Wednesday, December 4. The day dawned.
I decided to go on a scouting trip with Amane in the afternoon.
We’re checking how Sumeragi and Sasazaki’s team fared in the storm.
「Karin, Meiko, take care of the rest」
「「Roger」」
I’ll let Karin and Meiko take command of the place.
I can move freely because they’re reliable.
「Do you want to take a detour today?」
Amane asks as we approach the Asakura cave.
When she said ‘detour,’ she meant sex.
I shook my head.
「It’s a long way for both teams. Maybe we’ll run into some big game along the way so let’s hold off for now」
「Okay」
Amane looked a little bit regretful.
No, I guess it’s me who had that look.
「If we have time on our way back and you’re still up for it, then sure」
「Hmm」
We pass through the Asakura cave and continued northeast.
We arrived at the foot of the hill where Sumeragi Byakuya’s located.
「How’s the hill?」
I asked.
Amane chose to detour without bothering.
She decided that it was faster than going a straight line and climbing the hill.
「 There are plenty of resources here as always」
Amane nodded.
There’s a variety of edible plants growing around the hill.
Plus, there are animals with a gentle personality.
It’s much more substantial than the area around the hideout.
Although, the hideout isn’t a bad place.
This island is plenty of resources and it’s comfortable.
There are area differences, but it’s not a problem.
「If it’s this rich, then you should be able to survive normally」
「I wonder about that」
「Amane doesn’t think so?」
「To someone without survival knowledge, this won’t seem plentiful」
「True」
According to Kageyama and Amane, their diet isn’t balanced.
They don’t know which ones are edible so they can only eat the safe ones.
There could be some fine fruit dangling in front of them but they’re afraid because they don’t know, so they didn’t reach for it.
When Byakuya was alive, he used those low-rank guys as human sacrifice.
「If you go straight ahead through the forest, you’ll find the cave where Daiki Sasazaki’s base of operations」
Amane says while we’re in the forest.
「Sasazaki must be feeling hopeless」
I gave Amane the survival knife just in case.
Amane’s company is a safeguard in case of unexpected problems.
Handing a weapon to the strongest, even if barehanded. I’m just making her stronger.
「That’s it?」
After passing through the forest, a weed-free gravel road appeared.
A small cave appears in the middle.
Since it’s turned away from us, we can’t see what’s going on inside.
Looking further into the cave, we see more forest.
To be precise… It’s not that we’ve gone through the forest, but rather, this part of the forest is bald.
Either way, we approached the cave.
Amane goes first, and I follow closely behind.
「Any people?」
「None」
Amane’s words carry tension.
She’s already in alert mode.
「Did they leave the cave?」
I run past Amane and went to the entrance of the cave.
Then, I gasped.
「This is…」
Amane followed and she also looked surprised.
「So that’s why there’s no presence」
From what I heard, it’s a small cave that can only fit about ten people, even if they try to push themselves in.
The members of team Sasazaki were all there.
All of them are dead.
――――……。
「They’re dead」
Amane investigated and confirmed that they were all dead.
Both the guys and girls, they’re all dead. That’s fourteen of them.
The leader, Sasazaki is also there.
「The cause of death is unknown because there was no significant trauma.」
Perhaps their bodies got too weak. I surmised.
The combination of long-standing hunger and a week of rainstorms added to the problem.
It’s easy to imagine that both their mind and body were exhausted to the limit.
It’s a miracle that they had survived until now.
This was only because the island had many edible plants and a mild climate.
Naturally, they’d be wiped out if the storm made it impossible for them to retreat.
「What to do?
Amane asks.
She’s unfazed by the 14 dead bodies in front of her. As expected.
Well, I’m not disturbed either.
「For now, let’s collect their student bags and clothes. I’d bury them if I could but there’s no way we could bury that many.
It’s going to be cumbersome to carry 14 bags home
「I know. For now, we’re checking the contents of the bag. If we take out their books, that’ll save a lot of weight.
We split the labor and looked around.
Then, I realized that there are fewer textbooks than expected.
「Looks like they’ve been using it as fuel」
Most of the books were burned.
We found several textbooks that they were going to burn eventually.
It’s one that’s torn from the middle.
「Now, let’s stuff the bag inside the bag to make it easier to carry」
「That’s clever, Shinomiya Hokage」
「It pays to be quick-witted at times like these」
Thus, we put the 14 bags together.
Ultimately, the bag counts ended with six.
「Sasazaki’s team had less than 30 members」
They must’ve been close to 40 people at their inception.
The number of departures and deaths has reduced to a fourth.
「Speaking of which, where are the bags of those who died before the storm? Their uniforms too」
「Their bodies were left in a remote location. I don’t remember where their bags are. If you want to see it, I’ll guide you the way」
「No, I don’t. This is enough」
We stripped the fourteen of their uniforms and stuffed them into the bags.
「There’s a lot of baggage, and team Sumeragi might see us if we stay for a little longer. That’s going to be troublesome. Let’s go back to the hideout for now. We’ll scout team Sumeragi tomorrow」
「Roger」
Although I feel bad for Sasazaki and his group, we gained a lot this time.
I’m happy to get 14 bags and 14 school uniforms.
Furthermore, they have a variety of items left behind.
For example, toiletries.
Brushes and cotton are useful for our work in the hideout.
Nylon makeup boxes are also great for small items.
What I personally appreciate are the condoms.
Several bags contain boxes of condoms.
Each box contains 10 to 12 pieces.
Apart from that, there are some unused condoms in their wallets or student organizers.
I’m a little worried that not all of them are L size, but it’s better than nothing.
The condoms I collected were random
It’s an item you can use for sex, but also good for survival.
It’s not bulky, and it won’t be a hindrance no matter how many you get.
「Bye, Sasazaki」
I said my goodbyes to the corpses and returned to the hideout.