Multiple updates today!
Here's Part 1.

We're splitting up into two groups for exploration.

Kouno Sousuke, Iyama Shouko (that gal), and Fenrir Masiro are heading out to distant areas looking for spices and other such things. Meanwhile, my childhood friend Chiyu, the demure head chef Shion, and the earnestly serious mage Fukaho will be scouting around our base camp.

"Let's go, Sousuke."

"Yeah. See everyone at noon-ish then?"

"Hurry along now, Young Master Sousuke! Miss Shouko! Masiro-kun!"

"If you get hurt, come find me immediately!"

"You're right—don't overdo it yourselves above all else. Your safety is the most important thing."

Bid farewell to my comrades and we set off. Even though I'd ridden this before yesterday, I still feel like it's been ages since I've seen Masiro's back from behind. Wrapping an arm around Shouko's waist, I hold on tight so she won't slip away.
"Hnn... Um, yeah, go ahead and ride again today too, Masiro!"

At the sound of Shouko's words, Masiro cheerfully responds and sets off running. The scenery blurs past at a speed nothing like walking could match.

"You know, Masiro is seriously fast. You're always helping us out anyway—today I definitely need to get that hut built."

"Yeah, sure they'll be happy about it."

"Sorry you gotta stick with the scouting team permanently now... Let me know if there's a day when you want some time off?"

"Hmnn? Well, I love going on outings in general anyway—but tell us whenever something comes up where you'd rather just laze around!"

"A-hahahaha! Please do then."

"But Sousuke yourself—there really is no need to craft everything there is. You already make enough stuff as it stands; besides, haven't we all been making things for the whole group instead of focusing on personal items? Go ahead and start crafting just for your own sake!"

"No, see... what I want tends to overlap with exactly what everyone else wants anyway. Still crafted up that house while having my absolute mood skyrocketed."

"So?" she replies. "Well then great—I guess so! Come think about it though—we're living in a pretty terrible place right now aren't we? This island, only us could possibly manage to survive inside something like that!"

Judging by Shouko's excited expression, I can tell she genuinely loves the house we've built. It brings joy just knowing others appreciate what you make after all.

"Yeah... our first hut really did improve since day one."

"I liked having everyone sleep in there too—it felt kinda like a class trip or something!"

"A classroom dorm-style school field trip with men and women sharing rooms? That doesn't exist, does it?"

"You're absolutely right..."

Shouko laughs happily. "If I had to pick my next desired item... hmm... maybe glass?"

"Eh?! You can make glass too now? What?"

"I consulted Fukaho a little about it—you just need quarts if you want something like that." The remaining materials are things we've already spotted: shells from the beach, seaweed and all.

"Whoa really!? If we get some glass soon this place'll feel instantly more modern-like! But since stone is required too... wouldn't yesterday's new addition being a mine have worked perfectly?" With options between water source or mining site, an immediate majority vote went straight for the latter—naturally so if what appeared were minerals instead.

"Exactly that way..." I mused anyway. "But still glad it ended up as just a water spot because we aren't alone here transferring in either... Everyone needs access to things like this."

"...Yeah... Really smart move, Sousuke!"

"No way, no how—if you're not actively hunting for transplants yourself, bringing this up is just hypocritical."

Mairo's scenting ability, which allows him to pinpoint boars with surgical precision, should theoretically let him detect other humans as well. For now, though, we've asked him to sniff out citrus-scented things instead.

The topic of searching for our classmates hasn't even come up yet. Most likely, everyone's deliberately keeping quiet about it.

"Why? Kouno doesn't have any obligation to save anyone here, right? Isn't helping someone who's in trouble right before your eyes different from going out hunting down some random stranger and saving them?"

"Well... yeah. The latter makes you into a hero or something."

"Exactly! You don't need to become a hero like that anyway, because we already know Sousuke is an awesome guy even without doing all those things."

To be honest, feelings about this sort of thing probably vary from person to person. Someone who's currently in trouble would likely think someone with abilities should rescue them first and foremost.

Still, I'm glad that Shouko—my friend—is on my side. "Thanks, Shouko. It feels a little easier now." Leaning my forehead against her back, I whispered softly.

"Haha! So you're saying it's okay after all? But even though you say that, from the very first day, you just rushed right at Sousuke like crazy!" That night, when Fenrir arrived at our shed, Shouko and Shion were riding on its back instead.

"Ah, honestly I was surprised then too! But it's nice to have reunited with Shouko again."

"I feel the same way, though—I'm really grateful for what Sousuke did." Only friends like this can truly become companions; that's my truest feeling.

"Man, suddenly turning this into a serious conversation feels kinda embarrassing now..."

"W-well... yeah I get it! Like hell our faces are getting hot right now--!" Both of them blushed deeply at the thought. Just then, Mairo slowed down his speed and eventually stopped to emit a noise.

"Eh? Here already, Mairo?! But... there's just grass in front of us..." As Shouko said, all that grew before our eyes was indeed grass. Countless long strands stretched out here like they were drawing smooth curves.

"'Let me try itemizing this.'" I asked Mairo to dismount, then used my stone axe to chop down the plants. Surprisingly, a citrus-like scent wafted off them. Upon using 'Itemize'—the result was: 'Lemongrass'.

"So it's lemongrass."

"Ah! The kind that smells like lemon!" It seems herbal teas must contain this somewhere; for now, we can consider citrus scents accounted for. "Sorry about calling you out on finding something only to say 'it's just grass,' Mairo~" Shouko wrapped her arms around Mairo apologetically. Since he had his chest pressed against her ample breasts as she hugged him, surely he'd forgive everything by now!

After that too, we continued exploring and gathering while still trusting in Mairo’s incredible sniffing skills. "Well... 'Fluffy Summon' ability is freaking out everyone here though. If it wasn't for my powers alone contributing to this combo, I probably wouldn’t have been able to craft quite as much stuff by myself back then."

"Come on! Don't you agree we're just built together?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Ah, wait, no, that's wrong! Compatibility—wait, I mean capability compatibility..."

Shouko's voice was rising in pitch.

"I get it."

"W-well, our friendship doesn't feel all bad... but—"

"Yeah, we're totally on different social strata at school, you know that?"

"That shouldn't matter...!"

"...Hmm, right. Sorry about that. That really does not matter; we are friends."

Shouko's anger was entirely justified, so I apologized sincerely.

"Exactly! ...I realized Sousuke's charm before Shione or Yomiren ever did..."

She clearly wasn't intending to say the latter part aloud, since her voice dropped too low for me to catch it.

"Shouko?"

"Nothing important! Anyway, does Sousuke have anything else you'd like to hunt down?"

"Hmm... I could really use some water... maybe something near the sea?"

The moment she heard the word sea, Shouko's body jolted with fear.

"The heck not! Sea it is! Let's go!"

She'd reacted instinctively as someone living in the sun, though... well actually—

"Right then. Just taking water would be boring anyway; maybe we should hang out a bit."

"Sousuke gets me!!"

Since this shared exploration was partly an apology to Shouko too, I figured no arrows were going to fly if I granted her wish.

"Oh man, but I don't have any swimsuits... so we can just sneak around on the beach for a tiny bit..."

She said that with such obvious disappointment.

"Might not be exactly what we had back on Earth, but let's weave one from flax cloth? Both top and bottom will need to be tied together."

"Sousuke, you're a genius!"

"Haha, all right then—that's settled."

"And make sure Sousuke gets a suit too! It'd be so embarrassing if only I had one!"

"Ah... ah yeah, got it."

"Yaaay!! Sea—"

My conversation rolled out in my usual casual tone... but does this qualify as some kind of beach date?

The thought hit me and suddenly made all the hair on my body stand on end.

"Mashiro, Top Speed! Faster than the wind—straight for the sea!"

"Wait wait, what's with Fenrir being at its Top speed anyway——ughhhhh!!"

I latched onto Shouko so hard to avoid getting tossed off.

There was absolutely no room in my mind to think about how soft a girl's body felt or anything like that.

Thank you all for maintaining Day 1st & Week 1st Rankings!!!!! And finally—Monthly Rank #1... !!！！！ Achieving Monthly Top Spot while holding both Daily and Weekly firsts was thanks entirely to the supporters among you. Since I'm someone who pushes harder when there's a goal, despite being ridiculously greedy next time let me aim for Quarter-Limit Victory!

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Multiple updates today
Here's the first one

Today, we decided to split up and explore.

I, Shouko, and Fenrir's Mashiro will head out far away in search of spices and such.

Chiyu, Shion, and Fukaho will explore the area around our base.

"Let's go, Sousuke."

"Yeah. See you all around noon."

"Have a safe trip, Sousuke-kun, Shouko-chan, Mashiro-kun."

"If you get hurt, come straight to me."

"That's right. Don't overdo it. Your safety is our top priority."

With my companions seeing me off, I set off.

Even though I rode her yesterday, it feels like it's been a long time since I was on Mashiro's back.
　I wrap my arms around Shouko's waist to keep from falling off.

"Nn... Well, Mashiro, please take care of me today."

Mashiro cheerfully responds to Shouko's words and takes off running.
　The speed at which the scenery passes is incomparable to walking.

"Mashiro is really fast. She's been helping me a lot, so I really need to build a shelter today."

"Yeah, I think she'll be happy."

"I'm sorry for making you stay in the exploration team. If you want to take a break, just let me know, okay?"

"Hmm, I like going out anyway. But if I want to laze around one day, I'll let you know."

「Ahaha, do that.」

「Sousuke, you don’t have to try to craft everything. You’ve already done more than enough, and you’ve been making things for us and the whole group. You should make something just for yourself.」

「No, it’s just that what I want is the same as what everyone else wants. I crafted the house with such high spirits.」

「Is that so? Well, that’s good then. Our house is really something, isn’t it? There’s no way anyone else on this island could live in something like that.」

Shouko’s excited expression suggested she really did like it.
　Of course, it was nice to see the fruits of your labor appreciated.

「From the first day’s hut, you’ve come a long way.」

「I liked sleeping together with everyone, it felt like a school trip.」

「There’s no such thing as a co-ed school trip.」

「That’s true.」

Shouko laughed happily.

"If there's something I want next, it might be glass."

"Really? You can make glass?"

"I talked it over with Fukaho a little, but if we can get some silica sand, we should be able to manage it."

The remaining materials can be obtained from shells and seaweed, which we've already discovered.

"Wow. With glass, it would really feel like the present day. But since it's stone, wouldn't it have been better if the new addition yesterday was a mine?"

We had to choose between a water source and a mine, and the vote for the water source immediately exceeded a majority.
Indeed, if the new addition had been a mine, today's plans might have been different.

"Yeah, that's true. But I'm glad it was a water source. There are others who have been transported here, and everyone needs it."

"...You're right. As always, Sousuke!"

「No, no, if you're saying that, but you're not actively looking for transferers, that's just hypocrisy, right?」

With Mashiro's keen sense of smell, which had pinpointed the boar, it seemed she could find other humans as well.
　For now, she was using it to search for citrus fruits.

The topic of searching for classmates hadn't even come up.
　Probably, everyone was avoiding bringing it up on purpose.

"Why not? Sousuke doesn't have a duty to save everyone. Isn't it different to help someone right in front of you who's in trouble, compared to going out of your way to find someone else who's in trouble and help them?"

「Well, yeah. The latter would make you a hero or something.」

「That's right, you don't have to be a hero. We know you're a good guy even if you don't do that.」

Honestly, everyone probably had their own thoughts on the matter.
　For someone who was currently in trouble, if they had the ability, they would probably think they should use it to help themselves.

It's nice to have Shouko on my side as a friend.

"Thanks, Shouko. I feel a little better now."

I pressed my forehead against Shouko's back and whispered.

"Hehe, it's okay. I was the one who charged at you on the first day."

I thought Fenrir had come to the hut at night, but it was Shouko and Shion who were riding it.

"Yeah, I was surprised. But it's good to have run into Shouko again."

"I'm the one who's grateful. I really appreciate what you've done for me."

That's why I'm glad to have friends like her.
This is my honest opinion.

"Something about suddenly getting serious makes me feel embarrassed."

「W-Yeah, I get it. My face is getting hot...!」

The two of them blushed.

Then, Mashiro's pace slowed down, and she eventually stopped and let out a cry.

「Huh? Is this where Mashiro is? But--there's only grass here.」

Shouko was right; there was only grass in front of them.
　Long grass grew in abundance, curving and stretching out.

「Let's try 'Itemizing' it.」

I got off Mashiro and used the stone machete to cut the plants.
　On second thought, they smelled like citrus.

When I 'Itemized' them, they came up as 'Lemongrass'.

「It's lemongrass.」

「Ah! It smells like lemon!」

「Yeah. I think there was some herbal tea around here somewhere. For now, let's go with this citrus scent.」

「Sorry, Mashiro. You found it perfectly, but I just said, ‘It's just grass.’」

Shouko was hugging Mashiro and apologizing.
　Mashiro would probably forgive her since Shouko’s breasts were pressed against her.

After that, we continued searching and gathering based on Mashiro’s sense of smell.

「Man, your ‘fluffy summoning ability’ is amazing. With just my ability alone, I probably could have made fewer things.」

「And we work well together, right?」

「Yeah.」

「Ah, wait, that’s not it. Compatibility, I mean, the ability’s compatibility...!」

Shouko’s voice was strained.

“I know.”

“B-But I think our compatibility as friends isn’t bad...”

“But our positions in the class are completely different.”

“That doesn’t matter...!”

“...You’re right, sorry. We’re friends regardless of that.”

Shouko’s anger was justified, so I sincerely apologized.

“That’s right! ...I noticed Sousuke’s charm before Shio-chan and Minorin did...”

She didn’t seem to intend to say the second half, and her voice was so soft that I couldn’t hear it clearly.

“Shouko?”

“Nothing! But, is there anything else you want to look for, Sousuke?”

“Hmm. I want some water… maybe the sea?”

The mention of the sea made Shouko’s body shudder.

“Sure, let’s go to the sea!”

She reacted like a sunbather. It wasn’t about swimming, but… no.

“Yeah, just getting water would be boring. Maybe we could have a little fun.”

“Sousuke, you’re so cool!”

Exploring together was partly to apologize to her, so I figured I could indulge her request.

「Ah, but I don't have a swimsuit. How about we play on the beach for a bit?」

Shouko said with a disappointed tone.

「I can't make them exactly like the ones on Earth, but we could make them out of linen, right? We'll have to tie them with strings, though.」

「Sousuke, you're a genius!」

「Haha, then it's settled.」

「Sousuke, you have to wear a swimsuit too! It would be embarrassing if only I did!」

「Ah, yeah, sure.」

「Yay! The sea!」

We ended up talking like we usually do, but... this would be like a date at the beach, wouldn't it?

Thinking about it made me feel nervous all of a sudden.

"Mashiro, top speed! Faster than the wind, go to the sea!"

"Wait, wait, Fenrir’s top speed is... uoohhh!"

I clung to Shouko so I wouldn’t be thrown off.

I didn’t have the luxury to think about the softness of a girl’s body.

Thank you so much for keeping me at the daily and weekly number one spots!!!

And finally... I’ve reached the monthly number one spot...!!!

While maintaining the daily and weekly number one spots,
I was able to achieve the monthly number one spot,
thanks to everyone who supported me.
Since I work better with goals,
I’m going to aim for the quarterly number one spot next, even though I’m greedy.

Thanks to those who have not yet bookmarked or rated this yet...!!!!!
Today, there will be multiple updates...!!!!!
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