Chapter 455 - Day Two: Morning
“——————…”
The moment I lifted my eyelids, my thoughts came online with the speed of a high-spec PC.
It was an awakening so refreshingly crisp it felt unreal. Even without the sound of an alarm ringing—no, resounding within my head—I would have instantly remembered where I was.
Despite having slept on a hard wooden roof without so much as a cushion, my avatar's body, far sturdier than my real one, felt neither stiff nor sore.
I brushed the white hair from my face and gazed at the “surface” visible in the distant sky—
“Hff… a-… kuaah, aaahhh…”
—and let out a yawn in a voice so feminine it honestly made me cringe.
“—Ah, good morning!”
After a few stretches and some light exercise, I hopped down from the roof. My first contact of the day was with the ever-energetic 【Colorful Beauty】.
It was currently 7:00 AM. Everyone besides Nia and me should have cleared their debuffs about two hours ago, meaning they'd probably been up and about since around five.
Using one of the massive stumps left after felling the trees as a desk, she seemed to be diligently working on some blueprints again.
“Hey, good morning. Where’s my partner?”
“Heehee, asking for Nia-chan first thing in the morning?”
“Of course. She’s my precious partner, after all.”
When I returned her teasing with a confident reply,
“Ooh… y-you’re surprisingly composed, Acrobat-san.”
“I have been lately—also, it’s a bit late, but you can just call me Haru, Colorful Beauty-san.”
“In that case, you can just call me Nonomi-chan~”
It was one thing to call her that in my head, but at my age, calling a girl ‘-chan’ to her face was a bit embarrassing. Maybe I’ll follow Tetsu-san and call her Nono-san.
“Ah, Nia-chan is working in the girls’ room. I think they need more hands over there, so you could go help her… but before that, it’s almost breakfast time.”
Her words made me notice the wonderful aroma wafting from the common building.
“Could you go get her for me? I’ll clean this up.”
“Got it.”
Tasked with an errand, I turned toward the women's building, leaving Nono-san to roll up her half-finished blueprints—the paper and pen she was using were also made by her and Nia. Magic Crafters seemed to be more versatile than I thought.
Though I imagine that wouldn't be the case in more specialized fields… right then.
“Hellooo!”
Even though I was on an errand for one of the residents, I figured it would be rude to just barge in, so I knocked on the door and called out.
Five seconds, then ten passed with no reply. I was about to call out again, louder this time, when I heard a faint “Come in~!” from inside.
What, so I should just come in?
Well, since I was invited, it’s not like some two-dimensional cliché was going to happen. With that in mind, I pushed open the swinging door and stepped inside—
“—Hrk!”
“Hey, good morning… What’s wrong? Why’d you stop?”
Inside the mostly empty log house, my partner was in the middle of working, holding several wooden parts whose purpose I couldn't guess. My eyes fell upon her, and I froze.
Nia looked at me quizzically as she greeted me, but I wanted to shout at her—What in the world are you wearing?
She wore a light-blue blouse, a shade brighter than her indigo hair and eyes, and a pair of white shorts with a yellow checkered pattern… which, described simply, was just a stylish outfit.
The problem was, without a doubt, her top.
Not only was it a sleeveless blouse that showed off her shoulders, but the back was cut open all the way down to her shoulder blades. And because of her short hair's lack of defensive power, the line of her skin from her neck down was… well, extremely distracting.
I had no idea. Underneath that poncho or cape, she was wearing something like this? What? Am I overthinking this? Or am I just too conscious of it?
It just felt like there was a lot of skin showing, and the high-impact factor caught me completely off guard.
“I-It’s nothing. Good morning… Um, breakfast is ready.”
“Mm, roger that~”
I think I managed to avert my gaze naturally, but there was no hiding the fact that I’d gasped dramatically at the start. Still, Nia didn’t seem to want to press the issue, and I felt a wave of relief as she tossed the wooden parts aside.
I also felt a strange sense of reassurance when she properly took a jacket out of her inventory and put it on. If she had tried to go outside in that light clothing, I would have had to risk her reading my flustered state and stop her.
“…………Hey, are you mad about something? Seriously, what’s wrong?”
“Just woke up. Low blood pressure. Hungry.”
“Why are you speaking in fragments?”
Since I couldn't meet her eyes, it was only natural that she'd be suspicious. Spouting a hundred-percent lie, I fled in search of my morning meal.
I may have said I’d face her head-on from now on, but I think that kind of thing is just unfair.
◇◆◇◆◇
“—How did you make this?”
“I grated some Yam-Yams, kneaded in some lard from the boars and some Duffle-Mush, put it through a pseudo-fermentation process, and then steam-baked it with a vacuum-roll steam.”
“I have no idea what you just said, but I know for a fact that you’re a god, Tetsu-san.”
“You always exaggerate. It’s still a prototype, but how’s the taste?”
“It’s insanely delicious.”
The mysterious, chewy white object, apparently made from pork fat, a potato-like thing (?), and a mushroom-like thing (?), was like a cross between a steamed bun and a mochi cake. Whether the flavor came from the ingredients themselves or his ‘magic’ seasoning, I couldn't say, but the faint saltiness and sweetness were incredibly comforting.
I have a suspicion he made this because I selfishly said I wanted a ‘staple food’… Man, our chef is super nice. Is he the best in both skill and personality?
It wasn't rice or bread, but this was a complete staple food. And man, it was delicious. If they sold this in the real world, I’d buy it by the case without a second thought.
“Heheh, so what do you think of our Ikkei-kun? Now you can see why I chose him as my survival partner, despite all the passionate advances from other men!”
“Truly a keen eye. Nono-san, you’re the smartest person in the world.”
“Heehee!”
“You were the one screaming your head off when you were about to get a game over…”
That’s our little secret, Nia-chan. Since we’re enjoying this delicious food now, all’s well that ends well—
“Now then… you can eat while we talk, but based on what happened last night, I’d like to discuss our plan moving forward. We’ll prioritize everyone surviving, which means staying at the base and reinforcing our defenses—are we all in agreement?”
“………………”
““………………””
………Huh? Uh, wait, what?
“Are you asking me if I agree?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I suppose.”
“Who else would he be asking?”
My reaction was slow to the topic that was brought up so suddenly and matter-of-factly. Seeing my confusion, Tetsu-san remained stone-faced, Nono-san smiled, and my own partner looked slightly exasperated.
I mean, I get what you’re trying to say, but.
“Shouldn’t we decide this when everyone’s here?”
“That ‘everyone’ is looking to you for instructions. We’re not forcing it on you; a leader was just naturally decided over the course of the first day.”
Apparently so. The men, who were scheduled to return from their hunt in the early afternoon, had already asked him to discuss our plans with me beforehand.
I’m not cut out for this… but well, I won't drag this out.
“I think we should just stick with the current plan… or rather, stay the course. Assuming yesterday’s raid event happens every night, building up our base and playing tower defense seems like the right move.”
At least, that’s what I think for this great forest we’ve been thrown into.
Based on the nature of the [Stardust Beasts (Lim)] we saw last night, I could also predict that the more [Stardust Relics (Lapis)] we accumulate, the larger the scale of the raid will become.
For now, our priority should be to fortify our defenses as much as possible. That said, with exactly thirty-six people and no sign of reinforcements, there’s a limit to what we can do.
Right, first things first—
“Let’s continue from yesterday and clear out some more trees.”
We needed to expand from our current bare-minimum setup by clearing more of the forest… and prepare a proper interception point for the ‘next’ raid.
Nia-chan's outfit? Yep, it was produced by Hiyorin.