Now that breakfast and the discussion were over, I decided to go look for Shouka’s group right away.
Once again, the members are me, Senyuu, Shouko, and Lumina-sensei.
“Um, can you take me along too?”
Shion said this as I stood up.
She has the ability to tell if someone is lying.
“True, Shion’s ability would be helpful, but is that okay with you?”
「Sure, I’m glad I can use my abilities for the party.」
「Then, may I join as well? If it’s a trade, then the ability to know what others want might be useful.」
Lora the maid also raised her hand modestly to volunteer. 「That’s true, but…」
If we go with too many people, we might raise suspicion.
No, we’ll probably be feared just for riding on Mashiro the phantom beast, so if we’re going to be suspected anyway, the number of people is a minor issue.
「…I’ll stay behind. If it’s too far, I won’t be able to maintain the barrier either.」
「Just in case, I’ll stay behind too. Dream World’s barrier abilities and my attribute magic seem to work well together.」
In the end, Dream World and Shinpo decided to stay behind.
「I understand. Since there are six of us going out, it might be better to split up… Is it okay to bring Mikuron?」 I asked the person in charge of staying behind. 「No problem.」
「Yes, don’t worry about us.」
It’s unlikely that anyone would notice Dream World’s barrier, and even if they came to the grasslands and noticed an invisible wall, it would be even rarer for them to break through it. If they showed any movement, Shinpo could attack them unilaterally with magic, so it shouldn’t be a problem…
I decided to trust them and leave them in charge. So, we’re going out in six.
Shozi, Senyuu, and Roa ride on Mashiro.
Mikuron is ridden by me, Mr. Lumina, and Shion.
「Here, Mr. Lumina. Hold onto Tsugusa-kun tightly.」
「Ugh… Y-Yes. Excuse me, Kouno-kun.」 「Eh, sure.」
I got on Mikuron first, followed by Mr. Lumina.
When I looked at Shion, she was winking at me.
It seems she deliberately put the teacher right behind me.
…This might involve Chiayu and the other girls too.
――Could she be trying to include the teacher in her harem too…? Chiayu wouldn’t put it past her.
But such thoughts vanish the moment the teacher gently grabs me.
I jump when I feel the volume of my childhood friend, Chiayu, pressing against my back.
The teacher only grabbed my waist gently, but once Mikuron started floating, she let out a “kyaa” and clung to me tightly.
The sensation of her pressing against my back is transmitted to me.
“S-Sorry, Kouno-kun! D-Did it hurt?”
“N-No, it’s fine. Mikuron will fly safely, but please hold on as tightly as you can.”
“Y-Yes… T-This is amazing… Flying in the sky feels like this…”
You can experience the sky by riding an airplane or a hot air balloon, but the freedom of flying on a dragon’s back is incomparable.
There’s nothing between you and the sky, and the dragon can swim freely in this state.
「Mikuron, can you go after Mashiro?」
Petting her fluffy fur, she said, and Mikuron nodded.
Chasing Mashiro as she ran on the ground from the air.
It was like the perspective in dramas where a helicopter chases a getaway car.
「Will Mashiro and Mikuron listen to what you say?」
「Mashiro and Mikuron are good kids, so they listen to their friends. Especially Mikuron, she seems to like me.」
「I see… Building a bond with such a fantastic creature is like something out of a story, isn’t it?」 The teacher said with admiration.
「You can also become friends with them. Mashiro especially likes girls, so you should be able to get along well.」
「…But I’m not a girl anymore.」
「That’s not true. Mashiro was happy when I brought you back.」
「I-I see… If that’s the case, I’ll ask Kouna-san if I can pet her.」
The teacher said with a slightly excited voice.
「By the way, Teacher. Were all the examples of things students brought mentioned earlier in the first dream?」 Shi-on asked.
「That’s right. The abilities are the four mentioned earlier. There were also other things listed such as ‘knife,’ ‘lighter,’ ‘potato chips,’ and so on, but…”
Given that they know they have abilities, they don’t choose them.
So that means, as of now, the ones we know are on the island are ‘Crafting Ability,’ ‘Healing Magic,’ ‘Fuzzy Summoning Ability,’ ‘Truth-Seeing Ability,’ ‘Attribute Magic,’ ‘Ability to Understand What Others Want,’ ‘Barrier Creation Ability,’ and ‘Light and Heat Magic.’ That’s a total of eight people.
From the information we got from the first dream and Teacher, there are ‘Ability to Have Hair That Doesn’t Get Brittle in Saltwater,’ ‘Ability to Not Gain Weight,’ ‘Ability to Create Food,’ ‘Immortality,’ ‘Teleportation Ability,’ ‘Charisma,’ and ‘Transformation Ability.’ That’s a total of seven people.
Then there’s the one that was already confiscated, a ‘gun with unlimited ammunition.’ This is more of a magical item than an ability, so we might exclude it.
By the way, there are eighteen people in the class who mentioned tools, including the gun mentioned earlier.
Including the teacher, there are forty-one transfer students.
Since fifteen abilities have been identified, we know that thirty-three items were brought in.
There are eight unknown items, but… actually, these are also uncertain.
The items you bring in are determined as soon as you answer the first time, and cannot be changed later by thinking or saying anything else.
In other words, if you secretly wished for the ability you wanted and then said something like, “I want a smartphone,” later on.
That person can bring in their abilities without causing misunderstandings among others about what they’ve brought in.
Well, having this kind of information is better than having none.
It allows us to prepare accordingly.
“Ah, Mashiro-kun has stopped.”
“As planned. Mikuron, land for now.”
I had asked him to stop once we found the target, at a spot where they wouldn’t notice us.
Mikuron landed and joined up with Mashiro’s team.
“Reika’s base is close now. She says it smells like a bunch of girls.”
Mashiro sniffed the air excitedly.
“Alright. Let’s start getting ready.”
This time, we’ll try not to reveal too many details about our abilities.
Also, since I mentioned my ability in the classroom, others might have heard me too.
If I were to show my face directly, there’s a possibility that I’d be pressured to help people with my abilities before the teacher could even mediate.
So, this time, I decided to hide.
I prepared multiple baskets that are usually hung up by Mashiro for collecting.
Not only for Mashiro, but also for Mikuron, I tied up a lot of them.
And then I stuffed them with items that could be used as bargaining chips.
Such as clothes, underwear that ties up, towels, bedding, soap, lotion, shampoo, sponges…
And so, I hid inside one of those baskets.
Whenever I needed something, I could secretly place it inside the basket, and if something happened, I wanted to be in a position to help everyone.
“Sou-kun, are you excited about the game of hiding?” “A little bit.”
The thrill of hiding behind objects or hiding in cardboard boxes or trash cans to avoid the enemy is something I’ve experienced in games and movies, but it’s rare for me to experience it in real life.
Perhaps hide-and-seek when I was a child was similar.
“For now, let’s make our team’s leader Shouko. And then the teacher will be saved by Shouko’s team and take on the role of negotiator.”
「Sure, but do we really need to go that far?」
「Master’s ability is very useful, so I think it’s dangerous to have you stand in the front lines until we fully understand the situation with the other side.」
「Yeah. They might try to get So-kun using all sorts of tricks.」
「…It’s sad, but it’s possible. If they resort to forceful means, it won’t be a negotiation anymore, and even if they don’t… they might use some kind of charm or trickery.」
Shion said with a gloomy expression.
「W-well, if you say so… Fine, I’ll be the leader if everyone agrees.」
Shouko was watching the transformed boys at the event.
But the idea of a team mainly composed of girls trying to forcefully take one boy is still hard to imagine.
Her kindness is a virtue, but one must still consider the worst-case scenario.
Of course, if it came to a fight, our team would win, but it would damage our relationship afterward.
So, the idea is to proceed in a way that prevents problems from arising in the first place.
「…Yes, that’s right. When people are stressed, they do things they wouldn’t normally do. I want to trust the students, but that doesn’t mean we can be careless.」
Mr. Teacher seemed to understand my feelings, even though he looked troubled.
I hid in the basket hanging from Mikuron and watched as everyone got back on the phantoms.
“Alright, let’s go, Shouko team!”
Shouko raised her fist, and Mashiro and Mikuron started moving. I peeked out from the gaps in the basket.
We soon arrived at a place…
“Wha…!? What’s that!?” “A wolf!?” “It’s too big!” “A monster!?” “But there shouldn’t be any other Arvancs…” “Hey, look, there’s something up there too!” “Just report it to Ryouka!”
The opposing team’s base was surrounded by a simple fence made of trees, and it was set against a hill.
On the hill was a large hole… It looked like a cave, and they might be sleeping there.
They had spears… and even some kids with bows.
From above, I could see tarps made from animal hides, pottery, weapons, and campfires.
There must be someone skilled at survival.
Their clothes and skin weren’t sparkling clean, but they were kept clean.
It seems you can bathe and do laundry here as well.
So, what is Arvanc doing?
“Calm down…! We’ve shared this before! The ‘big white wolf’ is due to Haka Shokko’s ‘fluffy summoning ability’! In other words, it’s not a monster, but a transferer and a summoned beast!”
Climbing out from under the tarp was a beautiful girl with long golden hair with waves and small buns at the back of her head—Seiha Reika.
The fact that the fence hasn’t been broken through while we’re having this conversation means there’s no intention to attack! Combatants, calmly take your weapons! Non-combatants, evacuate to the cave!
She immediately calms her comrades and issues instructions in case of emergency, as expected of someone at the top of the caste.
She climbs up to the lookout post and meets eyes with Shokko. “Hey, Reika.”
“It’s not ‘hey’! What’s up, Haka Shokko?”
The leaders of the two major factions in the class face off.
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