!”
Just then, a girl waved her hand at Ken and Emily from afar, but Ken merely waved back without a word.
He didn’t approach them.
‘Guess he’s too embarrassed to come closer.’
Men are creatures driven by a strong desire for recognition.
Yet the reality that his competing rival was achieving results while he couldn’t do anything must be quite humiliating.
Imagining Ken’s confused feelings brought Enzo a sense of delight.
He looked forward to stepping on Ken’s pride like this going forward.
And looking at Enzo was Ken.
‘Just as I thought, Enzo used the monkey stone.’
He didn’t care about the girls rushing over to Enzo at all.
He had quickly realized that his guess was correct.
The ignition fruit Enzo used.
That was the method of lighting a fire mentioned in the ‘strategy guide’ obtained by someone who triggered the deserted island drifting event using the monkey stone.
‘And those fish and clams he caught. …No doubt about it.’
This event was a cheat-like way for Emily, the protagonist at ‘Epiris Academy,’ to build affection with the chosen character in one go.
However, the game developers didn’t want players to easily utilize such cheat events.
It’s simply problematic in a dating simulation game that one could raise affection so easily by just entering a back alley shop and buying items.
So they created the ‘strategy guide’ as a trap.
‘First, I won’t get close to them over there.’
Ken thought while glancing at Enzo’s campfire.
“Why are you just standing there?”
At that moment, Emily shyly approached Ken and asked quietly.
“Yet you’re not going either, are you? Aren’t you cold?”
Unlike the other girls, Emily continued to stand close to Ken instead of heading towards Enzo.
Surely it must be cold as the temperature dropped.
“Well… Ken’s just standing still.”
Not a very reasonable excuse.
But Emily leaned in closer to Ken, despite the absurdity of her reasoning.
“Still, it’s a bit chilly.”
In her swimsuit, Emily certainly looked cold.
Maybe that’s why she was leaning closer.
As her smooth skin touched Ken’s shoulder, he felt his heart race.
“Sh-should I maybe light a fire over here too?”
“Eh? You can light it? Ah, are you going to try using the fruit too?”
“No, I’m not using that fruit.”
As the atmosphere suddenly became awkward, Ken blushed and quickly grabbed a suitable stick.
‘This is dangerous…’
If he wasn’t careful, the affection event might just start.
‘Thinking about it, this drifting event exists for Emily’s sake too…’
While Enzo was the one using the monkey stone.
Still, the game system was centered around Emily.
So, the current situation could evolve similarly to the existing game system.
In the flow of building affection between Emily and the chosen character.
‘…Though I’m just an extra.’
However, now that it had become reality, Ken could also fit into that scenario.
The previous moment of her leaning against him was a strong indicator of that.
Eventually, the scene where Emily and the chosen character, unable to light a fire, spent the first night relying on each other’s warmth was about to unfold.
‘Dangerous…’
In fact, he had been glancing at Emily in her swimsuit from earlier.
That kind of skinship, coming with bare skin, is hazardous.
‘I can’t become a guy with such a weak resolve…!’
Ken was already drawn to Raphne and Mary.
If he were to develop feelings for Emily through this event…that would be a disaster.
Thus, Ken purposely avoided Emily as she leaned close and began to light the firewood.
“Whoa, that’s impressive…”
Fwoosh. Ken quickly lit the fire using the stick’s friction.
Even though he couldn’t use magic, his enhanced physical abilities naturally allowed him to ignite the fire easily.
“But wouldn’t it be easier if you used the fruit like Enzo?”
As Emily watched the roaring flames while sitting nearby, she asked curiously.
“Well, then it wouldn’t serve the purpose of using this firewood.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well, you’ll understand in a bit.”
Ken answered vaguely.
“Mhm… If you say so, I guess that’s how it is.”
Without hearing further details, Emily accepted his response and didn’t inquire any further.
She simply watched Ken, who sat a bit away.
Swish. As Emily moved closer, she sat down beside him.
“W-why…?”
“What?”
“Uh, no… Just suddenly got close…”
“I told you, I’m cold.”
“……Hmm.”
Then Emily leaned towards Ken again, resting her shoulder against him.
‘It确实 is a bit chilly…’
The warmth from the campfire quickly warmed the area.
But taking into account Emily’s outfit and the fact she was a woman, she still might be cold.
‘Well, there’s no helping it…’
It couldn’t be helped.
Ken resolved himself and allowed the racing heartbeat to settle.
At that moment, Emily, her face flushed as she gazed at the campfire, also felt her heart racing as she remained silently close to him.
A brief tense silence filled the air as they silently stared at the flames.
‘…Isn’t this a chance?’
Amidst that silence, Emily thought it might be an opportunity.
Feeling each other’s body warmth without words in the current scenario.
The atmosphere didn’t seem bad.
Moreover, with the other students chatting with Enzo at a distance, it was just Ken and her.
If it were now, she felt she could say something.
“…Um, Ken.”
She had been waiting for a chance every time.
All this time she had thought about how she needed to say something to him.
It was finally her opportunity to apologize.
To apologize for what she had put him through.
“I-I have something to say…”
“……Huh?”
Nervously, Emily couldn’t bring herself to look at Ken as she spoke.
Then, as she broke the silence with her voice, Ken glared at her in surprise.
‘Something to say…?’
Her remark brought back memories of Mary’s confession from earlier.
‘A-a thing to say…’
The tense atmosphere between them, stranded on a deserted island.
And the emotional setup of a campfire during the night.
With all this, Ken started to imagine that Emily’s next words would be a confession.
“That is…, um…”
Emily stuttered, sneaking glances at Ken.
She was scared to apologize for her past tormenting.
Though Ken behaved towards her without any hostility, maybe he could still hold some resentment.
Therefore, she carefully observed his reaction.
If he looked displeased with her apology, she had to brace herself.
‘…..Huh?’
However, to Emily’s surprise, Ken’s expression was brightly flushed, staring at her with nervous eyes.
It felt as though he was on the cusp of confession….
‘Oh, oh no? Just now, did I say something significant…!’
At that moment, Emily also realized her opening words sounded just like a confession.
Moreover, considering the current atmosphere.
Leaning against Ken as if she were enticing him.
‘Of course, I want to be enticing…’
Emily suddenly felt her heart racing and her face heating up, cupping her cheeks with both hands.
And she cast another quick glance at Ken’s expression.
He was waiting for her words with a face not plagued with displeasure or burden, but with an excited male expression.
‘…Could it be,… maybe, …isn’t it possible?’
Seeing his nervous face, Emily felt an unexpected desire.
Until just now, she was solely focused on apologizing.
But looking at Ken’s anxious expression, she thought if she confessed now…
Could she shake his heart?
“Ke-Ken… I… that is…”
“…Y-yeah.”
And while gazing at Emily, Ken thought he might be right.
‘Emily is… about to confess…’
Slide.
In the tense atmosphere, unconsciously the two girls brushed their hands together, overlapping them.
‘…Ah.’
Both Ken and Emily shuddered at the unexpected touch, but neither pulled away.
Instead, Emily firmly held Ken’s hand as if to encourage her own heart.
The gentle touch from her hand made Ken’s heart race.
“W-what I want to say is…!”
With glimmering eyes filled with anxiety, Emily stared at him and opened her mouth.
Just one word.
She just needed to take courage and say that one more thing.
Encouraging herself not to lose this chance, regardless of the situation.
Emily was ready to convey her feelings to Ken.
“KYAHHHHHH━━!!”
But her confession was abruptly interrupted by the scream of a distant group of female students.
