After finding Suou Ryouka’s team, we headed for their base.

There, Suou and Shouko were reunited.

Of the lookout platforms on either side of the entrance, Suou stood on one, while an archer stood on the other.

The girl standing ready with an arrow in hand should have been from the archery club.

“What do we want, Ryouka? We came to make a deal.”

“...A deal?”

“Suou! Could you at least hear us out?”

“...Wait. Ms. Tanbi?”

Suou noticed Ms. Luminous riding the dragon, and her eyes widened.

“Yes. Kanna’s team saved me. After I listened to them and asked whether we might be able to coordinate with the other students, Kanna and the others agreed.”

“...I see. Between students, emotional arguments could cause negotiations to break down. So by placing a teacher in the middle, you intend to make rational dialogue possible. As expected, Kanna Shouko.”

She grasped our intent right away. Apparently, she was sharp too.

“I don’t really get it, but Ryouka, why are you calling me by my full name?”

True. She was not a manga character or a hospital receptionist, so it was a pretty unique way of addressing someone.

“To show even more emotional distance than calling you by your family name!”

“Really? But we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“When did we become friends? When!”

Suou was fuming.

She seemed to see Shouko as a rival, but to Shouko, she was more like a friend from class. That probably only stirred up her competitive spirit even more.

“...Ryouka, calm down. More importantly, let’s hear the details of this deal. Either way, it would be hard to flatly reject demands from people who brought a giant wolf and a flying dragon.”

The archery club girl chided Suou.

“I know that. Come inside. Humans only, though.”

“But the baskets hanging from Mashiro and Micron have the trade goods inside.”

“Then you can bring those in after we decide to trade.”

“There’s shampoo, soap, changes of clothes, and lotion too.”

“...Ryouka, let them come in with the summoned beasts. We already evacuated the girls likely to panic into the cave.”

“～～Fine. Come in all together.”

A section of the fence was moved aside, and Mashiro entered the base.

Micron # Nоvеlight # was floating, so she simply advanced through the air.

Only a few girls remained as combatants. The rest had rushed into the cave.

I had counted them earlier, and there were fourteen of them. All were girls, with no male members.

Considering she was commanding that many people, Suou’s leadership was impressive.

...Or perhaps some ability was influencing them.

“So, what is this deal? ...No, may I ask you to explain, Ms. Tanbi?”

Micron descended, and Ms. Luminous set foot on the ground.

“Yes. Allow me to explain.”

Ms. Luminous explained the same things to Suou’s party that we had discussed at our base earlier.

“...I see. I understand. I’m sure you have various intentions behind this, but there is no doubt that both sides benefit.”

Suou pressed her slender fingers to her chin and spoke with a thoughtful expression.

“Ryouka. I think we should accept.”

“Me too.”

“Same.”

“I can’t take wearing the same clothes all the time anymore.”

“Washing with nothing but water is way too much.”

“I don’t hate everyone here, but sleeping with a large group doesn’t really suit me...”

Shown the possibility of improving their environment, the girls of Suou’s party began letting out the dissatisfaction they had been carrying.

“I have one question. The items you will provide us are generated by the Crafting Ability... in other words, by Kuno’s power, correct?”

“Yes. Kuno is a member of Kanna’s team.”

“Can we speak to Kuno directly?”

“If we continue trading and build trust, there will be opportunities for exchange between teams.”

“I see. I understand. We accept your trade proposal.”

Suou had probably picked up on our wariness too.

On top of that, she had judged that obediently accepting for now was the best move.

At Suou’s words, the members of her party cheered.

Shouko was happy too.

“Now that’s Ryouka! You get it.”

“...Honestly, I don’t think you’re the leader.”

“Huh? W-Wh-Wh-Why?”

Shouko’s acting was incredibly obvious, but that did not seem to be the only reason.

“You were concerned about Kuno, weren’t you? There is no way you would come up with a trade that uses the ability of the person you like.”

“I-I-I-It’s not like that! At least back in Japan, there’s no way I was that obvious!”

“Are you serious?”

“...Kanna, I’m sorry, but even I could tell, and we barely interacted.”

After Suou, the archery club girl added that with an awkward expression.

Inside the basket, I felt embarrassed all by myself.

“N-No way...”

Shouko hung her head, her face red.

“Everyone, please line up in a row. While the representatives proceed with the trade, we will provide supplies.”

Not only the combatants, but even the girls who had been listening closely inside the cave rushed over to Roa.

It became so lively that Chiyu was dragged in to help provide the supplies too.

Suou’s party accepted the deal obediently and provided information.

Shion’s ability had already confirmed that their information was true.

We had them draw a rough map on the paper we had prepared and write down what could be obtained in the surrounding area. After looking over that, we specified the items we wanted them to gather.

“...You seem to be handing things out on quite a grand scale. Isn’t this more than the information we gave you is worth?”

“Hmm? Think of it as an advance payment. You can gather the things we requested before the next time we come.”

There was also the thought that giving them supplies halfway would only build up more dissatisfaction.

We decided it would be better to hand over clean clothes, soap, shampoo, and blankets at the start.

Once cleanliness and protection against the cold were properly secured, they had their own food too. That should give them some peace of mind.

We were not trying to exploit them, so there was no downside to helping the other side recover their energy.

“...I see. Well, if we fail to fulfill the contract, you simply won’t come next time.”

“If it’s you, Ryouka, I’m sure you’ll keep your promises.”

“Where does that trust even come from...?”

Suou glared at Shouko with a complicated expression.

“Sorry, Kanna. Ryouka is still burning with rivalry toward you even on a deserted island. She was all fired up about absolutely giving her companions a better life, but it turns out your standard of living is way higher than ours, so now she’s sulking.”

“Yumino!?”

Apparently, the archery club girl was named Yumino. Now that I heard it, the name did sound familiar.

She was a beautiful girl with long black hair that was slightly tinged with purple. The side hair on her right, from her perspective, was tucked behind her ear, while the side hair on her left was wrapped with a cord.

“Really? But I just got lucky. It’s all thanks to Sousuke.”

“...Is that so. Well, I’m grateful to Kuno too.”

“Huh?”

“Because he was the one who said Crafting Ability out loud. That was what gave us the idea to choose abilities.”

“Ahh. That’s so true. Total Sousuke moment.”

“What?”

“N-Nothing.”

Shouko, inside jokes from our group won’t get through to another team...

In any case, I felt like the greater achievement was not mine, but Shouko’s, for picking up on my comment and turning it into a classwide topic.

Suou might not want to touch on that, though.

“Fine. Tell Kuno this for me. My side can prepare a position more appropriate to his achievements.”

“...Hmm? What does that mean?”

“It goes without saying that Kuno’s ability and his accomplishments have tremendous value on this island, doesn’t it? You cannot simply depend on that. Achievements must be rewarded.”

“—Hehe. In that case, I think our party is more than enough.”

Shion cut in with a smile.

“...Yomi-umi Shion. Have you cured that habit of constantly watching other people’s expressions?”

“I wonder. But I trust Sousuke from the bottom of my heart, and Sousuke needs us too, so I don’t think we need an invitation from another party.”

“Oh?”

“Ryouka. No matter how hard you try, you can’t become a villain, so you shouldn’t force it. Besides, you keep hinting about ‘rewarding’ him, but you’re still a virgin, aren’t you?”

Maybe because she thought only girls were present, some rather strong information got exposed.

“Yumino, whose side have you been on this whole time!? And you’re a virgin too!”

“I don’t hide it, and I don’t pretend to be experienced.”

“～～A-Anyway! One day, you are going to let me meet Kuno! O-Once Kuno notices my charm, he is sure to want to be with me.”

“Hehe. I wonder about that.”

“Mm. So-kun is already captive to us. If you want to join him, your side should surrender to us.”

Chiyu, who had finished helping provide supplies, joined the battle too.

“Grrr. Yomi-umi Shion, Iyama Chiyu! You two have become even more infuriating than before.”

There was a moment where sparks flew between the girls like that, but the trade itself proceeded peacefully.

We promised to visit again on the morning of Day 11, after the event, and decided to return.

“Ah, wait, wait! Shouko!”

While supplies were being handed out, Roa and Chiyu were often approached by their classmates, and Roa in particular happily reunited with several friends. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

But Shouko and Shion had been in the middle of the negotiations, so they had not had the chance.

Perhaps thinking this was her opportunity as we were leaving, one girl rushed over to Shouko.

“Hmm? —Oh!”

Shouko reacted to the girl.

Brown skin, gray hair, and a large chest that swayed as she ran.

If Shouko was a light-skinned gal, then maybe this girl would be a dark-skinned gal.

Back in Japan, she had belonged to Shouko’s group.

“Waaah, I seriously wanted to see you so bad!”

The girl threw herself at Shouko.

“Me too, me too! I’m so glad you’re safe!”

“Shouko, take me with you.”

The girl pleaded with tearful eyes.

—Right...

I see. Now that I thought about it, this kind of development was possible too.