Multiple updates today.
This is Part 3.
Thanks to Shirone handling me multiple times, my hips feel surprisingly light.
Even after it was over and I’d cooled down, I thought it was something incredibly outrageous.
Confirming our feelings the day after having been close for ten years, only to have one of the most popular girls in the academy give me a hand job—just what did I do?
Considering this is officially approved by my childhood friend, it makes me scared just how conveniently everything falls into place for me.
I was so in denial that I thought it might be a long dream, and actually pinched my cheek to check.
Well, as mentioned before, there might be some discord arising from the fact that I’m only intimately involved with Chiiru, and while I can partially understand her point about harem dynamics…
I was sitting in front of the wooden work table, thinking about all this.
It’s just me right now.
Shirone was so incredibly dirty that she had to take a bath.
Of course, including the bra I’d soiled, I’ve been tidying up and rearranging her clothes back into storage.
Sitting around doing nothing wasn’t an option, so I started tinkering with an idea.
Lotion.
I was told all you need is water, oil, and an emulsifier, but Chiiru suggested that maybe the emulsifier could be generated from fats?
”……A matter of ‘image’ then? The recipe won’t unlock…”
For some reason, I have a feeling that tools likely to be helpful in survival living, like the 『Knife』 and the 『Blanket』, tend to unlock once the materials are gathered.
The 『Stove』 was a recipe unlocked by image, though… perhaps because a campfire is sufficient enough for survival?
Items that venture into 『Better Living』 seem hard to obtain without a corresponding “image.”
“Kunno-kun?”
After the sound of a door opening, Yotsue poked her head out from the shack and spotted me.
“Ah, Yotsue. Are you done already?”
It was only just past noon.
“Yes, I did manage to find a large hollow in a tree yesterday, after all, so I slipped inside and got some sleep.”
Remarkable adaptability for sure, but that probably wasn’t very comforting.
It wasn’t hard to imagine her sleep efficiency was at its absolute worst.
“I see. You can keep sleeping if you want. Shousu and Chi’ru haven’t come back from their exploration yet, and Shiin is taking a bath, so there’s nothing to do anyway.”
“Oh, I thought everyone was missing… so that’s what happened.”
“There are sheep here instead, though.”
The two sheep were eating the grass around them.
Unlike Mashiro, a phantasmal beast, summoning ordinary creatures seems to require them to eat.
It’s obvious, sure, but it feels strange.
“I-is that really true…? Is this ‘meat’ something added in last night’s dream?”
“No, it’s the sheep Shiko summoned with her ‘Fluffy Summoning Ability.’ According to the ability’s rules, we can’t eat the meat, though.”
Since they couldn’t make the breast milk properly and Shiino was occupied bathing, she had left him idle, so they sheared his wool. As a result, he looks a size smaller than before.
“I see… Ah! The wool for the rug and blankets—could it be…?”
“Exactly. It seems we can harvest the wool. Plus, we got some milk. We’ll have everyone drink some later.”
“A broad and fine power indeed, Kōa-san.”
Shi-zuo fell into a contemplative expression.
“It’s not just Sione’s, you know. She can use Four Attributes, not just one.”
“R-right. Thank you… I’ll do my best to hit where I aim.”
She’d been missing her shots while fleeing the boar, after all.
It’s understandable that staying calm when chased by a beast is difficult, so there was no help for it.
With that, the conversation paused for a moment.
Yotsue just stood there, looking rather lost.
”……Well, do sit down if you’d like?”
I placed a log chair facing him, and Yotsue accepted with, “Oh? All right then,” as he sat.
“Are you trying to craft something, Kouno-kun?”
“I am, but how did you know that?”
“You had this pensive look on your face.”
“Actually, I was planning to make some emulsion.”
At those words, Yotsue flinched slightly.
“Y-You can make cosmetics too?”
Expectation shone in his eyes.
“I… think so, but I’ve been having trouble making it work out.”
I explained the situation to Yotsue.
“Aah, I see. So the recipe won’t unlock if you lack either the materials or the image of it.”
“That’s exactly it.”
“Then let’s start by fleshing out that image. Emulsion, put simply, is meant for moisturization. Even guys use lip balm, right?”
“That’s true; I use it in winter. My lips crack when they dry out, and it hurts.”
“It doesn’t actually contain any moisturizing ingredients itself. The oils used in the raw materials, like vaseline, form a film that prevents moisture from evaporating off the skin.”
“Hmm, hmm. So it’s like when you put an oil slick on ramen soup; the heat doesn’t escape as easily, right?”
The memory made me suddenly crave some ramen.
“Hehe, yes. It’s easier to remember things if you visualize them using examples from your own life, isn’t it?”
“So, the oil in the milk lotion serves to create that protective film, while the water part is there for hydration.”
“Exactly. But water and oil don’t mix, do they? The emulsifier is what allows them to coexist and helps form a smooth cream texture that’s easy to apply.”
“Oh? Can it be made from fats?”
“Yes. Since it contains glycerin fatty acid esters, I assume you, Arano-kun, should be able to produce it.”
“Hmmm… I’ve already secured some boar fat, so I think I could pull it off.”
“Oh, and one more thing regarding the oil component—what if we used lanolin?”
“L-Lanolin?”
“Did you not shear wool yesterday, or just now as well, Arano-kun?”
“Ah, right.”
“It’s secreted from a sheep’s sebaceous glands and clings to the fleece when it’s sheared. It’s sometimes used in emulsions like this one.”
“Shiotetsu, you sure know your stuff.”
“After all, it’s something you use on your own skin, so don’t you check the ingredient lists and whatnot?”
”…Once we make it back to Earth, I think I’ll give it a try.”
Hmm… Typical earnest person.
Anyway, lanolin, lanolin…
I scroll through the item list.
Ah, here it is. It says “Sheep’s Wax.”
…Did this actually happen yesterday?
— No way.
Could it be that the ‘Inventory’ doesn’t display everything you’ve acquired, but only those items within the scope of my understanding?
If that’s the case, did I fail to extract ‘nigari’ from the seawater on the first day because my mental image was insufficient?
If I had thought through the specific components of nigari after that, would it have appeared?
No, it might be too late for that now.
For now, let’s verify that later.
“Kuno-kun? I’m sorry, I don’t suppose I sounded bossy, did I? If I’ve bothered you, I apologize.”
“Huh? Ah, no. I can check the items stored in my Inventory, and I was just trying to find the lanolin there.”
Hearing my words, Shizue looked visibly relieved. “Oh… yeah. That’s a relief.”
“First off, I’m the one being helped out here, so there’s no reason for you to be angry.”
“No, it’s just that… I tend to express myself poorly. Even when I’m trying to be kind, I often end up saying things like ‘stop lecturing me’ or ‘are you looking down on me?’, which makes the other person get upset…”
I had definitely seen scenarios like that in class before.
“Hmm. Word choice is certainly important, but I’d guess most of the time they’re just being a sore loser because they can’t come back with a good counter-argument.”
“Is that so?”
“At least I’ve been helped out plenty, so please keep teaching me.”
Shizue’s face lit up slightly at my words. “R-really? You leave it to me!”
After that, Shizue taught me a lot of knowledge about e-marujon and Misuru and such.
I only half-understood what was being said, but essentially, milk lotion was like mayonnaise in terms of its existence/position.
What had previously seemed like an obscure women’s cosmetic suddenly felt much more relatable.
“Oh! You did it, Shizue! The recipe has been unlocked!”
“Really? Amazing, well done, Ku-no-kun!”
It’s rare to see the four-wanderer clapping her hands in delight.
Apparently, being a woman makes skin moisturization quite the concern for her as well.
It’s apparently possible to make it using a combination of [refined water], [sheep’s tallow], and [emulsifier].
I immediately tried creating some.
The joy you feel in games when you first manage to craft something
that wasn’t possible at the start of the game once you’ve gathered the necessary materials…
Expressing that feeling is one of the core elements I wanted to capture in this work.
As the list of things you can create grows, and your life becomes more comfortable,
and your standing with the girls keeps rising—
I hope you’ll continue to enjoy following the protagonist’s journey.
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