Updated multiple times today.
This is Part 2 of the series.
After lunch.
Successfully produced “Vinegar” and “Alcohol” from “Wild Grapes”.
Successfully produced “Sugar” from “Sugar Beet”.
Furthermore, I was finally able to produce “Glass”.
Produced “Sodium Carbonate” from “Wood Ash from plants like Kombu”, and “Calcium Carbonate” from “Shells”,
produced “Silica Sand” from “Sand or certain Sponges,” and combined them.
For now, I placed the freshly made “Vinegar” and “Sugar” into new glass bottles and handed them to Shiine.
“Ohhh…! Thank you, Sousuke-kun!”
Shiine received it with eyes shining unusually bright today, but as the person in charge of cooking, she was likely struggling badly with a lack of seasonings.
Or perhaps it was the power of sugar.
Things like window glass can wait for later.
As promised, it’s time for my magic training session with President Fonpou of the Ponytail Committee.
“By the way, Fonpou. As part of our magic practice, I’d like you to produce a large amount of hot water. Is that alright?”
“Ah, for the bath, then. Of course, I’ll help.”
Since the other three had mounted Mashi and set off to explore, there was no need to worry about their surroundings right now.
He placed a stone tub at a slight distance and poured a large amount of water into it.
In response, Fukaho used a fireball spell to heat the water.
Once it reached a boil, he stowed the entire stone tub, then redeployed only the empty vessel.
He would pour in the water and cast a fireball, repeating this cycle.
With each cast, he increased the distance, using the repetition as training to improve his magical accuracy and range.
“Oh. A stationary target… You’re hitting it almost perfectly.”
“Thank you. But I’ve been aiming for the center of the tub every time, and there’s still a bit of drift…”
It seemed she still felt she had room for improvement in her personal assessment.
That earnestness was reassuring.
“I guess that kind of fine-tuning just doesn’t stick without putting in the reps, does it?”
“Yes. So if there’s ever a time when you need magic, I’d love it if you gave me a call.”
“I will.”
“And… eventually, I’d like you to help me hunt moving targets as well…”
Fukumori said this with a fidgeting manner.
“Revenge, huh. Since there’s still plenty of wild boar meat left, the prey would be… goats or deer? But I also really want beef.”
“Cattle are a domesticated species, so it’s unlikely they’d appear in the forest as wild individuals under normal circumstances… but on an island like this, anything is possible.”
“I see. Anyway, I’m in favor of going hunting.”
If Fukumori could hit a moving target with magic, her reliability as a combatant would increase.
It wasn’t something I wanted to dwell on, but there was always the possibility of being forced into battles with monsters on the mysterious blackboard or of conflicts breaking out among other transmigrators.
For that reason, having some level of combat capability is preferable.
After boiling a large amount of water, they moved slightly to begin logging trees.
“By the way, Mr. Kuno, could you talk to me? It might help me maintain my concentration.”
“Oh, that’s actually a good training method.”
In actual combat, conditions aren’t always as calm as they are during practice.
Getting used to the noise and distractions during practice seemed like a stroke of genius.
“Well, that settles it. Oh, I went out on the sea today, and I managed to make ‘nigari’ from seawater.”
Fukami released a “Wind Blade,” felling a tree at a moderate distance.
“I see. It seems your perception is indeed tied to what gets converted into ‘items.’”
“Yeah. I should have noticed when the wood was uniformly labeled as ‘Lumber,’ if I’d really thought about it…”
In the games I used to play, this kind of thing was standard procedure, so I took longer to realize what was happening here.
No, Chiaya had actually pointed out the inability to obtain “nigari” on our very first day.
But it was thanks to Fukami that I learned a method to “itemize” it.
For instance, the “Sheep’s Wax,” which didn’t appear when we sheared the wool, ended up in my “Inventory” after I started looking for it following our conversation with Fukami. “Yes. What about the quantity?”
“It was a massive amount. So, this must include the share from the first day.”
As expected, the “Inventory” isn’t just displaying all stored items; it’s presenting them in a format I can understand, a form optimized for how I use my ability.
“I see. It seems your ability still has a lot of room for expansion.”
“Expansion?”
“Just as not all trees are suitable for construction materials, it appears your ability utilizes ‘lumber’ specifically for the generation of structures… perhaps that’s what makes the ‘itemization’ process possess such specialized functions.”
“Ah, I see.”
My [Craft] ability is inspired by video games.
It depends on the game, of course, but in the ones I played, wood harvesting was localized to specific areas. The trees you cut down were categorized into ranks like ‘Lumber,’ ‘Common Lumber,’ and ‘High-Grade Lumber,’ but within those limits, they could be used for crafting all sorts of tools or buildings.
Since my Inventory is structured based on that mental model, it’s likely that the “Inventory” isn’t just simple storage, but undergoes a special processing called “itemization.”
If that’s true, then this ability is far more cheat-like than I ever imagined.
Depending on my visualization, I can use things with vague versatility, like ‘Lumber,’ for any purpose.
And apparently, if I have the right knowledge, I can even perfectly separate out the constituent elements of seawater.
“Mifumi is indeed clever.”
”…It’s just that studying is my only redeeming quality.”
“Don’t be modest. You work hard as Class President, you have a strong sense of responsibility and drive for self-improvement, and you’re very cooperative with others.”
“S-stop it! My magic focus is wavering!”
Seeing Mifumi blush, I used sparring as an excuse to keep talking.
“I mean, even if I were to praise you into submission, I wouldn’t want my concentration disturbed. This is practice too. You don’t just show off your knowledge; you teach us things we don’t know in various ways, and I find it really helpful.”
「K… Kuno-kun, even in a situation like this, you’re just as kind as you were back in Japan. If you had that kind of power, it wouldn’t be out of character for your personality to change completely, and yet…”
It’s like those guys you often see in manga… the ones who act cocky because they got superpowers or became rich?
No, wait. Did Shinpou actually encounter a pair of boys on this island who gave her that sort of leering, vulgar look?
It might be one of those stories where a good person turns into a villain during the chaos of a disaster movie or something.
“Maybe he’s just being cautious.”
“It’s the opposite. The people who get big-headed due to temporary success or changes in their surroundings are the ones with small hearts. People like you, who can maintain the same calm spirit in any situation regardless of the circumstances… they are the ones with strong hearts.”
I had meant to make her blush, but instead, I ended up being the one flushing.
“Ahaha, thank you.”
“No, I should be thanking you. …Unlike the other three, I know that I’m not a pretty girl, but you act in a way that makes me feel none of that. I am truly grateful.”
Hearing Shinpou’s words, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Huh? No way, I’ve never once thought Shinpou was inferior to the other three.”
“Lies. I’ve heard all sorts of things being said about me in class. Things like ‘ugly,’ ‘annoying,’ ‘preachy,’ ‘has a scary face’… there are so many more…”
The earnest Shinpou must have taken those thoughtless insults to heart…
No, it might be that she has been hearing such things not just since high school, but for even longer than that.
If that’s the case, it’s only natural that the weight of others’ comments has begun to affect her self-esteem.
“I don’t get it, but I never said anything like that.”
”…I know. You’re not the type to say things like that, Kouno-kun.”
“Then let me put my thoughts into words. Fujinomi is beautiful, dependable, I want you to teach me more about various things, and your sharp eyes are attractive.”
Normally, such words would be out of character for me, but to refute the cruel words that had wounded her, I stated it definitively without any shyness.
”—!”
Mifumi, who had been setting up her staff, stopped in place.
“It’s your choice whether you believe me, a member of your group, or those people who gossip behind your back.”
Eventually, she kept her back turned to me and murmured quietly.
”…I, I want to believe in you, Kouno-kun.”
“Then do that. I haven’t treated the four of you with any hierarchy or preference based on superiority or inferiority.”
“There might not be superiority or inferiority… but there are differences, aren’t there?”
“Hm?”
Fujinomi turned toward me.
Her face was dyed a deep crimson.
“Al, and if you really think I’m attractive…”
Shinpou approached me step by step, then gently grabbed my sleeve.
“Can you let me into… your… haven too?”
Looking up at me with teary eyes, her question made my heart skip a beat.
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