Chapter 62 – Aftermath of the Event
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I managed to obtain the 『Right to Return』 in the first event. However, I postponed its use since I had decided to go back with my friends. When I mentioned this to the mysterious blackboard, it suddenly started to talk about the release of a 『Bonus Area』 or something like that all of a sudden…
I wonder what that’s about? Maybe it’s a hidden stage, as you encounter them in games.
Considering that, we didn’t find anything like such a stage or an obvious entrance in the vicinity of our base. Instead, we found a lot of wheat, so I didn’t mind not finding that bonus area.
Indeed. Not only did we have an event, but the poll item was also added to the island as usual. Wheat had won the poll over rice, so we harvested the wheat together, and I stored it in my Inventory.
Afterward, we went back home, looking very pleased.
Micron, our new friend, has quickly adapted to us, but for some reason, it has taken a particularly strong liking to me. Even when I’m not riding it, it stays near me or clings to me. Well, I don’t particularly mind since it’s fluffy and cute.
“Mmh, Micron is a girl as well, so it makes sense, I s’pose,” Shouko explained.
It looks like our local black dragon is a female.
Anyway, we were able to get our hands on wheat. After returning to our base, I redeployed our home and used the opportunity to add a few improvements. Or, to be more precise, I redeployed the house with windows made of glass.
Thankfully, I could redeploy it all in one swoop, including the various furniture pieces, so I didn’t have to spend any time setting each piece back up again. The stone wall, bath, and Fenrir Hut made their reappearance as well.
Which reminds me, I left the chicken scoop out here just like that, but it posed no problem,
“No matter how often I watch it, it’s quite a spectacle to behold,” Chiyu muttered while looking up to the redeployed house.
“Absolutely. It’s an incredible power, indeed.”
“Yay, it also has glass windows this time…! I love the light of the morning, but since it was cold when opening the window, this is a genuine blessing.”
“Yep, yep, another day of 『Nothing less of Sou』, huh…?”
No matter how often I hear it, being praised by the girls is always nice.
“Ah, Sousuke-san, can you grind it into flour with your 『Crafting Ability』?”
I nodded at Shion’s question, “Yeah. Turning materials into 『Ingredients』 or 『Seasonings』 still seems to fall into the category of crafting.”
“Wow…! Can I leave it in your hands then?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Ah, Sousuke-san, if you grind the wheat, the peel and germ can be used as cattle fodder, so how about giving those to the chickens?”
“Oh, that’s going to resolve the issue of feeding the chickens. Nice idea, Minori.”
“N-No, I’m just happy that I could be of help,” stammered Minori while looking bashful.
It’s not like I want them back with this, but I thought I should honestly thank my friends as well, seeing how they’re praising me.
“Sou-kun, I’m going to feed the chickens while using the opportunity to grab their eggs.”
“Sure, we’re counting on you.”
I released the peel…the 『Wheat Bran』 into a bucket and handed it to Chiyu.
“Ah, what will we do about Micron’s home…? Eh? You don’t need one? Seriously?”
When I turned in Shouko’s direction, Micron was soaring through the sky, moving towards the roof of Mashiro’s house. She flopped down on the roof and closed her eyes. Apparently, she liked that place.
“We got our hands on wheat, but…do you have any recommended dishes you can make easily, Shion?”
“Mmh. Bread will take time since you need to make yeast first… Udon also needs quite a few steps until you reach the dough stage… Hmm. How about pancakes in the morning, then udon for lunch, and lastly okonomiyaki for dinner…?”
“That rocks! I’m all for it!” Shouko exclaimed, her eyes shining.
“Pancakes, eh? That sounds great…! We have butter, but it really makes me crave maple syrup.”
As I pondered while placing a finger on my chin, Shouko interjected, “…! How did you get maple syrup again!?”
“You boil down the sap of sugar maples.”
“Thanks, Minorin! Mashiro, can I ask you to give it one more push?” Shouko cooed with a sweet, pleading voice.
Mashiro was just about to go back to his hut when he heard her request and immediately came back.
“A-Are you going to look for it right now?”
Shion appeared to be confused. Shouko seemed to win out in devotion to sweet food.
“Ofc! Shi-chan, you can already start making them! Sousuke, Minorin, come with me!”
“Ah…I see. If we use Mashiro’s nose and mobility to look for sweet maples, Minori’s magic to fell the trees, and my 『Itemization』, we can get all the sap inside the trees rather quickly, I guess.”
If we manage to shorten the processes of gathering and boiling the sap, we might certainly be in time.
“Yep!
“Alright, let’s go. But before that, I’m going to carry the wheat to the kitchen.”
“Ah, I’ll take care of that.”
“You sure…?”
I deployed the wheat in a linen bag so that you could carry it in one hand and pass it to Chiyu. Since the bag weighed around two kilos, even a girl would be fine holding it.
“I will also cooperate.”
It sounds like Minori is going to come along as well. We tried to get on Mashiro, but the instant I moved, Micro rushed over.
“Ahaha, she said 『Sousuke, ride on me』!”
“I-I see. But look, Micron, if we leave, only non-combatants will remain in the base. I’d like you to protect Chiyu and Shion,” I requested with a serious tone after bringing my face close and stroking her.
“『Got it, but we will fly together afterward!』, she said.”
“Hahaha, you can look forward to that,” I responded with a smile before the three of us got on Mashiro.
“Okay, we’re going to start making them slowly.”
“If we have pancakes for breakfast, I’ll make scrambled eggs.”
“Hehe, let’s make a delicious meal together.”
Chiyu and Shion went back into the house while giving off sparks as they spoke. We headed out to look for the sap. Relying on Mashiro’s nose allowed us to find sweet maples surprisingly quickly.
“I think maple syrup is pretty famous, but it’s been deployed on the island from the get-go, huh?”
That seems to be an unusual order, considering the mysterious blackboards’ usual manner of doing things…
“The wood of sweet maples is good as a furniture material, so they might have deployed it to make our survival life a bit more stable?”
“No, it’s just I know maple syrup, but I didn’t know you could make it out of sweet maples, you see? Besides, do you think a typical high school student could tell trees apart? Inside a forest like this to boot.”
Minori and I agreed with Shouko’s argumentation.
It’s the same as with the edible mushrooms and minor fruits like akebi. If you know about them, you can use them effectively. But if you don’t, they’re just part of the scenery.
“As a matter of fact, we only became aware of it because we now have a need for the maple syrup for our pancakes.”
“T-True…”
We quickly felled the trees, stored them away, and returned to the base.
After this, the pancakes, with their fluffy texture, plus the sheep butter and maple syrup, gave us a devilish treat on this island with its limited sweet treats.
For lunch, we kneaded udon together with everyone and cooked it. The okonomiyaki sauce for dinner was a Worcestershire sauce recreation, made by mixing salt, sugar, and vinegar after sorting the fruits we’d picked up so far. The range of our food went up in one go. Thanks to Shion’s cooking, everything was super delicious. At this rate, it seems like we’ll be able to enjoy the uninhabited island life.
◇
And at night, I enjoyed some quality time with Minori. Just when I thought I’d be sent to the white dream space again, it was another place.
“Huh?”
“…This place…don’t tell me…”
“Wai-! What’s going on here?”
“It’s not the white room…this place is…”
“A shopping mall?”
We found ourselves standing in a shopping mall. The lights were on, but no one could be seen. Yet each shop looked open, so it was somehow eerie.
…Or rather, isn’t this the shopping mall from our hometown? It’s not like we…returned to Japan, right? Then, what the heck…?
At that point, a huge monitor set up in the mall’s main hall went on, and words started to appear on it.
『We will explain the bonus area』
It’s the other reward given to me, who didn’t go back home right away despite having secured the 『Right to Return』. It appears this shopping mall is called the bonus area.
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