Multiple updates today! Here’s Part 1.
We’re splitting up into two groups for exploration.
Kouno Sousuke, Iyama Shouko (that gal), and Fenrir Masiro are heading out to distant areas looking for spices and other such things. Meanwhile, my childhood friend Chiyu, the demure head chef Shion, and the earnestly serious mage Fukaho will be scouting around our base camp.
“Let’s go, Sousuke.”
“Yeah. See everyone at noon-ish then?”
“Hurry along now, Young Master Sousuke! Miss Shouko! Masiro-kun!”
“If you get hurt, come find me immediately!”
“You’re right—don’t overdo it yourselves above all else. Your safety is the most important thing.”
Bid farewell to my comrades and we set off. Even though I’d ridden this before yesterday, I still feel like it’s been ages since I’ve seen Masiro’s back from behind. Wrapping an arm around Shouko’s waist, I hold on tight so she won’t slip away. “Hnn… Um, yeah, go ahead and ride again today too, Masiro!”
At the sound of Shouko’s words, Masiro cheerfully responds and sets off running. The scenery blurs past at a speed nothing like walking could match.
“You know, Masiro is seriously fast. You’re always helping us out anyway—today I definitely need to get that hut built.”
“Yeah, sure they’ll be happy about it.”
“Sorry you gotta stick with the scouting team permanently now… Let me know if there’s a day when you want some time off?”
“Hmnn? Well, I love going on outings in general anyway—but tell us whenever something comes up where you’d rather just laze around!”
“A-hahahaha! Please do then.”
“But Sousuke yourself—there really is no need to craft everything there is. You already make enough stuff as it stands; besides, haven’t we all been making things for the whole group instead of focusing on personal items? Go ahead and start crafting just for your own sake!”
“No, see… what I want tends to overlap with exactly what everyone else wants anyway. Still crafted up that house while having my absolute mood skyrocketed.”
“So?” she replies. “Well then great—I guess so! Come think about it though—we’re living in a pretty terrible place right now aren’t we? This island, only us could possibly manage to survive inside something like that!”
Judging by Shouko’s excited expression, I can tell she genuinely loves the house we’ve built. It brings joy just knowing others appreciate what you make after all.
“Yeah… our first hut really did improve since day one.”
“I liked having everyone sleep in there too—it felt kinda like a class trip or something!”
“A classroom dorm-style school field trip with men and women sharing rooms? That doesn’t exist, does it?”
“You’re absolutely right…”
Shouko laughs happily. “If I had to pick my next desired item… hmm… maybe glass?”
“Eh?! You can make glass too now? What?”
“I consulted Fukaho a little about it—you just need quarts if you want something like that.” The remaining materials are things we’ve already spotted: shells from the beach, seaweed and all.
“Whoa really!? If we get some glass soon this place’ll feel instantly more modern-like! But since stone is required too… wouldn’t yesterday’s new addition being a mine have worked perfectly?” With options between water source or mining site, an immediate majority vote went straight for the latter—naturally so if what appeared were minerals instead.
“Exactly that way…” I mused anyway. “But still glad it ended up as just a water spot because we aren’t alone here transferring in either… Everyone needs access to things like this.”
”…Yeah… Really smart move, Sousuke!”
“No way, no how—if you’re not actively hunting for transplants yourself, bringing this up is just hypocritical.”
Mairo’s scenting ability, which allows him to pinpoint boars with surgical precision, should theoretically let him detect other humans as well. For now, though, we’ve asked him to sniff out citrus-scented things instead.
The topic of searching for our classmates hasn’t even come up yet. Most likely, everyone’s deliberately keeping quiet about it.
“Why? Kouno doesn’t have any obligation to save anyone here, right? Isn’t helping someone who’s in trouble right before your eyes different from going out hunting down some random stranger and saving them?”
“Well… yeah. The latter makes you into a hero or something.”
“Exactly! You don’t need to become a hero like that anyway, because we already know Sousuke is an awesome guy even without doing all those things.”
To be honest, feelings about this sort of thing probably vary from person to person. Someone who’s currently in trouble would likely think someone with abilities should rescue them first and foremost.
Still, I’m glad that Shouko—my friend—is on my side. “Thanks, Shouko. It feels a little easier now.” Leaning my forehead against her back, I whispered softly.
“Haha! So you’re saying it’s okay after all? But even though you say that, from the very first day, you just rushed right at Sousuke like crazy!” That night, when Fenrir arrived at our shed, Shouko and Shion were riding on its back instead.
“Ah, honestly I was surprised then too! But it’s nice to have reunited with Shouko again.”
“I feel the same way, though—I’m really grateful for what Sousuke did.” Only friends like this can truly become companions; that’s my truest feeling.
“Man, suddenly turning this into a serious conversation feels kinda embarrassing now…”
“W-well… yeah I get it! Like hell our faces are getting hot right now—!” Both of them blushed deeply at the thought. Just then, Mairo slowed down his speed and eventually stopped to emit a noise.
“Eh? Here already, Mairo?! But… there’s just grass in front of us…” As Shouko said, all that grew before our eyes was indeed grass. Countless long strands stretched out here like they were drawing smooth curves.
“‘Let me try itemizing this.’” I asked Mairo to dismount, then used my stone axe to chop down the plants. Surprisingly, a citrus-like scent wafted off them. Upon using ‘Itemize’—the result was: ‘Lemongrass’.
“So it’s lemongrass.”
“Ah! The kind that smells like lemon!” It seems herbal teas must contain this somewhere; for now, we can consider citrus scents accounted for. “Sorry about calling you out on finding something only to say ‘it’s just grass,’ Mairo~” Shouko wrapped her arms around Mairo apologetically. Since he had his chest pressed against her ample breasts as she hugged him, surely he’d forgive everything by now!
After that too, we continued exploring and gathering while still trusting in Mairo’s incredible sniffing skills. “Well… ‘Fluffy Summon’ ability is freaking out everyone here though. If it wasn’t for my powers alone contributing to this combo, I probably wouldn’t have been able to craft quite as much stuff by myself back then.”
“Come on! Don’t you agree we’re just built together?”
“Hell yeah!”
“Ah, wait, no, that’s wrong! Compatibility—wait, I mean capability compatibility…”
Shouko’s voice was rising in pitch.
“I get it.”
“W-well, our friendship doesn’t feel all bad… but—”
“Yeah, we’re totally on different social strata at school, you know that?”
“That shouldn’t matter…!”
”…Hmm, right. Sorry about that. That really does not matter; we are friends.”
Shouko’s anger was entirely justified, so I apologized sincerely.
“Exactly! …I realized Sousuke’s charm before Shione or Yomiren ever did…”
She clearly wasn’t intending to say the latter part aloud, since her voice dropped too low for me to catch it.
“Shouko?”
“Nothing important! Anyway, does Sousuke have anything else you’d like to hunt down?”
“Hmm… I could really use some water… maybe something near the sea?”
The moment she heard the word sea, Shouko’s body jolted with fear.
“The heck not! Sea it is! Let’s go!”
She’d reacted instinctively as someone living in the sun, though… well actually—
“Right then. Just taking water would be boring anyway; maybe we should hang out a bit.”
“Sousuke gets me!!”
Since this shared exploration was partly an apology to Shouko too, I figured no arrows were going to fly if I granted her wish.
“Oh man, but I don’t have any swimsuits… so we can just sneak around on the beach for a tiny bit…”
She said that with such obvious disappointment.
“Might not be exactly what we had back on Earth, but let’s weave one from flax cloth? Both top and bottom will need to be tied together.”
“Sousuke, you’re a genius!”
“Haha, all right then—that’s settled.”
“And make sure Sousuke gets a suit too! It’d be so embarrassing if only I had one!”
“Ah… ah yeah, got it.”
“Yaaay!! Sea—”
My conversation rolled out in my usual casual tone… but does this qualify as some kind of beach date?
The thought hit me and suddenly made all the hair on my body stand on end.
“Mashiro, Top Speed! Faster than the wind—straight for the sea!”
“Wait wait, what’s with Fenrir being at its Top speed anyway——ughhhhh!!”
I latched onto Shouko so hard to avoid getting tossed off.
There was absolutely no room in my mind to think about how soft a girl’s body felt or anything like that.
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