After lunch—

I succeeded in producing vinegar and alcohol from yamabudo.

I also succeeded in producing sugar from sugar beet.

And on top of that, I was finally able to produce glass too.

I made sodium carbonate from the ash of plants like kelp, calcium carbonate from shells, and silica sand from sand and certain sea sponges, then combined them.

For now, I poured the freshly made vinegar and sugar into newly crafted glass bottles and handed them to Shion.

“Whoaa...! Thank you, Sousuke!”

Her eyes sparkled more than usual as she accepted them. As the one in charge of cooking, she must have really been struggling with the lack of seasonings.

Or maybe that was just the power of sugar.

As for things like window glass, that could wait until later.

As promised, it was time for magic training with Minori, the ponytailed class rep.

“By the way, Minori. Since this can double as magic practice, could I ask you to make a large amount of hot water?”

“Yes, for the bath, right? Of course I’ll help.”

The other three had gone out exploring on Mashiro’s back, so there was no need to worry about people seeing us right now.

A little distance away, I placed the stone bath and poured in a large amount of water.

Then Minori began heating it with Fireball.

Once it boiled, I stored the entire stone bath, then placed only the bath back down.

Then I poured in more water and had her cast Fireball again.

We repeated that process over and over.

Each time she fired, she widened the distance a little more, turning it into practice to improve both her magic accuracy and range.

“Oh. Against a stationary target, you barely miss.”

“Thank you. But I’m aiming for the center of the bath every time, and there’s still a bit of deviation...”

Apparently, in her own mind, she still had room for improvement.

That seriousness made her reliable.

“I guess fine control like that really only comes from repetition.”

“Yes. So if there’s ever an opportunity where magic would be useful, I’d be happy if you called for me anytime.”

“I will.”

“And... eventually, I’d like you to come with me against moving targets too... for hunting...”

Minori said that with a fidgeting, hesitant air.

“You want a rematch, huh. We still have plenty of boar meat, so for prey... goats, maybe? Deer? Though I kind of want beef too.”

“Cows are a domesticated species, so under normal circumstances it would be hard to imagine wild individuals appearing in the forest... but on this island, I suppose anything is possible.”

“I see. Well, either way, I’m in favor of going hunting.”

If Minori herself became able to hit moving targets with magic, she would become far more dependable as combat power.

I didn’t like thinking about it much, but there was always the possibility that the mystery blackboard might force us to fight monsters—or even that conflict might break out among transfer students.

If that happened, having combat ability would only help.

After we heated a large amount of water, we moved a little farther away and switched to cutting trees.

“By the way, Kuno... for the sake of maintaining concentration, would you mind talking to me while I do this?”

“Oh, that actually sounds like a good training method.”

Real combat wouldn’t necessarily happen in the calm conditions of practice.

Getting used to noise and distractions from the training stage onward seemed like a great idea.

“Alright then... let’s see. Oh, we went out to the ocean today, and I found out I could make nigari from seawater.”

Minori fired Wind Cutter, and a tree a moderate distance away toppled over.

“I see. That really does suggest that your own perception is tied to what can be Itemized.”

“Yeah. If I’d thought about it properly, I should’ve realized it sooner from how trees were all uniformly labeled as lumber...”

In the games I used to play, that kind of thing was normal, so I had been slow to notice.

No—Chiyu had actually pointed out on the first day that I couldn’t produce nigari.

But what led me to realize there was a way to Itemize it was Minori.

There had been a time when I hadn’t found any lanolin while shearing wool, but after talking with Minori and checking again, it turned out it had been sitting in my Inventory.

“I see. And how much was there?”

“A pretty ridiculous amount. So that must include what was collected on the first day too.”

Just as I’d suspected, Inventory probably didn’t show a complete list of everything I had stored.

Instead, it displayed things in a form I could understand—a form that made it easier for me to use the ability.

“I see. Then your ability seems to have even more room to expand.”

“Expand?”

“Not every tree is suitable as a building material, is it? And yet, your ability allows them to be used as lumber for house construction. That suggests that Itemize itself may possess some kind of special function.”

“Oh... I get it.”

My Crafting Ability was inspired by games.

That probably varied from game to game, but in the ones I played, tree harvesting spots were predetermined, and when you cut wood, it was sorted into ranks like lumber, ordinary lumber, and high-quality lumber. But within those categories, the materials could be used for all kinds of tools and buildings.

Because my ability had been built around that kind of image, maybe Inventory wasn’t just simple storage, but a special processing function called Itemize.

If so, then this ability might be even more absurdly overpowered than I had thought.

Depending on how I pictured things, something like lumber could be used in a broad, flexible way. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

And depending on what I knew, I could even neatly separate out the elements that made up seawater.

“You’re smart, Minori.”

“...Studying is the only thing I have going for me.”

“That’s not true. You work hard as class rep, you’re responsible, you’re motivated, and you’re cooperative too.”

“S-stop. My magic will waver.”

Since she was blushing, I kept going under the pretense of training.

“No, you need to be able to stay focused even when you’re being overwhelmed with praise. This is practice too. You don’t show off your knowledge—you use it to fill in the things other people don’t know, and that helps a lot.”

“K-Kuno, even in a situation like this, you’re still as kind as you were back in Japan. If someone had an ability as amazing as yours, it wouldn’t be strange at all if they changed...”

Like the kind of person in manga who becomes arrogant after getting power or becoming rich...?

No, Minori had encountered that pair of boys on this island, the ones who had looked at her with crude eyes.

Maybe she meant the kind of situation where someone who had once been decent turns cruel in a panic scenario.

“Maybe I’m just timid.”

“The opposite. People who become arrogant because of temporary success or changes in their surroundings are the ones with small hearts. A person like you, who can maintain the same composure no matter the circumstances... is someone with a strong heart.”

I had been trying to embarrass her, but instead I ended up embarrassed myself.

“Haha, thanks.”

“No, thank you. Unlike the other three, I understand that I’m not a cute person... but you behave in a way that never makes me feel that difference, and I’m very grateful.”

At Minori’s words, I tilted my head.

“Hm? No, seriously, I’ve never thought Minori was inferior to the other three.”

“That’s a lie. I’ve heard the things people in class say. Not cute. Annoying. Preachy. Her eyes are scary. And plenty more...”

Had serious Minori really taken those heartless insults to heart...?

No, maybe it hadn’t started in high school. Maybe she had been hearing that kind of thing for much longer.

If that was the case, then it made sense that those accumulated words from other people had affected how she saw herself.

“I don’t really get it, but I never said any of that.”

“...I know. You’re not the kind of person who would say things like that.”

“Then I’ll tell you what I really think. You’re beautiful, you’re dependable, I want you to teach me more things, and your sharp eyes are attractive too.”

Normally, those weren’t the kind of words that suited me.

But to reject the words that had hurt her, I said them clearly without flinching.

“————”

Minori froze, still holding her staff at the ready.

“Whether you believe me—a fellow group member—or people who talk behind your back is up to you.”

After a moment, still turned partly away from me, she murmured quietly,

“...I-I want ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) to believe you, Kuno.”

“Then do that. I’m not spending time with the four of you based on who ranks higher or lower.”

“...Maybe there isn’t a ranking. But there is a difference, isn’t there?”

“Huh?”

Minori turned toward me.

Her face was bright red.

“I-if you really do think that I’m attractive too...”

She stepped closer to me, one step at a time, and lightly tugged on my sleeve.

“Would you let me join... your harem too?”

She looked up at me with tear-bright eyes, and my heart gave a heavy thud.