For the moment, we managed to successfully secure Sensei.

We placed her on Mashiro and made our way back to base.

"So, so... you all were sent to a desert island before me, and you've already been here for eight days... is that right?"

After giving a brief overview of the situation so far, Sensei said with a look of bewilderment.

"Isn't it complicated?"

I heard her account as well, and indeed, it seems she has been summoned from the same day as us.

Being summoned from the exact same timeline, yet arriving in this world at different times... it's a trope occasionally seen in fiction, but it might be difficult to grasp intuitively.

"This massive, pure white wolf was summoned by Kouga's ability..."

"That's right! Her name is Mashiro!"

"To have something like this... no, wait. But just now, I was also... able to project a beam of light..."

Sensei murmured to herself.

"Hmm. Choosing an ability is quite capable, Luminas."

Chiyu praised her.

"......No. It wasn't me; the pre-explanation included 'examples of student choices.' Besides those who chose objects, there were students who selected 'Charisma,' 'Transformation Ability,' 'Crafting Ability,' and 'Healing Magic.'"

Unintentionally, the existence of other ability users had come to light.

『Charisma』and 『Shapeshifting ability』. That was a first for him to hear those terms.

Those who answered without speaking aloud, relying on telepathy instead—like Shiun or Fukaho.

"...I see. Since new recruits are at a disadvantage due to lack of experience, perhaps they compensate for that by providing prior explanations."

Fukaho murmured to herself.

Indeed, knowing from the start that abilities exist is certainly an advantage for those coming later.

In their case, it was only because of a coincidence—him not reading the room and Soko picking up on his remark—that multiple people ended up with abilities. Latercomers wouldn't have to rely on such luck.

"So, in the end, it's all thanks to you, Sous-kun. Live up to your name."

"Sou-sou, Sou-Sou~ You were the first to mention abilities, after all!"

Chiyu and Soko immediately chimed in with their usual teasing quips.

"...Is that really so? To be dragged into such a bizarre dream situation and yet calmly consider what powers would be needed for life on an desert island... you must be quite remarkable, Kuno-kun. The flexibility to think, 'Perhaps I can bring in abilities,' even without any hints, is impressive too."

"...No, uh, ha ha."

Although it had proven useful in the end and there was no reason to deny it, he truly hadn't been thinking about anything other than saying whatever came to mind.

"By the way, is Mr. Tanbi's ability that heat/light attack you mentioned? Is that correct?"

Fukaho asked.

There was a pause before the teacher replied.

"N-no... well, I'm bad with dark places, so I thought I'd definitely need light. I hesitated between flame and light, but since fire could always be started in the worst-case scenario, I decided on an ability that allows me to create and manipulate light freely... is that okay?"

The teacher's voice was low, likely because he had been informed that I disliked dark places.

I see, then. So you chose abilities that serve dual purposes: lighting and attack.

"Wait? If you have Rumi-chan's power, does that mean we can brighten the night like back when we were in Japan?"

"I... yes. I believe that is how I can cooperate as well."

"I see... The light of lanterns isn't bad, but it’s a relief knowing the illumination situation will improve."

Lanterns and bonfires have a warmth to them, like when you go camping, but in terms of actually lighting up a space, true light is more reliable.

"Anyway, Tanaka-kun" (Note: Using contextually appropriate name based on "Kuno-kun" or similar honorific usage; correcting to likely intent: "Tanaka-kun" might be a typo for the protagonist's name in source, but sticking to translation of text provided: "Kuno-kun"). Correction: The text says "Kuno-kun".

"Yes, Miss Luminous? No, would 'Sensei' be better?"

I had used the same form of address I'd just used a moment ago.

"Oh, no... Given this situation, as long as you don't mean to mock me, any form of address is fine."

"Then, let's go with Luminous Sensei."

"Y-yes... So, there is something I wished to ask."

"What is it?"

"Are the students currently all moving together as a group?"

"No, they're scattered. That said, some students are forming their own groups within that chaos."

「I see...

So there are actually several students with no abilities at all, living among such dangerous creatures...」 「Ahem...」

What if the teacher suddenly declared, 'As a teacher, I will save all my students!'?

Considering the difficulty of acquiring the [Right to Return], the fact that recruiting more members would prolong our stay on this desert island, and, most importantly, the need for careful member selection to maintain group cohesion, we had not been actively seeking out new allies.

Our decision to protect Mr. Luminos this time was made because, to put it bluntly, there was a strategic benefit to it.

「No, no, Kudo-kun, it's fine. It would defeat the purpose of trying to save the students if I imposed a burden on the others while doing so」

It seemed she had sensed my concerns, and she spoke in a reassuring tone.

I felt a wave of relief inside.

"However, I cannot bring myself to leave my students behind and return to Japan as their teacher."

"I see..."

While I respected her resolve, that stance conflicted with our party's strategy.

Our goal was for every single member to make it back.

We could leave the teacher behind and return ourselves, but it would feel deeply wrong to do that after she had become part of the group.

And yet, I couldn't exactly tell her to give up...

Well, this is an issue we'll need to discuss further down the road, so for now, let's shelve it.

It’s actually the rare case for people to hit it off right out of the gate.

As we kept chatting, the base came into view.

"...It's a grassland?"

From outside the barrier, it looks like any ordinary landscape.

Apparently, Yume-kai can adjust this area too.

I already knew about this feature since there was once a time I couldn’t see through to the Yume-kai on the other side of the barrier, but it’s impressive that it can be applied to large structures like houses as well.

“Yume-kai, look! I brought Mr. Sensei along—”

I called out first, just in case, before letting Mashiro proceed.

"Eh? I just felt a 'boop'—a house!?"

Mr. Luminas, who was surprised by the sensation of passing through the barrier, was immediately shocked by the base reflected in his line of sight.

"Amazing, right! Sousuke made all of this."

You could see some solar panels brought back from bonus areas and such, but for the most part, Shouko’s claim holds true.

"Deep Law did help with gathering materials, though. Also, we gathered food and stuff together as a group."

「It's thanks to Sounosuke that I realized my ability could be used for gathering resources」

Fukaho said with a bashful smile.

"An 'Artisan' ability... I see, so you can do things like this too. That's amazing, Takano-kun..."

The teacher let out an exasperated sigh of wonder, much like one might give at a popular tourist attraction.

"There are still many things I want to ask, but let's discuss them over breakfast."

Mashiro crouched down to help them, allowing us to descend one by one.

The teacher first gasped in surprise at Micon, who zipped right past, crying "Dragon!?"

Then, as Roa offered a graceful bow and a greeting of "Welcome home," the teacher stared in shock, asking, "Wait, a maid!? And that's Hōjin-san!?"

Finally, upon entering the house to hear Shi-on's voice saying "We're home—breakfast is ready," the teacher hurriedly reacted with sniffing motions, exclaiming, "Smell... the scent of bread on a desert island!?"

Honestly, if you had been stranded on a remote island and arrived at this base so quickly, it wouldn't be unreasonable to be that shocked by all these things.

Even seeing Arvank, the river, the forest, and the grassland might not fully convey the feeling of being on a desert island; in fact, right now, it feels less like one than ever.

Perhaps we should explore the "desert island" afterward until the teacher is completely convinced of our reality.

Anyway, before anyone could spot us, we managed to bring the additional staff member, the "Co-Tutor," back to base.

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For now, we succeeded in protecting Professor Tanbei.

We put her on Mashiro and decided to head back to base.

"S-So... You all were sent to the desert island before me and have already spent eight days here...?"

After giving a brief explanation of what had happened so far, the professor said in a confused manner. "It's quite complicated, isn't it?"

I heard the story from her as well, and it seems she was also summoned from the same day as us.

It's a phenomenon occasionally seen in fiction that people are summoned to another world at different times despite being from the same timeline, but it might be hard to grasp intuitively.

"This giant white wolf is Mashiro, summoned by your ability..."

"That's right! Her name is Mashiro!"

"This is unbelievable... Well, but I just now... was able to shoot a beam too..."
The professor muttered to herself.

"Hmm. Choosing your ability makes you quite capable, Lumina." Chiyou praised.

"...No, it's not me. There was a 'sample answer from students' in the pre-explanation. There were students who chose to pick an object, and others who chose 'charisma,' 'transformation ability,' 'craft ability,' and 'healing magic.'"

Unintentionally, we found out about other ability users.

That’s the first I’ve heard of the “Charisma” and “Transformation” abilities.

They probably answered silently, like Shion and Shinpo.

“…I see. The extra members are at a disadvantage in terms of experience, so maybe the pre-game briefing compensates for that.” Shinpo muttered to herself.

Indeed, knowing about the abilities from the start might be an advantage for newcomers.

In our case, it was a coincidence that I didn’t read the air, and Shouko picked up on my statement, leading to multiple ability holders being born. Newcomers don’t need to rely on such coincidences.

“So, in a way, it’s thanks to you, Souchan. As expected of you, Souchan.”

“Sasusou, sasusou~. Souya was the one who mentioned the abilities first, after all.”

Chiyu and Shouko immediately recited their usual line.

“…Is that so? In a situation where you’re suddenly sucked into a strange dream, to calmly think about the powers needed for life on a desert island, Kouno-kun is impressive. It’s also amazing to think that ‘maybe we can bring abilities too’ from scratch.” “…No, well, hehe…”

I don’t think there’s anything to deny since it ended up being useful, but that was really just me saying what I wanted without reading the air.

“By the way, is Mr. Tanbiki’s ability the light attack? Is that okay?” Shinpo asked. There was a pause in Mr. Tanbiki’s response.

“N-No… I-I thought light was necessary because I’m afraid of the dark. I was also considering fire, but I thought fire could be obtained through starting a fire, so I decided on an ability that could freely produce and control light…”

The teacher's voice is small, probably because I told them I don't like dark places.

Oh, I see. So you chose a power that can be used for lighting and attacking.

"Hey? So if Lum-chan's power is there, we can make it bright like it was when we were in Japan at night?"

"Y-yeah. I think I can help in that way too."

"I see... The lantern light isn't bad, but it's nice to have lighting improved."

Lanterns and bonfires have a cozy feel like when we go camping, but for lighting up a space, light is more reliable. "By the way, Kogano-kun."

"What is it, Lumina? Or do you prefer Mr. Tanabi?"

I just called her the same thing as before.

"Oh, no... In this situation, as long as you don't mean to mock me, I don't mind how you call me." "Then, let's go with Lumina-sensei."

"Y-yes... Is it okay if I ask you something?" "Sure, what is it?"

"Do the students usually act together in groups?"

"No, they're scattered. But some of them do form groups."

「Oh, I see... There are actually quite a few students without any abilities in the midst of such dangerous monsters...」 「Ah...」

What if the teacher says something like, "I’ll save all the students as a teacher!"?

From the difficulty of obtaining the "right of return," the prolongation of life on the desert island by increasing the number of members, and above all, the perspective of maintaining the group's unity through member selection, we haven't been actively seeking new members.

Protecting Lumina-sensei this time was decided because there was a benefit to it, to put it bluntly.

"No, Kouno-kun, it’s okay. There’s no point in burdening other students to save them."

It seems she sensed my concern, and the teacher spoke to reassure me. I was relieved inside.

"But as a teacher, I can’t leave the students behind and return to Japan."

I respect her determination, but that would clash with our party’s policy.

We aim for the return of all members.

We could leave the teacher behind and return, but it would leave a bad taste in our mouths after she became our member.

And yet, I can’t tell her to give up...

Well, this is an issue we’ll have to discuss further in the future, so let’s put it aside for now.

It's actually rare for people to hit it off right from the start.

As we continued talking, our base came into view. "...A grassland?"

From outside the barrier, it just looks like a normal landscape.

It seems that the Dream Realm can adjust this area as well.

I knew about this function because there was a time when I couldn't see the Dream Realm on the other side of the barrier, but it's amazing that it can be applied to big things like houses.

"Hey, I brought Teacher too!"

I called out to her and then let Mashiro take the lead.

"Wha? Did you just say 'toopun'--house!?"

Right after she was surprised by the feeling of passing through the barrier, Lumina-sensei was shocked by the base that came into view.

"It's amazing, right? I made all of it myself."

I could see some of the solar panels brought back from the bonus area, but it was mostly as Mashiro said.

"Thanks to Deep Law helping me gather materials, though. And we all go out to gather food too."

「I realized that my ability could be used for gathering thanks to Mr. Saoritsu.」

Deepo smiled bashfully.

「Craft ability… I see, you even went that far. Kouno-kun, you're amazing…」

The teacher let out a sigh of amazement, just like when we visited a tourist attraction.

「There's still a lot I want to ask, but let's do it while we have breakfast.」

Since Mashiro bent down, we went down one by one.

The teacher was first surprised by the sudden appearance of Mikuron, saying, "Dragon!?".

Then she was surprised by Loa's elegant bow, saying, "Wait, a maid!?" and "Oh, Hounin-san!?".

When she entered the house and heard Shiomi's voice saying, "Welcome back, breakfast is ready," she was busy being surprised, sniffing around, "Hmm… the smell of bread on a desert island!?".

Indeed, if we were immediately brought to this base after being sent to a desert island, it wouldn't be surprising to be so amazed.

Even though we could see things like the Arvanc, the river, the forest, and the grassland, it might not feel much like a desert island.

After the conversation, it might be a good idea to explore the desert island until the teacher is convinced.

Anyway, before anyone else found out, I was able to bring in the additional staff member, the 'assistant teacher,' to the base.

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