If I could bring just one thing to a deserted island, it’d be a crafting ability.

When I gave that answer, my childhood friend Chiyu made a... complicated face.

“There wasn’t any rule in the question that said it had to be something that exists in real life. So it counts.”

Yeah. I knew it was the kind of answer that didn’t read the room.

If this topic had come up in normal conversation with friends, I probably would’ve said something like “a knife.”

But with a childhood friend who knows me inside and out, I can answer honestly.

“In that case, I’ll bring—healing magic.”

“Oh, that’s actually a great one. If there aren’t any meds, you could literally die from a cold. Being able to fix injuries and sickness with mysterious powers is huge.”

“So-kun’s life... I’ll save it.”

Chiyu clenched her fist and thrust her soft, squishy arm up toward the heavens.

“I’m happy you care, but in your imagination I’m apparently constantly on the verge of death...”

Healing magic is amazing as an emergency measure, but ideally I’d like to live a healthy life that never needs it.

“Wait, wait—what? That kind of thing is allowed?”

The one who cut into our conversation was a beautiful girl with blonde hair in a side-tail.

Kanna Shouko.

The “gyaru who’s nice to nerds”... or more accurately, a social powerhouse gyaru who treats literally everyone the same.

The buttons of her uniform were boldly °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° undone, and through the gap in the fabric you could glimpse generous cleavage and soft skin—my eyes got pulled there for a split second before I dragged them back up with sheer willpower.

“Aahaha. You looked again—didn’t you?”

Yeah. She caught it, obviously.

Even so, if I start staring like well you already know anyway, that’s a quick way to tank my standing not just with her, but with the whole class. Basic decency still matters.

“Anyway, putting that aside—”

“Don’t ‘put it aside’~!”

She laughed bright and loud at my attempt to dodge.

“Then allow me to offer my formal apology.”

“Now you’re being dramatic!—And I said stop with the chest thing already!”

It would be petty to point out that she was the one who brought it up, so I let it go.

“So we’re saying bringing some kind of supernatural power is fair game?”

“Yeah! If that’s allowed, there’s totally something I want too.”

“Oh? What kind of ability?”

“So, I read that manga you told me about the other day, and... I wanna bring the white fluffy thing that was in it.”

Right—during lunch I’d been reading manga on my phone, and Kanna had leaned over like, “Whatcha reading?” I told her the title. I didn’t exactly recommend it, but she clearly read it anyway.

“Hm? Oh—Fenrir. That thing shows up in isekai stories all the time. It’s cool, so I get it.”

“Yup, that! Fenrir. I wanna bury my face in the fluff.”

“But does a living creature count as ‘one thing’?”

It’s a stupid nitpick, but that’s half the fun of these hypotheticals—poking at loopholes without ignoring the wording completely. Once you ignore the rules, it gets boring.

If the prompt says “one,” then I want to stick to something you can reasonably call “one.”

“Then... a fluffy-summoning ability.”

“Aahaha—okay, fair.”

Kanna didn’t get annoyed at my objection at all. She adapted instantly.

And honestly, it was even more convenient than bringing Fenrir directly, which made me laugh.

Maybe because Kanna—who would be classified as aggressively yang on the yin–yang spectrum—jumped in so enthusiastically, the other “bright” kids around us started playing along too.

“An ability that stops seawater from making my hair all crunchy.”

“An ability to eat and not gain weight~!”

“If it’s a deserted island, wouldn’t it be better to have an ability that generates food?”

“...An ability to not die.”

“An ability to put up a barrier so bugs and animals and other people can’t get in.”

“Hey, the last two of you are getting dark!”

...Still, this dream is going on forever.

Don’t tell me it lasts until every single person decides what they’re bringing.

Thinking that, I casually looked toward the blackboard—and noticed something strange.

“Hey, Chiyu.”

“What, cheater.”

“I’m not cheating.”

For the record, me and Chiyu aren’t that kind of relationship.

When she shows jealousy like that, it almost makes me misunderstand—but the idea that a cute childhood friend would actually like a plain, unremarkable guy like me is a fantasy for people who read too much manga.

Also... this is a dream.

“So? What is it?”

“Look—on the blackboard, there’s something weird...”

There were tally marks: the character 正, seven of them, and one more that was only written up to the third stroke.

It looked exactly like... someone counting.

Thirty-eight. Why thirty-eight? What does that number mean?

“Hurry up and answer already.” “Seriously, this dream is stupid.” “Huh? That’s my line.” “Tch... fine. Teleportation. Happy now?”

I caught bits of an irritated conversation between a few guys.

“...Ah. It increased.”

Chiyu said it like it slipped out before she could stop herself.

A bad feeling crawled up my spine, and my eyes snapped back to the blackboard.

The half-finished 正 had gained its fourth stroke.

“Don’t tell me... that’s the number of people who answered?”

There are forty students in our class. And in this dream, all of us were here.

“Maybe. So that means... there’s one person left who hasn’t answered?”

Or rather—wasn’t this dream way too real?

More people besides me were starting to look unsettled. Some were also deciding it had to be a dream—but it didn’t feel like my dream anymore.

It felt more like the entire class was sharing a single dream together.

No. That’s ridiculous, obviously—

—And then it happened, with no warning.

The eighth tally mark was completed.

“All answers have been confirmed. Beginning transfer.”

How many people even noticed those words appear?

I don’t know why I did it.

But instinct took over, and I reached for Chiyu.

“Chiyu!”

I grabbed her hand hard.

“So-kun...?”

And then the entire classroom was swallowed by white.

When my vision cleared—

“...This is still a dream, right?”

A blue ocean stretched out in front of me.

And I was standing on a sandy beach.

I stood there, stunned, then immediately checked the feeling in my right hand.

“...No way. A deserted island?”

My hand was still linked with my childhood friend’s. Chiyu stood beside me.

I turned my head. Behind us was only a forest—no sign of the rest of our classmates anywhere.

The blazing sun, the salty wind ruffling my hair, the gentle hiss of the waves—everything was unbelievably real. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Even Chiyu’s hand was soft. Warm.

I know it’s stupid, but I tested it in the most cliché way imaginable—something I’ve seen in manga ten thousand times.

I pinched my cheek.

“Ah—damn it... that hurts.”

It looks like we really did get transferred to some island somewhere.