When I opened my eyes, I was standing in the atrium of a shopping mall, wearing a school uniform.
Since it’s only my second time, that overwhelming sense of Japan-ness—or rather, Earth-ness—still makes my heart skip a beat.
One might hope we’ve finally made it back to Japan.
Unfortunately, the answer is no.
This is a bonus area that has been unlocked as a result of me holding off on using my “Return Rights.”
My party and I are summoned here every night, where we are permitted to select and take home one item each from what is being sold.
“W-Well…! Y-you really were summoned to that shopping mall after all…”
The one surprised was Roa.
Since this was a dream state, she too was wearing a school uniform.
Given the nature of this bonus area, it’s advantageous for every member added, so I had them join the party for now.
Since it is a local facility, it seems Roa recognizes the place.
However, the other three girls besides Roa were constantly glancing between me and Chi-iyu rather than looking around the facility.
And in response to their gazes, Chi-iyu gave a firm thumbs-up.
“Mission accomplished.”
She wanted to say that I had handled things smoothly.
Hearing that, the three girls turned red-faced.
«I— the night of the seventh day will be mine, right…»
«M—mhm. And I’ll do the eighth day…»
«Then I’m on for the ninth day… but, well, everything is up to Sousuke-kun.»
The three of them were whispering among themselves.
Loa watched the trio with a fond smile.
For some reason, I began to feel deeply out of place.
«Ah—um. You’re probably tense since this is your first time too, but do you understand how things operate here?»
While noticing my attempt to change the subject, Loa smiled brightly and answered me.
«Yes. Thank you for explaining. We will discuss things in advance within the party and pick out the goods we want to take home, so that we don’t waste any of the three-hour time limit in the Bonus Area.»
The explanation of the Bonus Area was already covered, and everyone had decided on what to buy before sleeping.
«That’s right. Since you have more companions, the amount you can bring back is ‘6 items.’»
«But truly, Master is the greatest. Of course, you possessed the ‘Return Right,’ yet you overcame the temptation to return to Japan and decided to stay alongside your comrades.»
“That’s the promise we made, so I’m not about to leave everyone behind.”
“You have a truly rare quality. In extreme situations, some might prioritize their own safety over their partner, and while I wouldn’t call that emotion particularly shameful or ugly, I believe staying for someone else is undoubtedly a noble act.”
Luo’s expression was so serious that I couldn’t brush it off with a joke.
”…Thanks.”
“No, please. It is because our master is such a person that everyone trusts you completely. As a maid, I am proud of that.”
Even in her school uniform, she looked so perfectly suited to the role that I momentarily hallucinated seeing her in a maid outfit. Luo’s maid-like aura had truly come into its own. “Mm. My pride and joy childhood friend.”
“Exactly. ‘Truer than true for Sōsuke.’ You can’t shorten it anymore.”
“Fufu, I’m glad Luo-chan has noticed Sōsuke-kun’s wonderful qualities too.”
“Yes. If it weren’t for Mr. Sōsuke, I don’t think this group could have been kept together so smoothly.”
I ended up being smothered in praise and felt my cheeks heat up.
I cleared my throat and forcibly steered the conversation back on track to avoid wasting time. “Let’s not waste any more time…!”
Everyone wore warm, satisfied smiles but refused to let the moment pass.
“Then, let’s do that. Um, one thing is the hair dryer.
Since Luo-chan has joined us, and our ranks might grow further—” Shion said.
With two hair dryers, they could dry their hair in pairs of two, but Roa joined in as well.
For now, Roa is just a provisional member, but judging by her earnestness and how quickly she’s fit into the group, she’ll likely become an official member soon enough.
“One thing would be additional solar panels.
We’ve confirmed they work perfectly fine in our environment, and we can use them when purchasing electrical appliances going forward,” Fushin said, which was exactly right.
“And the other is a big-screen TV! If it gets dark, there’s nothing to do at all!”
Shouko exclaimed.
On this point, everyone agreed.
Well, I had no complaints myself since the girls assigned to night watch would come to my room… but still.
Setting that aside, it’s dangerous outside after sunset so we can’t explore, and there’s only so much you can do indoors, which leaves me feeling a bit bored and underoccupied.
I’ve heard stories from back in the day about how once it got dark, there was only moonlight, so using candles would be a waste and everyone just had to sleep—it felt exactly like that.
I understand why that’s tough for modern kids, which is why this was an item chosen by the entire team.
And from here on, it’s verification time.
“Question for the Mystery Blackboard: If we tried to set up facilities requiring a net environment on that island, what would happen?”
Chiyu’s question.
『Connection to the Internet is impossible.
I cannot answer whether it will be implemented in the future.』 The text flowed across the monitor.
“Too bad. If it were possible, just plugging in a video output device would mean we could watch all sorts of things infinitely.”
There are devices that, once connected to Wi-Fi and subscribed to video streaming services, allow you to browse those platforms simply by plugging them into a TV.
If internet access is one of the prohibited features in the first place, buying such a device would be pointless.
“If so, we have no choice but to steadily buy software discs.”
“Buy the complete box sets so we can watch as many episodes as possible.”
Shouko reacted to my words.
It wouldn’t be possible for everyone to go home tomorrow or the day after, so there would likely be plenty of opportunities to return here in the future.
My ‘Craft Ability’ couldn’t generate movies or anime, so relying on this place was the best way to get those kinds of things.
A total of four points for one video work.
“Next up… textbooks.”
“Are you really sure that’s a good idea?”
Fuka said this with a look of anxiety, but everyone else had bright expressions.
“Definitely! Plus, it’s not just Minori who can use them; everyone can, so honestly, we’d all love if you taught us.”
“We carry our memories back with us when we leave, right? So if we study here now, it might really help when we get back to Japan.”
“Mm. Eventually, let’s get all the subjects covered. Once that’s done, we’ll buy reference books and aim to boost everyone’s academic skills together.”
“This is a unique way of utilizing life on a desert island, made possible only because your master has established a stable livelihood for the party, isn’t it?”
“Everyone… ah, thank you. Well, let’s start study sessions anytime from now on.”
Fuka looked delighted.
The last item was a home game console.
I couldn’t use it right away even if I took it home today since I didn’t have any software, but this is for the days ahead.
This is what I ended up answering when everyone pressured me to name something I wanted.
It seemed like a thoughtful gesture; having already given everyone gifts, they said that because I only ever worried about what the girls wanted, I should ask for something for myself.
Given that reasoning, I allowed myself to make my request.
As long as I could buy software later or purchase additional controllers, the number of games and players available would increase.
For a gamer like me, it’s definitely a relief.
So, with that, it came to a total of ‘six items’.
While securing our desired items, we spent a good three hours exploring the mall.
We looked for other things we might want, or researched raw materials and crafting methods to attempt generation using the ‘Crafting ability’.
After all that, three hours had passed.
We completed the ‘Selection’ of all our items.
My vision flooded with white, and I was transported to the familiar white void.
The binary choice after the end of Day Six began.
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