I Realized It Was an Academy Game After 10 Years

Renny had been awake for four days.

Thanks to Karina’s earnest healing, Renny was now able to move around a bit and doggedly followed Karina. It was a comical sight to see a patient trying to escort another patient, and Karina rarely raised her voice but scolded Renny in frustration. However, Renny just shrugged it off and kept tailing her.

Is that a stalker or a bodyguard?

Now Karina looked almost exasperated as she glanced at Renny and spoke softly, but Renny’s expression didn’t change one bit. She knew that gentle words weren’t going to work. Eventually, Karina declared in front of Renny.

“If you keep this up, I won’t heal you!”

Only then did Renny stop her _follow-follow_.

For reference, _follow-follow_ means obsessively following due to regret.

From the perspective of an onlooker, it was quite an exciting combo of words. Regretful that if she had found another ship, she wouldn’t have ended up in this mess. Obsessed, stubbornly following Karina despite her damaged state. And watching Karina get flustered, feeling emotionally drained.

…Actually, that “emotionally drained” bit was just something I made up.

This stalker, er, escort was someone who could think she was doing a great job. If it went on a bit longer, she might have followed her into the bathroom too. That was creepy from an onlooker’s perspective. Girls often go to the bathroom together, don’t they? Or is that just something I heard somewhere?

“Snakes won’t show up on the beach, right?”

Just like she had done the past few days, Renny asked me frantically. It was always the case whenever Karina went for a walk alone on the beach wearing the shoes I made. The beach right in front of the house wasn’t far at all, and I had removed all the dangers, so I said there shouldn’t be a problem. And yet, this chaos continued—seems both in games and reality, annoying personalities are a constant.

“This is the tenth time! Just stay put because it’s safe.”

Listening to her constantly while working was getting tedious. The relationship that had started off a bit rough had eased somewhat after sharing a roof and meals together for four days. Since I hadn’t touched Karina at all, Renny’s suspicions must have lessened. Instead, I had become the victim of Renny’s fussiness…

Having only worried about Karina once or twice was sufficient; at this point, it felt like I had earwax lodged in my ears. I laid out the leather I had finished tanning beside me and picked up a smooth wooden stick. I was now planning to twist this into a band to secure the sole and the foot.

But I had one thing to do first.

“Renny.”

“…Why?”

“I just want to take a quick look at your foot.”

“What?”

I carefully grabbed Renny’s foot, which was almost fully healed, and examined it from all angles. Calloused toes from long training, and scars etched by traversing battlefields. They say scars are a warrior’s medal, but could it really be a medal for her? As I ran my fingers over the scar, I pondered that.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?!”

“I’m measuring your foot size. Those worn-out boots can’t function properly. I need to make you new shoes.”

Renny wiggled her foot as if to say “let go,” but right now she could barely lift a spoon, so any resistance would be nothing but ticklish. If Renny had been in good shape, she might have kicked me in the face and sent me flying through the wall like a gag comic hero. But as I held her foot, examining it, she sighed and stopped her squirming.

“Thanks, I guess… but suddenly grabbing my foot like that was startling.”

Realizing I was fiddling with her foot, I took a rough estimate of the size and let her foot go. Renny looked at me with a complicated expression, then promptly turned her head away.

Now I could make her shoes comfortably.

I picked up the wooden stick in front of me. Now I just had to twist this to create the sole, use leather to make a cushion to absorb impact on the foot, and attach a band covered in leather to make sturdy sandals. After that, I planned to pick out a suitable bone from the ones I had brought to make a decent sword. A warrior without a sword was a serious issue, after all.

Of course, I couldn’t let her use a broken sword either. Since it wasn’t something I made, I wouldn’t be able to repair it.

Once we escape the island, should I learn blacksmithing too? Might as well study alchemy while I’m at it. After all, to live, I need to have some kind of job—

“Aren’t you putting the cart before the horse?”

Though I wasn’t sure if escaping was even possible yet. I might be setting myself up for disappointment with all this expectation; at this point, it was best to not think about anything. But the thing about humans is, they don’t always think the way they intend.

“What’s that?”

“…Just talking to myself.”

“…You talk to yourself a lot.”

Renny’s casual remark hit me. It was such a trivial comment, yet being pointed out like that felt oddly strange. It reminded me just how long I had been stranded on that deserted island.

“When you spend a long time living alone, talking to yourself becomes second nature.”

“Is that so…”

Silence fell between us. Neither of us could find something to say. Conversations with Karina were like undercooked noodles—always snapping awkwardly.

Neither of us was particularly chatty, and I had been busy with work whenever I wasn’t sleeping. It’s only natural that one becomes quiet when focused on a task. Renny probably felt hesitant to interrupt me since I was working.

We had run out of things to talk about ages ago. But then again, bringing up sensitive subjects wouldn’t do either; so we were left with the option of keeping our mouths shut.

“…Did you make all the things here with your own hands?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Living alone forces you to be self-sufficient; it’s not that remarkable. Have you ever made anything?”

“Nope. I was always more into breaking things, whether they were enemies or allies.”

For some reason, Renny’s voice sounded gloomy.

Was it my imagination, or was it real? Holding back my judgment, I checked the sole. If there were any protruding parts, it could hurt her foot, and that was an important detail. Of course, it’s not like a person would get hurt that badly, but on a deserted island, even a small injury could lead to serious consequences, so it didn’t hurt to be careful.

Of course, with Karina, our healing machine, around, it wouldn’t be life or death over a small scratch.

Alright, the sole is about done. Now it’s time to connect the parts and shape it up for completion. It wasn’t going to take long, so once I finish, I’ll check on the snake’s movements for a bit. While I was mentally planning that…

“…If it weren’t for you, neither Karina nor I would have survived.”

“I was just doing what needed to be done.”

If you spend ten years stuck on a deserted island, even a serial killer would end up saving someone. Moreover, Karina was practically my benefactor. Thanks to her, I was finally able to figure out the true nature of the world I was in after ten years, and I had taken the first step toward my escape plan. I couldn’t exactly say that out loud, though…

“That kind of thing—people not doing what they should—is piled high in this world. Why not have some pride? You’re a lot better than someone like me.”

…Someone like me.

“Aren’t you pretty decent yourself? It’s not easy to dedicate yourself to someone else.”

In this ridiculous situation where we were complimenting each other, Renny and I exchanged glances before bursting into a brief giggle and turning away again.

“If we’re not holding an awards show, what are we even doing?”

That’s what I’m saying. I handed Renny the leather shoes, which had now taken a somewhat shoe-like shape.

“Try them on. I need to know if they fit.”

“Sorry, can you put them on for me? My arms feel as weak as a starving kid’s.”

Putting on shoes for someone wasn’t a problem at all. I held Renny’s foot and slipped the shoes on her. As she placed her feet inside the leather shoes, she looked at me with a curious expression and asked.

“What is this fur? It feels a bit unusual.”

“Bear fur.”

“I’ve really worn shoes made from bear leather.”

“How’s the size?”

“It’s fine. I don’t think it’ll be too uncomfortable to move in. It feels a little heavy, though…”

Renny seemed to like the shoes. I took them off her again and started on the finishing touches.

I shaped them up, applying a specially formulated solution to keep the leather from rotting.

With the finished shoes placed at Renny’s feet, I stood up from my spot.

Now that the shoes were done, it was time to make a sword.

I brought over the claw of that bear leader I had pre-selected and set it down in front of Renny. She looked at me with a confused face as I placed the bone down.

“Why the bone?”

“I’m planning to make your sword using this bone. How long do you want the blade to be, by your measurement?”

“In measurements? Umm… about three spans?”

“Three spans… and the handle?”

“About one and a half spans.”

“Crafting.”

The claw compressed and began to take the shape of a sword. It was close to the form I usually preferred, but since it didn’t differ much from the sword Renny used, I was sure this would be fine. In an instant, a rough-looking sword was completed, and Renny looked at me with an unimpressed expression and questioned.

“Couldn’t you also make the shoes with a skill?”

“You can’t make everything with a skill.”

The process of crafting and refining a sword took too long; it was awkward to put in the effort. I was not going to spend a long time making weapons when I didn’t know when the snakes would invade. But still, this sword should be considered decent enough, right?

“It’s a shame I can’t swing it right now.”

Renny looked down at her gift with the expression of a child who just got a present. Seeing that, I added briefly.

“You’ll be swinging it plenty soon.”

Because battle with the snakes was right around the corner.

————

“Johann, have you gotten a bit closer to Renny?”

Karina’s playful smile caught my eye.

Closer… have I?

I felt like we had gotten closer compared to before, but I couldn’t say for sure.

The very meaning of becoming close was rather difficult for me.

Noticing the awkward expression on my face, Karina smiled wider and said,

“Seeing you deep in thought, you must be closer than before.”

“Probably.”

All I could provide in return for her comment was an awkward answer.

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