Chapter Two EPI.02
Day Five
“Sō-Sōsuke?”
“Yeah, I’m awake.”
As I responded to Shoko’s voice, I raised my upper body.
Yesterday had been Shoko’s turn on duty, so after cleaning up, we had gone to sleep together.
And now, without even a second’s difference, we had both woken up at the same time.
Just as the Mysterious Blackboard had said, it was probably the forced awakening at five in the morning.
I groped my way to the window, reached it, and opened it. Outside, the light was faintly bright.
“We only have ten minutes. Let’s hurry and get ready. We’ll form a party with everyone and equip ourselves properly.”
“Y-Yeah…! But before that, um…”
Shoko stood up, came in front of me, and pressed her lips against mine with a soft kiss.
“Good morning, Sōsuke. Last night was intense, huh?”
“Yeah, good morning, Shoko. Thanks for last night.”
The memory of what we had done with Shoko came flooding back, and I almost felt a reaction between my legs.
But this was hardly the time for that, so I mustered all my rationality to suppress the excitement.
“Yeah. I’m fine staying in my uniform, but what about you, Sōsuke?”
“Yeah, I’ll change into my uniform too.”
I placed the uniform on the desk.
“Then I’ll head out to the hallway first.”
“Got it.”
I quickly changed into my uniform and then went out into the hallway. Shoko was waiting, but no one else was there yet.
I strained my ears and could hear sounds, so they were probably changing into their uniforms.
Shoko quietly took my hand, and though it startled me, I squeezed back.
“Ten minutes is way too harsh. I want to wash my face, fix my hair, and since I fell asleep like this, my uniform’s all wrinkled too…”
“If it’s just uniforms, I can reconfigure and store them even now.”
“Thanks. But… it’s fine. It kinda smells like you, Sōsuke, so I’ll stay like this.”
Shoko lifted the collar area and sniffed it while saying that.
She’s being coy… or rather, no, she was probably saying it naturally.
As I felt my heart pierced by Shoko’s cuteness, doors began opening one after another, and everyone came out.
Shoko hurriedly let go of my hand. It seemed she was embarrassed to be seen by everyone.
“It seems like if you focus your mind the same way as when opening ability-related explanations, you can call up the party function.”
Chiyu had tested it out quickly. When I tried focusing on “party function” as well—
Sōsuke Kudo
Affiliated Party—None
“Create Party”
“Join Party”
Words floated in my field of vision. Since I had experience with this from the “Crafting Ability,” I wasn’t surprised.
“Should one person create a party, and the rest of us join it?”
That would probably work, as Minori had suggested.
“In that case, our leader is definitely—Sōsuke-kun, right?”
At Shion’s words, everyone except me nodded at the same time. It felt both proud and embarrassing. In any case, since it was unanimous, there was no reason to decline. I immediately focused on “Create Party” and made one.
Affiliated Party—“Sōsuke Party”
The name was far too straightforward, but it seemed it could be changed later, so this would be temporary.
There was no time to worry about it now.
“Oh, ‘Sōsuke Party’ showed up under ‘Join Party.’ If we join this, we can all fly together, right?”
Following Shoko, the others seemed to have found it too, and a notification appeared in my “party function” saying “Requests to join the party have arrived.” I approved all four.
“Good. Everyone, quickly gather the equipment you need and meet in front of the entrance. There’s a chance this place could be discovered during the event, so let’s store everything once.”
Since everyone was traveling light, we were able to gather at the entrance quickly.
I stored the house, the bathhouse, Mashiro’s Fenrir kennel, the stone wall surrounding the grounds, and so on.
All that remained was the gate for entry and exit, with pillars buried in the ground.
Since it was “connected to the earth,” I couldn’t store it without digging it up. Leaving it would be fine.
“Sōsuke! Can Mashiro transfer with us!?”
Shoko’s panicked voice.
“Oh, I forgot to ask about that too. Unless they’re being really mean, I think Shoko’s summoned beast should be able to transfer together…”
“Mashiro, if we suddenly disappear, will you come find us by scent?”
Mashiro nodded as if to say, “Of course!”
I once again confirmed the appearance of my companions. Everyone was covering their bodies with linen robes, and if necessary, they could hide their faces with hoods. As long as our abilities remained unknown, our identities shouldn’t be exposed.
Of course, if someone saw us from very close range, it would be dangerous, but since my companions were planning to ride Mashiro, that wouldn’t be an issue.
I had also hidden blades on them just in case, but I could only hope we wouldn’t need to use them.
By the way, regarding the “crossbow,” a staple weapon in isekai stories, I hadn’t been able to create one due to material issues. The stone materials currently available seemed to lack sufficient durability.
If the mining area had been chosen instead of the water source in the choice on the second day, we probably could have made various things by now, but there was no point in saying that. Even if I could make one, I hadn’t intended to use it this time, but considering the possibility of monsters appearing in the future, it was armament I would want eventually.
“As far as I remember, the things we should be wary of are ‘airplanes,’ ‘fire,’ ‘guns,’ and then, quite a bit lower, bladed weapons in general.”
I had already shared the information from the initial dream, where other students had spoken, with all my companions.
“Fire means that if the stage is a forest and a fire breaks out, we’d be in big trouble, right?”
Shion wore a thoughtful expression.
If someone brought a lighter or matches and got nature involved, it could turn into a massive disaster.
I couldn’t imagine anyone would do something so stupid, but just in case.
If we stayed vigilant, even if the worst happened, we could respond without panicking.
“Needless to say for ‘guns,’ but ‘airplanes’ would be dangerous if someone like Sōsuke-san could store and place them.”
“Yeah. If you don’t mind involving people, you could place an airplane right above the light sphere and aim to obtain it.”
I didn’t know how many classmates would be caught up in it, so considering the penalty, I thought it was a choice that couldn’t be taken.
“If you think about suicide attacks, the ‘immortal’ kid is dangerous too.”
At Chiyu’s words, I nodded and said, “Yeah.”
“Mmm. She’s not the type to hurt people, though…”
Shoko, who was friends with that kid, made an ambiguous expression, but there was no harm in being cautious.
Moreover, the scary part about the “immortal” kid was the compatibility with penalties.
Killing someone deducts points equivalent to five years of coma, but what if that applied to the “immortal” kid’s death as well?
If someone could do anything with infinite lives, there was a chance that in trying to stop them with all our might, we might end up killing them. In that case, the side that killed would be penalized with five years’ worth.
The death penalty applied to the person themselves was only a hundred days.
It seemed sufficient as a deterrent, but well, that kind of strategy was possible too.
“…It’ll probably be ten minutes soon—”
Without any warning—the scenery changed.
It was still in the forest, but it wasn’t the area shaded by the cliff where we had based ourselves.
I quickly checked, and including Mashiro, all my companions had transferred together.
The “party” function seemed to be working properly.
“Transfer… experiencing it is terrifying.”
Minori was quietly surprised by what had just happened.
“Mashiro? You’re here! Thank goodness, you came with us—!”
Shoko leaped onto Mashiro.
“…It’s starting, isn’t it?”
Shion seemed tense. No, everyone was tense, I suppose.
At that moment, the sky glowed.
“Sō-kun, look at that.”
A light sphere floated in the sky that Chiyu pointed to, slowly descending.
It was said to appear in a position visible to all participants at first, so everyone else was probably seeing it too.
From now on, we would compete to secure that sphere of light.
“Everyone, get on Mashiro. Chiyu, please handle the enhancements.”
Everyone moved swiftly. Thanks to Chiyu’s enhancement magic, my body glowed faintly.
“Let’s go.”
Mashiro, carrying the girls, started running, and my enhanced body dashed at the same speed as him.
While running through the gaps between trees, we aimed for the descent point of the light sphere we had seen earlier.
And soon enough, we spotted other participants.
“This shitty environment—I’m getting the hell out of here fast!”
“That thing’s mine! Anyone who gets in my way, I’ll kill!”
“Hey, no matter who gets it, we agreed to wait until the other gets the ‘return right’ too—don’t break that promise!”
“You neither…!”
We discovered two boys in tattered uniforms. From their conversation, it seemed they had formed a party, but they clearly weren’t in a state to cooperate properly.
I glanced at Shion, and she shook her head.
In other words, their current talk of “no matter who gets the ‘return right,’ we’ll cooperate until we can return together” wasn’t sincere on either side.
When the chance to escape a harsh uninhabited island life presented itself, whether one could stay behind for a friend varied from person to person.
False cooperation was a valid strategy, I thought, but whether we wanted them in our group was another matter.
“Migi-san, Hida-san…”
I heard Minori murmur. Now that she mentioned it, those two might have been named that. Since not much time had passed since advancing grades, I hadn’t memorized everyone in the class.
It was fine that Minori, the class president, remembered, but her demeanor bothered me.
Her voice sounded like she was recalling something unpleasant… no way. I remembered what she had told me before.
“Were the first ones Minori encountered those two?”
At my words, Minori wore a pained expression and nodded slightly. She had escaped harm because they got scared seeing her magic, but it was true that the two boys had cornered a female student. I trusted Minori, and even without that, Shion’s ability had confirmed there were no lies in the events before we joined up. Those two were the culprits who had frightened Minori.
“We can’t let guys like that have the light sphere.”
I temporarily separated from my companions and stood in their way ahead.
“Hey!”
I held a spear conspicuously in my hand, but it was purely for intimidation.
“What!? A spear!?”
“Tch… it’s probably just a bluff! Get out of the way already!”
Perhaps due to the spear’s effect, the two stopped warily.
—This was a win.
If they stopped, they wouldn’t miss their target.
I placed a “stone cage” generated from “stone materials”—right above the two’s heads.
They fell immediately, and with cries of “Wha—” and “Wah—,” I succeeded in trapping them.
Unlike a typical cage, there were no bars imaginable; it was constructed entirely of stone on all five sides except the feet.
I had provided air holes to prevent suffocation, but they probably couldn’t see outside.
It wasn’t ordinary weight, so escaping on their own was impossible. And I couldn’t imagine many people helping these two during the event. They were out of the running here.
“As punishment for attacking Minori, this is lukewarm, but stay there until the event ends.”
Though they had “attacked,” they had freaked out seeing magic and fled, so there had been no harm to her.
Still, it pissed me off, but there was no time to deal with them further.
Since the rule was that when the event ended, they would transfer back to their original positions anyway, there was no need to bother releasing them later, and it helped that I wouldn’t have to see their faces again.
“Well, if everyone’s like these guys, it’ll be easy.”
I left the two behind and rejoined my companions. These two were criminals whose hearts wouldn’t ache even if I stopped them, but if I had to cage healthy girls aiming for the light sphere, it would probably hurt my conscience.
I couldn’t afford to yield the light sphere, so I would have to draw the line somewhere.
My companions called me kind, but if I showed philanthropy here, my companions’ return would grow distant. I wanted to avoid that.
“So… Sōsuke—Red-san!”
Minori called me.
We had decided to use colors to address each other since calling names would defeat the purpose of hiding our faces.
I was Red, Chiyu was Platinum, Shoko was Yellow, Shion was Violet, and Minori was Black.
Chiyu had aimed for White, but at her own request, it became Platinum.
There was a chance our voices alone could give us away, but we had to compromise there.
“It’s fine! I didn’t injure them!”
We spotted other participants too, but many fled in fear of Mashiro. We didn’t pursue those.
If they lost the will to fight and moved away from the light sphere, that was fine. Right now, catching up to the light sphere was priority.
Eventually, we arrived at what seemed to be the descent point, but it had already started moving, and the figure was gone.
“Chiy–Platinum, please reapply recovery and enhancements.”
“Roger.”
She recast Strength Up for physical power and Second Heal for fatigue recovery.
“Red! Mashiro says he knows which direction the light went!”
“Good, take the lead.”
Mashiro barked and immediately dashed off. I followed with my enhanced leg strength.
“Damn it! The light sphere’s too fast!”
“What am I supposed to do with just one knife!?”
“A knife’s fine! I’ve got a fork!”
“Keep talking shit and I’ll crack your skull with this pot!”
I couldn’t tell if they were in a party, but as we chased the light, I caught sight of boys arguing.
It must be hard to keep composure, but glaring with anger bared wasn’t good.
“Oh, I see the light!”
In the direction Shoko pointed, I spotted the light sphere weaving through gaps in the trees.
It was fast, but due to the rule that it had to remain in some participant’s sight, it maintained a distance neither too close nor too far.
“Whoa!? What the!? A m-monster!”
“…Is that a wolf…?”
“Didn’t someone ride it…?”
“No way… those guys who talked about abilities in the dream? They actually got them as is…? That’s way too unfair…!”
…I understood the feeling, but being envied was troublesome.
In that dream, everyone had been equally asked what to bring and given time to think.
We passed quickly, but even among other transferees, Mashiro stood out.
“Hey, let me join you too!”
“That’s bullshit! This guy’s a weakling who only has an empty PET bottle after chugging cola! I’ve got a survival knife, so I’d be useful! Let’s cooperate!”
“Shut up! Look, my sick grandma back home is waiting for me, please!”
Two boys argued while calling out to us.
I glanced at Shion just in case, but she shook her head regretfully.
Both “let’s cooperate” and “sick grandma” were lies… It’s the ability I wanted, but actually seeing through lies like this is painful.
“In that case…”
I approached the two who had started grappling. As we passed, I trapped both in stone cages.
“…Is that okay? I might be lying too.”
“It’s fine, I trust you.”
“…Hehe, thanks.”
She must have known from her ability that I was telling the truth.
Shion paused in surprise before smiling happily.
“Enough flirting. The light sphere’s close.”
At Chiyu’s voice, I looked ahead, and indeed, the distance was gradually closing.
“Good! Everyone, if you think you can secure it, use your abilities anytime! Just be careful not to involve others!”
“Yeah.” “Got it!” “Understood…!”
“Everyone, do your best…”
The moment the four responded—an whooshing sound of wind cutting passed overhead.
“Wah, that surprised me…!”
Shoko jumped in shock. Though not as much as her, everyone was startled.
The source of the sound soon entered our vision—a single arrow.
I turned only my head to look back and quickly found the shooter.
Skillfully aiming a bow from atop a thick tree branch was a female classmate.
Her long, faintly purple-tinged black hair swayed in the wind along with the tree leaves.
She had tucked the hair on her right side behind her ear, while the left side had a string wrapped around it.
Whether the bow she held was from her ability or crafted on this uninhabited island was unknown.
“Matoba-san!”
Minori seemed to notice her too.
“Eh, Yuminon!?”
Shoko was surprised again.
From the arrow’s trajectory, it was clear it aimed for the light sphere, but something was off about that arrow.
It never slowed down.
Not only that—when the light sphere changed course and the arrow seemed about to miss and embed in a trunk, it curved sharply at the last moment and continued pursuing the light sphere.
“An ability user!”
It was unclear if the bow itself had the ability, but the released arrow was undeniably special.
An arrow that kept chasing the target was excellent, but if its speed didn’t increase, it couldn’t catch the light sphere.
One could imagine firing multiple and herding it from different directions, but the girl named Matoba had vanished by the time we noticed.
The light sphere raced through the forest as if driven by the arrow, but it seemed to be gradually approaching the ground. Perhaps due to the arrow constantly taking the high position.
Just as the light sphere was about to pass beside a tree.
“E-Ei…!”
A voice not from our companions rang out.
At the same time, something black leaped from the tree’s shadow and lunged at the light sphere.
That something looked like a gigantic human hand.
The light sphere slipped out from the gaps in the jet-black hand that gripped tightly.
“Mashiro-san! Please go around!”
At Minori’s voice, Mashiro reacted and passed while avoiding the black object.
“Ah… ahh…”
The figure of the person leaking a sorrowful voice entered our vision too.
“Kagemori…?”
We didn’t stop, but I was surprised to see an acquaintance’s face.
A quiet-looking girl with black hair, her two braids hanging over her shoulders.
Last year, we had been library committee members together, so I knew her name.
—Wait, was that just now coordination with Matoba…?
If Matoba’s arrow guided the light sphere and Kagemori captured it, it made sense.
“Neither seems to be pursuing right away.”
Shion murmured while looking back.
“…Maybe their means of movement are limited.”
Those two concerned me, but we couldn’t stop.
Moreover, a situation soon arose that left no room for that.
A sharp pop… echoed through the forest as air burst.
“This is—gunfire?”
Few Japanese high schoolers would have heard the real thing, but it wasn’t rare in fiction. The current sound closely resembled gunfire heard in movies.
Plus, there were students in our class who had chosen “guns.”
That bursting sound continued further.
“Ah, I see it! He’s firing wildly at the light sphere!? Isn’t that dangerous!?”
Shoko’s shout. In the direction of her gaze, a boy holding what looked like a handgun was visible.
It was dangerous, yes, but the lack of hesitation was strange. It was the right place to use precious bullets, but he should have been more cautious—yet gunfire rang out consecutively.
“…He can probably resupply bullets.”
“Something like an ability, maybe imagining ‘a gun that can fire infinitely’?”
Shion added to Minori’s speculation.
“For a Japanese high schooler to know guns… probably from FPS games or something. In that case, imagining ‘reload in seconds with massive ammo’ wouldn’t be strange.”
Bullets as something you pick up lying around, or loot from killed enemies.
Since abilities and magic were granted as is, it wouldn’t be odd to have a dreamlike gun.
The issue was the user’s skill.
“Come on, come on, I’ll hit you! Give up on the light sphere…!”
The gun’s owner was a bad-eyed male student, firing the handgun repeatedly while running.
But the light sphere was already far from him. Considering range, wouldn’t something else have been better…? Or maybe the gun was limited to that handgun?
If he could summon any gun, there should be more suitable or extreme options for the situation.
Still, it was a terrible situation.
He must know other students were chasing the light sphere too, yet he fired indiscriminately.
Of course, he probably had enough sense to scare off other participants with warning shots before leisurely aiming at the light sphere himself.
Firing with the mindset that hitting other participants was fine would deduct 100 points if someone got injured. Even with the “return right,” a hundred days of coma per injured person would be unbearable. He looked dangerous, but he surely considered that much.
“We have healing magic here. Forced breakthrough isn’t impossible, but…”
Chiyu said hesitantly. It would be a valid tactic in a game, but hard for real humans.
It was possible, but mentally tough.
“We’ll deal with it, but not by forced breakthrough. That guy—we’ll neutralize him with Black(Minori) and me.”
“Yes, leave it to me…!”
There were others with abilities or useful tools.
I knew that, but we would be the ones to win this event.
“Wha…? Wh-what…!?”
The gun user seemed to catch Mashiro in his sight and looked shocked.
In panicked fear, he aimed the gun muzzle at Mashiro.
He might have mistaken it for a magical beast released on the uninhabited island…
“Black…!”
“Yes…! Water Wall!”
The gunfire continued in rapid succession, but Minori, who had undergone rigorous training, instantly deployed multiple thick walls of water.
The bullets could not penetrate the water walls, and the firing ceased.
“What the…!?”
While the male student stood there with his eyes wide open in shock, I circled around to his back.
“Hey.”
“…!?”
As if a ghost had spoken to him, the male student jumped at the shoulders and hurriedly tried to turn around. Matching that movement, I swung the spear like a staff.
“Gah…!”
It struck the barrel perfectly, knocking the gun from his hand.
The gun was sent flying by the spear and fell to the ground.
In the worst case, intentionally injuring him could result in a deduction of 100 points, but I couldn’t just leave it.
Aiming for the instant he was checking the direction the gun had flown, I dropped a “stone cage.”
“What the—”
I successfully trapped him in the “stone cage.”
I thought I could hear a muffled voice, but I couldn’t make out the details, nor did I need to know them.
I quickly picked up the gun and itemized it.
The probability had been fifty-fifty, but it safely went into my inventory.
What he had desired wasn’t an ability to “generate and control guns” or anything like that; it was simply the “gun” itself.
As functions attached to that gun, there were probably things like ignoring ammo limits.
In other words, taking the gun away made him the same as someone without an ability.
If it were just for hunting, I wouldn’t do something like confiscating it, but his way of using it was far too dangerous.
“Well then.”
I had eliminated one risk factor for living on the island from now on, so I hurried to rejoin my companions.
With the sounds of banging and kicking against the stone wall behind me, I pursued Mashiro.
—Something’s odd.
Even combining those who fled upon seeing Mashiro with those I had neutralized, it didn’t reach half the class.
More precisely, the number of girls was abnormally low.
Excluding my companions and the two we had spotted earlier, Matoba and Kagemori, it was zero.
There were twenty-three girls in total, so thinking that the remaining seventeen were in the vicinity felt unnatural.
—In the daily votes, the majority remained at twenty-one votes. In other words, no one had died.
Perhaps they just couldn’t catch up to the light sphere, or they were observing from afar—or maybe they had no intention of winning this event in the first place. …Whatever the reason, if they weren’t interfering, I’d leave them be.
We had no desire to trap our classmates either.
“Red! This is bad! It started flying in the sky!”
Before Mashiro could catch up, it seemed some male students had thrown stones at the light sphere, and in reaction, it had moved to a height unreachable by stones.
“Can Mashiro reach it…!?”
“‘Sorry, impossible,’ he says!”
I quickly surveyed the surroundings. The ones who had been throwing stones were also scattering upon seeing Mashiro.
Currently, only we were in this area. In that case—.
“Yellow! A new companion!”
“Yooosh…! Come forth—fluffy fluffy—!”
The next summoned beast she had been pondering over. A product of imagination without a definite original source.
What appeared was—an Eastern dragon with fluffy black fur.
“Mikuron…! I’m counting on you!”
Obeying her master’s command, the black dragon Mikuron came to me.
I leaped onto Mikuron’s back.
“Take me to where that light sphere is!”
The dragon swam through the sky gracefully, as if a fish gliding through the sea.
—Just a bit more, just a bit more until it enters my placement range…!
“Now…!”
Did that shout reach the ground?
There was something we had decided in advance. This was a strategy built on three premises.
The light sphere—.
・Possesses a field of vision and moves to escape pursuers.
・The light sphere must always be in a position visible to at least one participant.
・It does not reach heights unattainable by any means all participants might use, nor does it dive underwater.
—In short, it has the intent to allow capture.
The light sphere could be assumed to be an entity that sees and thinks, adhering to the rule of always being visible to someone, and choosing escape routes while grasping all players’ abilities.
And now, the light sphere’s movement halted with a jerk, as if bewildered. I had told my companions that this situation was also a foreseeable development. And along with the shout—I had instructed them to close their eyes.
The light sphere wants to escape from me.
But if it leaves my field of vision, it must enter someone else’s.
Yet the students who fled in fear of Mashiro were far away, those trapped in “stone cages” couldn’t see the light sphere, and my companions had their eyes closed.
Even so, if it exerted the speed of light, it might escape.
However. Who could capture a light sphere that did such a thing?
If this was an event meant to allow capture, it wouldn’t take such measures.
As a result, the light sphere paused for a moment as if searching for a place to move. It entered my placement range via the black dragon Mikuron. And the “giant net woven from vines” that I placed enveloped the light sphere.
“Yes…!”
In that instant, my vision burst into pure white, and I was transported to a white space.
It was the space with the Mysterious Blackboard, desks, and seats. The difference from usual was that I was the only one there.
“Because a capturer of the light sphere has appeared, this event will end.”
“In addition to the ‘return right,’ bonus points will be granted to the capturer of the light sphere.”
The details of the points weren’t revealed, but after subtracting penalty points from the added points, whatever remained would allow privileges upon return, or something like that.
Well, there was no harm in receiving them.
“Will you exercise the ‘return right’?”
“Ah… so that’s how it is.”
The reason only the capturer of the light sphere was summoned was to give a moment alone, without need to consider companions, and probe true intentions. Even if the Mysterious Blackboard was a supernatural entity capable of reading our lives and hearts, without stimulus, there would be no response.
For example, asking a good person, “If you won a huge lottery prize, what would you do?”
Before winning, they might answer, “Repay my parents, travel with friends, donate to organizations that help people.”
A wonderful answer. They might have meant it from the heart.
But—what if they actually won a large amount?
Would they embody their ideal self as imagined when they had nothing?
There might be people who could, but humans tend to be swallowed by desire.
In reality, there are countless stories of people ruining themselves after winning the lottery.
Large sums of money have the allure to drive people mad. The same goes for the “return right,” I suppose.
The Mysterious Blackboard was probably testing whether my judgment would waver.
“Not now. I’ll use it after all my companions have obtained the right.”
I answered immediately, thinking, You picked the wrong person to ask.
To begin with, I quite like our current life.
It’s only natural for someone not cornered to give a different answer.
“Confirmation regarding the reservation of exercising the ‘return right.’ The ‘bonus area’ will be unlocked for participant ‘Sōsuke Kudo.’ Additionally, party members may accompany to the ‘bonus area.’”
“Huh? Wait, what’s that?”
“The event will end .”
More than ever, it’s a guy who only says what it wants to say…!
And once again, my vision was dyed white—.
◇
“Sō-kun.” “Sōsuke!” “Sōsuke-kun…?” “Sōsuke-san…”
My companions’ voices snapped me out of it.
Before I knew it, I had transferred back to the area below the cliff where we had based ourselves. My four companions were there, as were Mashiro and Mikuron. But all my companions wore anxious expressions.
“What’s wrong?”
“Sō-kun, you were spacing out.”
“We were worried something might have happened…!”
Shoko’s eyes were teary.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”
Shion stroked my back consolingly.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Actually, I have to tell everyone—I was called alone to the white space.”
“…You were asked if you would exercise the ‘return right,’ weren’t you?”
The clever Minori seemed to grasp it immediately.
She might have thought it was something the Mysterious Blackboard, which was observing us, would do.
“There’s no way Sō-kun would abandon us and escape.”
“Yeah…! Don’t underestimate Sōsuke.”
“Mm. I didn’t doubt that for a second.”
“I believed in you too.”
Their words, woven with conviction, warmed my heart deeply.
“Thanks, everyone. Let’s keep working hard until we can all return with our memories and abilities.”
Everyone nodded back.
Looking up at the sky, it was still morning. I suddenly remembered something.
“…Hey, we might be tired from the event—but want to go get some wheat?”
At those words, everyone’s eyes sparkled.
“Let’s go. And then hold a bread festival.”
“Hehe, sounds good.”
“I want pancakes…!”
“I, well, maybe udon.”
“Nice. Let’s eat it all.”
I smiled too, and we immediately split up to ride Mashiro and Mikuron.
◇
I, who had obtained the “return right” in the first event.
Having decided to return with my companions, I reserved exercising it.
For some reason, the Mysterious Blackboard mentioned unlocking a “bonus area” or something, but what did that mean? Something like a hidden stage in a game?
Despite that, we hadn't found anything resembling it or an obvious entrance around the base.
Instead, we found a large amount of wheat during exploration, so that was fine.
When the event was held, as usual, the chosen item from the binary choice was added.
Wheat won over rice.
We reached a wheat field after just a short move, harvested the ripened crop together, stored it in my inventory, and returned with satisfied faces.
Our new companion Mikuron had adapted remarkably well, but for some reason, she seemed particularly fond of me; even when not riding, she stayed nearby or clung to me.
She was fluffy and cute, so it was fine.
“Hmm. Mikuron’s a girl too, after all.”
Shoko said something like that. It seemed the black dragon was female.
Anyway, we had obtained wheat.
The location where our base had been was now empty. We had stored everything before the event.
We re-placed the house and such, adding some improvements in the process.
Specifically, I re-placed the house with window glass installed.
Thankfully, furniture could be placed as a whole, so there was no need to rearrange everything one by one.
The stone wall, bathhouse, and Fenrir kennel were revived too.
Come to think of it, we had left the chicken coop as is, and it was safe.
“No matter how many times I see it, it’s magnificent.”
Chiyu murmured, looking up at the placed house.
“Indeed. It’s an astonishing power.”
“Wow, it has window glass too…! We want morning light, but opening windows can be chilly, so I’m really happy.”
“Mhm mhm, another ‘as expected of So’ moment today.”
Praise from the girls was always pleasant, no matter how many times.
“Oh, Sōsuke-kun, can your ‘Crafting Ability’ do milling or something?”
I nodded at Shion’s words, our head chef.
“Yeah. It seems to fall within the scope of crafting up to making it into ‘materials’ or ‘seasonings.’”
“Amazing…! Then, may I ask you to do it?”
I nodded back to Shion, who clasped her hands with sparkling eyes.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Oh, Sōsuke-san. When milling, the bran and germ that come out can be used as livestock feed, so how about giving it to the chickens?”
“Oh, that solves the chickens’ feed problem too. Thanks, Minori.”
“N-No, I’m honored to be of help.”
Minori was embarrassed. This wasn’t exactly repayment, but since everyone praised me straightforwardly, I thought I should straightforwardly thank my companions too.
“Sō-kun. I’ll secure eggs and feed them on the side.”
“Yeah, please.”
Since Chiyu said that, I placed the bran—known as “fusuma”—into a bucket and handed it to her.
“Oh, what about Mikuron’s house…? Huh? ‘Don’t need one’? Really?”
When I looked at Shoko, Mikuron flew into the sky and moved to the roof of Mashiro’s house.
She landed with a poof and closed her eyes. That spot was fine, apparently.
“We got wheat, but… Shion, any recommended dishes?”
“Hmm. Bread takes time to make yeast… Udon also has quite a few steps until the live dough… Yeah. Pancakes for breakfast, udon for lunch, and okonomiyaki for dinner—how about that…?”
“Yes yes! Super yes!”
Shoko said with sparkling eyes.
“Pancakes, nice! We have butter, but now I want maple syrup too.”
As I put a hand to my chin in thought, Shoko joined the conversation.
“…! What’s maple syrup made from again!?”
“It’s boiled-down sap from sugar maples.”
“Thanks, Minorin! Mashiro, one more push, okay?”
At Shoko’s spoiled voice, Mashiro, who had been heading back to the Fenrir kennel, returned.
“W-We’re going to search now?”
Shion looked perplexed. Shoko’s obsession with sweets was stronger, it seemed.
“Of course! Shi-chan, you can start making them! Sōsuke and Minorin, come with me!”
“Ah… I see. Use Mashiro’s nose and mobility to find sugar maples, Minori’s magic to harvest, and I itemize the whole tree to get all the sap inside—that way.”
If we could shortcut both the sap collection and boiling processes, it might make it in time.
“Exactly!”
“Okay, let’s go. Before that, I'll bring the flour to the kitchen.”
“Oh, I’ll carry it.”
“Is that so…?”
I temporarily placed the flour in a linen sack, holding it in my arms, and handed it to Shion.
It was about two kilos, so fine for a girl.
“I’ll cooperate too, of course.”
Minori was coming along as well.
The three of us tried to ride Mashiro, but the moment I moved, Mikuron swooshed over.
“Ahaha, ‘Sōsuke rides me,’ she says!”
“I-Is that so. But Mikuron, if we go out, only non-combatants will remain. I want you to protect Chiyu and Shion.”
I stroked her as she brought her face close, then asked seriously.
“‘Got it, but fly together later!’ she says.”
“Hahaha, Roger.”
Smiling in response, the three of us rode Mashiro.
“Then, we’ll start making it slowly.”
“If pancakes for breakfast, I’ll make scrambled eggs.”
“Hehe, let’s make delicious food together.”
Sparks flying, Chiyu and Shion returned inside the house.
We set out to search for sap.
Relying on Mashiro’s nose, we found sugar maples surprisingly easily.
“Maple syrup is pretty famous, I think, but it’s placed from the start.”
Unusual consideration from the Mysterious Blackboard…
“Sugar maple wood is also suitable for furniture, so perhaps it was placed to stabilize survival life?”
“No, I know maple syrup, but I didn’t know it comes from sugar maples? Even if someone knew, could an ordinary high schooler distinguish tree types? In this forest.”
At Shoko’s words, Minori and I nodded in agreement.
It was the same as placing edible mushrooms or akebia—minor fruits.
If you know, you can utilize them effectively. If not, they’re just scenery.
“In reality, we only became aware of it because we needed it for pancakes.”
“Y-Yes…”
Until now, all trees had been labeled “timber,” but perhaps because my recognition changed, this time’s itemization displayed “sugar maple.”
Whether to obtain it as “timber” usable for general wooden tool creation or respect the tree type for specific purposes. Trying it out, both seemed possible. This was a new discovery.
We quickly felled and stored them, returned to the base, and enjoyed the breakfast Shion and Chiyu had made.
The fluffy batter pancakes topped with plenty of sheep milk butter and maple syrup were devilishly stimulating in this uninhabited island life with limited sweets.
For lunch, we all kneaded and made udon.
For dinner’s okonomiyaki, we selected gathered nuts and such, mixed in salt, sugar, and vinegar to generate a makeshift Worcestershire sauce, and poured it on.
The variety of meals expanded at once, and thanks to Shion’s skill, everything was supremely delicious.
With this, future uninhabited island life seemed enjoyable.
And then, night. Tonight, the one scheduled to visit my room was Minori.
I wasn’t used to it at all, by any means. My heart pounding, I waited for a while.
A modest knock—kon kon—sounded.
“Y-Yeah. Come in.”
Even now, I didn’t know the right words to say through the door.
Anyway, Minori entered the room upon hearing my voice. Tonight, she was wearing her uniform.
“T-Today, I would like to take on the role of attendant… if that’s all right.”
Attendant, huh… Perhaps Minori couldn’t think of a more appropriate word.
“Y-Yeah. In fact, I’d like to ask you myself.”
Minori seemed unaware of her own charm—or thought she was inferior to the others—and lacked confidence in times like this.
Hearing my response, she visibly looked relieved.
“Th-Then, excuse me for sitting beside you.”
With a tense expression, Minori sat next to me, on the edge of the bed. About a fist’s distance apart.
I looked at Minori and gulped. Through her uniform, her twin hills and protrusions were faintly visible.
In the classroom, Minori had always worn longer skirts and buttoned up to the top.
The fact that she had come to a boy’s room without a bra stirred a sense of immorality.
Noticing my gaze, Minori blushed deeply, her emerald eyes brimming with moisture. Reflecting the lantern light, her eyes sparkled like gems.
As I gently brought my face closer, she closed her eyes to meet it.
We exchanged several innocent kisses with lips merely touching, gradually growing hotter.
Before I knew it, we were embracing while sharing kisses that exchanged saliva.
“Fu… n… chu… Sōsuke-san… Sōsuke-san.”
When her feelings heightened, Minori would call my name repeatedly, and each time, affection welled up.
Just as I tried to push her down onto the bed, Minori hurriedly parted her lips.
“Haa… haa. Wait, Sōsuke-san. Um, I also had a plan I prepared…”
“I-I see.”
“O-Of course. If Sōsuke-san doesn’t like it…”
“No no, I’m looking forward to it. What should I do?”
Since Minori looked anxious, I hurriedly said.
“Th-Then, could you undress and lie on your back?”
“Got it.”
I undressed as told, but seeing my exposed crotch, Minori’s eyes widened.
“As expected, it’s really big…”
“It’s because of Chiyu’s ‘Energy Up’…”
“I-It’s amazing, ‘Energy Up.’”
Minori undid her top buttons, but even during that, she kept glancing at my rod.
Having undone all buttons, Minori straddled the supine me, spreading her legs.
“Uu… I-I can’t believe I’m doing something so indecent…”
For a while, Minori covered her face with both hands, but eventually, as if resolving herself, she looked at me.
“Until now, Sōsuke-san and I have mostly done it in the forest, right? Since I’m visiting your room for once, I thought we could try a position hard to do outdoors.”
Minori was straddling around my lower waist. Normally, my rod would be hidden by her skirt, but enlarged as it was now, part of the skirt tented up dramatically.
“Usually, you move, Sōsuke-san, so today, I’ll move, okay?”
Saying that, Minori lifted her hips and began moving them up and down. Inside her skirt, through her panties, her secret place rubbed against my rod. It was faint stimulation, but with Minori swinging her hips atop me and her chest bouncing vigorously, excitement built instantly.
“Ah… ah… I-I think the way Chiyu-san taught me was…”
Minori struggled with hip movement for a while, but as expected of her learning ability, it gradually became smoother. Then, of the hands she had on the bed, she placed one on my rod. And matching her hip movements, she stroked the rod up and down. I wondered where she learned such a motion, but realizing it was probably from my childhood friend whose name had just come up.
Anyway, the addition of her supple and warm hands stroking me caused the pleasure to double.
Minori’s movements were intense, her hair disheveled as she rocked her hips up and down atop me. It was a lewd spectacle unimaginable from the sharp-eyed, serious class president who so capably led our class.
Perhaps unconsciously, Minori was grinding herself against my shaft with each motion, and every time she did so, a plaintive moan escaped her lips.
“Ah, ah, ah… Sōsuke-san… Sōsuke-san… Sōsuke-san…!”
“Ahh, Minori…!”
My own excitement rose irresistibly in response to Minori’s dance-like courtship.
“Hah… hah, nnh… ah, Sōsuke-san, I’m already―nnh…!”
Minori’s body shuddered violently, and then her movements came to a halt.
Only the thick, wet squish squish sounds rising from between her thighs—accompanied by her hot, ragged breathing and the faint trembling of her hips—echoed through the room, as though steam might rise from her skin at any moment.
“I-I’m sorry, Sōsuke-san. I got carried away…”
No man alive would be angry after hearing those words.
“I’ll do my very best to make you feel good too, Sōsuke-san, so please give me another chance?”
Minori gazed down at me with dewy eyes, then shifted her position from moments before and straddled me fully.
At a distance where our breaths mingled, Minori pressed her lips fiercely against mine.
That was not all. Her twin peaks pressed flush against my chest, conveying an overwhelming sense of closeness and softness. The pressure of her secret place against my shaft was also unbearably pleasant.
Minori began moving her hips back and forth just like that.
She embraced my head as though holding me close, planted kisses upon my lips, pressed her twin peaks against my chest, and rubbed my shaft with her secret place—all of it performed with remarkable skill. I could feel everything: her breath, her body heat, her scent, her skin, her lips.
“Nnh, ah… Sōsuke-san… nnh… I love… slurp… smack… I love it…”
Her melted, dreamy eyes repeatedly conveyed her affection, and it felt as though my own thoughts were dissolving as well.
I did not think I could endure much longer against the flood of euphoria coursing through my entire body.
“Nnh… please, Sōsuke-san, come whenever you like…”
Minori’s voice became the trigger, and white, thick fluid erupted from my shaft, swollen to its limit. Thanks to the enhancement of my vigor, both the force and volume were several times greater than before, and the pleasure of release grew correspondingly greater.
The ecstasy was so intense that I clenched my teeth, my hips trembling uncontrollably.
Minori brought her lips to my ear and whispered feverishly, “spurt, spurt, spurt…”
When the frighteningly powerful throbbing finally ended, my breathing was completely disordered.
Minori slowly raised her upper body and, with an expression of utter lewdness, lifted the hem of her skirt.
“It’s incredible… Sōsuke-san… the lining is so drenched you can’t even see it anymore.”
Just as Minori said, the inside of her skirt was utterly stained with white fluid. Thick drops dripped down, and Minori shuddered with a small shiver.
“I-I made you feel good with my body… right?”
I nodded and said, “Yeah,” in response to her gaze. Minori smiled happily, but there was something faintly lewd about that smile; it seemed to ooze the joy of a woman who had fully realized her own feminine charm. Witnessing the moment the serious class president blossomed sexually, I—who had been her partner in that moment—felt both fortunate and somehow sinful.
“I’ll clean it up nicely, okay?”
Minori brought her face close to my crotch and, without hesitation, ran her tongue over the sticky shaft. Even while she diligently licked with soft lap lap sounds, my shaft retained its hardness. Minori wore an entranced expression as she pressed her lips to it.
“S-Sōsuke-san…? If it’s all right…”
“I want more with you too, Minori.”
Though my breathing had finally begun to settle, my excitement had not subsided in the least.
“I’m glad. What shall we do next? Would it be better if I stayed on top again?”
“No, if it’s all right with you, Minori, I’d like…”
When I hesitated, Minori seemed to understand and smiled softly.
She turned her back to me, placed both hands on the bed, and thrust out her butt.
Looking back over her shoulder, she swayed her butt enticingly.
“Just like always—please come a lot on my butt?”
Unable to hold myself back any longer, I thrust my shaft between her thighs.
◇
After fully enjoying my time with Minori, I thought I would dream of the white space again—but that was not the case.
“Huh?”
“…This place, no way.”
“Wait, what’s going on?”
“It’s not the white room… this is…”
“A shopping mall?”
We were standing in the hall of a shopping mall.
The lights were on, yet not a single person was around. Still, every shop gave the impression of being open for business, creating an eerie atmosphere. Come to think of it, this was a facility from our hometown.
We hadn’t returned to Japan… or so I assumed. Then what exactly…?
At that moment, the giant monitor installed in the hall lit up, and text began to scroll across it.
“We will now explain the Bonus Area.”
It seemed this shopping mall was the additional reward granted to me for earning the “Return Right” yet choosing not to use it immediately.
Further text from the Mysterious Blackboard flowed across the giant monitor.
・Regarding the Bonus Area
“Kadō Sōsuke” and his party members will be invited to the Bonus Area for each day they survive. Invitations are limited to a maximum of ten members, in the order they joined the party.
The Bonus Area is a perfect reproduction of a commercial facility known to “Kadō Sōsuke.”
The state of the shops is identical to the day all participants were summoned to the main island.
Invited individuals may stay in the Bonus Area for the equivalent of three hours in real time.
Invited individuals may select one “item” per person from those sold as “merchandise” within the commercial facility.
The selected “item” will appear the following day at the nearest possible location where it can be placed.
Someone gulped audibly.
“So we can each take one thing sold in this shopping mall back to the uninhabited island?”
“It’s the perk Sō-kun mentioned for not using the ‘Return Right’?”
Even Chiyu seemed surprised by the familiar sight.
“And we can come here every day? That means the whole party can get five things a day!”
I could understand Shōko’s excitement.
Though we were living comparatively well on the uninhabited island, there were still many things we couldn’t manage without—games, manga, fashion, electronics, and more.
“This is an amazing perk. It really shows how significant the choice not to use the ‘Return Right’ was.”
I found myself nodding at Shion’s observation.
“It’s like choosing an option that seems completely unreasonable at first glance to reach the best route.”
Chiyu muttered under her breath. I silently agreed—yeah, that’s exactly it.
In games where you build relationships with characters, there are choices that seem guaranteed to make the character hate you, yet they turn out to be the correct ones because of some hidden backstory that makes the character interpret them positively.
If this was that kind of thing, I could understand it… maybe.
Normally, no one would hold on to a hard-earned ticket back to Japan. If staying behind granted such a splendid reward, then by all means, let’s accept it.
“That’s right. It’s a perk we earned precisely because Sōsuke-san is someone who keeps his promises. Considering how difficult it would be to fulfill that promise under these circumstances, a reward like this makes perfect sense.”
Even Minori said something like that.
“Ah… anyway, we only have three hours. Let’s ask the Mysterious Blackboard about anything we’re curious about first.”
I spoke half to hide my embarrassment, half because it was true.
The phrasing “equivalent to three hours in real time” probably meant that time on the uninhabited island did not pass while we were here. Still, there was a clear time limit, so we needed to move efficiently.
“Yeah. First, I want to know the definition of ‘one item.’”
“The definition of ‘one item’ is anything counted as a single product on a store’s receipt.”
So as long as it was treated as one product on the receipt, it counted.
“Ah, what happens if we overthink it and run out of time?”
“If no selection is made within the time limit, nothing will be taken back.”
We couldn’t waste this opportunity, so we had to keep an eye on the clock and definitely choose something.
“Then conversely, what happens if everyone finishes selecting within the time limit? Can we look around until time runs out?”
“Even within the time limit, once all invited members have completed their selections, the Bonus Area will close.”
…In that case, for future shopping, it might be strategic to have one person hold off on choosing until the very end to explore the facility.
“You mentioned items counted as ‘one’ on the receipt, but what about cases like supermarkets where a single apple costs 150 yen, yet five of the same item would cost 750 yen?”
“Quantity is not considered. If sold as a ‘set item of one,’ it will be treated as one item.”
That was useful information. Depending on the product, there could be advantageous ways to buy. For manga, there might be complete series box sets, so buying one of those would let us bring back an entire series at once.
Answers to questions from Chiyu, Shōko, Shion, and Minori came in turn. Now it was my turn…
“Right. For appliances, some include installation and usage instructions, and furniture might come with assembly service. What happens if we choose something like that?”
“Personnel arrangements are not included in the product. For the appliances in question, an instruction manual will be included, and furniture will be delivered in an assembled state.”
In that case, we could freely choose almost anything except extremely difficult-to-handle items.
We exchanged glances, confirming there were no further questions for the moment.
As if sensing that, the remaining time appeared on the monitor.
It was considerate, but inconvenient that we could only check it here.
“Hey, I know it’s pointless, but can I just try something real quick?”
I nodded, guessing what Shōko wanted to say.
She dashed toward the exit, then froze as she tried to leave.
The automatic doors didn’t react, though forcing them open might have been an option. Yet she didn’t even try.
“Ah… yeah… I figured, but still.”
We slowly approached and immediately understood the reason for Shōko’s despair.
Outside the building was pure white—as though the grounds beyond didn’t exist.
This space was nothing more than a construct created solely as our Bonus Area.
It was a facility identical to one in Japan, but it was not in Japan.
I gently placed a hand on Shōko’s shoulder.
“Once we all get back to Japan together, we can go to a real shopping mall.”
Shōko twitched in response.
“…Promise?”
“Yeah, promise.”
“Yay…! You absolutely have to keep it, Sōsuke!”
“Since it’s ‘everyone,’ I’m coming too.”
Chiyu suddenly leaned in.
“Ehh, it’d be fine to let me have a date, right?”
“In that case, I should go first.”
“Boo, boo, that’s unfair just because you’re childhood friends, Chiyu-cchi.”
“It’s not unfair.”
Though Shōko puffed out her cheeks, her expression was bright.
“Putting the order of dates with Sōsuke-kun aside for later discussion, shouldn’t we think about items now?”
“Y-Yes. I’m also looking forward to going out with Sōsuke-san, but the current situation is important too.”
For some reason, it had turned into individual dates with all four of them… but I didn’t mind, so that was fine.
“For now, let’s check what’s here.”
If possible, we wanted to bring back things we couldn’t obtain on the uninhabited island.
We approached the floor guide signboard together. This commercial facility was enormous. Basically, it carried anything one would expect from such a place. There was even an attached home center connected to the main building, so that should be included too. First, let’s get a rough idea of what was available…
“For starters, how about we just say out loud whatever we want, without overthinking it?”
I judged we needed a starting point for discussion and made the suggestion.
“Yeah. Condoms.”
I nearly spat out at Chiyu’s declaration. Glancing around, the other girls’ faces were red as well.
“No matter how much of a breast lover Sō-kun is, he’ll want to do it soon. And I want to do it too.”
Chiyu was direct as always. Yet even she seemed slightly embarrassed—her cheeks were faintly pink.
“N-No, I’m really happy you feel that way, but isn’t it kind of a waste to use our selection here on that?”
Of course, being able to do it with Chiyu was worth far more than a thousand gold pieces.
I was speaking purely in terms of contraceptive value.
“W-Well… If we find a rubber tree, Sōsuke-san should be able to produce latex from the sap, so… let’s explore the island a bit more first?”
Minori, face flushed, came to my aid.
“…Got it. I just said it.”
Chiyu reluctantly backed down.
“Chiyu-cchi, you’re so lewd… M-Me, I want cosmetics! And new underwear! Clothes too!”
Shōko loudly changed the subject as if to shift the mood.
“I completely understand Shoko-chan’s feelings when it comes to beauty and fashion. But here’s a suggestion—if it’s cosmetics, we could remember the raw ingredients, and for clothes, memorize materials and designs, then ask Sōsuke-kun to make them later. Of course, it’s up to Sōsuke-kun.”
I nodded at Shion’s words.
“Yeah, leave it to me. With raw materials, my ‘Crafting Ability’ guarantees quality for cosmetics, but I’m hopeless with clothing design, so having references would actually help a lot.”
Since we could only bring back one item per person per day, we were free to duplicate things as much as we wanted.
My ‘Crafting Ability’ paired well with this system.
Knowing the materials would work in our favor.
“Ah, right, right! We can memorize that stuff, jot it down when we wake up, and once we gather the materials, ask Sōsuke to make them. That way, here we can focus on things we probably can’t get on the island.”
“Yeah. I want to check out the supermarket and look at all sorts of things. Even for seasonings, I don’t actually know everything that’s in them.”
“In that case, it might be better to look it up in books.”
“Ah, that could be true! Plus we can read recipe books too. So for you, Minori-chan, it’d be textbooks, right? Some bookstores carry them.”
“Yes, the bookstore here is large-scale and was also an authorized textbook retailer. Though… it’s not exactly high priority.”
Since Minori had wanted to study on the uninhabited island, choosing textbooks or reference books here would fulfill that wish.
“We’ve covered personal wants. Next, let’s think about things the party needs.”
“Yeah. Condoms.”
I felt it wasn’t just a joke—Chiyu seemed to be asking whether they were something she personally wanted and something the party needed.
“S-So that’s on hold.”
No matter how many times I heard it, the word made my heart race.
Was it because it came from my childhood friend’s mouth? If guys said it to each other, I wouldn’t bat an eye.
“Hmm… but isn’t it tough? We’re already pretty blessed on that island.”
“That’s true… Ah, well… I often find myself wanting a refrigerator. Thanks to Sōsuke-kun’s ‘Storage,’ things don’t spoil, but we can’t chill or freeze anything.”
Shion offered her suggestion modestly.
“I thought about that too. I’d love to chill fruit juice or milk before drinking it.”
If I ‘Stored’ something right after chilling it, it would stay cold.
The refrigerator would never overflow, and we wouldn’t forget about things and let them rot.
“Yeah, a refrigerator sounds great.”
“But even if we just buy a refrigerator, there’s no power, right?”
“…What about getting something that can generate electricity too?”
Everyone’s gazes focused on Minori at her remark.
“I was thinking a solar power generation system might allow us to use electrical appliances at our base. However, a proper setup would require too many ‘items’…”
Each panel would count as one item, so if we needed ten, it would take two days.
We didn’t know how long our uninhabited island life would last, so long-term it might be worth it.
“Ah, come to think of it. My uncle loves camping, and I think he mentioned portable outdoor solar panels before. Apparently they’re a size you can carry.”
“…! In that case, there are probably models that bundle all the necessary functions into one, so it might fit within ‘one item.’”
“Exactly. We just need something simple that can run a refrigerator and basic appliances, so that idea sounds good.”
The sun shone on the uninhabited island too, after all.
“Yes. We’ll need to confirm the actual products and the target refrigerator, though.”
“Yeah, true. If there are no objections, shall we settle on a refrigerator and a portable solar panel for two of the five items?”
No one objected.
“Yes, yes! If it’s something ‘everyone uses,’ don’t we want hair dryers too?”
The girls all nodded enthusiastically at Shōko’s words.
The post-bath hair issue seemed important to them.
“In that case, we’d need extension cords too, right…?”
If we placed the solar panel just outside the cooking area, it might power the refrigerator directly, but reaching the changing room would require some distance.
“Solar panel, refrigerator, hair dryers, extension cords—four items?”
Shion summed it up.
“What about the last one?”
I asked if there was anything else the group needed, but…
“I think the last one should be whatever Sō-kun wants.”
“I agree. It was originally a perk for Sōsuke-san, after all.”
“Nice!”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Four pairs of eyes turned toward me. Something I want… I love games and manga, but they weren’t top priority in this situation. I wouldn’t say I didn’t want contraceptives—Chiyu had mentioned them—but all four girls seemed willing, and since we might obtain them on the island and they were consumables, it felt wasteful.
Something hard to obtain ourselves, yet useful to everyone…
After thinking for a while, it came to me.
“Then—let’s make the fifth a second hair dryer.”
The four of them looked dumbfounded, so I continued to explain.
“No, I’m the only guy, so one is enough for me, but there are four girls, right? If you all share one, the later ones will have cold hair by the time it’s their turn.”
We could stagger bath times to manage, and it wasn’t something we’d regret having extra of. Yet all four wore expressions that said, “That’s not the point.”
“We know that, Sō-kun.”
“Yeah. What surprised us is that there’s no benefit for you, Sōsuke. You’re just too kind.”
“You said ‘something you want’… yet you chose something for our sake. And you’re completely serious about it.”
“…I truly think someone who can naturally consider others like you do is wonderful.”
It felt like an overreaction for hair dryers, but I was starting to understand. They weren’t judging by how much it would cost in Japan.
They placed importance on the fact that I had thought of them and acted accordingly.
It was the same when they thanked me for crafted items, and it was the same now.
“A-Anyway. Let’s go with those five items today. We can come back tomorrow and later too.”
“That’s true. And since we only have three hours here, it’d be better to discuss what to bring back while we’re awake.”
“Then let’s head to the electronics store right away? Everything should be there.”
“Hmm. If we’ve already decided what to buy, it might be more efficient to send just a few people to the appliance store and have the rest spread out…”
“Yeah. I don’t have any particular attachments to items, so I’ll leave the electronics to you. I want to look around more for future reference.”
“Then I’ll handle the selection. Shion-san, since the cooking area is your domain, may I leave the refrigerator to you?”
“Fufu, sure. I’ll choose it.”
“Then I’ll go check out cosmetics and clothes.”
“I’ll wander around too. Let’s all meet back here fifteen minutes before time’s up.”
By the way, the items can't be taken back unless we "select" them, but apparently all we have to do is focus our minds on them right in front of us.
Shion and Minori have already "selected" the refrigerator and the solar panels, so if we put the remaining three items in the cart and bring them back here, the others can "select" them and we'll be done.
After explaining the process to everyone, we temporarily disband for the time being.
The deserted shopping mall feels eerie, but at the same time, it is also exciting.
The escalators and elevators are running, and in the stores where monitors are installed, the same footage is playing on repeat. I borrowed some of the equipment in the stores and tried it out, but neither the phones nor the internet connect. Also, the windows won't open. The toilet water flushes away, but where does it go? And it seems we can't get out to the parking lot either. I thought we might be able to since it's part of the facility, but perhaps because there are no "items" placed there. The only things out there are vending machines, and there are those in other places inside the facility as well.
Along the way, I spotted what looked like some kind of event, with cars on display.
"We've got both Mashiro and Mikron, so we probably don't need a car."
Besides, there's the issue of gasoline.
"No, wait—if we take mixed oil back and then 'itemize' it, we could separate out just the gasoline, right?"
I recall the lawn mower and its fuel from my grandfather's house.
I'm not very knowledgeable about it, but mixed oil is supposed to be gasoline with something added to it.
If that's the case, we should be able to get it at a home center too, so we could stock up here.
"Nah, we probably don't need one after all."
However, this bonus area isn't necessarily limited to just our group.
Thinking about the future, considering various possibilities shouldn't be a waste of time.
By the way, just like in the white room, abilities can't be used here either. If they could, in my case I'd be able to store anything at all. That would be a total balance breaker, so I have no complaints.
"So-kun."
As I passed by the pharmacy, Chiyu, who was inside the store, called out to me.
"Chiyu, huh. Were you looking at ingredients for shampoo or cosmetics or something?"
I was thinking I should probably take a look myself when Chiyu, with her usual expressionless face, replied like this.
"I was looking at condoms."
"You're way too interested..."
"In a pharmacy with customers around, even I would be too embarrassed to do it."
"W-well, that's true..."
For someone used to it, it might be no big deal, but for a high school boy who hasn't even had his first experience yet, it's heart-pounding stuff.
"Besides, if you don't understand how they work, the recipe might not unlock."
"That's... also true, yeah."
That makes perfect sense, so purely for the sake of studying, I stand side by side with Chiyu and gaze at the products.
"Yeah. Let's take a good look."
We pick up and examine various ones for a while, and I'm surprised at how many different types there are—far more than I imagined.
"...The companies' obsession with thinness is incredible. Does thinner feel better?"
"P-probably...?"
"So-kun, make them as thin as possible for me, okay?"
"...G-got it."
"And the first person you use them with is me."
"————. Y-yeah."
I thought I understood her feelings, but realizing once again that she's accepting me to that extent makes a warm joy well up in my chest.
What excites me even more than that is just the nature of a guy.
"Let's head back soon."
Urged by Chiyu, I stand up, and she takes my hand. I squeeze her hand back in return.
When we return to the hall, everyone else is already there. Shion and Minori have finished "selecting" the refrigerator and solar panels inside the appliance store. In the cart they've pushed over are two hair dryers and an unfamiliar extension cord. It's an item with the extension cord wound in spirals around a drum-shaped main unit—apparently called a cord reel. Shoko and Chiyu "select" the hair dryers, and I "select" the cord reel.
With this, our life on the uninhabited island will become just a little more convenient. I don't know how long it will take until we can all return together, but I'm sure we'll be fine.
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