After finishing our checks around the house, we headed back to the living room for a break.
There, we got to work on making plates for each of their rooms.
Mine was just a rectangular board with my name written on it, hung by a linen string.
“Mine looks like this,” she said.
When Chiyu wrote 『Chiyu (First Wife)』 on hers, the air turned tense for a split second…… but then we all started crafting plates according to our own tastes.
Meko and Shoubu cared deeply about the shape of the plates, so I generated boards in the shapes of hearts and stars as they ordered.
Then, on a whim, I made a plate in the shape of a witch’s hat for Fukanoha and handed it to her.
“Fukanoha, what do you think of this? Of course, if you don’t like it, I’ll make you a normal one.” “……No.
I love it.”
Watching Fukanoha smile so softly that her lips trembled slightly, Meko slumped her shoulders and said, “Ah, I should have asked Sojusuke to make me one too……”
“In your case, you’d probably struggle with whether to have it shaped like a Fenrir or a dragon.”
“Y-You’re right……! Since I like both equally, I’ll just go with a heart this time.”
“Ahaha, yeah, that works.”
The phantom beasts don’t come inside the house, but if they did see the plates, the one left out might feel a little down.
As Meko and I were having that conversation, I noticed Shion looking like she was in a tough spot.
I tried to ask for a plate that symbolized her ability, but the sheer impossibility of what ‘the ability to tell lies’ was seemed to make the request absurd in his eyes.
After a moment’s thought, I conjured up a circular plate. Then, with a soft touch, I drew a small circle on its lower portion.
”…Sojirou-kun, what is that?”
“It’s for Shiine. Something like a ‘Mouth of Truth.’”
It was meant to evoke the idea that if you put your hand into that mouth, a liar’s hand would become trapped and unable to escape… or so I thought.
The association came to me from Shiine, who could see through lies.
Upon receiving it, Shiine blinked.
”…Heh, thank you. I’m happy.”
Shiine’s face broke into a tearful smile. It appeared I hadn’t made the wrong choice after all…
“But Sojirou-kun, my situation is the reverse.”
“The reverse?”
“Because you are one who embodies truth, it is I who cannot escape from you.”
Shiine, smiling with a mischievous glint as she said this, was unbearably cute.
Her charm possessed such destructive power that my face involuntarily flushed red.
“I think Sō-kun is just too charming. It might not stop at a harem on a desert island.”
Chiyu muttered to herself.
By the way, Loa, Yuukai, and Luminas-sensei were using standard plates just like me.
They had written ‘Maid Waiting Room’, ‘Yuukai Sella’, and ‘Tanbi’ on them, respectively.
Once we finished generating the plates for places like the ‘Library’ and ‘Game Room’, all that was left was to hang them in their respective rooms.
After that was lunch.
We stepped outside to set up our tools and started grilling all sorts of things on the stone slab.
It wasn’t just grilled wild boar; today’s menu included okonomiyaki and yakisoba as well.
As growing boys, we were overjoyed by the menu, but what was the reaction of the women?
“Wha- Wait! Amazing! Having that kind of menu outdoors is like a festival. It gets me so excited!”
Soube’s eyes were sparkling.
“I get it, I totally get it.”
Moushi chimed in in agreement.
I felt the same way.
One of the scents that drifts through the air at a festival is the smell of sauce.
And right now, that was the scent wafting around us.
Continuing from breakfast, Luminas-sensei was still impressed, saying, “Amazing, Dokukai-san.”
Incidentally, Roa had also been helping out with the cooking.
I’d like to pitch in sometimes myself, but since Shion handles the parts that affect the flavor and Roa is incredibly reliable when it comes to support tasks, I rarely get the chance.
For that matter, Roa’s movements are so fast they border on a special ability; right now, she looked like she was splitting into three clones.
With swift, precise shbabbabatt motions, she kept the okonomiyaki and yaki-soba from burning.
“I mean, aside from the raw ingredients, making sauces and seasonings like that on a desert island by yourself is impossible, so it really impresses me.”
Yumekai said this while eating small bites of yaki-soba through her petite mouth.
“We managed to stock up on those thanks to our group exploration and Sousuke’s abilities,” she replied.
“Yeah, well, at first we only had salt.”
“No way, Inui, salt was amazing for us? We spent ages without anything at all!”
Yomobe shouted with a face that showed just how hard things had been.
Seihou’s base was far from the sea as well. Walking to get there was tough, and since there were guys hanging around trying to hassle them, venturing out was dangerous. That’s why they hadn’t managed to secure any salt.
Fruit eventually appeared, securing sweetness, but that alone must have been hard to bear.
Since we’d passed along a bit of seasoning during our latest trade, they should be able to enjoy a variety of flavors now.
“Mushrooms, too—adding just a pinch of salt makes all the difference. From there, we gradually introduced more foods and seasonings. It was tough work, but fun, wasn’t it?”
Meiko said wistfully.
“I couldn’t agree more with you…
But if you keep talking like that, Miss Meiko, it sounds like the end is already near,” Fukaho said with a wry smile.
“Everyone went through so much hardship…”
Teacher Luminous looked on the verge of tears, imagining the hardships we had endured.
Having witnessed Souhou and their group firsthand, she could likely picture what kind of lives the students had been living as well.
“In return for being taken in from a desperate strait, I will serve you with the utmost sincerity and devotion from here on out.”
The maid, Loa, declared this.
Considering that she had wandered alone in the forest for five days, it was understandable why she felt so deeply grateful to us for saving her.
“So, what are you planning to do this afternoon?”
“Hmm. While exploring, I’ll look for plants that might work as pigments for cosmetics.”
“Yayho!”
Soubeu bounced with joy.
While Soubeu was particularly excited, the other girls were restless too.
“Oh, we should split up. One team explores, and the other looks for the girls,” I said.
“Harem expansion?”
“That’s not it. Didn’t I tell you there are three girls who haven’t regrouped with anyone yet? I want to find them and bring them over to Souhou’s team. Given the situation of the boys, I think that would be safer.”
Everyone agreed with that opinion.
“Takano-kun…! That was impressive…!”
Perhaps because I took the lead in proposing we search for the female students, Professor Luminous looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“So, may we borrow Mikron’s power?”
“Mochi!”
“Mochi-mochi mochi!”
Sode continued Shouko’s words.
“Hey Uruchii!
Don’t be so blunt!”
“Ahahaha” Sode was already getting comfortable.
Lunch proceeded in that lively manner.
The afternoon became the time for exploration.
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