All the places on the island that needed exploring had been explored, and now the anomaly's true form had been successfully found, so there was nothing much left to do.
It was simply a matter of patiently waiting for Juju and Haruno to awaken, then finding a way to defeat the anomaly and return to reality.
"President, you've worked hard." Chika placed her left hand on her hip, raised her right hand, and patted Natsuki's shoulder, "You rest for a while.
Today's food will be handled by Kaguya-chan, Yukino-chan, and me."
Natsuki looked at Chika and sighed:
"I'm very worried."
"Eh?"
"I always feel like someone will get pinched by a crab, then run back to me, crying."
"President, don't underestimate me!" Chika puffed out her pink cheeks, "It's just catching crabs, I won't get pinched!"
"President, please rest for a bit." Kaguya said softly, "We can go catch crabs today."
Natsuki nodded:
"I'll be relieved if Kaguya goes."
"President, that's so mean!" Chika's pink cheeks puffed out even more, unhappy, "Why aren't you worried about Kaguya getting pinched by a crab!"
Natsuki said wistfully:
"Why are you asking why? Don't you know in your heart?"
Chika: "I don't know! I completely don't know!"
...
"I want to go too." Hayasaka also raised her right hand, smiling, "I've never caught crabs in the Red Mangrove Forest before.
I watched videos on Niconico and felt catching crabs was super fun, so I want to experience it too."
Experiencing crab catching was fake; closely looking after her young mistress was the true purpose.
Chika seemed to have found a kindred spirit and quickly nodded:
"That's right, that's right, catching crabs is indeed super fun!"
Natsuki waved his hand:
"Go ahead, be careful."
...
The four girls were ready, namely Kaguya, Chika, Hayasaka, and Yukino.
They went together to the Red Mangrove Forest to catch crabs.
As the figures of Kaguya and the other three disappeared, Natsuki finally withdrew his gaze and looked at Tsubame and the others who remained, asking:
"Tsubame-senpai, what do you usually do at the sea?"
Now only Tsubame, Juju, Shoko, Haruno, and two random tourists remained, and it suddenly felt much emptier.
Tsubame raised her right hand, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and pursed her lips, saying:
"Mainly picking up floating objects from the sea, preparing firewood, going to the small stream we found two days ago to fetch water, and then simple distillation to turn it into pure drinking water."
Natsuki patted his adopted daughter's little head, then took out a piece of candy and handed it to Aoi-chan, saying:
"That sounds very tiring."
"It's not tiring, actually." Tsubame gently shook her head, "It's much safer than looking for food... Natsuki-kun, rest for a while.
We can handle the rest."
Natsuki sighed:
"Doing nothing, I suddenly feel bad."
Tsubame couldn't help but glare at him:
"Natsuki-kun, go away, don't hinder our work."
You're usually so thick-skinned, you wouldn't feel bad at all!
Going to the Red Mangrove Forest to catch crabs required crossing half the island, and there were many dangers along the way.
Staying on the sea was indeed much easier.
In these past few days, Tsubame and the others' survival skills had made significant progress; they could be said to be quite proficient.
Natsuki originally intended to help, but seeing Tsubame and the others working in an orderly fashion, completely without need for his intervention, he ultimately chose to lie down and rest.
"The life of a lazy person is actually so joyful."
Natsuki lay on a large rock next to the beach, looking up at the sky, sighing.
In the deserted island survival environment, no one was idle.
Tsubame, of course, was leading the charge, with the remaining girls helping out, and even the elementary school student, Aoi-chan, was running around behind Tsubame, carrying some firewood... Only Natsuki was lying on the beach, enjoying the breeze.
Idleness!
Too lazy!
But I have to admit, doing nothing and watching pretty girls busy themselves around you brings an unspeakable joy.
Time flew by swiftly.
The freshwater distillation work finally came to an end. It was a large 5L mineral water bottle, and by now it was more than half full of fresh water, enough for everyone to drink.
"Phew…"
Tsubame exhaled lightly, raised her right hand, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and smiled:
"The task is almost over. Next, we just wait for Chika-chan and the others to return."
"You worked hard, Senpai."
Natsuki took out a candy and offered it to Tsubame's mouth.
Tsubame instinctively opened her mouth and bit it, her pretty face flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but playfully scold him:
"It's not just me who's busy; everyone worked hard, alright?"
"Everyone did work hard."
Natsuki nodded. "There are still some candies left. Everyone, have some… Shoko, open your mouth."
Seeing Natsuki offer her candy, Komi's pretty face flushed, and she quickly shook her head, whispering:
"I… I'll eat it myself."
Natsuki straightened his face and said:
"Hurry up and open your mouth; Senpai already ate some."
"..."
The the timid girl had no choice but to open her lips, her pretty face red.
Juju stepped half a pace forward, blocking Shoko, and looked up with her small face, saying:
"Hey, don't you take advantage of people on purpose!"
Natsuki looked down at Juju, casually saying:
"Not only will I take advantage of Shoko, but I'll also take advantage of you. What are you going to do about it?"
Juju: "Pfft!"
"Natsuki-kun, I want candy too~"
Haruno smiled and raised her right hand, her voice sweet, her smile as beautiful as a flower.
Compared to Juju's tsundere nature, this Haruno never says one thing and means another; rather, she often takes the initiative to attack.
"Here you go."
Natsuki handed a candy to Haruno.
"Eh?" Haruno blinked, feigning grievance, "Why do Juju and the others get to be personally fed candy?"
Natsuki said seriously:
"Because I like Senpai, Juju, and Shoko more."
"Hmph~"
Juju snorted lightly, turned her head to look elsewhere, and muttered softly:
It's all sweet talk!
I won't fall for your tricks!
After being busy for half a day, the girls were all drenched in fragrant sweat… Well, girls' sweat isn't actually fragrant; it actually tastes a bit salty.
"Natsuki-kun, we plan to take a bath."
Tsubame pursed her lips, asking for an opinion, "Will it be dangerous to go into the sea now?"
Natsuki pondered:
"Most likely not dangerous. If the Yaarctopus wanted to attack us, it would have rushed to the shore long ago."
After a pause, Natsuki continued:
"You can bathe, but don't swim too deep."
"Understood."
Tsubame nodded lightly. "Then we'll go take a bath first."
Having received Natsuki's permission, the girls couldn't wait and ran towards the sea.
After being busy for half a day, they were all sweaty. At a time like this, nothing was more comfortable than taking a bath.
Natsuki sat on the reef by the shore, responsible for keeping watch to prevent any accidents.
Of course, while on guard, he could also enjoy a rare sight.
Bathing, of course, meant taking off clothes; there's no reason to bathe with clothes on. Of course, underwear would still be worn; not everyone had Chika's courage to experience a nude beach.
When they first drifted to the island, the girls were very shy about bathing in their underwear, but several days had passed since their survival on the island. That sense of shame had long been worn down by the hardships of survival. Except for Komi, who was still very shy and carefully took off her clothes, the other girls were actually quite casual.
The three joys of a summer for a popular person: sunshine, beaches, and girls in swimsuits.
"Although there are no swimsuits…" Natsuki touched his nose, "I guess I count as a popular person in summer, right?"
A cool breeze suddenly blew across Natsuki's face, the coconut trees not far behind him rustled softly, and the wind carried a hint of coolness, penetrating to the bone, making Natsuki squint slightly.
Initially, no one paid attention to this gentle breeze; it was just the slight undulation of the sea surface and the occasional whispers of the forest. The cool breeze felt quite comfortable on the skin.
But Natsuki quickly realized that something was wrong.
"Hmm?" Natsuki looked at the swaying coconut trees behind him, frowning slightly, "The wind seems to be getting stronger?"
As the doubt arose, within the next few tens of seconds, the gentle breeze turned into a strong wind, which then quickly escalated into a gale. The calm sea surface became turbulent at a terrifying speed visible to the naked eye.
Natsuki took a deep breath, a word surfacing in his mind:
Hurricane season.
A common weather phenomenon in the hunger and shipwreck version, as the name suggests, it refers to strong hurricanes that affect the entire map, greatly impacting production and daily life.
"Everyone, get to the shore!"
Natsuki jumped off the reef, shouting as he ran towards the sea.
In fact, they didn't need him to shout; the girls had already noticed something was wrong and were preparing to return to the shore.
By the time Natsuki reached the sea, the hurricane level had increased again. The sea surface even churned up black giant waves nearly two meters high. The howling wind had transformed into roars and howls, making it almost impossible to stand steady.
"Natsuki-kun, this wind is too abnormal!"
Tsubame, holding her adopted daughter, was the first to reach the shore, shouting loudly, but her voice was swallowed by the hurricane as soon as it left her mouth, making it almost inaudible.
"It's very normal."
Natsuki shouted back, "This should be the Hurricane Season in the shipwreck version. Let's quickly return to the cave."
Behind Tsubame, the girls returned to the shore one after another.
Juju, Shoko, the random girl, the adopted daughter… Natsuki's gaze sharpened slightly, and he quickly noticed that one person was missing. He frowned and said:
"Where's Haruno?"
"Eh?" Tsubame was stunned, turned to look around her, and immediately became worried, "Oh no, Haruno-nee must still be in the sea!"
The girls were all bathing together, and Haruno hadn't left midway. It was only when the waves surged and they realized something was wrong that they all ran back to the shore.
Now that Haruno was nowhere to be seen, she was clearly still in the sea.
"I'll go find Haruno."
Natsuki said decisively, "Senpai, the wind might get stronger and stronger. You take everyone back to the cave first."
"Leave it to me."
Tsubame bit her lips with her teeth, nodding seriously.
At a time like this, taking good care of everyone and not causing trouble for Natsuki was the most correct approach.
As for whether Natsuki could find Haruno… The long-standing trust she had developed made Tsubame not doubt Natsuki's words at all.
Plop!
Natsuki nodded and jumped directly into the sea, braving the wind and waves, swimming against the current.
"Everyone, follow me."
Tsubame retracted her gaze and shouted loudly, "Let's quickly return to the cave!"
Juju: "Ahhh! Our clothes were blown away by the wind!"
When these girls were bathing, they hung their clothes on a tree to dry. Now, with the strong winds, as soon as they ran to the tree, they saw the tree swaying, and the clothes hanging on it were directly swept up by the wind, disappearing into the sky in an instant.
"Forget the clothes."
Tsubame bit her silver teeth, "Let's go quickly!"
"Th-that's fine then…"
Juju could only regretfully stop.
Anyone with eyes could see that the clothes had been swept into the sky and couldn't be retrieved. Now they could only run back in their underwear.
"It's okay, anyway, Stupid Natsuki is the only boy on the island, so there's no need to worry about being seen by others…"
Juju was comforting herself when she suddenly heard a gasp beside her.
Turning her head, she saw Komi's pretty face flushed crimson, covering her chest for some reason, and squatting tightly on the ground.
"Shoko, what's wrong?"
Juju didn't react for a moment and asked in confusion.
"..."
Komi didn't answer, just her pretty face flushed, shaking her head repeatedly.
"Shoko, don't stop."
Tsubame reached out her right hand and pulled the the timid girl up, "I promised Natsuki-kun to take everyone back to the cave, not one less… Eh, eh, eh?"
Juju felt a blur before her eyes, stepped back half a pace, and her small face instinctively showed envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Damn it!
They were all girls, but the difference between people was too great!
Although she had seen it many times while bathing these days, seeing it now still made her super envious.
"It was actually blown away by the wind?"
Juju instinctively covered her chest, finally understanding why Shoko had squatted on the ground just now.
If it were her, she would also squat on the ground.
"Cough, cough…" Tsubame quickly understood and said loudly, "We can't worry about that much right now. Let's get back to the cave first."
Juju calmed down and followed, shouting loudly:
"That's right, the Hurricane Season in hunger doesn't just bring wind; there's also heavy rain and lightning… Anyway, we're all girls, Shoko, don't worry too much!"
"Wahhh…"
The the timid girl let out a shameful cry, her hands tightly covering her chest, only able to tearfully and obediently follow instructions.
At the same time.
Natsuki was battling the wind and waves.
On land, it was manageable; although the wind blew people off balance, they could still barely move. The sea under the influence of the hurricane, however, was ten times more dangerous.
The waves surged.
Under the influence of the hurricane, the waves had already reached two or three meters high. The immense force crashing down on him made him unable to control his body, only able to bob up and down.
Fortunately, Natsuki's physical fitness was strong enough to break through the wind and waves in such an environment and search for his target.
"…Found her!"
It didn't take long for Natsuki to successfully find a struggling girl, who was none other than Haruno.
Natsuki took a deep breath and quickly swam to Haruno's side.
Haruno's condition was clearly very poor at this moment. As soon as she surfaced, she was immediately slammed back into the sea by a wave.
By the time Natsuki dived into the sea, Haruno had clearly choked on water, and her consciousness was even blurring, as she struggled incessantly.
"Wahhh… Wahhh…"
With Natsuki's arrival, Haruno immediately clung to Natsuki like an octopus, completely unwilling to let go.
This is a human's survival instinct, independent of will. If an ordinary person were hugged like this head-on, they would likely also be in danger due to the entanglement.
"Haruno-nee, I'm sorry."
Seeing Haruno, who was in pain and almost suffocating, Natsuki decisively leaned in.
His arms were both held by Haruno at the moment, and he couldn't free his hands to get the oxygen mask. Moreover, in a choking state, every second added to Haruno's pain.
So, after a simple weighing of options, Natsuki chose the simplest and most direct rescue method.
Underwater kissing, with Chika and his senpai's experience, was quite skilled by now.
"Mmm…"
As Natsuki transferred air, Haruno felt her pain subside and finally regained consciousness.
"Natsuki-kun?"
Haruno blinked, quickly understood the situation, and then… hugged Natsuki even tighter.
Are you kidding? They were now swept into the sea by the waves, unable to distinguish up, down, left, or right. At a life-or-death moment like this, let alone just kissing, even if Natsuki did something more outrageous, she wouldn't let go!
Natsuki had intended to wait for Haruno to regain consciousness and let go so he could get the oxygen mask, but now he was hugged even tighter. Helpless, he could only kick his legs and swim upwards.
Splash!
The two quickly broke through the water's surface.
"Huff… huff…"
Upon realizing they were back on the sea surface, Haruno finally relaxed slightly and began to breathe deeply.
However, before she could even catch her breath, a hint of panic and fear surged into her beautiful eyes again:
"It, it's coming again!"
Unable to tell if it was in front or behind them, a giant wave, at least four or five meters high, was crashing down on them with an overwhelming force.
"Don't panic, I'm here."
Natsuki's voice was steady. He finally had a chance to free his arm and take out the oxygen mask.
Boom!
The giant wave crashed down, splashing countless shattered doll-like droplets across the sea surface. Natsuki and Haruno's tiny figures disappeared once more.
However, this time it wasn't dangerous.
The moment they were swept into the sea by the giant wave, Natsuki had already taken out the oxygen mask and put it directly on Haruno.
Haruno had expected to endure the torment of suffocation and choking again and had tightly closed her eyes, but she soon realized her breathing was not affected. Cool air flowed into her mouth and nose. She cautiously opened her eyes and, upon seeing the oxygen mask, finally let out a sigh of relief.
"I, I'm saved…"
Although she had just been swept into the sea by the giant wave and was now being tossed and rolled by the undercurrent, unable to tell north, south, east, or west at the bottom of the sea, let alone how to escape, for some reason, upon seeing Natsuki beside her, Haruno's heart suddenly calmed down.
In her ears, she vaguely heard what Natsuki had said during their brief break for breath.
"With me here, there's no need to panic."
At the time, it was very blurry, but at this moment, the voice in her mind was exceptionally clear and reassuring.
This feeling… must be a sense of security, right?
No wonder Yukino fell for him…
While lost in thought, she suddenly felt her buttocks being lightly patted.
"Eh?"
Haruno looked up, surprised, at Natsuki.
Being in the water, she couldn't speak, but she clearly understood the meaning in Natsuki's eyes:
"Haruno, change your position…"