Ai Hayasaka: I'm Going to Steal a Man!

The other girls furrowed their brows and tried to think of a solution, but soon realized that aside from rubbing sticks together, they couldn't think of anything.

People living in modern society cooked with induction stoves and natural gas at home. Matches had long since become a relic of the past.

"Obviously, a lighter."

As he spoke, Amamiya Natsuki took out a lighter under the girls' watchful eyes.

The girls: "..."

"Natsuki-classmate, that's too much." Fujiwara Chika puffed out her cheeks and put her right hand on her hip. "If you had a lighter, you should've taken it out earlier."

"I'm sorry, I was wrong. Please forgive me." Amamiya Natsuki presented the lighter with both hands. "Now, I'll ask Chika-sama to perform the lighting ceremony."

Fujiwara Chika lifted her chin and gave a smug little huff.

"Leave it to me."

With a lighter, starting a fire went from hellishly difficult to utterly effortless. Anyone could do it.

A bright flame flickered to life, dispelling the darkness and bringing warmth. The girls all breathed a sigh of relief.

It was worth mentioning that many lighters were actually manufactured in prisons at an extremely low cost. Prisons also made all kinds of small appliances, such as power banks; inmates didn't just spend all day working sewing machines.

The uniquely Chinese "reform through labor" didn't mean making people break rocks and do hard labor all day. It meant teaching them a skill they could use to earn a living, so they could support themselves after getting out.

"The fire's going," Yukinoshita Hiyori called. "Everyone, take off your wet clothes and warm yourselves by the fire. We don't want to catch cold."

"Stare—"

The girls all turned to look at Amamiya Natsuki.

"Why are you looking at me?" Amamiya Natsuki glanced around and sighed.