“Hehe. If it pleased you, then nothing could make me happier.”

Roa wore a sensuous smile as she casually stroked my lower abdomen.

That faint stimulation was already making my body start responding again.

The two of us were still like that in my room when—

“I’m baaaack!”

Shouko’s loud voice rang up from downstairs, and I hurriedly pulled my pants back on.

“Master, allow me to handle your buttons.”

Without the slightest panic, Roa buttoned my shirt for me in a single lightning-fast blur.

With skill like that, couldn’t she have undone them in an instant, too? I couldn’t help thinking.

“That would lack atmosphere.”

Roa answered as if she had read my mind.

“...Fair enough.”

She might actually be right.

The two of us went down to the first floor to greet them.

“Welcome back.”

“Welcome home.”

“Sousuke, Sousuke! We got tons, so put them in storage for us!”

Apparently, no one found it suspicious that the two of us had been upstairs together.

“Good work. I’ll be right there.”

I went outside and stored the huge basket fastened to Mashiro.

When I saw the item names and quantities displayed in Inventory, I was genuinely impressed.

“You really did get a lot.”

“Na-ha-ha! With us on the job, this is nothing!”

Shouko flashed me a peace sign.

“Mm. Constant full effort. When tired, use Basic Heal. The more we move, the more it works as a diet. Perfect.”

Chiyu, who had been checking on the chicken coop, nodded in satisfaction.

“Um... Chiyu told us that your body tightened up in a short period of time, Sousuke, so we talked about trying a little harder ourselves...”

Minori said it while shyly playing with the end of her ponytail.

I see. So they had a reason to go all-out gathering items.

Chiyu’s Healing Magic restored stamina, too, so by repeating exercise and recovery, it was possible to train the body at a speed that would normally be unthinkable.

In the process, excess fat would also burn off, so it might be ideal for dieting.

In the end, though, you still got exhausted enough to feel like you were dying, so it required willpower.

Also, since exercising that much made you properly hungry, you had to be careful not to immediately replace every calorie you had burned.

“Oh, right. Shouko, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Huh? What is it?”

Shouko looked at me while stroking Mashiro in thanks.

“You know Yumekai, right?”

“What about Serina? Wait, don’t tell me you met her!?”

“I met her, but she isn’t with us. I’ll explain that part to everyone.”

We all headed to the dining table.

The moment we sat down, Shouko leaned in close.

“So!? What about Serina!?”

Normally, this would be around the time she started complaining about being hungry, but because this was about her friend, Shouko’s face was serious today.

I told the Mashiro group what had happened that morning.

Once I had roughly explained the sequence of events—

“Oh! Right, she did say that! Something about a barrier or whatever. Like the boxes or places in manga where enemies can’t get inside?”

“Pretty much.”

Right. Since I was an otaku, I had understood immediately, but for most people, being told “barrier” probably didn’t make much sense.

“...From what you’ve said, it draws a boundary to separate inside from outside and restrict entry into and exit from the area, is that right?”

Minori looked thoughtful, and I nodded.

“That interpretation is right. The restrictions seem pretty flexible, too. Apparently, it can repel insects, beasts, people, and so on.”

“...Meaning it might also repel the monsters that get added from now on?”

Chiyu noticed the important part.

“Exactly. We’ll need to test its strength, but it seems like she can set it to forbid anyone except permitted people from entering or leaving. As an ability, I think it should be able to repel monsters, too.”

“Hey, hey, does that mean Serina can join us?”

Shouko’s eyes shone with expectation.

No one was demanding that we go out of our way to search for her friends, but if we had happened to reunite with one by chance and could become companions, she was allowed to be happy about that.

“Honestly, that depends on Yumekai. Personally, considering monsters are going to be added from here on, I’m in favor of taking her in as a companion, but...”

“Huh? Is there a problem?”

“No, if we’re going to take her in, I want the whole party to discuss it and decide. And... before that, she told me to bring Shouko for now.”

“Gotcha! Then let’s go, Sousuke!”

Shouko looked ready to run out right away.

“We’ll go, of course, but let’s do it after lunch. I gave Yumekai food, and she has the barrier, so she’s safe.”

“Uh. R-right. Sorry, I got too excited.”

She scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

“No, it’s natural to be happy after finding out your friend is safe.”

“...Yeah. Thanks.”

“And even if she can’t join us, I’m hoping we can at least build a cooperative relationship.”

“A cooperative relationship?”

“Something like, she surrounds our base with her barrier, and in exchange, we give her things I generate.”

“Ohhh. Right, even if we can’t live together, we can still help each other.”

If that counted as helping each other, then I welcomed it as a healthy relationship.

What I wanted to avoid was one-sided aid from us becoming the norm, so we needed to be cautious when choosing companions.

Once Shouko had calmed down, I asked everyone for their opinions.

Chiyu said, “Useful for defense. I’m in favor.”

Shion said, “After seeing it in person, I understand how amazing that ability is, so I’m in favor, too.”

Minori said, “If we can form a cooperative relationship, the benefit to us would be great. And if ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) she is also Shouko’s close friend, I think that gives us reason to trust her.”

Roa said, “You would ask even a temporary member like me for my opinion? ...In that case, I shall cast my vote in favor as well. If we have a barrier, we can ask uninvited guests to leave, so I believe it would be most wonderful.”

Everyone agreed.

“Thank you, everyone!”

Maybe because her friend had been accepted, Shouko looked happy.

“For now, this afternoon, Shouko and I will go meet Yumekai.”

“All right! Now that that’s settled, lunch... Wait, doesn’t it smell amazing!?”

Shouko twitched her nose and peered toward the kitchen.

Just as she said, the wonderful aroma of miso and soy sauce was drifting through the room.

“Hehe. The Micron group found a soybean field, after all. Roa was a huge help with the harvest, Sousuke crafted miso and soy sauce, and then I cooked with them...!”

Shion was a little more excited than usual today.

That was probably how happy she was about soybeans being added.

And honestly, just the scent of miso soup drifting over the table was enough to make me happy, too.

This was the seventh day since the everyday comforts of Japan had been taken from us.

Some might say it had only been a week, but even on a trip of just a few days, people sometimes started to miss home.

In a situation where we could not freely return, it would not be strange for that feeling to grow even stronger.

Was it an exaggeration to feel that, thanks to miso soup, we had reclaimed one more piece of ordinary life?

“...Ginger pork is one of So-kun’s favorite dishes. His stomach is going to be captured again.”

Chiyu seemed worried about something.

I could not help laughing at my childhood friend.

Incidentally, the ginger pork, thoroughly coated in sauce, and the miso soup with tofu and seaweed were both exquisite.

I owed Shion the head chef a great deal.

After lunch, I went with Shouko to meet Yumekai.