Now then, it was the morning of the third day.

Honestly, being wrapped up in the futon together with Chiyu made me happy.

But the moment I woke up, I understood.

The strange smell.

That smell that any guy knows—what eventually starts to waft up from the fluid your own body lets out.

I sat up in bed and immediately opened the window to start airing the room out.

I could just Storage & Replacement all the clothes and bedding and make everything clean again, but the problem was the people.

“So-kun...”

“Morning, Chiyu. And... sorry...”

My childhood friend rubbed her eyes as she pushed herself upright, completely naked.

My gaze almost got pulled toward the two lush mounds on her chest, but what really caught my attention was the dried residue stuck to her skin.

Chiyu sniffed a couple times, then said,

“...This might be a little outside So-kun’s preferences, but—my feeling right now is, ‘It stinks...’”

It wasn’t a direct hit on my preferences, but it still made my heart jump.

Especially because even while she said it smelled, she didn’t seem disgusted by it—like she was accepting it—and that really got to me.

“For now, let’s wipe down with a towel. And then, Chiyu... you need a bath, right?”

No, I needed one too, but Chiyu came first.

I placed a bucket of water and towels, and we both wiped ourselves off.

Then we Storage & Replaced our clothes. I did the same with the bedding.

With that, everything looked clean at a glance, and the stench in the room was mostly gone.

Technically, you can disinfect and wash by using Purify, but everyone still wants to take baths.

Well, bathing isn’t just about getting clean, and I don’t dislike baths either.

Anyway—Chiyu probably wanted one.

Chiyu cast Purify over my room.

Thanks to that, the bedroom regained its cleanliness to the point you’d never guess it had gotten ridiculously filthy yesterday.

I was grateful for Skills and magic.

“Want to go down together? The bath—you can get in right away.”

“Yeah. If we’re doing it, we should go in together. Saves time.”

“R-right... yeah. Though the bath area’s still unfinished.”

“If there’s a tub, that’s enough.”

“...True.”

First, I quietly slipped out of the room alone.

After confirming no one was around, I beckoned Chiyu over with my hand.

Once we were out in the hallway, we could pretend we’d just run into each other.

“So-kun, I don’t think you can pretend.”

Chiyu made that calm observation.

“...I know.”

“Besides, it’s not something you need to hide.”

“...Maybe, but.”

“Do you want to hide it?”

“No. For me, it was something that made me really happy. I don’t want to hide it.”

“Good.”

Chiyu let out a relieved-sounding breath.

“But... I still feel like acting completely shameless about it is kind of wrong.”

“That’s very you, So-kun.”

We walked down the stairs together and headed for the bath area.

Since it was going to be an open-air bath, it was outside.

I placed a folding screen and covered the ground with stone paving made by processing “stone materials.” I used the Placement function, so it wasn’t that difficult.

The surface was flattened, so it didn’t hurt to walk on.

Then I set the tub.

Inside it, I placed yesterday’s leftover bathwater into the tub.

Even though it was “leftover water,” hair, skin oils, and grime vanish when you store something—same as with dirty clothes—so it was just clean water.

I’d gotten in after the four of them, so it wasn’t piping hot anymore, but it was a good temperature for washing up.

Feeling slightly intimidated by how boldly Chiyu undressed, the two of us washed with soap and rinsed with water.

“A morning bath is nice, but if we take too long, Shion’s breakfast ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) will be ready.”

Shion, who’d become our head chef, had taken over cooking for our group.

Of course, when she needed more hands, or if someone wanted to help, they’d pitch in.

“Y-yeah. We’ve washed up, so let’s do that.”

Chiyu softly took my hand.

“But it seems like So-kun’s ‘So-kun’ has a different opinion.”

“Gh...”

It was true—I’d reacted.

Chiyu looked at me and spoke in a low voice—

...and from there, we kept things brief and got ourselves under control.

Not long after, Shion came looking for us, and we hurried to finish up and head back.

◇

For breakfast, we ended up having grilled mushrooms and soup.

I’d put the meat in my Inventory because I was afraid it would rot.

But since I’d been busy flirting with Chiyu at the bath area, Shion couldn’t ask me to place the meat, and this was the result.

“S-sorry, everyone...!”

At the dining table in the living room, I apologized to my companions.

“No, don’t worry about it. I should’ve spoken up earlier, too. And there’s chocolate vine fruit for dessert, so as deserted-island meals go, it’s plenty.”

Shion said it with a wry smile, but...

I remembered she was making breakfast, yet the meat issue had completely slipped my mind.

“I-I mean, a morning bath is fine, but...”

“Yesterday, in the girls-only meeting, I did get an explanation and I accepted it in my own way, but... um... I still think you should show a little more restraint...”

Shouko and Minori’s faces were red.

“Yeah. I’ll really be careful. In group living, it’s not good to cause trouble for everyone.”

If I didn’t restrain myself in that regard, I’d end up falling apart.

“So-kun, that’s not right.”

Chiyu—her skin looking oddly glossy—said it while chewing on a mushroom.

“Chiyu?”

“If you think, ‘I mustn’t inconvenience anyone,’ it becomes stress. Of course you should aim for your best, but if you make a mistake, reflect, and then make up for it.”

“Heehee. That’s true. If it helps lighten Sousuke’s mood... how about you give us some kind of apology gift?”

Probably so I wouldn’t blame myself any more than necessary, Shion teased playfully.

“Y-yeah. I’ll be careful from now on, but since I caused trouble this morning, let me make it up to you somehow. Tell me what you want—or something you want me to make.”

“Hmm. Ingredients... you’re definitely going to look for those when we explore anyway... Ah! Right. I’d be happy if you found something that could become a fragrance.”

“Fragrance? Like vanilla extract?”

Vanilla was a plant, so it might exist on this deserted island.

Or it might get added later.

“Y-yeah. Like that. It can add aroma to cooking, too. But what I want is probably essential oil that can be used for floral scents.”

“Are you going to make perfume? Don’t you need alcohol for that?”

“So close! What I want is—soap that smells nice.”

Shion clasped her hands together as if imagining it.

At those words, the girls visibly reacted.

“Ahh, I get it. The stuff we used back in Japan did have scented ones.”

“The one at So-kun’s house was citrus-scented hand soap, and the body wash was a subtle floral.”

“I-is that so. Thanks for telling me.”

So my childhood friend not only knew my preferences, she even knew what kinds of soap we used at home.

Well, our families were close, so there must’ve been plenty of chances for her to find out.

“You can get them from fruits, herbs, trees, or flowers, so it might be best to choose what’s usable after Sousuke’s Itemize tells us the details. Ah... of course, only if you’re planning to make it.”

From that reaction, Minori probably wanted it too.

As if embarrassed by how fast she’d been talking, she lowered her gaze.

“Then today’s exploration—let’s go together, me and Sousuke. If you do that, I’ll forgive you for this morning. Not that I’m mad, but if it makes you feel better.”

“Yeah. Please. Let’s do that.”

By Shion’s request: fragrance hunting. When I made the soap, I’d share it with everyone.

By Shouko’s request: exploration together.

“What about Minori?”

“Huh? Th-then, I want soap too—”

“No, I’ll look for fragrance because Shion asked, but the finished soap is for everyone. So ask for something else.”

“O-oh... Th-then, I want to practice magic again, so I’d be happy if you came with me. And... you know, we might be able to Itemize something while we’re at it...” 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

When I looked, Minori was holding the staff I’d given her yesterday like it was precious.

“If that’s all you want, I’d be happy to. You can never have too much wood... and rocks, too—if they’re embedded in the ground I can’t store them, so I was wondering if magic could do something about that...”

“Breaking them, or cutting them...? I’ll think about it.”

“They’d be perfect as targets too, so help me out while you practice. Then, first I’ll explore with Shouko. While we do that, I’ll search for fragrance. And then magic practice with Minori can be in the afternoon—sound good?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, and for lunch, how about wild boar steak?”

Shion made the proposal as the conversation settled.

“Steak sounds great! I love Shion—she thinks up so many different ways to eat stuff!”

The mood in the room returned to normal.

“Heehee. Oh, and I forgot to say it earlier, but this living room is wonderful too, Sousuke.”

“Yeah! I came downstairs and there was a sofa—seriously surprised me! It’s super comfy!”

Right. In the living room, I’d placed a sofa with a wooden frame and linen upholstery. The cushions were wool.

“Even without lights, the big windows let in lots of brightness. That’s nice too.”

I was happy the new home was getting such good reviews.

“Feels like the ‘that’s our So-kun’ won’t stop today either.”

By the way, Chiyu—my accomplice—obviously didn’t get any apology gift.

Well, if Chiyu wants something, she says so without hesitation, so there’s no problem.

I’d actually wanted to talk about yesterday’s dream too, but because of me, the mood wasn’t right for it anymore.

Breakfast was already done, so maybe we could talk about it around lunchtime.

Fortunately—or maybe unfortunately—what got added today was a water source, and it didn’t affect our lives that much.

And with that—

Day three began.