Shion said what she wanted was an “ability to tell when someone is lying.”

It really is a convenient power.

If you can see through people’s lies, you can notice it in advance even when someone’s trying to trick you.

Even if someone seems kind on the surface but has something ugly underneath, you’d be able to tell.

In day-to-day social life it would be incredibly useful—though it also sounds like the kind of power that could make you distrust everyone.

What I was stuck on was: would you really want to bring that to a deserted island?

But after thinking a little, I arrived at one possibility.

—Maybe Shion chose her ability assuming we’d all be sent to the island as a group.

No teacher to take charge, forty teenagers getting unleashed onto a deserted island.

Expecting every one of them to keep obeying the laws and morals they were held to back in /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Japan would be... difficult.

If you had the ability to tell whether someone’s words were true, you’d probably be able to navigate group dynamics and detect danger better.

But if that’s the case—

“Shion... were you already assuming a whole-class transfer back then?”

At my words, Shion smiled brightly.

“That’s giving me too much credit. If anything, it’s thanks to you, Sousuke.”

“Me?”

“In real life, reading the room or trying to get a laugh isn’t a bad thing, right? That’s part of having social skills. But back then, everyone thought it was a dream at first.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded.

“So it was a moment where you didn’t need ‘social skills’—you should’ve been thinking as your unfiltered self. But a lot of students gave joke answers, or were satisfied with something ordinary. They didn’t think deeply. They just went with the flow. And I think that’s dangerous.”

It’d be great if you could consciously choose to show social skills when it matters.

But if matching the people around you gets ingrained into you, then even in moments where you need to make your own judgment, you can’t—something like that?

“So-kun didn’t read the room back then.”

At Chiyu’s words, Shion’s face lit up like she was delighted.

“Exactly! Since it was a dream, you should’ve been able to answer seriously without reading the room. But you were the only one who could take the lead and actually do it. And you even said it out loud and gave the other kids a chance to start thinking about abilities too—I thought that was amazing.”

With that look of admiration on her, I ended up feeling both embarrassed and awkward.

“It’s not that big a deal... and besides, the one who made ‘abilities are allowed’ catch on was Shouko.”

“Nahh, it was nothing~”

Shouko looked ridiculously happy, all bashful and grinning.

Honestly, maybe I should be that straightforward too.

“Yeah. Since Sousuke created the ‘first step,’ and Shouko built the ‘flow that followed after that,’ you’re both amazing. And Chiyu too—for pulling the idea of an ability out of Sousuke in the first place.”

“True. If Chiyu hadn’t spoken to me, I probably would’ve just kept thinking it in my head.”

“Childhood-friend combo play.”

Chiyu emphasized the “childhood friend” part on purpose.

“When you said you’d only have thought about it in your head... that’s actually effective.”

Shion’s voice sounded like she was certain.

“So that means... Shion, you didn’t say out loud what you wanted to bring, did you?”

“As expected of you, Sousuke—you even noticed that.”

Shion clasped her hands in front of her chest, impressed.

“What, what, what? Explain it so I can understand too!”

Shouko looked genuinely lost.

“Well, in that dream, a lot of people said what they wanted out loud, right?”

“Yeah. Didn’t everyone?”

“Not everyone. I couldn’t confirm all of them, but there were people who never opened their mouths all the way to the end.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah. And the blackboard only said, ‘If you could bring one thing to a deserted island, what would it be?’ It never specified how you had to answer. So it’s reasonable to think there wasn’t a required format.”

“W-Wait, you two were thinking that far in that situation?”

Shouko looked a little freaked out.

“Well, I started thinking it was weird partway through, and I don’t hate thinking about those ‘what if’ scenarios. I just got kind of into it.”

“I see? Sooo—if not saying it out loud was allowed, what happens?”

“Shion said earlier that even if someone made two wishes, only the first one got accepted, right? That changes weren’t accepted.”

“Yeah.”

“If that’s true, then what if you decide what ability you really want first... but in the dream you casually answer something like ‘knife’?”

“Hmm? ...Ah! Then when you meet someone on the island who heard that, you could make them misunderstand your ability?”

Shouko thought for a second and got it.

“That’s right, Shouko. If it’s a knife, you could just make excuses like ‘I lost it.’ Or if you make it a consumable from the start, you can just say you used it up.”

“Ugh. So it’s a strategy assuming you’re going to deceive classmates? I mean, yeah, there are bad people out there, but...”

Shouko didn’t seem able to picture someone plotting that far ahead at the dream stage.

“Ahaha... Even if it wasn’t ‘deceiving,’ I did hide my answer so people wouldn’t know, so that kind of stings.”

“No, Shion, you’re not doing anything wrong. You have the right not to say stuff you don’t want to say.”

“Thank you, Shouko.”

“...More importantly, Shion.”

“Yes, Chiyu?”

“I’m not going to blame you for when you disclosed your ability. But ever since we met face-to-face, you’ve been using it on So-kun. Haven’t you?”

At Chiyu’s words, Shion looked apologetic and bowed her head to me.

“Yeah, I have. Shouko seems to trust you, but I wasn’t that close with you, so I was anxious. I’m sorry for testing you.”

“No, it’s fine. If it had been just you alone, Shion, I’d have been more cautious too. Using your ability to adapt to the situation you’re in is normal. It’s not something you need to apologize for.”

Besides—I hadn’t told them everything I could do with my ability either.

“...Thank you. You’re kind, Sousuke.”

Maybe Shion was still using her ability even now.

Like she’d realized I wasn’t truly angry, her eyes widened slightly.

“I don’t care because I’ve got no secrets or anything, but Shion said if people find out your lies get exposed, you usually get hated, so I kept quiet. Sorry, Sousuke.” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“I told you, I’m not mad. But... fine. Then let’s say there’s no bad blood anymore. What about you, Chiyu?”

“I don’t mind, but I have a concern.”

“What is it?”

Chiyu kept her expression blank, but she put a hand to her mouth the way someone does when they’re holding back tears.

“Just thinking that all of So-kun’s obvious lies are going to get exposed now... I feel so bad for you, I feel soooo bad.”

“Hey. What do you mean ‘obvious lies’?”

“Like staring at someone’s chest and then saying, ‘I wasn’t looking.’”

“Alright. No comment.”

At my back-and-forth with Chiyu, Shouko laughed brightly, and Shion giggled too, and the mood softened.

But Chiyu was right.

From here on, I’d have to speak with the awareness that Shion could see through lies.

“So, Sousuke, Chiyu... will you let us join you as companions?”

“Sousuke! Let us join! Mashiro comes with us too! He’s fluffy! He’s so fluffy!”

Chiyu and I looked at each other and nodded.

Then we faced the two of them and said it.

“Of course. You’re welcome.”

And just like that, the four of us became a group.