Chapter 6 – Base Prospects and Starting a Fire

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We ran into a cliff. And currently we were standing at its foot, looking up.

“Doesn’t look like we’ll be able to climb this,” Chiyu commented.

“Pretty much.”

The cliff wasn’t vertical but inclined inwards, meaning you won’t be seen from above if you go right beneath the cliff.

“Sou-kun?” Chiyu addressed me while closely staring at me.

“Ah, I was just considering that this place might be a good place for a base.”

Chiyu looked around herself.

No trees were growing around the foot of the cliff, so it was a slightly open area. It’d be perfect to set up a small hut and start a fire.

“Sure looks difficult to be found by other people?”

“Yep, you got that right. Do you hate the idea?”

She shook her head, “No, not at all. Okay, candidate for our love nest set.”

“Love nest, you say…”

I’m troubled because my childhood friend is saying this with a dead serious expression.

“Poor me will be at her wits’ end when faced with Sou-kun who’s turned into a predator…”

Chiyu hugged my shoulder and began to sway her body from side to side.

“There’s no way I’d assault you against your will, you know?”

“Thanks,” Chiyu looked up to me as if scanning my face, and further asked, “…then, what if it wasn’t against my will?”

That question caused my heart to leap.

“W-Well, that’s…”

I knew that my cheeks were burning. Seeing that, Chiyu nodded in satisfaction.

“There’s still hope left.”

“I really don’t know how I should take this…”

I’m fully aware that I’d have no chance to win against my childhood friend if she gets serious. Chiyu is my precious, close friend and a very attractive girl. I’d be super happy if I could become more intimate with her from now on. At least, that’s my genuine feeling on this.

“For the time being――”

Chiyu’s belly growled.

“Roast mushrooms please.”

Honestly, this change in atmosphere is definitely a big help right now.

I smiled wryly and started to get everything ready.

“Sure, I guess I’ll do just that. Chiyu, please help me.”

“Of course.”

At once, I created a 『String-Drill Firestarter Kit』 with my Crafting Ability. Also, I had put rocks and stones, which I found on the way here, into my inventory. Using those, I created a huge patch of stone paving. It was around six tatami big.

I placed the firestarter kit on top of that. Using it would require sitting on the ground, but the area around here was all plain soil. As such, I wanted a floor that wouldn’t get me dirty.

Chiyu and I stepped on the stone paving.

“Sou-kun, this is a firestarter kit?”

“Yep. It’s a kit that needs two people to get a fire going.”

The kit consisted of a dented piece of wood, a wooden stick, strings, and a dented stone.

“Very interesting.”

We sat down together. The stone surface was cold and refreshing, so it might be smart to create a carpet knitted out of grass.

But for starters, getting a fire going comes first.

I placed the wood piece with the dent on the ground. I pressed the wooden stick against the dented part and supported the upper part with the dented stone. Then I wound the vine-based string around the stick and made the stick rotate by pulling on the string left and right. At the same time, the wood piece had to be fixed with feet.

“For now, I’ll take care of pulling the string.”

“Please.”

Following my instructions, Chiyu fixated the wood piece with her feet. Because she wore a skirt, I could not only see her somewhat fleshy thighs, but also the white panties deeper inside, but she didn’t seem to mind showing everything to me.

While paying attention to not focus on that sight, I made the stick rotate to the left and right by pulling the string. At first, the string slipped off or the stick slid out of the dent, but I grasped the trick behind it after around ten minutes.

Eventually, smoke started to rise from the wood, so I took the stick away and added tree cotton, which I created as fibers, as kindling. I created a suitable, thin wood board and used it as a fan substitute to blow some wind towards the smoldering material; the cotton quickly caught fire!

“Oooh!”

At home you would start a fire by turning on the gas burner in a second, but out here on an uninhabited island, it’s something very moving to achieve this.

“As expected of you, Sou-kun…!”

For a rare change, Chiyu was quite thrilled about this too.

I created firewood and carefully fostered the fire. We managed to get it going in a relatively short time, but I was strangely drained from this.

“Here, a thank-you heal.”

A white light wrapped me up, removing my exhaustion and the pain in my hands.

“Nothing less of Chiyu.”

“Won’t let you be the only ones doing work.”

Despite being expressionless, Chiyu’s voice was filled with motivation.

“Hahaha, that’s a reliable partner there.”

To be quite frank, Chiyu is a cheat as well.

“But, it’s truly amazing. It’s the effect of having been able to see my panties,” Chiyu said something like that with her cheeks slightly blushing.

I was at a loss for words.

“So you noticed…?”

“Girls are sensitive to looks.”

“Sorry.”

“No need.”

We stabbed mushrooms on skewers I created, sprinkled salt on them, and then grilled them over the open fire. The water inside them sizzled up on the surface and evaporated. A very appetizing aroma started to fill the air around us.

We eagerly waited for the mushrooms to finish roasting, then quickly stuffed them into our mouths as soon as they were ready.

“Haphh haphh.”

Apparently, the mushroom was a bit too hot for Chiyu.

“Damn, mushrooms actually were so tasty?”

“Salt rocks. Sou-kun, let’s eat more.”

“Sure, why not?”

Berries and mushrooms――in modern Japan, this would go beyond being a frugal meal. But, on this island, it was a feast.

We grilled a new batch of mushrooms to fill our bellies.

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