I, who had just secured my ‘Return Rights’ for the first time at an event.
Having decided to return with my companions, I held off on exercising it.
Then, somehow, a mysterious blackboard informed us about something regarding the unlocking of a ‘Bonus Area’……
What could that even mean?
Was it like a hidden stage in a game?
If so, it was odd to find no obvious entrance or any features resembling one around the base.
Instead, I found a massive amount of wheat, so whatever.
Yeah.
Not just from events, but items added via the usual binary choice were included too.
The winner of the rice-or-wheat contest was wheat.
We harvested the crops together and stowed them away in my 『Inventory』.
I carried them home with a beaming smile on my face.
My new companion, Miquon, had adjusted remarkably well, but for some reason, he seemed particularly fond of me. Even when not riding me, he’d hang around nearby or cling to my side.
He’s fluffy and cute, so that’s fine by me.
“Mmm. Since Micron’s a girl, too.”
That’s what Shouko was saying.
Apparently, the Black Dragon was female.
Anyway, we were able to harvest the wheat.
The group returned to their base together.
We rearranged the houses and such, but I took the opportunity to make a slight improvement.
Specifically, I re-placed the houses with the window glass installed.
Thankfully, furniture could be placed as a whole set, so there was no need to laboriously reset each item individually.
The stone walls, the bathroom, and Fenrir’s hut were all revived.
By the way, I had left the chicken coop as it was, but it was safe and sound.
“It’s a spectacular sight no matter how many times I look.”
Chi-yu looked up at the placed house and murmured. “Really. It’s an astonishing power.”
“Whoa, even with window glass…! I want the morning light, but opening the windows made it chilly, so I’m very happy.”
“Mm-hmm, you’re really ‘amazing’ today, aren’t you~?”
Being praised by the women is something that’s good to hear no matter how many times.
“Ah, Sou-suke-kun, can you mill flour with your ‘Craft Ability’?”
I nodded at the words of Shi-on, the head chef.
“Yeah. Turning it into ‘ingredients’ or ‘condiments’ seems to fall within the scope of craft.”
“Amazing…! Can I ask a favor?”
“Ah, of course.”
“Oh, Sōsuke. Regarding the bran and germ produced during milling, they can be used as livestock feed. How about feeding them to the chickens?”
“Oh, that solves the chicken feed problem too. That’s a lifesaver, Fukamitsu.”
“N-no. I’m honored to be of service.”
Fukamitsu was flustered.
It wasn’t exactly a repayment, but since everyone praised me so straightforwardly, I decided to openly express my gratitude to my comrades as well.
“I’ll do that. I’ll take care of feeding the chickens while I’m securing eggs.”
“Yeah, I’m counting on you.”
When Chiyu said that, I poured out the bran…the ‘fusuma’ into a bucket and handed it to Chiyu.
“Oh, how about Micron’s home…? Huh? You don’t need it? Really?”
I turned toward Nobuko. Micron flew through the air, moving to the roof of the Mashiro House.
It landed with a soft puff and closed its eyes.
It seemed to be fine there.
“Wheat’s secured, but… Shion, any recommendations for the menu?”
“Hmm. Bread takes too long to culture the yeast… and udon has a lot of prep steps before you even get to kneading the dough… So, how about this: pancakes for breakfast, start prepping while it cooks so we have udon for lunch, and okonomiyaki for dinner?” “Yes!
I’m totally in!”
Menoko chirped, her eyes lighting up.
“Pancakes, huh… That sounds good! We’ve got butter, but now I’m craving maple syrup too.”
As I rested my hand on my chin, pondering the problem, Menoko cut into the conversation.
“…! Wait, how do you get maple syrup again?!”
“It’s boiled down sap from sugar maples.”
“Thanks, Miorin! Mashi-ro, could I ask for one more miracle?”
Hearing Menoko’s cloying, sweet voice, Mashi-ro, who had been heading back to the Fenrir hut, turned around.
“Y-You want me to go find it right now?”
Shion looked confused.
It seemed Menoko had a stronger obsession with sweets than anyone.
“Of course! Shii-chan can start making them in the meantime! Sojuku and Miorin, come with me!”
“Ah… I see. You use Mashi-ro’s nose and mobility to track down a sugar maple, Deep Magic fells it, and then I ‘Itemize’ the whole tree to extract all the sap at once, right?”
If we could shorten both the sap collection process and the boiling stage, we might actually make it in time.
“Exactly!”
“Alright, let’s get started. First things first, I’ll go grab the flour from the kitchen.”
“Oh, leave it to me!”
“Is that so…?”
I transferred the wheat flour from the jute sack into my arms and handed it over to Shion.
It weighed about two kilos, so any woman should be able to handle it.
“I’ll help out too, of course.”
Fukaho seemed determined to follow along as well.
We moved to board Mashiro as a group, but the moment I took a step, thwip—Mikron shot past us in a blur.
“Hehehe! ‘Sousuke is getting on with me!’ she said!”
“I… see. No, it’s just that Mikron, if we go out now, only the non-combatants will be left behind. I need you to protect Chiiru and Shion.”
I petted her as she leaned her face toward me, then made my request in a serious tone.
“‘Okay, but we’re flying together later!’ she said.”
“Hahaha, you’ve got it covered.”
Responding with a smile, the three of us boarded Mashiro.
“Well then, take your time starting to bake.”
“If pancakes are breakfast, I’ll make scrambled eggs.”
「Fufu, let’s make some delicious food together, shall we?»
Sparks flying, Chiyu and Shion headed back inside.
We set off to hunt for sap.
Guided by Mashiro’s nose, we found the sugar maple with surprising ease.
“Maple syrup is pretty famous, I’d think, but it’s placed as an initial resource?”
It was a rare, strategic move for such a mysterious blackboard…
“I’ve heard sugar maples are good for furniture timber too. Do you think it was placed to help stabilize our survival lifestyle?”
“No, I mean, I knew about maple syrup, but I had no idea it came from the sugar maple? Even if I did know, could an ordinary high schooler even tell the difference between tree species in this forest?”
Hearing Shouko’s words, both me and Fumihou agreed.
It’s the same as how edible mushrooms or minor fruits like akebi are placed around.
If you know about them, you can utilize them.
But if you don’t, they’re just part of the scenery.
“In fact, we only realized it when we needed ingredients for pancakes.”
“Y-Yeah… that’s true…”
We quickly felled and stored the wood, then returned to base.
Afterward.
Fluffy pancakes loaded with sheep’s milk butter and maple syrup were a devilish temptation in this island life where sweets were scarce.
For lunch, we all gathered to knead flour and make udon.
The sauce for our dinner okonomiyaki was a homemade imitation of Worchester sauce, crafted by sorting through the nuts we had previously foraged and mixing them with salt, sugar, and vinegar.
The variety of our meals suddenly expanded, and thanks to Shiin’s culinary skills, everything tasted absolutely divine.
This should make my upcoming island life a lot more enjoyable.
◇
And at night, they enjoyed the time with Fukaho, who was on duty.
He dreamed of a white space—only to realize it was different.
“Hah?”
”…This place, could it be…”
“W-wait, what’s going on?”
“It’s not a white room… this is…”
“…a shopping mall?”
We were standing in the atrium of a shopping mall.
The lights were on, but there wasn’t a single person around.
Yet every shop looked like it was open for business, creating an eerie atmosphere.
…More than that, wasn’t this a facility from our hometown?
That’s not exactly the same as being back in Japan… right?
So what the hell…
At that moment, the massive monitors installed in the hall lit up, and text began to scroll across them.
“A description regarding the Bonus Area will now be provided.”
The second reward granted to me for not returning immediately after acquiring the “Right of Return.”
It seems this shopping mall is said to be that Bonus Area.
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