CH 1

Translator: Haruchin   Editor: JackOFallTrades

How did this happen?

All I did was turn back, but the landscape became totally unfamiliar.

It’s the middle of a mountain.

Still got a bag on my shoulder, the silver colored picnic sheet under my arm and a cooler in my other hand.

I had turned around after getting them out of the car trunk. My older sis and her friends were just behind me, but now they’re gone. And I was in the middle of a mountain.

Supposedly, the fireworks festival was held at some company’s construction site, but the venue had completely transformed into the middle of the mountain.

A dream?

If this was not a dream, then maybe I had some kind of dissociative identity and had been living as a different person all along, but now, I returned to my original persona… nah, too far fetched, right. I’m still carrying these stuff, after all.

Was it because I wanted to go camping? My buddies did invite me to join a mountain stream camp. I was tempted by the prospect of joining a high-level outdoor activity, but Sis selfishly made me reserve spots for her and her friends at the fireworks festival. I ended up being their errand boy.

I regretted turning my friends down a bit so I went overboard watching several survival programs on the net, but it was just half-hearted, mind you. Just a form of escapism from my tyrant sis.

I glanced at my smartphone.

Out of range.

No use freezing up. If this was a dream, then what was I supposed to do again?

Fire, water, food, and a cot — the sequence depended on the circumstances, but I need to secure them all. It didn’t seem like it would rain anytime soon though, I think? Weather’s okay – not hot, not cold.

I tried to pull off some of the things I saw in those survival programs, but after failing a bunch of times, I thought it might be a better use of my time to just go look for a water source while doing some exploring around here, instead.

There’s water, tea and cola inside the cooler box, plus four bentos, so there’s still a bit of a leeway, I guess. Well, supposedly.

I kept on walking, hoping this continued on to a road ー it would be great if I exit into a city, too.

It was quite steep. Carrying all these stuff was hard, but imagine if I left them lying there and then ended up losing them ー that’s way more terrifying. Wished I owned something like a four-dimensional pocket, one that wasn’t bulky and had time frozen in it. That would be awesome.

I treated this as a dream to keep my thoughts in check, but I could feel a panic attack coming up. How I wish I could keep calm and chill.

Finally reached a river. Alright, the water was okay but I’m not brave enough to drink it as is, though.

Reached the sea ー great, could do some fishing now but I don’t have a fishing rod on me.

…….What a very island-ish place.

Didn’t see any palm trees while strolling by the sea side, but there were rocky areas, so maybe I could catch some fish there. Some shells looked like barnacles, too. The black, murky sea stretched on, so unlike the clear waters of the southern sea. It was supposedly the end of summer, but it’s colder than what one would expect. The bright sun was beating down on me but the sea breeze was refreshingly cool, probably because the water’s temperature was low.

The fireworks festival was held by the riverside so it could get pretty chilly at night, that’s why I had my ultralight down jacket with me. The air was comfortably warm enough here, though. It was easier to pass the time.

There’s a precipice after reaching the end of the shore, and a few islands were visible from afar.

Really, this place’s a total island.

How should I say this.. Nothing else was here but driftwood. Was there still a place not littered with plastic trash nowadays?

Took a break to eat my bento, then returned to the road leading back to my starting point. Gotta prepare for the night soon.

The path that led to the river and sea was steep, but the place I was in earlier was reasonably open; there’s a huge rock, too.

I should go back there. Maybe I would be able to return if I was in the same place.

When I made it back to where I came from, I set the dry wood that I gathered along the way down on the ground before rummaging through my bag to find something to light a fire. Didn’t smoke ー I was no delinquent ー so definitely no lighter.

I tried making a hearth board by shaving the sides of a cedar branch — that’s what the tree seemed to be ー then grinded some circular indents on the board by spinning a random stick on it. I sharpened the end of that stick into a triangular shape for greater friction, then did lots and lots of grinding. I threw some leaves under, then grind, grind, grind some more.

It was not the first time I became a spot-finder, so I had all sorts of stuff with me. A thin picnic sheet aside from the silver one, a small hammer to secure the eyelets on the ground with stakes, a cutter for cutting boxes and bags, and a nokogiri for cutting the shinodake bamboos at the embankment spot I had staked-out. People would be there so I opted to bring a nokogiri instead of the nata as it could be dangerous.

I should’ve brought that nata, or even a hatchet would be nice at this point.

So unlucky that Sis’ friends got the sake and the snacks, too.

Finally started the fire, thank goodness.

It took an awful lot of time; my palms ached and my arms were like jelly.

Didn’t want to do it again, so I decided to maintain the fire. Stronger body, powerful arms — wished I had those right now . No, being able to do anything with magic would be infinitely better.

…I could somehow move, but my mind’s totally blanked out, it’s the perfect state for forgetting this reality, huh.

I fed the dried fallen branches that I managed to gather along with the easily combustible firewood to the fire. The pieces of firewood were thick so they were harder to burn, but they would probably smolder before long. In that case, even if the bonfire went out – pretty unlikely, though – I could still keep the coals. Probably.

I leaned against the huge rock and watched over the fire. Would it be better if I made a wind-block? Sunset was approaching, so I gathered some stones and piled them around the bonfire in the fading light.

It’s too dark to move around now, so I tidied my place while resting, instead. After taking out all those pebbles so the ground would be flatter, I set the aluminum foil mat, wore my ultralight down jacket, and finally lay down.

Were there enough bonfire branches to last me until morning? How long would they last, anyway?

Dog-tired, no appetite. My lower half’s cold, so I used the vinyl picnic sheet as a cover while lying down. This wouldn’t do; I should make wind-blocks, not only for the bonfire but for my sleeping place, too.

I’d leave it for tomorrow. A hot bath would be oh so niceー

A bird’s piercing cry woke me up.

——————————–

It was all a dream when I woke up ー no such thing, I was STILL in the middle of the mountains.

The fire already went out. All that remained were orange-colored charcoals from the parts of the logs and thick branches I used earlier.

I hurriedly dumped withered grass on top of the coals and blew over it, and the fire was revived with a crackling sound. What a relief. I threw small branches into the fire. Time to gather more dried trees.

I opened a PET bottle and ate my bento. Never mind water and tea, the bento would spoil even if I saved it, so I ate the rest without thinking too much. I then brought my nokogiri and some drinks today and went the opposite direction from yesterday.

I really should’ve brought that nata. I trudged on, parting the twigs and tall grasses using my hands and feet along the way. A blade that could cut anything ー what would I give to have that.

Climbing this steep slope was really difficult. Finally reached the top, and there were some boulders in the open. The view cleared. From the peak, I could see the ocean stretching on in all directions.

I could see a few islands, but there was no continuous land in sight.

Even if I somehow got my hands on a ship, escape was impossible. No, it’d be more appropriate to say I didn’t know where to go.

Time ticked on ー I was still frozen in place after reaching the summit. Tears streamed down my face; I was completely floored as to what to do. Why? Why? WHY? WHY did I have to end up here? Sis just forced me to accompany her, I didn’t even want to see the fireworks at all. Totally missed them, in the end, because I was HERE.

The wind howled around me. Nothing happened even if I cried my heart out. Nothing returned even after I screamed my lungs out.

I went down the slope after getting tired of all the hollering I did. Didn’t forget to pick these dried branches up… why did I have to pick them in the first place? Ahh, got it now, it’s so the fire won’t go out.

Thinking was too tiresome; besides, all those thoughts would just break me.

Just focus on tending the fire ー nothing else mattered.

Maybe if I cut the branches off from the trees around here, someone would notice the smoke.

Yep, let’s do that.

I was probably in for a long haul, so I decided to fix my dwelling space for the meantime by cutting the nearby trees to widen the usable space. The white smoke from the burning cedar leaves and grass should be noticeable enough, and it won’t disappear from the treetops if I used them all the time except when cooking and during nighttime. People might be able to see it from afar. Probably.

I cut several trees that were roughly the size of my arm. It’s a good thing the thicker ones were far from here, so I didn’t have to trouble myself over them. I planned to build my wall by making some pickets to drive holes into the ground. Pulled them out again to make way for the two thick trees I got that were the same size as me. Gonna use them as pillars, so I needed two more to complete the four.

The logs I stacked between those pillars had roughly the same length and thickness. I added more pillars when I was halfway through, just for extra security ー it’d be worrying if the wall collapsed.

Let’s stop here for today. Bento-time.

There’s only one bento left. What should I eat starting tomorrow? The remaining cola could give me some energy, but it would be better to prepare myself in case I wouldn’t be able to eat.

Hunting animals and cooking them was impossible for me. I might be able to catch some fish, I guess… Should I place stones in a V-formation in the shallows to draw them in? I should make a basket-like trap, huh. I would need to gather lots of vines, as well as twigs, if I’m going to make that.

I tinkered for a while by the light of the bonfire, then I slept.

Why…why did this have to happen……

I woke up at dawn to the sound of birds chirping. Had to get going now.

First, I went to the river and looked for a suitable, shallow part, then I piled it with stones.

The entrance was wide, but the entire structure was tapered like a narrow triangle. When the fish swam into it, they’d be trapped at the dead end ー all I had to do was put a basket in the narrow exit, right? Easy.

I went upstream. Water’s about to run out soon, so I should go search for the riverhead while I still have the energy to move. Although the water downstream was clean, I still felt a lot more secure with taking water from a spring. This river might be wider than a stream, but the depth and width was enough for me to cross, not counting the deeper areas.

I could see the flickering silhouette of a fish; if I caught it now then it’d be my chow.

I came out to an open area after some time had passed. There’s the rock that was at the summit I climbed yesterday, and I have a general sense of the area now..

I have a compass in my smartphone just in case, but using landmarks was faster.

While at it, I also discovered a small waterfall and a deep pool I could swim in. It was surrounded by lush greenery and was very beautiful. I didn’t dare to go in because it was cold. My thoughts drifted far away as I stared at it while resting. The sound of rushing water, the chirping of the birds, the rustling of swaying treetops, and the sounds that insects made at night ー

Beautiful, but worth nothing if there’s guarantee that I could go home.

The spring welled up and flowed from clean sand that had been thoroughly washed. I scooped some water and tried drinking it ー it was cold, free from impurities.

It was filtered so I think it’s fine, but it would be troublesome if I got an upset stomach, so I drank just a little bit to test. Maybe I should’ve boiled it first, but sad to say I didn’t have a pot.

My situation is getting better now that I have a water source and a temporary shelter.

Moreover, the island was not that big. There’s a watering hole and some places to catch fish ー everything was within reach.

I put those vines aside when I returned, then left again to gather more firewood.

The highest part of the island had more dried fallen wood, contrary to the damp ones in the lower region. Maybe that’s because the river was down there. I should explore the opposite direction from the river later.

But first, I needed to secure my base and food. My plant diet might have to consist of plantains and edible grasses like dandelions that grew in places that had plenty of sunlight while being supplemented by seaweeds on the side. With how things are as of now, fish will have to be my main source of protein.