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

Lady Yukinoshita, who is now able to walk, shows no signs of her illness from the previous two days.

She only coughs occasionally, which means she is not fully recovered.

Lady Yukinoshita entered the shelter, looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha curled up in a pile of furs, and spoke with a gentle smile:

"Kasumigaoka-kun, is your back still sore? Would you like me to massage it for you?"

The atmosphere inside the shelter suddenly became quiet.

Kasumigaoka Utaha, whose eyes were half-closed, suddenly opened them. Her gaze lingered for a second on Lady Yukinoshita's gentle smiling face before she unconsciously looked away.

She reached up and brushed a strand of black hair from her shoulder, trying to hide the momentary awkwardness: "...Thankfully, I've recovered after a nap."

Although she said "It's okay," she subconsciously shifted her waist as she said it, and then frowned very imperceptibly.

That subtle movement did not escape Lady Yukinoshita's eyes.

She smiled but didn't expose her.

He simply walked over and sat down next to Kasumigaoka Utaha, gently pressing his hand on her lower back: "Don't be stubborn, let me rub it for you."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's body stiffened slightly, as if she was not used to being touched like that.

But the warmth of Lady Yukinoshita's palms, pressed with just the right amount of force, actually relieved the soreness and swelling quite a bit.

"...Thank you, Madam." Her voice was lower, carrying a rare hint of compliance.

Mrs. Yukinoshita smiled and continued massaging her.

Her gaze, however, inadvertently swept over the faint hickeys on Kasumigaoka Utaha's collarbone.

The marks extended from the edge of the collar, standing out starkly against her fair skin.

"It's like...being sucked in?"

Lady Yukinoshita didn't say anything, but she softened her movements a little.

After all, Kasumigaoka Utaha has also worked very hard.

If I can help in any way, that would be the best.

Izumi Sagiri squatted by the fire, her light blue eyes sneaking glances in that direction before quickly looking away as if she'd been burned.

Her face was slightly flushed, and she unconsciously drew circles in the ashes with the twig in her hand, creating a bunch of messy spirals.

"...Nothing you say is acceptable, but you're definitely lying, right?"

"No matter how you look at it, it won't be easy..."

Shawu muttered to herself, unconsciously increasing the pressure on her fingers as she gripped the tree branch.

Thinking of this, her cheeks flushed even more.

She didn't sleep very well last night.

The noise made it impossible for her to fall asleep peacefully.

As if struck by a thought, Izumi Sagiri murmured, "Is that kind of thing really that painful?"

"...Ugh."

"What am I thinking?" Sawu let out a sob and buried her head in her knees.

Yukino stood next to the smoker, holding a sharpened wooden skewer in her hand, and skewered several pieces of dinosaur meat.

Her movements seemed focused, but every few seconds her gaze would uncontrollably drift towards Kasumigaoka Utaha's direction.

Then it quickly came back.

"..."

She recalled the moments last night when she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Those sounds were familiar to her.

The only difference was probably the crying of Kasumigaoka.

"It's perfectly normal for Aoyama to be under a lot of pressure..."

Yukino's fingers paused for a moment, the wooden skewer trembling slightly at her fingertips.

She took a deep breath, forcibly banishing those images from her mind, and lowered her head to continue skewering the meat.

"Green mountains".

Yukino silently repeated the name in her mind, and an indescribable emotion surged in her chest like an undercurrent.

She couldn't explain what it was.

"Perhaps it's envy of his physique?"

After all.

The kind of person who can still be full of energy after hunting, and who can still... still... be so energetic after surveying a forest within a radius of several hundred meters.

It truly makes one yearn for it.

"If I could have a physique like Qingshan, I probably wouldn't be afraid of the wilderness outside, right?"

Yukino unconsciously murmured to herself, her voice very soft.

But even in the quiet sanctuary, they were still spotted by those around them.

Izumi Sagiri suddenly looked up, her light blue eyes wide open: "Yukino... what did you just say?"

Yukino's expression stiffened slightly, but she quickly regained her cool and calm demeanor: "It's nothing."

"You clearly said something about Aoyama-kun, didn't you?"

Saguru's voice carried an innocent naiveté; she was simply curious and unaware of the chain reaction her words would trigger in the current context.

Yukino's ears turned bright red.

The blush spread from her ears to her cheeks so quickly that even she was caught off guard.

She turned her head away, her long black hair obscuring half her face, and said in a low, quick voice, "I meant physical strength!"

"Qingshan's physical strength is enviable, whether he's hunting, patrolling, or moving and cutting silk."

"Oh."

Sagiri tilted her head, seemingly accepting the explanation, but couldn't help adding, "But Yukino's expression just now was so strange..."

"Nothing is strange."

Yukino's voice was slightly higher than usual, and she noticed it herself, quickly lowering it back to her usual calm and even tone.

"That's just your illusion."

Lady Yukinoshita took all of this into account.

As she massaged Kasumigaoka Utaha's back, she slightly curved the corners of her mouth.

Seeing Yukino's ears turn red but she still tries to appear calm, a soft smile rose in her heart.

She knew her own daughter better than anyone else.

Yukino has never been good at expressing her emotions. The more nervous she is, the more she has to pretend to be calm. That stiff and stubborn posture is exactly the same as when she was a child.

Lady Yukinoshita chuckled softly, slightly increasing the pressure on her hand: "Aoyama-kun's health is indeed very good."

Her tone was calm and gentle, as if she were stating a mundane fact.

But the words she uttered caused a subtle change in the air inside the cave.

Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had been enjoying the lower back massage with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her red pupils upon hearing this and turned her head to look at Lady Yukinoshita:

"Does Madam... also think so?"

"Everyone heard it last night, didn't they?"

Lady Yukinoshita answered gently, with an all-encompassing smile on her face, as if she were talking about a trivial, everyday matter.

Her intuition as the head of the household told her that if Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't satisfy Aoyama, then they would.

Yukino pursed her lips, then mentally added, "...If he really needs it, I won't back down, it's just that Yukino..."

She was just afraid that Yukino wouldn't be able to accept it and that it would scare her.

However, someone has to step up and take responsibility, right?

"Tsk."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's lips moved as if she wanted to say something in response, but in the end she didn't say anything and turned her face back.

She had to admit that what Lady Yukinoshita said was true.

"I must have woken them up last night."

But there was nothing she could do; she simply couldn't bear it any longer.

That bastard Aoyama, I don't know why he's so excited.

In that situation, how could she not make a sound?

"...What a bastard!"

She originally thought she could hold on.

She never backs down in a verbal battle, and her sharp tongue is like armor that can make people take three steps back.

But by then, all armor will be shattered, and all arrogance will be extinguished.

She was like a rag doll that had been taken apart and put back together; she didn't even have the strength to clench her fingers.

In the end, all that was left was crying and begging for mercy.

"...They're practically treated like livestock," she muttered under her breath, the sound stuck in her throat.

The complaint wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Izumi Sagiri paused for a moment, tilted her head, and asked, "Beast? Isn't that an insult?"

"that is..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha turned her head to look at her, a hint of mischief flashing in her red eyes.

"They can never be fed enough, have inexhaustible energy, and are incredibly hardworking..."

"Huh?!?"

Sha Wu's face was slightly flushed, as if it had been roasted by fire.

She took a sudden step back, her toe kicking a wooden stake beside her, causing her to stumble and almost fall.

"Kasumi...Kasumi-no-oka-senpai!!!"

Am I wrong?

"You heard it last night, didn't you?" Kasumigaoka Utaha remained expressionless, even shrugging as if she didn't care.

That air of a literary girl vanished completely at that moment.

Sagiri covered her ears, her long, silvery-white hair swaying as she shook her head.

"...No! I didn't hear anything!"

"I...I don't know anything at all!"

She spoke more and more urgently, her voice rising, carrying a sense of panic and an attempt to cover up her blunder.

Her light blue eyes were brimming with tears, and she looked like a little deer trapped in a corner, even her neck was red.

Like steamed crab?

Lady Yukinoshita couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Her laughter was soft and restrained, as if afraid of disturbing something, but the curve of her eyes betrayed her inner joy.

Yukino stood still, her head bowed, but her fingers had unconsciously gripped the hem of her school uniform.

"What commotion last night seemed quite loud..." she thought to herself, then quickly forced herself to stop thinking.

But an image kept flashing through her mind uncontrollably.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was attacked from behind by Aoyama...

The crisp and powerful echo still seems to linger in my ears.