We decided to ride Mashiro the Fenrir and go look for meat.

I looked at Mashiro again.

When he stood up, he was taller than our current base—our Hut.

If he showed up as an enemy monster, he wouldn’t be the kind of opponent you fight early on.

We’d just get chomped-chomped to pieces and that would be it.

Good thing he was an ally.

“Mashiro, I’m counting on you.”

I tried talking to him.

Mashiro looked at me with his blue eyes—then licked my face.

After that, he pressed in close like an affectionate dog.

“H-haha. Good boy, good boy.”

His fur was fluffy and incredible, but getting licked was... kind of smelly.

“Oooh. Mashiro, what’s up? You’re super attached to Sousuke.”

“Hehe. Maybe he’s grateful because his master perked back up after meeting up with So-kun again.”

As if responding to Shion’s words, Mashiro barked, and Shouko went bright red.

“No, no— I’m always full of energy, okay?”

Had she already forgotten how she’d burst into tears and hugged me when we reunited?

Under the lukewarm looks from me and Shion, Shouko pouted with a “What the hell!”

“I want to fluff him too.”

Chiyu worked up the courage to hug him, and Mashiro made a satisfied «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» sound.

Seeing that, I asked Shouko:

“...Hey, Shouko. Is Mashiro male?”

“...Yeah.”

Even I could tell he was totally relaxed—like he was enjoying the feel of Chiyu’s boobs.

Well, even if he was an ally, I wasn’t about to get jealous of a phantasmal beast.

...No, I totally was, a little.

“Ah, right. Once we get meat, can you ask Mashiro to knock down some trees for us?”

“Sure! If it’s Mashiro, it’s easy-peasy!”

“That’s great. Then we might be able to make a home for Mashiro too.”

“Ooh! A Fenrir Hut!? Nice!”

Like a doghouse.

For now, we cut the talk there and climbed onto Mashiro.

He crouched down for us, being considerate, so Shouko and I got on first, then we each pulled Chiyu and Shion up.

Mashiro let out a happy-sounding voice after he ended up carrying three beautiful-girl butts.

“U-umm... I thought this yesterday too, but when you straddle Mashiro, wearing a skirt doesn’t feel very safe.”

Shion held her skirt down and adjusted it so it went under her butt.

Come to think of it, Chiyu did the same when she rode a bike in a skirt or sat down on a train seat, too, I recalled.

If you neglected it, your panties would touch the seat directly, or things would get really bad when the wind blew, I guess.

“And it’s not exactly gear that’s suited for walking through a forest, either.”

I agreed lightly, but then Chiyu said:

“But if we stop wearing skirts, So-kun’s morale drops.”

“Why would it?”

...Okay, sure, I like them, but still.

“Today’s fire-starting duty goes to Shouko. That way, So-kun’s Panties Encyclopedia gets completed, right?”

“I’m not making some encyclopedia like that.”

Chiyu being white, and Shion being a slightly sexy black— I definitely didn’t have that memorized.

“...W-well, Sousuke does take really good care of me, and if it’s just that much... I guess it’s fine...”

I wasn’t making any encyclopedia, but hearing her say it shyly made me feel weirdly restless.

“A-anyway, let’s have her get us moving.”

By the way, everything except the stone wall and the wooden fence was stored away in Inventory.

If we came back and animals had trashed it, or another transfer student had taken it over, that would be a pain.

“O-okay, okay. Mashiro, find us meat, alright? We seriously want to eat meat already!”

“And if possible, something boar-like.”

In isekai stories, you’d sometimes see giant boars, boars with horns, boars with freakishly sharp tusks, but with Mashiro here, we could probably handle it.

He stood up, and the view shot way higher in an instant.

“Whoa—”

Without thinking, I clung to the Chiyu in front of me, but I grabbed—not her waist—her chest.

The feel of huge breasts changing shape in my hand.

“Mnn... So-kun, doing it on Mashiro is a little...”

“No, that’s not it. Sorry— I messed up!”

I hurriedly moved my arm down to her waist.

When I looked, Chiyu’s ears were red.

“Sorry, Chiyu. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I know. N-no whispering in my ear.”

My childhood friend shivered.

I desperately wanted to check Chiyu’s face, but in this position, it was impossible.

While that was going on, Mashiro sniffed, turned his body, hopped right over the stone wall, and started moving.

He seemed to be considerate in his own way, and the ride was way smoother than I’d imagined.

And just like that, the Fenrir ran through the forest.

“This is insane...!”

At the speed the scenery flew by, I couldn’t help letting out a groan.

“Right, right!?”

Getting Mashiro praised made Shouko look happy too.

After a while, Mashiro’s speed gradually slowed.

“Feels like it’s around here.”

“Got it.”

I got ready so I could deploy a weapon at any time.

Mostly we’d leave it to Mashiro, but in the worst case, just bracing a spear or swinging an axe would make a big difference.

And from all the isekai comics I’d read, there were some things even I might be able to use in a fight.

Depending on what happened, I might be able to use them here.

Before long, we found the prey Mashiro had probably spotted.

A wild boar.

Two points mattered.

First, it didn’t seem all that different from something you’d see on Earth.

Well, a normal high schooler doesn’t exactly get chances to see a wild boar, but at least at a glance, there weren’t any obvious isekai elements.

Second— 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Someone other than us was being chased by that boar.

“Hah... hah...! Ngh— th-this time for sure...!”

She was a girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail, with a dignified, sharp-looking face.

While running from the boar, she twisted only her neck to look back and leveled something like a branch in her hand at it.

“Hit...!”

The next instant—countless pebbles formed from the tip of her staff and fired out with force.

—Magic! Offensive magic!?

If Chiyu could get Healing Magic, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to have offensive magic too.

But maybe her aim was bad—only one or two hit the boar.

Nowhere near enough to bring it down, and it only made the enemy more irritated.

The scale of the magic seemed small, but like Basic Heal, maybe it was a basic-tier offensive spell.

“Sousuke! What do we do!?”

Even panicking, Shouko looked to me for a call.

“No time to get down! Mashiro—can you charge in like this!?”

When I answered immediately, Shouko nodded excitedly, Shion nodded with a serious face, and Chiyu nodded with her usual blank look.

“That’s what I’m talking about! Mashiro—charge!”

To save the girl, Mashiro accelerated with all of us still on his back.