With the four of them completely satisfied with the moisturizing effect from the lotion, I sat down at the table for the moment.

The work table was surrounded by wooden chairs.

At Shion’s request, we were going to show her the ingredients.

For now, I lined up whatever had been marked °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Edible at random.

Everyone let out an, “Oooh...”

Shouko and Chiyu had probably planned to leave the call on what was suitable for eating to me.

They only recognized it as something we could actually eat once they saw it laid out like this.

To be fair, I was only able to do this because of the info display from Itemize.

“This is... chocolate vine fruit, maybe.”

Shijo picked up a plump purple fruit that looked like a sweet potato.

“Looks like it.”

That’s what Inventory said, so I nodded.

It didn’t really click for me, but Shion reacted.

“Chocolate vine fruit? I think that’s sweet, right?”

At the word sweet, Shouko and Chiyu’s eyes lit up too.

“Yeah. It looks fully ripe, but I thought it was an autumn fruit...”

Back in Japan, it had been spring.

Well... no point worrying about that now.

“Whatever, whatever. Let’s eat it!”

“Okay, I’ll cut it up.”

The fruit had seam-like lines running along it, and Shion cut along them with the stone knife and divided it up for everyone. We split it in half, then used the peel like a dish to eat from.

“A jelly with little bits in it?”

We’d handed out wooden spoons too, and Chiyu scooped up the flesh with hers.

“Ah—everyone, be careful. I think the seeds are bitter.”

According to Shijo, the peel could be used like stuffed peppers, and the seeds could be pressed for cooking oil.

Shion showed interest at that, but for now we all took a bite.

“Oh. That’s sweet.”

“Melty!”

“Nice clean aftertaste.”

“I’ve been missing fruit and sweets—so it makes me happy that we can eat something sweet on this island too.”

“Yeah... it’s calming...”

Seems like it was a hit with everyone.

“Sousuke—what’s this?”

Next, Shion picked up a small red fruit.

“Uh... this is... apparently it’s Japanese pepper.”

“Japanese pepper!? That’s amazing—an actual spice!”

“With Kuno Sousuke’s ability, it seems like you could generate pepper powder from the peel.”

My impression was “the stuff in seven-spice,” but she was right—if we had that, it would be a huge help for changing up the flavor.

It’s only the second day so it hasn’t gotten unbearable yet, but we’ve mostly been eating single-note flavors—salt is salt, broth is broth—so having more variation is really nice.

We kept talking while we ate, and finished the chocolate vine fruit completely.

Since I’d just heard the peel and seeds could be useful, I put them into Inventory.

“Now that I think about it... storing seeds we spat out feels kind of weird.”

Shouko’s face was faintly red.

Chiyu shrugged at her like give me a break.

“Now you’re saying that? We’ve been handing So-kun freshly stripped, still-warm underwear since forever.”

“Gyaa! Chiyu—if you say it like that, it just makes me think about it more...!”

“Iyama... Kuno Sousuke is going out of his way to use his ability to keep our clothing clean. It’s not good to attach sexual nuance to that.”

“Haha, it’s fine, Shijo. For Chiyu and Sousuke, it’s basically just them messing around.”

It still made my heart jump a little every time, but yeah—Chiyu’s dirty jokes were something I’d gotten used to.

“I-Is that really the issue...? Still, I suppose... when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I need to adjust my thinking—this isn’t school. S-So then if I actively use indecent expressions, I’ll fit in? B-But that’s...!”

“Shijo, you seriously overthink everything.”

I gave a wry smile.

“Studying hard is admirable. Very well—then I shall bare my soul and bestow upon you the indecent expressions that So-kun prefers.”

Chiyu crossed her arms, trying to put on this “master” vibe.

“...! O-Okay. I understand. Please teach me, Iyama.”

Shijo swallowed, steeling herself.

“Hmph. My training is harsh... and also sexy.”

“No, no, no—what are you two even saying?”

Also, I’d kind of noticed it before, but... Chiyu, you told Shion about my tastes too, didn’t you?

The whole time—especially near the end—she’d been choosing words that hit me right where it hurt.

...Well. I can’t exactly get mad about that.

“Man... before I knew it, Sousuke was super popular...”

Shouko smiled, but there was a lonely shade mixed into it.

“Sousuke—are we exploring again this afternoon? Is it okay if I stay behind again? I want to think about dinner.”

“Yeah, of course. Food’s a huge factor. Honestly, I’m counting on you.”

“Mm. Leave it to me.”

Shion accepted happily.

“Then it’s me and Chiyu exploring again?”

With Mashiro’s mobility, we really could cover a wide area.

There were a lot of things in today’s haul that we hadn’t seen yesterday, too.

“I’m getting more chocolate vine fruit. And So-kun—about that towel earlier.”

“Yeah—flax. I’ll put out what’s left. Can Mashiro use this to find where it grows?”

I said the second half to Shouko.

“Totally, totally! Mashiro’s nose is amazing.”

“You’ve seriously saved us.”

“Hehehe.”

He’d found the wild boar, too.

Linen made from flax isn’t just for towels—it can be used for clothes and sheets as well.

It’s a light fabric, I’m pretty sure it’s used for summer clothes, so we could probably switch between linen clothes during the day and wool clothes when it gets chilly.

“I picked up a lot of things too.”

Chiyu puffed out one cheek, expressionless.

It was cute, but leaving her sulking wasn’t good.

“I know. And with you there, Chiyu... I can believe everyone will make it back safely.”

“Mm. I won’t let any of my people die.”

Chiyu delivered the line like the protagonist of some shounen manga, in a flat voice.

But her mood seemed fixed—she let out a hmph through her nose.

And then, the last one.

Shijo was glancing my way, looking oddly restless.

“Kuno Sousuke... you seem to be the leader of this group, so if there’s anything I can do, I-I want you to give me instructions...”

Her face looked anxious.

Like she was afraid I’d tell her she had no role.

“Shijo—stay with me and Shion, and if anything happens, I want you to protect us.”

“Bodyguard duty. Understood. Leave it to me...!”

She looked fired up.

“And one more thing, Shijo—there’s something I want to ask you to do.”

“I-Indecent things?”

“It’s not!”

When I snapped back, Shijo made a weirdly happy face.

Then she turned to look at Chiyu.

Chiyu nodded with a smug teacher look, like, That’s it.

Teasing me, waiting for me to react, making me flustered—those were Chiyu’s specialties.

Was that going to spread to the other girls too?

My future felt bleak.

It also didn’t help that... somehow, I didn’t hate it.

“A-Anyway. I want you to use magic, but not too far from Shion.”

“Training. I think that’s only natural.”

“That too, but—you’ve got wind magic, right?”

“Yes. Wind Cutter.”

“I was thinking... could you use it to fell trees and get us lumber?”