Harriet, who seemed afraid to enter the jungle alone, stood still before the expanse of greenery for a long time. She kept looking over at me nervously. 1

She wanted to ask me to go with her, but she realized that such companionship would only lead to an even more disastrous outcome later. Eventually, she entered the jungle alone.0

“…”0

“…”0

Even Harriet, who suffered from habitual blushing syndrome, came staggering back after everything was over, her complexion ghastly pale. 0

Silently, she went off to the beach, scrubbed the pot clean, and with a look of utter resignation, set the pot down next to me. 0

‘Note to self: Absolutely never use this pot…’5

“… If… If you mock me for this… I-If you do, I’m seriously going to kill myself!”0

I hadn’t even said anything, but Harriet had already started to worry about me teasing her. She looked at me with tear-filled eyes, her face still pale. Surprisingly, she hadn’t threatened to kill me if I mocked her, but rather herself—an indication of a deep sense of self-loathing and embarrassment. 0

She was essentially saying that mocking her with what had just happened would be the same as killing her. 0

Her expression seemed to say, “You don’t really want to see me dead, do you? You don’t hate me that much, do you?”0

Even though I had no intention of teasing her, I knew that if I were to do so, it would be the same as taking her life. 0

‘Okay, I might have a lot of issues, but I’m not that cruel.’0

“Hmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did something just happen? If you’ve got nothing to do, stop wandering around and go back to sleep, kiddo.”0

I pretended to be clueless, and Harriet finally shed a few tears.0

“Thank you…”0

She wiped the corners of her eyes with her hand.0

‘Wait, didn’t you just wipe yourself with that ha—Forget it.’5

I refrained from teasing her, even in my own mind.0

***0

When people are in an entirely unfamiliar environment and are subjected to extreme stress,...0