chapter 2: feminity?do i need to prove that

he admitted it easily.

　"I had no choice--"

　he said.

　"--It's your fault for not being feminine enough, Nusu."

　"What?"

　"And the name "Nusu" is lame as well. It's a Nusaibah."

　After that, he went on and on about how I was a bad person.

I'm not feminine enough, I'm not fragile enough, I'm plain-looking, I'm lame, and so on.

Especially the word "tomboyish" came up frequently.

　"If you don't want to be cheated on, you should become a real woman and not a fool."

　The old Nepolian would never have said such a thing.

he's probably quoting a pick-up line from a soap opera.

Basically, you tempt them by telling them not to worry about it because it's the girl's fault for being cheated on.

　"I didn't want Nusu to get hurt, so I was waiting for things to disappear naturally, but now that you've found out, I'll just say it normally. I'm breaking up with you. So, goodbye."

　Nepolian left with no sign of remorse.

◊◊◊

　I have no regrets about Nepolian.

But I was deeply hurt by his words.

--You're not feminine enough.

--If you don't want to be cheated on, be a real woman and not a fool.

　he has a point, I thought.

If things continue as they are, I might make the same mistake.

If I get a new boyfriend, it would suck if he cheated on me for the same reason.

I was already thinking about the future.

　"I'll have to do something about this."

　So, I decided to do something about it.

ーーー ...

　"Nusu, are you sure about this? The island is dangerous."

　"This is what it takes to be a woman."

　"You're already womanly enough for me."

　"This is not good enough, Grandmother. I need more"

　During summer vacation, I asked my grandmother to take me on a boat.

The destination is a deserted island owned by my grandmother.

I will spend a couple of weeks alone and get my womanhood.

　"I'm too old to come here every day, you know."

　"Don't worry. I'll survive on my own. Just pick me up in two weeks, okay?"

　"Two weeks from now, that's... August 20th?"

　"Correct."

　This is how I began my two-week stay on a deserted island.

◊◊◊

　Even though it was a deserted island, it wasn't devoid of life.

There was no electricity or running water, but there was a hut to live in.

Inside the hut, there was a sembei funton and even a sunken hearth.

　As long as I can get food, then I can survive.

Getting that food is the hard part, though.

　"Just a few more days of living like this..."

　It was mid-afternoon on August 17th. I've been safe so far.

At this rate, I won't have any problems until the 20th.

　"I think I'm becoming more masculine."

　I headed toward the sea, munching on some grilled Ayu fish on a stick.

I felt thirsty, so I rehydrated myself with the gourd I wore on my waist.

　My body had a nice tan, and I thought I was rugged.

And having a beard wasn't that bad either.

　"Now, let's get to work."

　When I arrived at the beach, I made a nice bonfire.

I put coniferous leaves in there and burned them.

There was a tremendous amount of smoke - a signal fire.

This is a message to Grandma.

The one that says, "Don't worry, I'm safe."

If there wasn't a smoke signal, Grandma would come running right away.

　"I think we're good to go."

　All that was left was to return to the hut while getting food.

　--And that's when it happened.

　"Muh!"