After my back-to-back rounds with Shion, Roa, Minori, and Chiyu, I went outside, happy but hit by an incredible sense of mental exhaustion.

There was something I wanted to ask Shouko.

I told her what I needed while she sat on Mashiro the Fenrir’s back.

When I did, her face took on the look of someone remembering something.

“Oh, right. Now that you mention it, we did talk about that.”

The truth was, during last night’s bonus-area trip, I had been moving around together with Shouko.

“Yeah. Before you choose a new summon, could you {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} do this for me?”

Shouko’s Fluffy Summoning Ability did not seem to have a limit like only being able to summon a few creatures at once.

However, there did seem to be a size restriction.

Before, her limit had been Mashiro plus three sheep, but after her ability improved, she became able to summon Micron.

And now her ability had improved again, and she seemed to be searching for a third phantasmal beast.

Before she summoned that new companion, I wanted her to summon a different animal for me.

“Cashmere goats, right? We looked at the animal encyclopedia together, and they were definitely fluffy, so it should work!”

She climbed down from Mashiro’s back and came over in front of me.

Exactly.

In the bonus area, we had stopped by the bookstore, found cashmere goats in animal encyclopedias and the like, and confirmed what they looked like.

Shouko’s ability was heavily influenced by imagery, so she could not summon things she did not know.

Also, even if she knew what something was, she could not summon it unless she could feel its fluffiness.

As for cashmere goats, they were the goats that produced cashmere, the so-called jewel of fibers.

“Sousuke, you really are kind, huh? You remembered this whole time that Chiyu wanted cashmere, didn’t you?”

Shouko said it with a gentle smile.

“Well, it wasn’t that long ago.”

“Remembering some little conversation from a week ago is pretty rare, you know.”

“It’s not like I remember everything.”

“Hmmm? Well, anyway, I’ll summon them.”

“Yeah, please.”

Shouko closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, four cashmere goats had appeared there.

They were pure white, covered from head to toe in long hair, with horns curving backward.

“If I remember right, you collect the hair by combing it out with a rake.”

“The book said it takes the hair from three or four goats to make one sweater, right? No wonder cashmere is so expensive.”

I generated a wooden rake and started combing out the hair. Shouko held out her hand with a little “Mm.”

“What is it?”

“I mean, I’m obviously helping.”

“Are you sure? This is your precious free time.”

I had wanted her to spend her time doing whatever she wanted.

“Listen, if I were in trouble, you’d definitely help me, right? Same thing on my end, okay?”

Shouko sounded a little annoyed, and I gave a wry smile.

Apparently, she was dissatisfied that I had not relied on her.

“...I see. Thanks, Shouko. Then I’ll take you up on that.”

“Exactly. You should’ve just said that from the start.”

“Ahaha. I’ll be careful.”

When you knew how troublesome being asked for favors could be, asking someone else for a favor started to feel apologetic.

But there was also joy in being relied on by someone.

Maybe once you understood that, you could learn to rely on people you trusted.

At the very least, Shouko did not seem to dislike having me rely on her.

Feeling grateful for that, I handed her a rake too.

“Yeah. Besides, if the two of us do it, that’s twice the efficiency, right? Then maybe we can collect enough cashmere for me too.”

“That makes sense. Of course, when that happens, I’ll help too.”

“I know. That’s the kind of guy you are, Sousuke.”

Shouko flashed me a broad grin.

The smile was completely natural, full of her own charm.

“If I may, I would also like to offer my modest assistance.”

Roa appeared before we knew it, startling both me and Shouko.

“W-wait, I didn’t hear any footsteps...”

“Roa, when did you get here...?”

“Moving while erasing one’s presence is part of a maid’s refinement.”

Whether that was really part of a maid’s refinement aside, Roa’s physical ability might actually be incredible.

Her soybean gathering had been absurdly fast too.

“Then I’ll take you up on that. Use this rake to gently collect the hair from these cashmere goats.”

“Understood. Lady Chiyu is currently testing the portable shower acquired last night, so if this is meant to be a surprise, I believe it would be best to proceed while we can.”

This maid picked up on far too much.

“Why is Chiyu taking a shower now? Did she want to try it out that badly?”

Shouko tilted her head.

The reason was that after Chiyu cast Energy Up on me, things had gotten rather messy for her, but I was not about to explain that out loud...

“Never mind that. Let’s hurry.”

“...I’ll help too.”

Maybe she had gotten curious when everyone started going outside, because Yumekai appeared as well.

“Serina, you’re so nice.”

“I’m not. I just want to pay back even a little of what I owe.”

“All spikes and sweetness, huh?”

“I don’t remember being sweet, and I don’t plan to be.”

“No, you’re helping a lot, Yumekai.”

And so the four of us began busily collecting hair.

At which point Roa, yet again, became the star of the show.

Her hands moved too fast to follow, and hair piled up rapidly in the collection bucket.

Yet she was not being rough about it. In fact, the cashmere goat was relaxing with its eyes melting dreamily.

It was the very definition of swift and careful work.

“Lady Shouko. I apologize for troubling you, but may I ask you to summon another cashmere goat?”

“Y-yeah...”

We three others could not remotely match Roa’s efficiency, but we kept working hard to collect the hair too.

I had experienced this before with sheep, but this was genuinely hard labor.

In the end, by the time I finished one goat, Roa had already finished collecting hair from seven.

“...When it comes to gathering efficiency, having Roa join us has been a huge help.”

“You honor me.”

Roa bowed politely, without so much as a bead of sweat on her.

“Sousukeee. We worked hard too, you know.”

Shouko said it while loosely shaking her arms, apparently tired from using her hands.

Yumekai did not say anything, but she looked tired too.

“Yeah. Thank you, Shouko, Yumekai. Let’s see... that makes ten goats’ worth.”

“As I understand it, the sorting of the hair and any dirt can be handled through your power, Master. That is truly wonderful.”

Once it went into Inventory, the dirt would be cleaned off, and Inventory automatically sorted things for me.

“Let’s see. About four goats for a sweater, and one goat for a scarf... so with ten goats, that’s about enough for two sweaters and two scarves.”

No, wait.

If I generated one sweater and made the rest into six scarves, then all the girls could have some cashmere.

The area we were active in had a climate like autumn, but there were times when it felt a little chilly.

When we traveled on phantasmal beasts, the wind felt strong too, so having scarves might be a good idea.

“If Chiyu uses Basic Heal, I could work a little more, but then it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore.”

“So this is for Iyama. Well, that does sound like Kuno...”

“Chiyu wanted it. Of course, if everyone else wants some too, we can gather more.”

“Of course, I will gladly assist when the time comes.”

“Thanks, Roa. I’ll be counting on you then.”

With her around, it would be like having a hundred people helping.

We stopped the work there for now and had Shouko send the cashmere goats back where they came from.

Shouko looked a little sad, but we had summoned them to collect their hair, so it could not be helped.

“Mm. I was wondering where everyone went. What are you doing outside? I think outdoor group play is still too soon.”

Chiyu came out after finishing her shower at the exact same time the cashmere goats disappeared.

Somehow, we had avoided spoiling the surprise before giving her the present.

“Nothing at all. Anyway, Sousuke says he has something he wants to talk to you about.”

“Whispers of love? Always welcome.”

“Uh... for now, why don’t we go inside?”

“...? Okay.”

Silently thanking everyone, I headed back into the house with Chiyu.