「 What if there were no caves on this island at all 」
I replied to this question.
「 It’s obvious to me. You just make yourself a shelter to sleep on 」
「 You sure make it sound simple 」
Mana said. The girls laughed.
「 After all, that’s all you could do. Getting water and sleep is the top priority 」
「 Well yes, but how will you do it? 」
Mana asks.
Karin seemed feeling regretful saying “I was about to ask that”
「 Getting a shelter is simple. First, you gather large tree branches, leaning them against each other from both sides to form a skeleton. Then, you put leaves on top of it and you’re done. The wind will blow it away if you leave it as is, so you should weave it together. No, the quality of the clay on this island is good, so I guess I would coat the leaves with that. Also, I’ll make flooring the same way. Sleeping on the ground can hurt your back and hips, and above all… 」
As we talk, we pondered which is more efficient and functional.
Then, someone in front of me waved her hand. It’s Arisa’s.
「 Hey~ You’re in a world of your own 」
「 Oh, sorry 」
The girls laughed.
「 Either way, you won’t have trouble finding a place to sleep on this island. Although, a natural bed isn’t a flattering place to sleep. I’d probably get some sleep, but Mana and others would go crazy 」
「 As expected 」
With that said, Karin moved to the next question.
「 Then, what if there are bugs on this island along with no caves? 」
「 No, no, no!! 」
Arisa screams.
「 Why is Arisa the one answering? 」
This time I retorted.
Arisa laughed happily.
「 But it’s true if bugs were on this island, the difficulty would go higher 」
Meiko said.
Everyone nodded. I also nodded.
「 So, what would Hokage do? 」
Karin asks again.
「 I’d ignore some of them, but… 」
「 Just ignoring bugs? 」
Arisa teases and Mana said “I knew you’d say that”
Everyone’s amazed. Me too. Arisa’s the only one laughing.
「 Arisa interrupted me so I’ll rephrase it, I don’t have to worry about some bugs. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to identify the type of insects in the area. And so, if I see an insect, I’ll adopt measures to deal with them regardless of the species. I’ll use a primitive insect-repellant method 」
「 Primitive insect repellent? 」
「 Wormwood 」
I stood up and headed to the earthenware lining on the wall.
Among the myriad of earthenware vessels, I picked up one medium-sized pot I can hold in my hand.
I then returned to where I was sitting earlier.
「 What did you bring? 」
「 You know it’s wormwood from the conversation 」
Arisa asks, and Mana retorts.
Mana’s right, I brought some wormwood.
In this one, you’ll find some wormwood leaves.
I collect them in my spare time.
It can be used for cooking but Eri rarely uses it.
「 You burn this. This is a primitive insect repellent 」
I picked up a wormwood leaf and threw it into the fire.
It burns the other leaves and it starts to smoke up.
「 When you burn wormwood, the smoke produces some insect-repellent effect. Nowadays, there are mosquito coils, but back in the day, people used to burn some woodworm leaves and let the smoke fill the house to repel the insects. Oh, but in the current age, people still use wormwood leaves to repel insects at barbecues and camping trips 」
「 You sure know a lot, Hokage 」
「 This stuff isn’t even enthusiast-level. I know that likely, you didn’t know about it, but it’s common knowledge for campers 」
Just like securing water and a place to sleep, insect repellence is also fundamental to survival.
I’m a survival otaku, so of course, I know some methods to protect myself from insects.
「 What if there were no wormwood leaves? 」
Karin smiles.
It seems that she wants to hear me give up.
「 Woah, Karin’s getting harsher 」Says Mana
The girls say “if there’s no wormwood, then it’s impossible”
But of course, I replied with “That’s not a problem”
「 There are other leaves besides wormwood that can be used as an insect repellent. As you know, I have an extensive knowledge of plants, so I’ll just pick up the best leaves and burn them as I see fit. Even if there were no leaves to burn, I’ll just take care of it in a different way. See, it’s tougher than it is now 」
「 As expected of Shinomiya Hokage. I sense an insatiable rivalry against insects 」
Amane speaks up, that’s rare.
After the surprise, the girls laughed.
Shiori continued, with “A man who hates insects like it’s his parent’s enemy”
Then, the girls laughed even louder.
「 If you can handle insects, then I guess you can handle the big temperature change between day and night 」
After shelter and insects, Karin now asks about the temperature.
“Well yeah,” I replied immediately.
「 When talking about the temperature difference, I mean that it gets cold at night, but you can just use some leaves as appropriate cover. If the winter is reaching the freezing levels of Northern Europe, then there’s a good chance that I’ll freeze to death, but if it’s just as cold as Tokyo winter, then I think I can get through it. As long as I already have a shelter, and some leaves to start a bonfire 」
「 「 「 Wow 」 」 」
「 Although, just because I can get through it won’t mean that I can have the composure. If there are no caves, and there are insects, and you add the difference in temperature between day and night, then it would be incredibly harsh. It’ll be hard just to keep myself alive 」
「 It’s already hard to survive that! 」
Mana retorted.
The girls laughed again.
They’re all smiling.
Once again, I’m thankful for this easy environment.
「 Then, lastly… 」
「 Hey now, are you still adding more difficulty to that? 」
I’m at loss for words now.
The conditions you already listed should be enough.
「 Hmm… 」
Karin thought…
The pattern seems to be her thinking about the most unlikely question.
It makes me want to say, “You can give up now.”
「 What now? Dangerous animals? 」
So, I tried offering some conditions instead.
「 That’s okay too, but I feel like those are just unfair 」
I don’t even know why she calls that unfair.
I don’t get it, but I guess it goes against Karin’s aesthetics.
I waited, and then Karin had a flash.
「 Lastly, what would Hokage do if you were the only one who got teleported to this island? 」
Karin triumphantly asks.
My mouth opened wide.
「 Are you sure that’s your question? 」
Karin looked a little confused, but she immediately realized.
「 I don’t have any problems being alone 」
Mana laughed, saying “Thought so.”
「 I guess it didn’t work, I give up. Geez 」
Karin raised her hand and fell backward
The “What if” conversation became a showdown before I knew it, and I won.