Author: Yume Neiji

I woke up because of the direct sunlight coming in through the crack in the slated shutters. It’s not just the sunlight, even the sea breeze also comes in. This hut is full of gaps. When the wind blows a little strongly, it makes a whistling noise. It was a pure ensemble of sorrow. To be honest, I didn’t sleep much last night. I couldn’t sleep because I was worried about the dangerous creatures. The door of this hut cannot even be locked after all.

My happiness level rose up to 76% and my points had recovered to 9. Unfortunately, I didn’t reach 100%, but I think this is to be expected.

For dinner, I only had well water and the baked goods Mary had given with. The bed was shabby, and the fear of being attacked by dangerous creatures was a triple whammy that prevented me from sleeping well. If anything, I wanted to praise myself for being mentally strong enough to maintain 76% happiness in that situation.

However, I also found 5,000 small silver crown coins in the bottom of the baked goods Mary had given me. Mary must have put them in for me. Mary couldn’t have afforded it, but she must have gone out of her way to help me out of her concern for me. My heart ached when I thought about it, but it also warmed my heart. The restoration of my happiness was entirely due to Mary.

Points are restored to 2 points for happiness levels of 75% or more, 4 points for happiness levels of 80% or more, 6 points for 85% or more, 8 points for 90% or more, and 10 points for 95 or more. On the other hand, if it is less than 70%, it will decrease, so I have to be careful.

In the beginning, it is important to use it as much as I can to prepare the foundation of my living. Points can also be accumulated up to 20 points. The points that can be accumulated increase as the level increases.

Just when I am checking the status again, I heard a voice calling me from outside.

“Cedie, are you there? Answer me if you’re there!”

Isn’t that the voice of my childhood friend, Eugenie?

Eugenie is the third daughter of Simpson Earl House, whose territory borders the Dantès House. We have been playmates since childhood. She’s a bit headstrong, but we’re of the same age and we get along well. I could say we are best friends.

“Eugenie, you’ve came to visit!”

When I went out of the hut, I saw Eugenie riding on a griffon. She grinned at me. It’s been about two weeks since we last saw each other.

“You look well, Gian too.”

I gently stroked the griffon, Gian’s neck. The griffon is a cross breed between an eagle and a lion. Eugenie received Gian as her fifth birthday gift and since then, they have been together everywhere she goes. Griffons can fly, and they’re powerful enough to keep ordinary monsters at bay. Thanks to that, Eugenie can go anywhere by herself.

Frankly, I’m pretty jealous.

“When I went to visit your mansion, I was surprised to hear that Cedie had become the lord of this place.”

“Un. Well, I was planning to write a letter after I settled down.”

Actually, I wanted to invite her after developing the island a little more. It’s embarrassing that there’s nothing in here so far. But I’m still glad that Eugenie came.

“Hmm, so this is where Cedie lives huh….”

Eugenie stared curiously at my hut.

“It’s like this right now, but I’m going to do a big renovation eventually.”

I was embarrassed by the shabby hut, so I just made excuses. No, I’m not making excuses. I’m really going to renovate it.

But it’s strange though. In the game, I could have upgraded my hut by allocating points, but for some reason I can’t do it now.

What’s the difference?

I looked at my hut again. Then, suddenly, a status screen opened.

It is now possible to upgrade the hut!

My good friend Eugenie came to visit me, so it was unlocked!

I’ve been reminded of it somehow. In this way, at Island Maker, various conditions are released by meeting and interacting with people. I’m so happy to think that I’m going to live in a slightly better house that I want to start dancing.

“What’s the matter, Cedie? Were you so happy that I came to visit?”

“Yes, yes! I’m so happy that I can’t thank you enough!”

I grabbed Eugenie’s hand with both of my hands and shook them vigorously.

“I-idiot. Why would you do something so embarrassing……?”

Eugenie blushed and looked embarrassed.

“Ahem. Eugenie, let me show you something amazing in return, okay?”

“Something amazing? What exactly is it?”

“It’s my new magic.”

“Oh, you’ve learned more than just Fireball huh.”

“It’s not offensive magic though. Well, just watch.”

I put my hand on the shiny part of the old hut. Then I think about allocating the points. And just like when I fixed the well, five marble-sized balls of light flew from my body towards the old hut. Once the balls of light hit the old hut, it starts to glow brightly again.

It’s more intense this time because there are more points. When the light subsided, the old hut had become a small cottage. The color of the walls is light brown, and the color of the roof is dark green. This house, which was made of assembled timber, seemed to have fewer drafts compared to the old hut before.

“Isn’t it amazing?”

“…………”

Eugenie was so surprised that she was left speechless. Her mouth was even twitching. Gian, the Griffon, also kept his beak open in surprise.

“W-what was that!? Is that really magic?”

“Well, it’s not exactly the same thing, but it’s something similar. How should I say it, hmmm…. it’s a skill that can only be used on this island.”

“That’s still amazing! I’ve never seen magic that could upgrade a house.”

“It’s not just houses. I can also build facilities and level up the plants and animals on this island. Anyway, let’s go inside the new house first.”

Until now, it was a rundown house with barely any furniture, but what about this time?

Has it become a little easier to live in?

I invited the still excited Eugenie into the cottage.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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“Haa, haa, haa…… found it….…”

There was no doubt that what is in front of me is the hut that was given to every player at the very beginning of the game. It is an old looking shabby house with paint already peeling. The hut is built on the edge of the woods, with the shore extending out below.

I cautiously opened the door and went inside. The room was filled with the smell of aged wood. There are only two small windows inside, so the room is dimly lit. Still, the view of the beautiful blue sea from one of window is quite relaxing. As for the small room inside the house, there is only a small table, one chair, and a shabby bed placed in it. There was no mattress on the bed, just straw laid directly on the bed. I had never slept like this in my life. But I shouldn’t be greedy. This is much better than sleeping outside.

Next, I lifted the magic lantern on the table. The red lantern has peeling paint and rust in some places. It’s the same as in the game. I wasn’t sure if it would turn on, but when I switched it on, the lantern brightly lit up the room.

“Thank goodness it works….… Thank you so much.”

Now I don’t have to worry about being frightened by the darkness. I prayed a prayer of gratitude to God.

This lantern is a type of magic tool that brightens an area and is powered by magic stones. A magic stone is a crystal of magical power obtained when a defeating monsters. And as long as you put one in, the lantern can last almost forever.

However, I don’t have any spare magic stone, so I have to buy more in the town. Of course, there is another way, which is for me to defeat monsters by myself and get their magic stone. But at this stage, I want to avoid that if possible. I am not sure if there are any monsters living on the island after all.

I can’t remember it well but hopefully, there are none here. I can’t sleep peacefully on an island where monsters roam freely after all. But thanks to Paul-oniisan, I have a lot of money to spare so it would be wiser to buy magic stones in the town.

I’ll offer a prayer of gratitude to my brother as well.

“May my second brother live a healthy life.”

Well, there was no mistake. This is the setting of Island Maker itself. At first, there was no one in the island, but as a player lives here, all kinds of people would come, and the island will develop through interactions with them.

In fact, I don’t really remember what kind of people would come. Even though my memory has returned, it is not so vivid. There are still many vague details in it.

Hmm, how do I develop the island again?

I think I remember that there is a point allocation system in the game to develop and nurture the island. With those points, I should be able to upgrade and build facilities as well as allocate points in the flora and fauna of the island, but…….

“Whoa!”

When the memories were connected, a status screen appeared in front of me.

Oh yes, it was like this. In the game, there was also a display of belongings and money, but in this world, it is omitted. What I’m concerned about is the happiness category. As the name suggests, this is an indicator of whether I am happy or not. Sleep deprivation, illness, injury, hunger and thirst can lower this number. The scary part is that if my happiness level is below 75%, my points will not improve. If I don’t get any points, I won’t be able to develop my island. Then if I can’t develop the island, I won’t be able to eat satisfactory food. This will further reduce my level of happiness. And in this way, I will fall into a negative spiral. In addition, whether I am extremely sad or happy, my happiness value could go up or down.

I currently have 10 points huh….

I should be able to find out where to allocate my points to if I go to that location, but.…. I looked around inside the hut, but there was nothing that elicited any reaction. I should be able to build a kitchen and living room here as well but, what are the conditions to unlock them again?

It was still early for dusk, so I decided to go outside. When I went outside, the soil in front of the hut was shining.

Oh right. I remember. I can grow a field here. By the way, aren’t turnips often the first crop grown in this kind of games? I wonder why though.

“Ahh!”

Remembering something even more important, I exclaimed.

Oh, yes…… that’s right!

If the fields on this island are as designed in the game, it would only take three days from sowing to harvesting. Of course, that’s assuming that I pulled out all the weeds and water the fields properly. But even so, this is pretty much cheating. This is way more than just a question of forced cultivation!

But if I can really grow crops in three days, just like in the game, then the inheritance I received is quite incredible, isn’t it? I wanted to plant a farm right away, but as the saying goes, “Haste makes waste.”

Let’s see what else I can make first.

It’s not important, but maybe because my memory is coming back, Japanese proverbs are popping out of my head every now and then.

When I looked next to the planned site of the field, I saw an old well. The edges of the well are covered with moss, and the inside is filled with soil. This doesn’t seem to be very usable. However, it seemed that this old well could also be allocated with points.

This is an absolute must.

“Island Maker” has a strict slow-life habit, and once you have zero life, the game will be over. The first time I played this game, I put the points on something else and put off making the well. Thanks to that, I got dehydrated and the game was over immediately. And even though this is very similar to the game world, it’s a real world for me right now. I don’t even know if I can start over from a save point. Thus, cherishing life is a top priority.

Speaking of which, I wonder what happened to save points. In Island Maker, once the player goes to the bed, the save screen will appear, but there was nothing like that here. Well anyways, that could only mean that if I make a mistake, I’m going to die, I guess. That’s the only realistic logic there is…….

Anyway, rebuilding the well is the most basic principle of Island Maker. I waved my hand at the glowing part with a bit of nervousness.

“-Guh!”

I felt something slip out of my body. Then I saw three marble-sized balls of light flew from me towards the well.

The points might have been created by my magical power huh.

When the ball of light hit the old well, it emitted so much light that I could not keep my eyes open.

Kyuuiiiiiiiiiiin!

The sound is so intense that it shook my eardrums. It became impossible for me to maintain a sense of balance. But the sound and light did not last long, the world soon regained its silence. When I opened my still numb eyes, there was a well, which had been beautifully repaired. The moss that used to grow densely on it are gone, and the piled stones sparkles. The well itself has been cleaned.

I instinctively ran over and looked inside the well. I saw the clear water glittering and reflecting the sunlight through the trees. I immediately used the bucket and pulley to draw water.

“Sniff, sniff. Hmmm…… it doesn’t have a weird smell….”

I drank it timidly, but it turned out to be a really tasty water.

“Gulp, gulp, gulp. Puhaaa!”

I was so nervous that I forgot about it, but I was actually very thirsty.

“…………”

Now that I had calmed down, I tried tasting the water again. The water tastes really good. If there were such a thing as the 10 best waters in the Findas region, I think this one would definitely be a taste that would jump to the top. That’s how much the water in this well stood out.

As expected, this island has tremendous potential.

Thanks to drinking a delicious water, I now feel energized. Oh, and my happiness level has recovered a little.

As long as there is water, humans can live for about two weeks on that alone. I don’t have any food yet, but I’ll get by for the time being. When I thought about it, I felt so much better. It doesn’t look like it’s gonna be game over soon.

If I remember correctly, I could also find food in the woods, and I could go fishing on the beach or on the rocky shore. If I work hard, I won’t have any trouble eating.

I really want to explore the island right away, but I’d better do that tomorrow. The sun is now setting in the western sky, and the color of the sea is also getting darker. I also recalled that dangerous creatures roam the island at night. What’s particularly frightening are the poisonous spiders and poisonous snakes. I don’t want to run into them in the dark.

The upside is that dangerous creatures can also drop valuable items and materials. In some cases, I may need to capture them, but not until I get used to the life here.

A sigh of relief escaped from me as I entered the house and sat down on a bundle of straw. I was at a loss until I regained my memory, but with this, maybe I can make it.

It’s an empty island right now, but it could be made like Gandalcia in the fairy tale.

I’ll do my best to create a wonderful utopia!

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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We traveled along the main road for half a day. There was nothing to do on the carriage, and for the first time in my life, I had a conversation with Paul-oniisan.

“Did Paul-oniisan get a fiefdom too?”

“Yeah. One ranch and two villages……”

Paul-oniisan doesn’t usually show much emotion so it was impossible to read from his expression whether he was satisfied with the territory he had inherited or not. However, considering the size of the earldom, Paul-oniisan’s share is insignificant. Most of the territory must have been in the hands of Alexei-oniisan. Maybe Paul-oniisan is unhappy, but I think it’s a matter that should be left alone.

The carriage began to climb a gentle hill.

“Do you know what my island is like?”

“I don’t know much about it. I’ve heard that there’s a small house built there.”

“Hmmm……”

I assumed I’ll have a house there of course. Moreover, I had imagined a place like a manor house. But from the way second brother talked about it, I guess it would be something smaller than that. It’s probably just an ordinary private house. But that’s okay. I don’t want it to be so extravagant, as long as I can survive the rain and wind, that’s enough.

Oh, wait. Maybe I’m going to live there alone? I was thinking that there would be someone there who would take care of me…….

“Are there any servants there?”

He stared at me for a moment before turning his gaze back to the front.

“Cedie, you are going to live on your own from now on.”

I see, so there are no servants.

Ah, the sky is so blue……

It’s so dazzling that it makes me want to cry. The carriage climbed the mountain pass, and the sea spread out below.

“I can see Gandalcia.”

When I shifted my gaze in the direction where my second brother is looking at, I saw a small island in the wide inner bay. It’s not too far from the coast on our side so it looked like it would be easy to cross by boat.

“It’s not a very big island……”

“Yeah.”

As far as I can see from here, the surrounding area is surrounded by sandy beaches and cliffs, and I can’t see a single house.

“Are there people living in such a place?”

“It’s a deserted island.”

“Eh……?”

“You haven’t heard?”

For the first time today, Paul-oniisan’s expressionless face, showed a clear expression. It was a look of  pity.

Yes, I think even the devil in hell would weep at this situation. I had imagined an island with a laid-back fishing village. No one told me that it was a deserted island!

I’m sure Mary, my wet nurse, and the others didn’t know it either. I can’t believe that it is a zero-resident territory. That sounds like the title of a well-written light novel, isn’t it?

Eh……? What is a light novel again?

It’s really strange. My memory is often clouded these days. It’s like memories from the past that I shouldn’t have experienced are coming back to me.

I hope I don’t have a strange illness…….

The carriage came to the shore with me still in a daze.

“You’ll have to cross over to the island from here.”

A path made of big rocks crashed by waves continues from the coast. Apparently, there is not even a bridge in my territory. It seems that once the tide is high, I will not be able to go to and fro the island. As I was unable to move, just standing there stupidly, Paul-oniisan called out to me in a gentler voice than usual.

“Do you want to come with me? If you want, you can work in the ranch.”

His kind words brought tears to my eyes, but I didn’t feel like doing so right away. It’s really hard to spend time on an empty island, but I want to see what the island is like first. Even though I am only 12 years old, I am the lord of that island.

“I’ll take a closer look at the island first. Can I give you an answer then?”

“I understand……”

Paul-oniisan didn’t hold me back, but he gave me a small leather bag instead. There were several silver coins in the bag.

“You can see the town over there, right?”

I could see a town by the sea far away. I can see a magnificent bell tower, so it must be a big town in its own right.

“It’s Lubon Town in the Simpson territory. There are many shops over there. If you have no other choice, you can buy something there to eat or something.”

“Oniisan……”

Suddenly, Paul-oniisan felt like a person closer to me.

“I was told that there are no dangerous creatures over your territory. But just in case, be careful. Have you taken care of your sword?”

I put my hand on the sword at my waist to make sure. The heavy weight strangely gave me a sense of security. As a child of a nobleman, I was also trained in swordsmanship extensively.

“Yes. I did.”

“Can you use offensive magic?”

“If it’s a fireball, I can.”

“If you can do that, there’s no need to worry. For wild animals, just shoot two or three shots of fireball and they’ll run away.”

Uh-, right. I have to worry about that as well. My outlook is still so naïve after all.

“I’ll be careful.”

“If you have no other choice, come to my ranch. I won’t provide you luxury, but I’ll make sure you can make a living.”

He gave me a small nod and then I watched as the carriage go. Only me and the ripples of the waves are left behind.

What will happen to me in the future?

The future seems to be as steep as the rocky path that stretched out in front of me.

“Eeeh!?”

When I looked closely, I found out that the rocky path is narrower than before!

Oh no, the tide is rising! I can’t stay here like this. If I don’t get to the house in the island today, I won’t even have a place to sleep tonight. I hurriedly lifted my heavy luggage and jumped onto the first rock that still stuck its head out of the water. Traveling along the lined-up rocks, I managed to reach the island of Gandalcia.

I fell on the way many times so my clothes and shoes were soaked. I sat down on the white sand and took a breather.

As expected, it’s a desolate island. As far as my eye can see from here, there are no man-made objects to be seen. There is a faint sign of a road, but the grasses are so bushy and tall that it seems difficult to walk through. There are also many lateral branches protruding from the trees along the road as well. If I were to maintain this place by myself, no matter how much time I had, it would not be enough.

I regretted coming here.

But—

Even though it’s such a terrible place, I somehow feel nostalgic. And although it’s my first time here, I feel like I’m somehow familiar with this area. In more complicated terms, it is like a déjà vu.

It felt like I was seeing a scene I saw a long time ago, a scene before I was even born. I looked around in search of something that would stir up my memory.

“…………”

But there is no way that’s true, right?

Perhaps I’m just too worried about the future and I’m having silly hallucinations.

Maybe I should have followed Paul-oniisan after all……

“No, no!”

I shouted loudly to encourage myself. I’ve only just arrived on the island, but I’m already feeling weak. At this rate I’ll just worry more about the future. I need to get moving instead of wasting my time crying.  

Alright, let’s look for the house that is supposed to be somewhere here for the time being!

“Urgh….…”

When I tried to stand up, I suddenly felt dizzy and then I fell to one knee.

Was it because I got stuck on the sand?  Or was it because the sun was too hot?

Maybe that was part of it, but the main reason was that the threads of memory that had been broken were suddenly connected.

—What was connected was a memory of my previous life. I can’t remember anything definite, but I recalled living in a country called Japan.

Then I came to realize it.

I remember it now!  

It’s not wrong to say that this island looks familiar. It’s very similar to the game I loved when I was in elementary school in Japan. The game was called Island Maker.

“Island Maker” is a so-called slow-life game, a game in which you develop an uninhabited island by yourself and enjoy island life. The player can develop the island by working hard at farming or going on adventures. Anyway, I feel like it was a game with a high degree of freedom. Similarly, the game was supposed to start with the player arriving on the island and finding his house.

Then, if I go this way…….

Relying on the memories of my previous life, I walked through the tall grass on a desolate road.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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