My name was Yame.
For some reason, I had ended up on an unfamiliar island, but I searched for food to ensure my survival.
There were small red berries that didn't upset my stomach when I ate them. They were a precious source of food. I memorized several spots where those berries grew, but the fruit always seemed to vanish before I knew it.
Thinking about it calmly, there was no way edible berries would just be left alone forever. Though they weren't obvious, there were magic beasts and monsters on this island. They were weaklings who wouldn't dare approach me, but they certainly approached the food. Even magic beasts and monsters got hungry, after all.
It couldn't be helped.
Except for the Bird. I would never forgive that creature.
The Bird snatched away the small red berries I had painstakingly gathered, taking every last one right in front of my eyes. Even someone as broad-minded as me had her limits; I was truly angry. If I ever caught it, I was going to spit-roast the thing and eat it.
Since the nearby small red berries had disappeared, I had to look for something else to eat. I found some mushrooms, but… I had nothing but bad feelings about them. After all, they had been left completely untouched. That meant they were mushrooms that even magic beasts and monsters refused to eat. I decided to save those for the absolute last resort.
I turned my attention toward the sea. There were fish in the water, and fish were edible. However, I couldn't swim, which meant I couldn't catch any. It was frustrating.
But—but, but—I could still pick up shellfish on the shore. As long as I tracked the ebb and flow of the tide, it was incredibly easy. I worked hard to gather a pile of them. They looked delicious.
However, I didn't panic. I wasn't going to do something as cliché as getting a stomachache from eating them raw. I was a demon who learned from her mistakes. I applied heat to them.
Then, I ate.
They were delicious. But I still got a stomachache. I thought I had grilled them thoroughly, but maybe they were still raw in the middle.
Ah, I felt dizzy…
Shellfish were a no-go. I learned that after dying three times.
Next were the fish. I found a fish that had been left behind by the receding tide, grilled it, and ate it, but that was also a failure. My whole body went numb, and then I died. Ugh. Even though it was a cute fish that puffed up when poked, it turned out to be poisonous. I would never eat that kind of fish again.
Eventually, my staple food on the island became grass. I boiled it before eating. It wasn't tasty, but it didn't give me a stomachache, and it didn't kill me. That was what mattered most.
Flowers were dangerous. Roots were also dangerous. I learned all of this by dying.
I used a stone with a hollow in it for boiling my food. If I wasn't careful, the stone would crack, so I couldn't take my eyes off it. I had already broken more than I could count.
Now that I had settled on a staple food, I decided to build a base to help me survive. Yes, a base. My goal was to secure a place to sleep, but even more important than that was having a place to store food. It was because I lacked a storage space that the Bird had been able to steal from me. A base was essential.
As for the location… prioritizing the view, I chose the sandy beach near the river. If a ship happened to pass by, I would notice immediately. I chose a spot near the river because I could secure drinking water by walking just a little bit upstream. As long as I had water, I could manage even without food. Hot water, in particular, was a necessity. Even if it had no flavor, the warmth alone was a lifesaver.
For the time being, I built a roof to keep out the rain and walls to keep out the Bird. Using sturdy-looking trees as the frame, I wove and layered large leaves together—and voilà! It was finished. I made it sound easy, but gathering the materials and completing the build took about five days.
However, it was quite comfortable. Being able to block out the sunlight was wonderful. I wondered why I hadn't made this sooner. I truly reflected on that.
I resolved to take good care of my base.
The day after I made that resolution, the base was blown away by the wind.
I didn't give up. I had simply forgotten that the wind grew quite strong on an island. Using driftwood, I built a sturdier, heavier base. Well, it felt sturdier than the last one, at least. With this, I wouldn't lose to the wind. I couldn't lose!
The next day, the base was crushed by a rainstorm.
I—I wouldn't be discouraged. It was only crushed, so the materials were still there. I worked hard and rebuilt it.
The next day, the base was carried away by a high wave.
…
Prioritizing the view had been a mistake. I decided to move my building site much further away from the sea. Yes, I was a demon capable of learning. I also decided to stay away from the river's edge. I could see a future where I would be washed away by rising waters.
While searching for a new location for my base, I found a cave. It wasn't deep—about big enough for two adults to lie down in. If I made a door out of driftwood, it would be a fine base. I made sure to fix the door in place with large stones so it wouldn't be blown away. I wanted to start a fire inside, but doing so in a cave was a bad idea, so I decided to keep the fire outside.
Then, I spread grass inside the cave to make a bed. Yes, this was very good. It wouldn't budge even in the rain. I even dug a trench to ensure that rainwater wouldn't flow inside.
"Alright, I'm going to gradually improve my lifestyle from here!"
I shouted aloud to psych myself up.
The next day, a storm hit. It was quite violent. I had secured the door with even larger rocks to keep it from blowing away, but it still rattled and vibrated.
Also, the Bird was there. When did it get in? Through a gap in the door? Had it come here to take shelter from the storm? I felt bad for it, but I hadn't forgotten that it had snatched away all of my small red berries.
Fuhahaha. That was unfortunate for you. It was your bad luck that I was the one living here.
…………
Ugh, don't look at me with those round, beady eyes!
W-well, it was a storm outside. My only food was grass, but I had a decent amount of it. There was no need to start a fight right now—provided the guest didn't cause a ruckus. It just needed to stay quiet.
The next day, the storm passed. The Bird left as well. It seemed it hadn't touched the food in the cave.
"I won't let you off next time," I muttered as I headed toward the shore to see if the storm had washed up anything useful.
Well, things were rarely ever that convenient.
Yame: "You can eat the mushrooms if you want?" Bird: "(Ignore)"