On the way away from Suou’s base, Shoubu, the dark-skinned gal, was bombarding Shouko with questions.

“Kuno was really close with Chiyu, right? How did you even win him over?”

“W-win him over...?”

“I devised the harem system, and on this deserted island, we decided to share So-kun.”

Chiyu spoke proudly.

“Seriously? So he’s everyone’s boyfriend?”

“He isn’t all of our companions’ boyfriend yet, but, well... something like that?”

Shouko answered, blushing.

“Huh? So first there’s Chiyu, right? Then Shouko, and what about Shion?”

“Hehe, yes. I suppose I’m Sousuke’s girlfriend too.”

Shion nodded, her cheeks tinted red as well.

“What? Shion, you were bad with boys. Kuno managed to make that Shion look like a woman in love? Impressive...”

Shoubu sounded genuinely impressed.

“If you spend some time with Sousuke, I’m sure you’ll understand too, Urume.”

“Will I? Then almost everyone in our group will end up being Kuno’s girlfriend. After that, there’s Serina, Myao, and Aocchi?”

“Serina is already here.”

“Wait, seriously? She hardly ever talks to anyone except Shouko, so I didn’t think she’d join a group.”

“She talks plenty now. And Minorin is here too.”

“Who? Oh, wait, Class Rep?”

“That’s right.”

After we had traveled a little farther, the phantasmal beasts stopped.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Being jostled around inside the basket the whole time was rough, so I had planned to get out at the same spot where I had hidden inside.

Ordinarily, there would have been no problem with that, but...

Once I confirmed that Micron had descended, I quietly climbed out of the basket.

“Huh? What, what...!? K-Kuno!?”

“Ah... yeah. You’re Shoubu, right? Nice to meet you.”

“Why were you in there!?”

“Um, well... I’ll explain this.”

Ms. Luminous explained the situation to Shoubu.

“Hmm, hmm—yeah, I don’t get it at all!”

Her reaction was refreshingly blunt.

“Look, Ryouka was trying to recruit Sousuke right there, wasn’t she?”

Shion took over, refusing to give up on explaining.

“Mm, yeah, I guess she did say something like that. Honestly, Kuno’s ability might be the strongest one on this island.”

“Exactly. So if Sousuke had shown his face directly, there was a chance they would try to secure Sousuke himself before we even got to discuss the trade. That’s why we had him hide.”

“Oh, I kind of get it. Like paying someone before they do a part-time job, so then nobody actually works?”

............Hm?

That example felt slightly off somehow.

Well, as long as she understood, it was fine.

“But knowing you were listening the whole time is embarrassing!”

“Yeah. I’m sorry about that.”

Not just Shoubu’s conversation, but the discussion back at Suou’s base too had carried the kind of mood that came from a space with only girls in it. I did feel something like guilt over having eavesdropped.

“This isn’t exactly an apology, but if there’s something you want and I can make it, I’ll make it for you.”

“Forgiven!”

Her ability to switch gears was unbelievably fast.

I was grateful, though.

“I mean, the stuff you gave us earlier covers the basics already. Though I left everything but the lotion behind.”

Shoubu took a round wooden case from her pocket. When she opened the lid, there was lotion inside.

“I couldn’t bring it this time, but recently I also made toner.”

Since it was called toner, a large portion of it was water.

As for clean water, I could make it with the Crafting Ability by separating out anything unnecessary.

I had originally been turning seawater into drinking water, so that part was not a problem.

For the moisturizing component, I had also managed to obtain glycerin from soybeans.

Besides that, I blended in vitamins and fragrances extracted from fruits and plants to match the girls’ preferences.

I did not really understand it myself, but apparently the idea was that toner moisturized the skin, and lotion sealed in that moisture.

“Seriously? Kuno, why are you so considerate? I don’t get how you weren’t popular back in Japan.”

Probably because I was just an ordinary otaku with no special power.

“So-kun was popular. With this childhood friend.”

Chiyu puffed out her chest.

“Ah, true. Chiyu, you’ve got a good eye. And Shouko was interested in him too, so I guess he really was popular.”

“I was not popular.”

“Wait, why does everyone know I was interested in Sousuke!?”

Shouko shouted, her face red.

“Everyone noticed except So-kun.”

...No, even I had thought she was a nice person who talked to me a lot.

I had just been careful not to become the kind of guy who got the wrong idea.

“Uuugh.”

“There, there. You could say that because you cared about Sousuke, all kinds of girls were able to get abilities, Shouko. And I met Sousuke because of you too, didn’t I? I’m very grateful.”

Shion stroked Shouko’s back as if to cheer her up.

“...But Shii-chan, wouldn’t that mean you approached Sousuke even though you knew?”

“...Hehe. I suppose it would.”

“It’s fine now, but still. I did feel a little frustrated, like you’d gotten a head start.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Kuno, you really are popular. Wait, then what about Roa-chii, Serina, and Lumi...?”

“All I can say at present is that I serve Master.”

Roa placed a hand against her cheek and said something suggestive.

She had not gone as far as Chiyu, Shion, and Shouko, but Roa had taken care of me too, so I could not say anything.

“Serina is different. ...She is, right, Sousuke?”

Shouko looked up at me to check.

“Nothing has happened between me and Yumekai.”

“Hmm, hmm. And last—”

Shoubu’s gaze turned toward our teacher.

“Improper relations between boys and girls... no, from what I’ve seen, you are all good children, and you are boys and girls of that age, so some aspects of this may be unavoidable, and according to Iyama, you are taking contraception seriously, and if everyone involved has accepted it, perhaps it is not something an outsider should interfere with... And in fact, looking at this team’s unity, I cannot deny that it has had a certain effect... Bringing Japanese values into another world may be tactless in its own way... In this situation, what exactly should I say as a teacher...”

Ms. Luminous muttered something rapidly under her breath, her eyes spinning.

“Ah, Lumi doesn’t seem to be one of them.”

“Obviously. Lumi only became a companion this morning.”

“That’s true.”

Maybe it was partly Shoubu’s communication skills, but our romantic relationships had been exposed in an instant.

Once she became a companion, she would have found out anyway, so it was only a question of sooner or later.

“So, have you decided what you want, Shoubu? You can choose later, of course.”

“Hmm. Lip balm... you already have that. What about tinted lip balm?”

I looked at Shouko as if asking for help.

“Ah. It’s lip balm with color in it.”

“That exists?”

Apparently, rather than coloring the lips heavily like lipstick, it was a product that added color as a bonus to the moisturizing effect of lip balm.

“...I wear it on dates with So-kun too, you know.”

Chiyu muttered unhappily.

They were not exactly dates, but as childhood friends, we had gone out together on our days off before.

“...I did think your lips looked glossier than usual.”

“Hmmm.”

“It’s true. I just didn’t say anything because I thought it would sound gross if I did.”

“Okay. From now on, if you notice, compliment me.”

“I will.”

Chiyu might look expressionless, but she was actually rich in emotion. Maybe she {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} had cared about these things before too.

I engraved it in my heart that I needed to be careful not to miss even the smallest changes.

“Right. So, tinted lip balm. I can probably make it.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah. I’ve also been sorting things that might be useful for dyeing fabric, and there are some things among them I can use.”

“Did you ask Minorin or something?”

Shouko looked puzzled.

“No, the lipstick Recipe unlocked. That’s also made by mixing pigments or colorants with oils and solidifying them, right? So I thought I could adapt it to tinted lip balm.”

Someone had apparently obtained safflower at some point, and it was in the Inventory, so I should be able to produce red, the basic color for things like lipstick.

“Kuno, are you a genius?”

Shoubu looked at me with respect in her eyes.

“No. My ability is convenient, and when it comes to knowledge, I often borrow help from everyone.”

“As expected of So-kun. I want one too.”

“Of course. I’ll give one to anyone who wants it.”

“...Wait. Does that mean if Kuno is around, we’ll be able to do makeup like we did back in Japan?”

“U-Uru-chii...”

Shouko’s voice turned admonishing.

“Oh, of course I know the others come first, and I’m not going to force you to do anything.”

Shoubu said that in a slight panic.

“I enjoy Crafting too, so it helps if you tell me what you want. Though I might ask you to help search for materials.”

Thinking about it, it was not rare for girls to wear makeup once they were high schoolers.

With girls like Shouko and Shoubu, even boys could tell. But if it was makeup subtle enough that oblivious boys like me did not notice, there were probably even more girls who wore it.

“Of course I’ll do that! Actually, that’s so obvious it doesn’t even count as thanks. For now, I’ll pay you for the tinted lip balm—here.”

As she said that, Shoubu flipped her skirt up a little. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

My gaze was inevitably pulled toward it.

It was instinct at this point, something impossible to resist.

—T-transparent pale purple...!?

Even as I reeled internally, time on the deserted island kept moving.

“Uru-chii!”

“Shoubu! That is indecent!”

Shouko and Ms. Luminous shouted.

“No, no, I’m not selling myself cheap, okay? If anything, that probably isn’t enough, right?”

“That is not the issue!”

“Really? Then how are you going to thank Kuno, Lumi? Isn’t handling negotiations for him not enough?”

“Ugh... Th-that is, as a teacher, I can use magic...”

“Seriously? Awesome. But my ability is kind of iffy, so I can’t really help Kuno that way.”

“What is your ability, Shoubu?”

“Hm? Mine is the ability to finish makeup instantly. Doing makeup takes a lot of time, and the way it applies can change depending on the day, so I made it an ability that skips all that and finishes it perfectly. But then I ended up on a deserted island with no makeup supplies, so it was useless. Thanks to Kuno, I’m kind of happy I’ll be able to use it from now on.”

The instant she said that, all the women closed in on Shoubu.

“That’s amazing!”

“What a splendid ability.”

“Urume, can it target other people too?”

“Mm. That is important.”

“U-um... I am curious too.”

The women’s interest was intense.

“Whoa. Yeah, I can, I can. Huh, is this actually pretty useful?”

Judging by this reaction, it did not look like anyone would oppose Shoubu joining.