Comic strip: Survival on a deserted island, surrounded by heroines

"...A thousand catties?" Yukino Yukinoshita's voice trembled slightly.

Are there bears this big in the wild?

Even polar bears, the most extreme individuals are no more than this, right?

"Yes."

As Izumi Sagiri spoke, she gestured a large circle, "It was so big, all black, and its mouth could swallow me whole when it opened!"

"Brother Qingshan said, first use the composite bow, then one slash and..."

As she got excited, she gestured with her hands, her light blue eyes sparkling, and she completely broke free from her previous shyness.

Yukino Yukinoshita was stunned by what she heard, and her gaze involuntarily turned to Aoyama, who was busy in front of the stove.

He had his back to them, putting several pieces of chopped food into the pot, his profile flickering in the firelight.

"Aoyama-kun... did he take it all by himself?" Yukino Yukinoshita's voice trembled slightly with uncertainty.

One person taking on a giant bear alone?

If it were her, even with a compound bow, she wouldn't be a match, right?

She even felt that even if she had a pistol, she wouldn't be able to kill that behemoth.

Izumi Sagiri nodded excitedly, "Brother Aoyama even peeled off the bearskin, it's right here where we're sitting..."

She patted the bearskin mat beneath her. "It's warm, isn't it? It's not cold when I sleep under it at night."

Yukino Yukinoshita looked down at the bear skin beneath her. The black fur was glossy and thick, and it was indeed of excellent quality.

She looked up again and saw the smoked meat rack a little further away, where pieces of bear meat glistened in the smoke.

"Qingshan...you're amazing." Her voice was very soft.

Izumi Sagiri looked at her, then suddenly seemed to remember something and tilted her head: "Yukino-nee... my name is Izumi Sagiri."

"Yukino... no matter how you look at it, it's a beautiful name." Izumi Sagiri repeated the name again, her light blue pupils brightening slightly.

Yukino Yukinoshita paused slightly, her lips twitching involuntarily: "Thank you... Sageri's name is cute too."

"Really?" Izumi Sagiri, who was rarely praised in real life, had her eyes curving into crescent shapes.

The big dog lay down beside her, slowly got up, and sauntered over to Yukino Yukinoshita on its four short legs, tilting its head to look her over.

Yukino Yukinoshita then noticed the animal that had been lying down.

It is about the size of a large Shiba Inu, with white and brown fur, a somewhat unique skull shape, and large, round eyes, giving it a very gentle appearance.

"This is..." She stared at the big dog for two seconds, feeling as if she had seen it before.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he froze.

The shape of that skull, the structure of that hind limb, that tail... she had only seen them in textbooks.

"This is... a dinosaur?" Her voice rose an octave.

"Yes, its name is Big Dog."

Izumi Sagiri naturally understood Yukino's feelings at this moment; she was just as shocked when Yukino first hatched.

After all, dinosaurs are still too far removed from modern humans.

However, when the dinosaur actually appeared in front of me, it still felt unreal.

"Big...Big Dog?" Yukino Yukinoshita's lips twitched. What kind of name is that?

She paused for a moment and said, "You...you kept a dinosaur?"

“It’s very well-behaved and doesn’t bite.” Izumi Sagiri reached out and patted the big dog’s head. The dog squinted its eyes and made a comfortable “cheep” sound in its throat.

As Kasumigaoka Utaha left, she said with a smile, "Aoyama-kun, maybe he's thinking of trying some dragon meat~"

"???"

Yukino Yukinoshita stared at the dinosaur for a full five seconds.

She glanced at Izumi Sagiri's matter-of-fact expression, then at Aoyama who was busy not far away, and then slowly took a breath.

"There are dinosaurs in this forest?" Her voice trembled with surprise.

Without turning his head, Qingshan replied, "I guessed quite a few, but there are relatively few in our area."

"Of course, the chance of encountering a large carnivorous dinosaur is not entirely zero."

Kasumigaoka Utaha walked out of the cave, holding a handful of washed wild vegetables. After hearing the conversation, she chuckled and said, "Carnivorous dinosaurs are only a minority; most of them are small herbivorous dinosaurs."

"However, there seems to be another 'Velociraptor' around here."

"..." Yukino Yukinoshita's face paled slightly.

Velociraptor?

Yukino Yukinoshita felt a chill run down her spine as an image of small, carnivorous dinosaurs with sharp claws and that moved in groups flashed through her mind.

This forest is so dangerous?

"Don't worry, with Aoyama-kun here, even a Velociraptor can't ambush us."

As Kasumigaoka Utaha spoke, she squatted down by the stove and put wild vegetables into the pot, "But you guys encountered a group of chimpanzees attacking humans..."

"If it weren't for Aoyama-kun's superior skills, those people who were surrounded would probably be nothing but a pile of bones."

Yukino's gaze turned to Aoyama once again.

He was stirring the soup in the pot with a spoon, the firelight reflecting on his profile, his expression as calm as if he were just cooking an ordinary home-cooked dish.

“…”

She suddenly realized that although her experiences over the past few days had been thrilling, compared to Qingshan's, it was nothing more than child's play.

Aoyama was facing animals that included giant bears, dinosaurs, chimpanzees, wild boars, and even crocodiles and venomous snakes!

He's incredibly strong!

Yukino Yukinoshita seemed to remember something, and turned her gaze to Kasumigaoka Utaha, "Kasumigaoka-kun just said... if the big dog doesn't behave, Aoyama-kun will eat it?"

Upon hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha's smile deepened: "I'm telling the truth."

"Seriously?"

“Of course.” Kasumigaoka Utaha tilted her head slightly, her red pupils shining brightly in the firelight. “After all, it’s meat too.”

"Chirp?" The big dog seemed to understand something and shrank behind Izumi Sagiri.

Izumi Sagiri patted its head: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Shiwa-nee was just teasing you."

Yukino Yukinoshita watched this scene, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved slightly.

She suddenly felt surprisingly at ease in this shelter.

She then looked around at her surroundings.

The cave was kept very clean, with dry grass and leaves covering the ground, and firewood neatly stacked in the corner.

Various weapons were laid out on a rough wooden table not far away.

Fire axes, machetes, signal guns, crossbows, composite bows... and several small knives of various shapes, were wiped clean.

“These…” she said, pointing to the weapons on the wooden table.

Kasumigaoka Utaha said, "These are all Aoyama-kun's spoils of war."

"Spoils of war?" Yukino Yukinoshita seemed to be thinking.

It seems that in this forest, danger comes not only from the environment and predators, but also from humans who come from the same world.

Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze slowly swept over the row of weapons, finally landing on the fire axe.

The axe blade was polished to a shine, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen in the firelight.

With these things, Aoyama-kun's fighting ability should be very strong, right?

She looked away, her gaze returning to the stove.

Aoyama was putting the chopped bear meat into the pot, while Kasumigaoka Utaha was handing him the washed wild vegetables. The two worked together very well.

The orange-red firelight illuminated their profiles, casting warm silhouettes on the rock face.

"Um..." Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated for a moment, "Do you need any help?"

Aoyama turned his head and glanced at her: "You should recover your strength first."

"But..."

“Your mother still needs your care.” His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable firmness.

Yukino Yukinoshita opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

She looked down at her mother, who was half-lying down beside her.

Lady Yukinoshita had her eyes closed and was breathing steadily; she had fallen asleep sometime earlier.

"Thank you, Qingshan." Her voice was very soft.

Qingshan didn't answer, but turned around and took a few pieces of dry firewood from the wooden shelf and added them to the fire.

"The soup needs to simmer for a while longer." He patted the dust off his hands. "You rest for a bit, I'll call you when it's ready."

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded, pulled the bearskin up to cover her mother's bare shoulders.

The soft fur clung to the skin, providing a warm touch.

She turned her head and saw Izumi Sagiri sitting next to her, her light blue eyes staring at her intently.

"...What's wrong?" Yukino Yukinoshita felt a little uncomfortable being stared at.

"It's nothing." Izumi Sagiri shook her head, but her gaze remained fixed on Yukino. "I just think Yukino is so pretty, her skin is so white and smooth."

“…”

Yukino's ears turned slightly red.

She lowered her head, pretending to straighten the wrinkles in her coat, her voice trembling slightly: "Sage is also very cute."

“Hmm…” Izumi Sagiri also lowered her head and glanced at Aoyama.

Brother Aoyama also said that he is very cute.

The big dog lay between the two of them, yawned, rested its chin on its paws, closed its eyes, and dozed off.

The sound of burning firewood came from the fire, and the soup in the pot bubbled and steamed, its aroma spreading throughout the cave.

“…”

Yukino lay on the warm fur, the aroma of meat soup lingering around her nose, completely relaxed.

Just then, Kasumigaoka Utaha, carrying a bowl, walked up to Yukino.

Her tone was gentle and natural, carrying an irresistible composure.

"Yukinoshita-kun, have some hot soup to warm yourself up first."

"Thank you, Kasumigaoka-kun."

"You're welcome."

"After all, we'll be family from now on."

"A...family?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha straightened up, a faint smile curving her lips. "I was just kidding."

"But... now that we've all moved in, we should help each other out, right?"

"Yes." Yukino replied earnestly, not noticing anything amiss.

Chapter 53: It's okay, you've already done a great job. [Image]

In the stillness of the night, insects chirp and birds sing.

Inside the shelter.

Four people lay side by side on the bearskin mat, while the large dog curled up in the far corner, burying its head in its tail and snoring softly.

Qingshan lay on the outermost side, where she could just see the moonlight slanting in from the cave entrance.

Kasumigaoka Utaha lay on her side in front of him, her long, straight black hair spread out on the grass, with a few strands falling at her collarbone, rising and falling slightly with her breath.