Chapter 3 …
Stranded
“Yuu-kun! Wake up! Get ahold of yourself!”
After being shaken several times, I came to.
Right… I fell into that thing they called the gate.
I still felt horribly sick.
As I slowly opened my eyes, Hoshi Akari-san’s face was right in front of me.
“Whoa! Ma’am—you’re too close, too close!”
“Aahh, thank goodness! You’re awake! I was so worried about what I’d do if you never opened your eyes…”
“Are you feeling okay, ma’am?”
“Yeah… I still feel a little sick, but I’ve always been pretty resistant to motion sickness… But more importantly, we have to hurry back and save Tomori!”
That was definitely true, but my thoughts were still a mess.
More importantly… where even were we?
I slowly sat up and looked around.
Apparently, we were in some kind of forest.
The sun hadn’t set yet, but it was already incredibly cold.
Wait… there’s snow on the ground!?
And both of us were dressed for midsummer.
Calm down. Stay calm.
I took a deep breath and gradually began organizing my thoughts.
Akari-san watched me with desperate, pleading eyes.
Right…
That elf had said something about entering the gate without a tag.
Which meant that gate was something used to travel between our world and another—and the thing they put around Tomori’s neck was probably that “tag.”
Without one, Akari-san and I had jumped in blindly and likely ended up somewhere completely unpredictable, like misaddressed mail.
Which meant…
This place might not even be our world.
But it also might not be theirs, either.
Only then did the true gravity of our situation finally sink in.
“Ma’am. Please calm down and listen carefully. First, we need to figure out where we are and how to get back. But before that… we need to secure our own survival. Otherwise, there’s a very real chance we could simply die out here.”
“But… but… we have to save Tomori quickly, or those pigs might eat her…”
“Please calm down! I know that! But if we don’t survive, we can’t save her either! When we fell into the gate by accident, it sounded like it needed recalibration. If we’re lucky, my dad—or the police—might have made it in time back home. Let’s believe that for now and focus on staying alive so we can return!”
“…Okay… I understand. I’ll do what you say, Yuu-kun.”
First, we removed the ropes and gags that had bound us and kept them as valuable survival tools.
All I had left was my smartphone and my coin purse.
My wooden sword had been taken when I was captured.
Akari-san had nothing but the clothes she was wearing.
Night would probably fall soon.
How cold would it get here then?
If I’d been some delinquent smoker, maybe I’d have had a lighter…
But instead, it felt like an absurdly difficult survival challenge had suddenly begun.
For now, wandering around unfamiliar land at night was far too dangerous.
Our first priority had to be securing a place to survive until morning.
If this really was another world with pig-men, there was no telling what other beasts might exist.
And with Akari-san—whose combat ability was probably as close to zero as possible—it was better to be overly cautious.
Unfortunately, this place looked like untouched primeval forest.
There were no signs of roads or human activity whatsoever.
I did find a sturdy branch that might somewhat substitute for a wooden sword, but…
Back in elementary school, I’d done Boy Scouts and gone to summer camp with Tomori, so I had some outdoor knowledge—
But in this wilderness, it might not mean much.
“Ah-choo!”
“Ma’am, are you cold? Well… you’re only wearing a T-shirt and shorts. If you’d like, you can wear my shirt over yours.”
“But then you’d be half-naked…”
“I’ll be fine. I’m built differently.”
So I took off my T-shirt and draped it over her.
“Yay~ It smells like Yuu-kun. I’m gonna brag to Tomori about this later.”
…Sigh.
At least this would help her for now.
Though even for me, this was freezing.
By the time the sun had completely set, I was starting to panic—
But we finally found a narrow gap between a rock and a tree that could block the wind.
For now, we decided to endure there until morning.
Thankfully, it wasn’t raining or snowing.
As long as the wind didn’t hit us directly, our risk of losing body heat would be much lower.
Still, there was no chance of sleeping comfortably.
First, I crouched down to block the opening and leaned against it.
Then, facing me like a koala, Akari-san sat against my stomach so we could share body heat.
It was an incredibly embarrassing position…
But this was an emergency, and without complaint, she followed my lead.
“Are you warm enough?”
“I’m okay. I can handle it. More importantly, your upper body is still bare… should I give your shirt back?”
“No, it’s fine. My back is against the rock, so I’m warming up enough. It might be uncomfortable for you too, but for tonight, please stay as close to me as possible.”
“Nope. I don’t mind at all. But wow… I wonder how long it’s been since I hugged you this tightly? I used to carry you around all the time when you were little… Alright! Today’s special! Squeeeeeeze—!”
“Ma’am… too tight… I can’t breathe… wait—?”
“Ma’am… are you… not wearing a bra?”
Damn it. I said that out loud.
“Ahh, you noticed~? I was already getting ready for bed before the earthquake, so I’d taken it off. Sorry for being such an old lady~”
She really was completely defenseless… or maybe just naturally airheaded.
But even in a situation like this, her ability to stay cheerful was one of her best qualities.
Even through the T-shirt, her chest kept softly brushing against me, making things… difficult.
And strangely enough, my excitement may have helped keep me warm.
Alright…
I’ll just survive until morning like this.
At some point, Akari-san fell asleep.
But as long as I stayed awake, it would be fine.
“…Tomori… I’m sorry…”
Was that sleep-talking?
Honestly, I didn’t fully understand what it felt like for a parent to be unable to immediately save their child in danger—
But looking at her painful sleeping face…
I felt a renewed determination rise inside me.
We had to return.
As soon as possible.
◇◇◇
(…Yuu-chan… Yuu-chan…)
(Hm? Tomori? What is it?)
(…Please. My mom… she can’t do anything alone. She gets lonely easily… so make sure you protect her properly, okay?)
(Of course I will. But what about you? Are you okay?)
(…………)
(Hey, Tomori!)
That was when I woke up.
Crap.
I must’ve dozed off.
That was dangerous.
I’d definitely stayed awake until around dawn…
But now the sun was already up.
Akari-san wasn’t on top of me anymore.
Panicking, I looked around—
Thank goodness.
She was nearby, gathering dead leaves.
Apparently, she’d piled them over me while I slept.
A surprisingly thick layer covered me, functioning like a blanket.
“Ahh, you’re awake~?”
“Ah… thank you. Because of this, I actually got some sleep.”
“Glad to hear it. I figured I must’ve been heavy sitting on you all night, so once it got light out, I gathered leaves to help you rest a little.”
“Thank you very much. Alright… now we can move on quickly. First priority… water and food.”
“Yeah… I’m starving. I looked around for anything edible besides leaves, but there aren’t even acorns nearby…”
“Even if there were, we couldn’t eat them raw…”
Right.
Even drinking untreated water could be dangerous.
We needed fire—but luxury wasn’t an option right now.
My smartphone said 8:45 AM.
At least this world’s day length seemed roughly the same as ours.
If this were a normal mountain survival situation, climbing to higher ground for visibility might make sense—
But with Akari-san here, and my own energy limited, our best move was probably to search lower ground for water.
The forest itself seemed to slope gently downward, so we carefully headed downhill.
Akari-san wasn’t wearing shoes, so I’d given her mine.
Naturally, they didn’t fit properly, making walking difficult.
By around noon…
We finally found a small stream.
If there were fish or insects, that would’ve been a reassuring sign—
But strangely, despite walking all morning, we hadn’t seen a single insect or animal.
No birds.
No bugs.
Though occasionally, we could hear something like birdsong.
So life did exist here… somewhere.
My thirst was severe.
Carefully, I first licked a little of the stream water.
Akari-san watched anxiously.
…No taste. No smell.
Just water.
I took the plunge and drank a handful.
Ten minutes passed.
No symptoms.
No pain.
No dizziness.
I judged it safe and let Akari-san drink too.
“Fwaahhh~ I’m alive again! I was about to turn into dried fish~”
“Please don’t drink too much at once, though. Better safe than sorry.”
“Okay~ But can I at least wash my feet and body a little? I’m about to get blisters!”
“That’s fine. But be careful not to get too cold—we don’t have towels.”
“True… Then maybe just my face and feet. I kinda wanted a full bath…”
“No way! Please don’t strip and bathe in this cold!”
“Ehh~? I wouldn’t mind if Yuu-kun looked~”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Still…
Now that we had water, both of us felt significantly more hopeful.
In mountain survival, the standard advice was usually to follow streams upstream—
But in this case, there was no guarantee of rescue teams or civilization.
So I decided our best odds were to follow the stream downstream toward a larger river—or maybe even the sea.
And just before sunset…
We found one.
A fairly wide riverbank.
And…
Bingo.
There, crudely built but unmistakable—
A shack.
Roughly made, but clearly built by people… or something intelligent.
Like a hunter’s hut or charcoal burner’s shelter.
At the very least, it could protect us from the elements.
It was tied together with wood and rough rope.
No metal.
No glass.
The entrance was more like a bundle of woven grass than a door.
We pushed inside and searched for food—
But there was no stockpile.
“Yuu-kun! Yuu-kun! Over here!”
Akari-san called from outside.
When I checked, she’d found what looked like an old hearth.
So—
This world had at least reached fire-using civilization.
Even better, there were crude earthenware bowls nearby.
If we could make fire…
I searched again.
Found it.
Probably flint.
When I struck it against a large stone near the hearth—
Sparks.
Yes!
We immediately gathered as many dead branches and leaves as possible before sunset.
Thankfully, it hadn’t rained or snowed recently.
The dry leaves caught quickly.
“Waaah! Amazing, amazing! Yuu-kun really can do anything! I’m falling for you all over again~”
“Haha… Tomori could do this too, given the tools. Remember all those summer camps?”
“Ahh, true… Though I mostly just tagged along and washed dishes~”
Unfortunately…
Even with fire, there was still no food.
By sunset, searching had become impossible.
And using fire inside the hut filled it with smoke—it clearly wasn’t designed for indoor fires.
Probably a summer-use shelter.
In the end, we boiled water, drank it, wiped ourselves down—
And once again, slept embracing each other inside the hut.
This time, though, we heated large stones in the fire and brought them inside like makeshift heaters.
Far more comfortable than last night.
At least we probably wouldn’t freeze to death.
“Yuu-kun… thank you. If I’d been alone, I probably would’ve frozen to death before making it this far. I’ll do whatever I can too, so please rely on me a little.”
“Thank you. Tomorrow, we absolutely need to find food. And clothes too. We don’t even know whether this world is heading into spring or winter.”
“…Can I stay a little closer?”
“Haha… It is pretty cold. Go ahead. You’ve always hated being lonely.”
“Mmm… I do feel a little bad toward Tomori, being this close to you… but right now, survival comes first… It’s not like I have any improper thoughts or anything… it’s more like… being close to you helps strengthen my heart…”
“Yeah. Same here. For Tomori’s sake too, I need to bring you home safely. No improper thoughts—just teamwork.”
“Mm… Right. Still… I’m soooo hungry. Hey, Yuu-kun… wanna try sucking my boobs?”
“Wha—!? We were literally just talking about not having improper thoughts! What are you even saying!?”
“No, no, no—it’s not improper! I just suddenly remembered how you used to drink from me all the time. Right after Tomori was born, she wasn’t very good at nursing, so I was always painfully full… I asked your mother for help, and you used to drink it for me~”
“That was when I was a BABY!”
“Maybe it wouldn’t help your hunger much… but maybe it’d help with feeling empty? Who knows, maybe a little might still come out. Wanna test it?”
“Please stop treating me like a baby!”
…For Akari-san, breastfeeding a child probably wasn’t sexual at all.
But still…
I was seventeen now.
A little too flustered, I waited until she fell asleep—
Then stepped outside to cool my head.
