We managed to take down Behemoth safely, so the Seihou party and our group decided to reunite for a celebratory feast.
“Mashiro says she smells ‘a new beast’! Is that a cow?”
While we were moving.
Shou, riding Mashiro—a fluffy Fenrir with white fur—raised her voice.
“That’s it! Guide us over there!”
Since I was mounted on the black dragon Mikron, I shouted so that Shou could hear me from atop Mashiro.
“Leave it to me!”
Mashiro raced along the ground while Mikron and the gray griffin Hirow flew overhead.
Three phantoms and thirteen humans proceeded through the forest.
Eventually, we emerged into an open space where we could visually confirm the target.
It was a cow.
Brown fur with horns.
The first image that comes to mind when I think of a cow is a dairy cow, but the individual we found was clearly different.
”…If it’s Japanese beef, maybe it’s the short-horned breed? Considering they placed them on an desert island, they probably chose a breed suitable for free-range grazing…”
Fukumi, also riding Mikron with me, murmured.
Sure enough of Fukumi, she has a good eye for identifying things.
Well, Mikiri had always been the type to meticulously check the ingredients in her cosmetics.
She was probably the sort to scrutinize the “domestic beef” labeling at the supermarket, digging into the details.
I appreciated that kind of earnestness about her.
“You’ve been a great help, Mikiri.”
“I-It pleased me to be of use.”
Inin watched Mikiri, who was blushing like that, with a fixed, intense gaze.
Inin was an avid reader, so she had a wealth of knowledge as well.
Perhaps there was some rivalry going on between them? Or maybe it was just a sense of kinship?
“Come to think of it, the beasts we’ve encountered were mostly species I’ve seen or heard of in Japan.”
That’s exactly what Shion had said.
Boars, deer, bears—all the beasts they’d faced were species native to Japan.
Although, that knowledge had also come from Mikiri.
“Is it tasty?”
Chiyu’s question was simple.
After all, if we were having it as meat, that was the important part.
“I have a vague memory of hearing that it’s lean…”
Professor Luminous answered, her tone lacking confidence.
“I do like red meat~”
“I mean, just being able to eat beef at all is…”
“Shion-sama’s culinary repertoire will only expand further.”
Junna and Genchu seem to be having their appetites whetted already.
Maid Roa was likely imagining assisting Shion with the cooking.
Wild boar and venison are both delicious, but it was also true that a part of me yearned for the beef and pork I was used to.
“Plus, they’re livestock cows.”
”…But it would be a problem if Aurora Cows showed up.”
“Eh? Are you going to kill the cow? That’s just pitiful, isn’t it?”
“Momo, the meat you’ve eaten in your life was also taken from someone who had their lives ended.”
Seina, Inbaine, Momo, and Kenki, who were riding on Highrow, reacted.
“Sousuke! What do we do? A Mashi-Attack?”
I have used it to take down a boar before, so I believe it would work…
“Takano! Let me handle this!”
Kengi Issaki, who was riding on Mashiro’s back, looked at me.
She was a girl with bleached-white hair tied up in a ponytail. The Deep Arts ponytail is positioned high on the head, but Kengi’s sat right in the middle of her occiput.
Surely each style has a proper name, but since I don’t know the specific terminology for women’s hairstyles, I always default to calling it a ponytail.
Her ample chest, straining against her uniform, must bounce significantly during combat. Or rather, I’ve caught a glimpse of that motion several times already.
She held a bokken in one hand.
Her eyes were sparkling brightly.
”…Got it! I leave this to you, Kengi!”
“Heh, understood.”
Kengi twisted her lips into a pleased grin and gripped the hilt of her bokken.
Then, without changing her position, she swung the sword toward the empty air.
A few seconds later, something astonishing happened. With a thud.
A cow’s head fell off.
“Eek!
Too much gore!”
Momo screamed.
In terms of bloody scenery, the Behemoth battle was pretty bad too, but that was so large-scale that it lacked a sense of reality.
But the act of hunting animals possesses a rawness precisely because it is done on a human scale.
The others turned their eyes away or winced, but no one complained.
After spending more than ten days in such an environment, you inevitably grow accustomed to the act of taking lives.
Momom’s fresh reaction might be due, in part, to her lack of experience.
Regardless of how used we were to it, surely no one wanted to keep staring, so I stored it away from a distance.
One of the benefits of [Ability Awakening].
Awakening can be divided into two main categories: the expansion of existing abilities and the addition of new ones.
Katsugi’s case was probably more the former.
“……Hm? No one is surprised.”
Katsugi sounded genuinely puzzled, but I figured everyone was just still shaken from the impact of the Behemoth fight.
“No, we are surprised. It’s like you can now slash things from afar, right?”
“Ah yes. To be precise, I can fire slashing attacks. Their speed is said to match the speed of my swing.”
Joy seeped through Katsugi’s voice.
I mean, if Ittou Ryoudan supports long-range attacks… that’s pretty much a cheat ability, isn’t it?
The last thing I’d want is to cross paths with someone like that.
”…Is it okay to just say something like that?”
Serina gave him a skeptical look.
“Oh, it’s fine. Reika has given me permission. In fact, she strictly ordered me not to lie in front of Takano.”
It was likely an instruction taking Shion’s “Ability to Detect Lies” into account.
Even if Shion wasn’t present at the moment and he could fool her temporarily…
…if she confronted him about those exact words when they reunited, he would be finished.
So, the smartest move was to only speak the truth from the start, ensuring their trust remained intact.
Well, not lying and spilling everything are two different things, though…
Including the disclosure of my abilities, it felt like Sumibou’s plan was going exactly as intended.
Just to be sure, I glanced over at Shion, and she nodded in confirmation.
Katsugi was telling the truth.
“Tsurugin, I’d like you to hunt down a few more bodies.”
My childhood friend Senju said this without a shred of hesitation.
“Does ‘Tsurugin’ refer to me? …Hmph. Consider it done. Um… Yaiman?”
“I reject that nickname. ‘Senju-chan’ is acceptable.”
“So.
Understood, Senju-chan,” Katsurugi nodded with a mysterious expression.
“Momo is retiring here. I’m heading back to my side, then?”
After saying just that, Momo’s figure vanished like smoke in the wind.
The Momo who was here was merely a clone, which allowed for such capabilities.
Well, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, so I can’t force anyone to look at what they don’t want to see, nor do I intend to.
“Everyone else, it’s perfectly fine to keep your eyes closed if you encounter a cow, okay?”
After that, we secured several cows and headed toward the base of Seifeng and the others.
Since Mashiro’s sense of smell could guide us to the location, no navigator was necessary.
Bouncing on the backs of our phantasias, we traveled for some time toward our destination.
Before long, the entrance to our base came into view—the same spot we’d visited before.
It was a handcrafted watchtower and fence.
Presumably having confirmed our identities, the fence gates were pushed aside in the distance ahead of us.
We halted once we had safely entered the base’s grounds and dismounted from our respective phantasias.
“Welcome back. Kenmaki Kazuki, Inzai Shō.”
The one who greeted us was Sumibara Ryōka, with beautiful, wavy blonde hair.
Previously, she and Moyoko had each led the two major female factions among the students.
“Ah, you made it back safely.”
“Y-yes…”
After two of our companions responded, Sumibara gave a single nod before scanning us with her gaze.
“And welcome, Taniro Sōsuke’s party.”
“It’s okay to just say ‘good job,’ right?”
When I said that, she broke into a soft smile.
“That works. Everyone, good job.”
Several small huts I had positioned lined the base of Sumibara’s party.
Also, I had already generated the other necessary facilities last time, such as the covered cooking area and the storage room for food.
“I heard from Yuki Momohara that Shiomi Shion is going to be in charge of the cooking?”
As always, they still use full names.
…Or rather, I have a vague memory of calling Mameha by her first name, Hiyono, even though she’s a girl in the archery club, so maybe she draws a line with how she addresses people.
“Yes. Although, I’d like to keep the basic format similar to a barbecue. My plan is to have them serve up the dishes we prepare.”
“Please allow me to lend a hand as well.”
Given the number of people, preparing meals for everyone right now would take quite some time.
With a barbecue, they could simply grill the cut ingredients individually.
And then Shiomi’s prepared dishes would be added to the mix as needed.
If Roa helps too, the work speed would increase significantly.
“Yes, if you need help, feel free to call on us for personnel. Just before that, please allow me to introduce two people.”
At her prompting, two girls stepped forward.
“Mm… Oh right, it’s me, Honjima Mitsuami. Nice to meet you~”
One of them was a girl even smaller than Chiyu.
Chiyu sometimes got mistaken for a junior high student, but this girl likely got confused for someone younger than that.
That said, it was purely a matter of physical stature.
This girl also had considerable development in her chest. Chiyu knew the term used to describe a figure that possessed both immaturity and maturity, but she didn’t voice it.
Her long orange hair fell down in a carefree manner, one side of her uniform slipping off her shoulder, and the sleeves were baggy enough to look like cute, oversized sleeves.
It wasn’t exactly lethargy, but she gave the impression of lacking vitality.
“Unhurried” was probably the closest word for it.
Chiyu had a vague memory of her interacting with Roa in class.
“Oh my, Lady Mitsuami. I just fixed your outfit moments ago, and yet it’s already becoming disheveled?”
“Ehehe~. Well, whatever. It’s actually pretty comfortable like this.”
When addressed by her friend Roa, Honjima laughed with a slouching, nonchalant air.
“Hello~. My name is Reia Nagahata. I’m looking forward to working with you.”
――So that’s the Nagahata girl.
She was one of the girls who gained a new ability through this latest “Ability Awakening.”
I also have some memory of her being in the same class as Roha.
Her long, caramel-colored chestnut hair is braided and draped over her right shoulder to the front.
With eyes narrowed like threads, the gesture of touching her cheek, her gentle tone of voice, and her ample breasts… it gave off this kind of encompassing aura, reminiscent of a “mother” character in fiction.
“Now that Lady Lela is with us too, it feels just like back in class.”
“It sure does~. Unlike in class, though, Roha-chan has become a maid now.”
“Hehehe, it was something my Master gave me.”
“Oh? I overheard you earlier? It must have made you very happy~”
“Haa. I really want to live with Roha-chan. She probably would spoil me rotten. Ryouka-chan is so strict~”
The close-knit trio gathered together, engaging in cheerful conversation.
“Toyoshima Mitsukami. You can hear this, can’t you?”
「No, no, I like Reika-chan too. But, um… I’d prefer if everyone just took it a little easier with me.’
”……In the meantime, let’s prioritize talking to Kouno Sōsuke and the others.”
Chōhō turned to face us.
“In order to build a better relationship going forward, I’m planning to reveal these two’s abilities. With that in mind, we can adjust the terms of our deal.”
Even though she had just cleared an urgent event, she was certainly composed about it.
Besides, having been introduced to Nagahata confirmed something for me.
Kenki, Chōhō, and Nagahata—all three of them—had held onto the ‘Return Rights’ they had acquired this time around.
The bond within Chōhō’s party seemed quite solid, too.
“Ah. Well, if it’s okay to ask, I’d appreciate you sharing.”
Regarding Toyoshima’s ability, I had already noted it down since he mentioned it in his first dream……so there was no need to bring it up again.
“My ability is ‘the power to produce foody~’ I just didn’t want to work hard at all, so I figured having food around would be great~ and picked it. But I was thinking on a scale for one person, so I can’t really produce that much—.”
I see, so there are limitations like that. It’s convenient, but not quite on the level of a cheat ability.
After all, it wasn’t powerful enough to solve this party’s food supply issues.
“I am—[Plant Magic]. It’s a power that allows me to create any plant I’ve seen once, but… the ‘seen once’ clause doesn’t apply to my days on Earth; it seems limited only to plants I’ve actually encountered since arriving at this desert island” —— Hmm……?
Wait a minute?
The fact that Nagahata introduced it alongside Toyoshima’s ability after gaining his power meant…
“No way… using Toyoshima’s power to generate ‘edible plants,’ and then, once you’ve ‘seen them’ once, Nagahata can produce them as much as she wants… is that it?”
Juno grinned slyly.
“I love a human who catches on quickly, Kouno Sōsuke.”
It was like how I could utilize the wool from the sheep Sumiko created in my crafting.
The synergy between ability users had been observed multiple times on this desert island.
But this combination could be said to completely overturn the food situation on this desert island.
Should I consider that it was pre-conceived as an ability that could leverage Toyoshima’s power?
“If you add your ‘Craft Ability’ here, don’t you think we’ll never lack for food for a lifetime on this island?”
It seems it’s been exactly one year since we started the series, judging by the last update!
(I wish I’d noticed that before…!)
To those who have been reading since the beginning, and to those who found us partway through,
Thank you for reading!
I would be grateful for your continued support.
Your ratings and reviews are a great encouragement for my writing.
The next chapter is scheduled to update on December 26th.