In the dim room, bathed in soft moonlight pouring through the window, the three girls were illuminated.

“As expected of So-kun—flawless.”

“It’s super warm. Honestly, it got chilly once we stepped away from the fire, so this is a lifesaver.”

“Yeah, this fluffiness is amazing. I’m glad I summoned the sheep like you said, Sousuke.”

If we were talking strictly about fashion, the school uniforms were cuter.

But even so, seeing three beautiful girls wrapped in soft, white wool was its own kind of sight to behold.

And it felt good knowing they were happy to wear something I’d crafted.

“Glad to hear it. I can adjust the size any time, so just say the word.”

“Faaah... So-kun, time for bed.”

My childhood friend yawned quietly.

“Y-yeah. You’re right.”

Chiyu took my hand and led me to the far end of the room.

“For tonight, the harem stays in lockdown.”

We ended up sleeping in order from the edge inward: me, Chiyu, then Shouko, then Shion.

“Just for the record, this isn’t something I’m aiming for.”

Not that I could deny it was every guy’s dream.

By the way, now that we had the carpet, we’d made the Hut a no-shoes zone.

Everyone had taken off their shoes.

Not that I thought some intruder would sneak in just to swipe our shoes, but just in case, I stored them all in my Inventory.

We’d probably need to expand the base starting tomorrow.

It wasn’t ideal for me to be the one handling all the storing and retrieving each time. We’d probably want a storage shed too.

No—actually, food came first.

“...I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m really glad we found you, Sousuke. I mean, baths, food, a house, pajamas, blankets—I never could’ve imagined all this when I was stuck in the forest. Seriously, thanks.”

That was Shouko’s voice.

“You’re the one who brought the sheep, Shouko—thanks.”

“What about me?”

“Lady Chiyu’s Healing Magic is beyond impressive.”

“Mm. And So-kun’s Crafting Ability is as amazing as ever.”

As she said that, my childhood friend slipped her hand out from under the blanket and held mine.

I silently squeezed it back.

“...I’ll have to work harder so I can be useful too.”

I thought I heard Shion’s quiet whisper.

Even with Healing Magic, it seemed like our bodies still needed sleep.

We were at our limit.

It wasn’t like a school trip where you’d stay up chatting all night—we were out cold.

Thus ended our first day on the deserted island.

*****

It was a dream.

In a pure white void, a blackboard floated in midair.

It looked exactly like the one I’d seen not long ago.

The only difference: there were only four seats.

One for me, Chiyu, Shouko, and Shion.

“So-kun...”

Seated next to me, Chiyu reached out her hand. I gently took it.

She must’ve remembered the sudden transfer and gotten scared again. I didn’t blame her.

But I had to stay calm.

“We’ll figure out if this is just a dream or not once we wake up and talk about it.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Sousuke-kun. Maybe we were called here as a group because we’re acting together now?”

“What about everyone else?”

Shouko looked uneasy too.

“My guess? If they called everyone, we’d end up sharing all our info.”

“I think so too. Back in the classroom, it felt like we were being tested—like, how we’d react to the prompt. I even half-suspected we’d all end up stranded together. But then you, Sousuke-kun, grabbed Chiyu-chan’s hand right before the transfer.”

The first dream had tested how we thought, how we prepared, and how we responded when thrown a sudden question by that weird blackboard.

“...Maybe they’re deliberately not gathering everyone now because they want us to survive independently?”

Chiyu summed it up neatly, and I nodded.

“Yeah, probably. We still don’t know how big this island is, but with forty people scattered around, a ton of intel’s going to get collected eventually. Even if it’s hard, we could try to make rendezvous plans once we’re awake.”

The fact that we were scattered probably meant they expected each of us to take initiative.

Even if it was just a game to them, there was clearly some intention behind sending us off separately.

And I wasn’t about to break that intention carelessly.

“...You two are still way too sharp, Sousuke and Shion.”

“If there are other students who’ve formed groups like ours, maybe they’re being called in groups too.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. But the real question is: what’s this blackboard’s goal?”

All four of us looked at the blackboard.

Suddenly, words started to appear.

“Day One has ended.” 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

“Question: For your survival going forward, which is more necessary—meat or fish?”

“Meat / Fish”

—Another question!?

It was frustrating, but at least this one explained something that ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) had been bugging me.

We hadn’t seen any animals or small game today—and this might be why.

If it worked like the abilities did, where the chosen answer became reality...

Then maybe those resources just didn’t exist yet.

Even if we’d tried hunting or fishing today, maybe we wouldn’t have found anything at all.

“...This probably isn’t some generous offer to drop us a pile of food, right?”

Shouko’s face was twitching.

“No. I’m guessing whichever we pick—‘animals with edible meat’ or ‘fish with edible flesh’—they’ll start appearing on the island.”

I hated how ridiculous it sounded, but it was probably true.

Guess we could toss the “maybe it’s still Earth” theory for good.

“...Ah, it looks like other students’ answers are affecting the tally too.”

Just like Shion said, tally marks were forming beside “Meat” and “Fish.”

From a beginner’s perspective, fish seemed more doable. But...

It looked like meat was winning. Probably because of how tempting the word was.

“What about us—what should we pick?”

Just being able to discuss it as a party was a huge advantage.

“Shouko, would Mashiro go hunting if you asked?”

“Huh? Yeah. He actually seemed bored today since nothing really happened.”

Of course she could tell that—she was a tamer.

“Then maybe meat’s better for us. We know where the sea is, but we haven’t found any rivers yet. Still... depending on the type of animals added, tracking them might get complicated...”

As I was thinking that through—

Meat hit twenty-one tally marks before we could come to a decision.

“Majority reached. Voting has closed.”

“Starting from Day Two, the environment will include ‘Meat.’”

“Oh. Right. Of course...”

We couldn’t control the speed of other people’s votes, so we really needed to make fast decisions from now on.

But that felt way too fast.

Didn’t anyone want to think things through a little?

Felt like less than three minutes had passed.

Maybe there were students too hungry or irritated to think straight.

It’s not like they were going to hand us steaks on a silver platter... People should be more cautious.

“W-wait! What is your goal? How do we return to Japan? And is everyone okay!?”

Last time, the dream ended as soon as its business was done.

So this time, Shion raised her voice in a panic.

I assumed it would just ignore her.

But then the blackboard responded.

“There is no goal. If you must put it into words, consider it play or a way to stave off boredom.”

Yeah, I figured. The worst-case scenario.

Honestly, it would’ve been easier to swallow if it’d told us to defeat a Demon King or something to get home.

As it was, this felt no different from being spirited away to another world.

Maybe it was still better than being forced into a death game... but that’s a very optimistic take.

“A method to return to your prior state exists. However, it is not currently accessible to you. Please await future updates.”

...Updates?

It’s one thing for me to compare this to a game, but having it presented that way was really unsettling.

It was nice to know that returning home was technically possible, but there was no telling what kind of “update” might come in the meantime.

The next question could easily be something like “Goblins / Kobolds”—where monsters definitely get added.

“We cannot disclose the status of other survivors.”

Based on the voting mechanics, we could infer survivor counts.

If reaching a majority required 21 votes out of 40, and we did hit 21 today, that meant everyone was still alive.

But if the winning side ever locked in at, say, 16 votes... that would suggest only 30 survivors remained—meaning 10 people were either dead or otherwise unable to vote.

Of course, knowing the numbers didn’t guarantee they were healthy.

I looked toward Shion.

I wanted to know whether her Lie-Detection Ability worked here.

She shook her head.

So, it didn’t.

Yeah, I figured.

I couldn’t activate my Crafting Ability either.

In this dream space, our abilities didn’t work.

“Day Two begins.”

“Wait! We’re not done—!”

Shion shouted, but it was too late.

The world faded into white light.

We were forcibly ejected from the dream.

*****

And when I woke up—

...Wait, what is...?

My face was buried in something soft.

It was Chiyu’s chest.