Easy Survival Life Chapter 134. Epilogue

 

 

There was a boat.

It’s a huge hunk of steel that makes our boat look like a toy.

「 What’s that? 」

「 A ship? 」

「 Why?! 」

「 Where did they come from?! 」

Everyone’s confused.

Meanwhile, I’m the only one who mutters “I knew it”

Karin heard it and didn’t let it slide.

「 Hokage, what do you mean by that? 」

「 Actually, I had a theory, and I was convinced that I was right 」

I pointed at the warship we see ahead.

It’s not a warship, but a vessel.

「 We’re back in Japan 」

The ship had “Japan Coast Guard” written on the side.

「 If it’s here… 」

I took out my phone…

It’s the late Sumeragi Reito’s smartphone.

His smartphone is a special one, so it connects wherever we are on the earth

「 I knew it 」

Everyone looked at the screen.

The signal icons that had been dead are now back.

「 Eh, what? What’s going on? 」

Arisa shouts.

Everyone else is also gaping in confusion.

Karin who usually understands what I say, also doesn’t know what’s going on.

「 How did we come back to Japan? That aside, how was Hokage able to hypothesize that we could return? 」

「 When I took Muscle and Yoshiokada to challenge another voyage before, I could see a coast guard vessel out of the fog. I didn’t see it clearly, but I saw enough to know that it was a boat. However, nobody could see the boat from the hideout, right? 」

「 Yes 」

「 That’s why I thought… What lies beyond the fog is our world 」

「 Can you even reach that conclusion normally? 」

Arisa interjects.

I laughed it off, saying “You’re right”

「 That’s why I told no one. I thought that it was a crazy idea. I don’t want to give such delusional hope 」

「 But, what’s the island we saw on the other side then? 」

Sofia asks.

「 I don’t know either 」

After saying that, I added, “this is a hypothesis…”

「 It must’ve been a message 」

「 Message? 」

「 We were eager to get there because we could see the island across the sea. If we didn’t see the island, then we wouldn’t think of making a boat. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have been able to return to Japan like we did now. I think the island we saw across the sea was a message, that if you’re willing to die crossing the ocean, you can go back to this world 」

「 It’s as you say 」

A patrol boat approached as we were talking.

A sailor is watching us with binoculars from the deck much higher than ours

「 Should we wave our hands? 」

「 No need. They’re already checking on us 」

「 Are you sure they don’t think we’re some foreign fishing vessels illegally invading the country? 」

「 If they do, then we’re already splashing in the water now 」

I stood up.

Soon after, a sailor from the patrol boat spoke to me in his megaphone.

To summarize, they said, “we’re coming to rescue you, stay still”

We followed.

It’s been a while since we hear an adult speak to us.

◇

When we boarded the patrol boat, the captain told us the details.

We’re in the waters of Minamitori Island.

We’re barely in the territorial waters of Japan.

Minamitori island is the most eastern island in Japan.

The population is about 20, all of whom are employees of self-defense forces and other organizations.

The presence of the coast guard patrol boat on the place wasn’t a coincidence.

It was because Mizuno reported it.

「 I knew you were alive! You’re the master of triathlon after all 」

According to the captain, Mizuno suddenly appeared on Minamitori island one day.

The self-defense force personnel stationed on the island.

Mizuno’s report led to a daily patrol boat in search of the area.

And for that reason, there are a lot of members stationed on the Minamitori island as usual.

The cost of this search must be ridiculous.

In that regard, the captain said “we’re sparing no money or effort for the sake of human lives”

It’s a cool line, but that creed alone was enough to continue the search.

The state didn’t care about money because there were VIPs among the rescue targets.

Specifically, Sofia and the Sumeragi brothers.

At any rate, we were rescued and transported to the Minamitori island.

After resting for a few hours, we then moved to Honshu.

◇

Our return was all over the TV.

–Not.

It was dealt with behind closed doors.

Besides, there was never any news about the disappearance.

You can look up the disappearance over the net and find nothing.

Furthermore, the school got demolished and it never existed in the papers.

They were so thorough that it was erased from history.

The country also warned us to never talk about the incident.

The parents and relatives were also subjected to the same gag order.

In exchange, they paid us more money than what you could get in the lottery.

These are all just adult matters.

I wasn’t informed about the details, but it was probably the Sumeragi Group’s intention.

They want to hide the fact that Reito and Byakuya were dead.

I knew that because of the TV program.

The future leaders of the Sumeragi group, the siblings appeared on TV.

But, it wasn’t Byakuya nor Reito, the ones I know.

They have the same name, but they’re different people.

Two mysterious men coming from who knows where had become the Sumeragi siblings.

I feel like I’ve seen the dark side of this world.

◇

A few months after returning to Japan.

We were all released from the hospital and met together for the first time in a long while.

The location was Sofia’s house.

It’s the best place in Tokyo, a huge mansion.

A semicircular sofa had everyone sitting.

「 First, allow me to say thanks 」

I started as everyone gathered already.

「 Sofia, thank you for arranging this meeting and for everything you’ve done since our return. Thank you 」

「 No, this is nothing 」

After returning to Japan, we had a lot of trouble.

I thought that we would get questioned, but that didn’t happen.

We spent our time doing as we please in the hospital in the VIP rooms.

After our discharge, we returned to our daily lives like nothing happened.

This was all thanks to Sofia’s efforts.

Usually, there’s a mountain of things to settle, but it all had been solved behind the scenes.

「 Just like Sofia, I also have to thank you 」

I stood up and the man showed a smile.

「 Thank you. And, I’m glad that you were safe, Mizuno 」

Mizuno Eitaro.

One of our friends, and a man of merit.

He reported the incident, and thus we were rescued.

「 No need for thanks. Rather, I was sorry that I took it easy after returning 」

Mizuno scratched his head with a shy smile.

「 I left the island on August 12, Last year. It’s been half a year since everyone returned. Despite that, Shinomiya, you didn’t let anyone of them die, in fact, you even added new people with you. That’s amazing 」

That’s Shiori.

「 I returned first, and everyone else also made it back alive, it’s all thanks to you. I think everyone wants to show their thanks to you more than anyone 」

Mizuno said. Everyone else nodded.

「 It was fun living on that island, but thank you for making the plan to voyage with us 」

Mana, who was sitting next to me, hugged me.

With that as the start, the other members also started expressing their appreciation.

I’m moved by what I heard that I started tearing up.

「 Hokage-kun’s crying! 」

「 That’s rare 」

「 A manly tear 」

「 Don’t poke fun now 」

I laughed it off while wiping my tears.

Then, I held up the champagne glass on the table.

It doesn’t have champagne, just soda.

「 Mana, Eri, Arisa, Karin, Meiko, Hinako, Tanaka, Kageyama, Yoshiokada, Muscle, Sofia, Amane, Shiori, Mizuno, and lastly, me. Let’s celebrate our safe return-Cheers! 」

「 「 「 「 Cheers! 」 」 」 」

I drank from my glass and turn my gaze to Karin.

Karin’s drinking it bit by bit, her eyes met mine, and she smiled.

Her belly has swelled bigger than we were on the island.

「 I was wrong, it wasn’t 15 survivors, but 16 」

Karin smiled happily and said “You’re right”