"Do you think the others will come looking for us?"

"Well, we did advise them not to go too far in."

Emily and I were leaning against each other in the dark forest, looking up at the sky.

The forest was so dense with trees that moonlight barely reached us.

Yet, this space below the cliff was illuminated somewhat by the light from the stars and the moon.

'...Enzo.'

As I gazed at the night sky, thoughts of the one who passed away filled my mind.

We weren't really close, and he even disliked me, so his death didn't particularly move me.

'Still, I should bury him.'

The only thing he ever did to me was involve me in that uninhabited island event.

He hadn't committed any more direct wrongs against me, so I just felt it was unfortunate that he died.

"Ken, are you sure you're okay?"

Just then, Emily, who was also looking at the night sky next to me, turned and asked.

She gazed at me with concerned eyes, as if she suddenly remembered.

"I'm fine, it's just a sprained ankle."

"That's not what I meant."

"What? Then what else is there?"

"The cold! Just a few hours ago you had a fever. And now we're in this situation. Are you really alright?"

Now that she mentioned it, I did have a fever earlier.

Given that we're now stranded in this cold forest without a campfire, it's certainly cause for concern.

"Thanks to the good rest I had, I'm perfectly fine now."

"Really?"

Despite my confident response, Emily looked at me with some doubt.

Then, she naturally placed her hand on my forehead to check for a fever.

'…Ugh.'

Emily drew nearer, and I could feel her warm body and pleasant scent.

'It's so dark, my other senses are heightened...'

I became even more aware of her presence.

“Hmm... I can't tell if my hand is cold or if Ken's forehead is warm.”

Emily, who had been checking my forehead, withdrew her hand with a dissatisfied expression.

“Are you cold?”

Her single word caught my attention a bit.

After all, there’s no campfire here, and her clothing doesn’t seem very warm to anyone who might see her.

In response to my concerned question, Emily gave an awkward smile.

“Hehe, it definitely gets a bit chilly at night. But I can handle it.”

She smiled brightly, trying not to make me worry.

But even under the moonlight, I could see her shoulders were shivering slightly.

‘…She’s pushing herself too.’

Emily worries about whether I’m sick, all while insisting she’s okay with the cold.

‘I need to do something…’

We'll have to stay here for several more days if we want to survive on this uninhabited island.

But if either of us catches a severe cold in a place where magic can’t be used, it could turn our situation dire.

So.

'I have no choice.'

I convinced myself, tightly closing my eyes as I reached out my hand.

“…Huh?”

I placed my hand on Emily’s cold shoulder and pulled her into my embrace.

“…….”

In the blue moonlight, her reddened face was visible.

She looked quite startled, her eyes wide open, but she didn’t seem to want to pull away.

Instead, she wrapped her trembling arms around my waist, pressing her face against my chest.

'I must look the same.'

My face, which had been cold just moments ago, felt flushed and warm.

And then, my heart began to beat strongly.

“Because it's cold, ...this is the only way to endure.”

“...Yes. That’s right. ...We can't catch a cold again.”

Emily seemed to understand that this was the best option under the circumstances, and nodded.

It was definitely an embarrassing situation.

However, the effect was certain.

As we shared each other's warmth, the bodies that had been shivering from the cold started to warm up.

And then.

Thump, thump.

I couldn't tell if it was my heartbeat or Emily's, but the sound echoed continuously.

Thus, we warmed each other up in silence for a while.

Emily’s trembling hand touched my skin, and her soft body pressed against mine.

During this,

Emily gently lifted her head to look at me.

Her face was always pretty, but under the moonlight, in this situation, it was truly beautiful.

My gaze unintentionally drifted toward her lips.

‘No, what am I thinking?’

I tightly closed my eyes to shake off the distracting thoughts.

“Hey… Ken.”

“W-What?”

I wondered if she had noticed my wandering thoughts, as I responded to Emily's call with a sense of guilt.

However, unlike me, Emily wore quite a serious expression.

Her eyes were slightly moist, as if she was trying to hold back her emotions.

Emily found herself in Ken’s embrace, her mind spinning from the intense beating of her heart.

'Ke-Ken is holding me!'

She had certainly mentioned being cold, but she hadn't anticipated this outcome.

She thought the best she could hope for was to be pulled closely by the shoulder.

But instead, Ken had drawn her into a full embrace.

‘…It’s warm.’

His firm body and warm temperature began to pleasantly warm Emily’s body.

At the same time, her cheeks began to flush.

Two people stranded together unexpectedly.

Under the moonlit sky, sharing warmth to preserve each other’s body heat.

Emily suddenly found the situation a bit romantic.

‘No, Ken is only doing this because I said I was cold!’

She remembered that Ken was a kind person.

It made sense that he would do this out of pure consideration without any ulterior motives.

However.

Thump, thump.

Resting against Ken’s chest, Emily could clearly hear it.

The rapidly beating sound of someone’s heart.

‘This is…’

For a moment, she thought it was her own heartbeat, but the sound she heard in her ears was clearly Ken’s pounding heartbeat.

‘Ken is… nervous too.’

It was unmistakable proof.

Although he might have embraced her with pure intentions, Ken was holding her nervously.

Ken, aware of Emily as a woman, had his heart pounding.

‘…Ken.’

Emily blushed while resting in Ken’s embrace, lost in thought.

The situation seemed familiar.

Last night, there was a chance interrupted by an attack from bug-like monsters.

A single sentence she wanted to say to him.

She felt that a similar opportunity had returned.

Emily clenched her fist tightly.

‘If not now…’

Ken was popular in school.

He was always a charming man, but ever since his appearance changed, other girls began to flock to him.

Moreover, besides herself, there was another girl who liked him.

Thinking of Mary, Emily felt that she couldn’t afford to hesitate here.

Gathering her courage, she lifted her head.

Their eyes met.

In an instant, he blushed and shut his eyes tightly.

‘…….’

At that moment, a scene flashed through Emily’s mind.

When she tormented Ken, he would squeeze his eyes shut.

‘…Of course not.’

In that moment, she realized her thoughts had gone astray.

Emotions began to swell.

Before expressing her unbearable feelings.

She realized there was something she definitely needed to say to him.

"Hey… Ken."

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