Chapter 26 – Lotion and Obtained Items
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The creation of the lotion succeeded without a hitch. Thinking that I’d need to make enough for all of the girls, I created small, short cylinders. Just as with the water, I could easily create that and the lid with my Crafting Ability.
I placed the cylinders with the lotion on the table. Seeing that, Shijiyo stared at me while trembling.
“I-Is it okay for me to touch it?”
“Yeah. Or rather, that’s your share over there, Shijiyo.”
She blinked her eyes.
“…Are you sure? I have been only receiving things from you without giving you back anything at all.”
“No, no, did you forget our conversation from before? We produced this together, right?”
Upon my words, Shijiyo cherishingly lifted up her cylinder and smiled.
“Thanks, Kuno-kun. I will use it with care.”
“Use it whenever you need. Now that the recipe has been unlocked, I can make heaps of it.”
Shijiyo stared at me in wonder for a moment, but then she immediately smiled again, “Hehe, I now understand the reason why the girls here trust you.”
“Because I can make handy stuff?”
“No. it’s because you’re considerate enough so that we don’t get too worried.”
Her gentle smile had a different type of beauty, compared to her usual, dignified look. I reflexively ended up charmed by her.
Shijiyo also stared at me closely.
“Sousuke-kun. Sorry, but could you take out another towel for me please?”
Hearing Shion’s voice from the bath, Shijiyo and I averted our eyes at the same time.”
“G-Go and give it to her, Kuno-kun.”
“R-Right. Also, Shijiyo, if you like, how about using the lotion right now? You just woke up, so it can also serve as a means to wash your face.”
“True. I did wake up just now…you’re totally right.”
In the next instant, Shijiyo hid her eyes with one hand.
“～～～～! H-How embarrassing…! For me to talk to you with my face still a mess from sleeping…!”
I didn’t really mind, but in such matters, the feelings of the concerned party matter the most. Even so, I told her that I didn’t think it was a mess.
“I-It’s a bit abrupt, I will make use of the lotion right away…!”
I slowly chased after Shijiyo, who ran off, while smiling wryly.
“Kyaaa――eh? Wait? Shijiyo-san!?”
Shion screamed at Shijiyo who had barged into the bath area.
“Sorry. I’m going to borrow a bucket and warm water. I want to test the lotion I got from Kuno-kun, so I’m going to wash my face.”
“Huh? Lotion!? He made one!?”
Shion was surprised. Because she was a bit away from us with a partitioning screen in-between, she apparently didn’t hear our conversation.
“Ah, there’s some for you as well, Shion, so I’ll put it into the basket together with your change of clothes.”
I deployed the basket right next to the screen while drying the towel by storing it away and immediately retrieving it from my Inventory.
And at that moment Shouko and Chiyu came back, too.
“It was a huge haul! For real! We returned since our baskets are full to the brim!”
“We found no chickens…I’m hoping the next update will change that.”
“Welcome back. You’re back at the perfect time since I just finished the lotion moments ago.”
In the next instant…
“――gh!?” “――Oh, wow!”
The two jumped off Mashiro and ran up to to me after landing beautifully. Their movements were so agile and nimble that it startled me.
“Show us! Show us!”
“I was sure you’d be able to do it, Sou-kun.”
As soon as I handed them their share, the two stepped past the screen, entering the bathing area.
“Yahoo! Thanks, Sousuke! Love ya!”
“With this I’ll show you a wonderfully springy skin as your childhood-friend.”
“Kya. Sheesh, now it’s even you two…”
Afterwards I could hear the excited, cheerful voices of the four girls.
“Is it something so awesome? Then it’s good that I made it, I suppose.”
It’s nice if I could make them happy with this. Also, I managed to understand the effect of lotion thanks to this. Though, I wonder how face lotion or beauty lotion differ.
While pondering about that, I approached the baskets the two had discarded and put them into my Inventory.
“Mashiro, good work out there.”
While stroking Mashiro after he brought his head close, I checked the items which the two had gathered. Other than stuff like mushrooms, nuts, and so on, they also picked up various plants. Not only ones that seem like they’d be good for extracting oil, but also edible wild plants and plants that can be used as spices. They also got their hands on a sturdy ivy.
And the single biggest discovery they made was flax.
“Ooh!”
If I recall correctly, this becomes linen, right? It has plant fibers, so I’ll be able to create Fabric with my Crafting Ability! Since it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of flax, I’d use up most of it by making a single face towel.
I took it out and looked at it. It was a white cloth with a smooth and silky texture. It reminded me of the towels you could buy at a hot spring ryokan.
Up until now, I’ve abused my former undergarment as a towel. By storing and re-deploying it, everyone was able to use it. But, if we increase the number of towels, that problem will be resolved. And if we get even more of the raw material, I’ll be even able to make clothes.
Cleaning stuff through the Inventory is convenient, but it won’t replace the loss for me. If the fabric gets burned, the Inventory won’t fix the affected part.
Hmm? Wouldn’t it be fine if I disassembled it once and the put it back together into a new uniform?
The burned spot was gone, but the sleeves ended up a bit shorter than before.
Come to think of it, their uniforms were slightly bigger because of their big chests and since they mentioned worries about their sleeves and clothes being somewhat long, wouldn’t I be able to get my hand on fabric AND adjust the sizes of their uniforms perfectly, if I disassembled the girls’ shirts and re-created them? Maybe it’d allow me to create a spare shirt for emergency situations.
Anyway, the towel is done.
“Hey, girls, try using this to wipe your faces.”
I approached the bathing area while saying so, but…
“Wow, it’s so amazing! That’s lotion for real! As expected of Sousuke――wait, how many times did I say that now!?”
“I was worried about my skin getting dried out not only from the open fires but also the regular face-washing with water, but this changes everything! At this point, I can’t live here without Sousuke-kun any longer!”
“My childhood-friend has truly become a master at considering others.”
“…Kuno-kun made this for us while pondering hard about it. He was serious as if he was doing it for himself.”
Somehow they were full of praise of me while I wasn’t present. Me having fun in crafting is already a big boost, but it doesn’t feel bad being praised on top of that either. Or rather, it makes me happy.
“Hey, I made a towel from the items Shouko and Chiyu brought back,” I announced in a slightly louder voice and hung the towel atop the screen.
“Eh? For real? Chiyu-cchi, did we really find anything like that?”
“I don’t know. I simply picked up random stuff, thinking that I’d get Sou-kun to make the call whether it’s useful.”
In that case, we won’t know the collection points…ah, no. I guess we’ll just need to rely on Mashiro’s nose.
“Yeah, that’s it exactly.”
“Anyway, I will gratefully use it.”
It seems like the towel has been taken by Chiyu.
A while after this, the girls came out of the bathing area. When I took a closer look, their skins definitely seemed like they were a bit more moist…I think? Also, I feel like a bit of steam was rising from Shion who had just taken a bath. Coupled with her flushed cheeks, I was troubled by her looking somehow erotic.
“Thanks, Sou-kun. Look forward to my show of gratitude.”
“Is there anything else you need us to pick up? We’ll go and get it once more!”
“Ah, if it’s ingredients, I’d like you to tell them to me as well. They might be usable for dinner and such.”
“If you’re going to head out for another exploration tour, I’ll cooperate as well. Please tell me how I can help.”
Even though I possess a handy cheat power, my friends always show me their feelings of gratitude and think about ways they can help me without just relying on me. Thanks to that, I’m occasionally able to rely on them, who possess strong points and strengths I don’t.
Should we increase the number of members in the future, it’d be great to get someone who can build such a relationship.
As I pondered about this, I planned the schedule for the afternoon in my head.
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