Multiple updates today, this is the second one.
The gun that can fire endlessly is also a cheat, especially on an desert island like this.
Not only would it give an advantage in human combat, but if one trained with unlimited ammo, it would also give an edge in battles with beasts.
However, there are others among the transplanted individuals who have acquired magic or special abilities.
“Ah…? W-What…!?”
The gunman must have spotted Mashiro and was shocked.
He aimed his gun at Mashiro with a panicked expression.
Perhaps he mistook her for a monster that had been released on the desert island… “Deep…” “Eh…! ‘Water Wall’!”
The gunshots rang out, but Deep, who had trained, instantly deployed several thick walls of water.
The bullets couldn’t penetrate the walls and ended up falling short. “What…!?”
While the male student was still wide-eyed, I circled behind him. “Hey” ”…!?”
The male student jumped as if a ghost had spoken to him and quickly turned to face me.
I swing my spear like a stick in time with my movements. “Gah…!”
It hits the barrel just right, and the gun flies out of his hand.
The gun flies through the air and lands on the ground.
—At worst, I might lose a hundred points for intentionally injuring him, but I can’t just leave it.
I drop the ‘Stone Cage’ on him as he looks in the direction of the gun. “What the—”
I successfully trap him in the ‘Stone Cage’.
I think I can hear muffled sounds, but I don’t need to know the details.
I quickly pick up the gun and ‘Itemize’ it.
There was a fifty-fifty chance, but it successfully goes into my Inventory.
What he wanted wasn’t the ability to create and control guns, but the guns themselves.
As a feature of the gun, it probably ignored the limit on the number of bullets.
In other words, by taking the gun, I’ve rendered him powerless.
If I was just going to use it for hunting, I wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to take it, but its usage was too dangerous. “Well then.”
Now that I’ve removed the danger factor for living on the island, I need to hurry and meet up with my friends.
While listening to the sounds of people hitting and kicking the stone wall behind me, I chase after Mashiro. ---That’s strange.
Even after adding up the people who ran away from Mashiro and those I immobilized, it’s less than half the class.
Actually, there are an unusually small number of girls.
---Every day, the majority of votes is still twenty-one. That means no one has died.
Are they just not catching up to the light ball, or are they just watching from a distance? Or do they not even want to control this event?
Whatever the reason, as long as they’re not getting in the way, I’ll leave them alone.
I don’t want to trap my classmates either.
“Souma! It’s bad! It’s flying!”
Before Mashiro could catch up, some students had been throwing stones at the light ball, but it seems to have moved to a place out of reach of the stones. “Can Mashiro reach it…!?” “Sorry, it’s ‘impossible’!” I quickly look around.
The people who were throwing stones have also scattered after seeing Mashiro.
Right now, it’s just us around here. Then— “Miko! New friend!”
“Alright…! Come forth—fluffy!”
The next summoning beast she had been struggling with.
A product of an image without a definite source.
What appeared was a black-furred, fluffy Oriental dragon.
“Micron…! I’m counting on you!”
Following her master’s command, the black dragon Micron came to me.
I jumped onto Micron’s back.
“Take me to that glowing orb!”
The dragon glided through the sky like a fish swimming in the sea.
—Just a little more, just a little more and we’ll be within the range…! “Now…!”
Did that call reach the ground? We had decided on something beforehand.
This is an operation built on three premises. The light sphere is—.
・It will move to avoid the pursuers while maintaining its field of vision.
・The light sphere will always be in a position visible to at least one participant.
・It will not reach a height that all participants cannot reach by any means, nor will it dive underwater.
—In other words, it wants to be caught.
The light sphere is an object to be seen and thought about, and it can be assumed to choose its hiding spots while adhering to the rule of always being visible to someone’s eyes, and taking into account all the players’ abilities.
And now, the light sphere’s movement suddenly stops, as if confused.
I’ve already informed my teammates that this situation is a possible development.
And at the same time as the shout, we all closed our eyes. The light sphere wants to escape from me.
But if it leaves my line of sight, it must enter someone else’s.
Yet, the students who ran away in fear of Mashiro are far away, the students trapped in the ‘Stone Cage’ can’t see the light sphere, and my teammates have closed their eyes.
It might still be able to escape at the speed of light, but—.
――Who in the world could catch a light sphere like that?
If this was meant to be an event where someone could capture it, they wouldn’t use such a method.
As a result, the light sphere briefly stopped as if calculating its next move.
It then entered the range I could set traps in thanks to the Black Dragon Mikuron.
The giant net I set out, woven from vines, wrapped around the light sphere. “Alright…!” Instantly, my vision exploded into white. ◇
I was sent flying into a white space.
It was a space with only a mysterious blackboard, a desk, and a chair.
The only thing different was that I was the only one there.
“The event has ended due to the appearance of the light sphere’s captor.”
“The light sphere’s captor will receive a ‘return right’ and bonus points.”
The details of the points weren’t revealed, but if there were any points left after adding the points I received and subtracting the penalty points, I would get a benefit when I returned, right?
Well, it couldn’t hurt to get them.
『Do you want to exercise your “right of return”?』 “Ah… so that’s what you mean.” ###
The reason why only the light sphere recipients were summoned is that, by giving them a moment alone, they could be questioned about their true intentions. ###
Even if the mystery blackboard is an entity that can read our lives and minds, it will not give a response unless it is stimulated. ###
For example, if you ask a kind person, “What would you do if you won the lottery?” ###
Before winning, they might answer, “I would repay my parents, go on a trip with friends, and donate to a charity that helps people.” ###
That’s a wonderful answer. They may have truly meant it. ###
But—what if they actually won? ###
Would they be able to embody their ideal self as they had imagined when they didn’t have the money? ###
Perhaps there are people who would, but it’s human nature to be consumed by desire. ###
In fact, there are countless stories of people who went bankrupt after winning the lottery. ###
The allure of large sums of money has the power to corrupt people. The “right of return” is the same. ###
The mystery blackboard is probably testing whether my judgment wavers.
“I won’t use it now. I’ll use it when I’ve accumulated enough rights for everyone.”
I immediately answered, but I thought I shouldn’t have asked the wrong person.
To begin with, I actually like my current life.
It’s only natural that someone who’s cornered would give a different answer.
“About the suspension of the exercise of the ‘Return Right,’ the participant ‘Sousuke Kouno’ will be granted access to the ‘Bonus Area.’ Additionally, party members can accompany you in the ‘Bonus Area.’” “Huh? No, what’s that?” ‘The event will end.’
He really only says what he wants to say, more than ever…!
And once again, my vision turned white—. ◇
“Sousuke!” “Sousuke!” “Sousuke-kun…?” “Sousuke-san…?” I was startled by my friends’ voices.
I found myself transferred to the area around the cliff that had been our base.
My four friends and even Mashiro and Mikuron were all there.
But everyone looked worried. “What’s wrong?” “Sousuke, you were spacing out.”
“I was worried that something had happened to you…!” The summoner was on the verge of tears.
――Did that mysterious blackboard mess with my timing when bringing me back to consciousness?
“Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”
Shion patted my back as if to comfort me.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I mean, I was the only one called to the white space.”
”…They asked you to exercise your ‘right of return,’ didn’t they?”
Smart Shinko immediately seemed to understand.
She might have thought that was something the mysterious blackboard would do while observing us.
“Sora-kun wouldn’t abandon us and run away.”
“That’s right…! Don’t underestimate Sora-kun.”
“Yeah. I never doubted that.” “I believed in you too.”
I felt happy hearing the words of my teammates, spoken with certainty.
“Thanks, everyone. Let’s work hard until we can bring back everyone’s rights, memories, and abilities.” Everyone nodded in response.
Looking up, it was still early morning.
I suddenly remembered something.
“Hey, even though you might be tired from the event—do you want to go get some wheat?”
At those words, everyone’s eyes shone.
“Let’s go and have a bread festival.” “Hehe, sounds good.”
“I want to eat pancakes…” “I, um, want to eat udon.” “Sounds nice. Let’s eat everything.”
I smiled and we all got into Mashiro and Mikuron right away.
Our life on the desert island was still far from over.
I was able to write up to the point I wanted to write first.
One of my motivations for writing is to “write something that many people will read,”
and this is my first work on Nocturne and has been read by many people. Thank you very much.
If there are any of you who haven’t bookmarked or rated it yet,
If you could give it to me at this timing, it will serve as motivation for the second part.
Thank you very much in advance.
Also, if you could leave a review or recommendation, it would be a great encouragement.
Even if we do a second part, we probably can’t maintain this pace, but
I do have ideas for progressing with each heroine and introducing new ones.
I would be grateful if you continue to support us.