Chapter 161: A Friend for Life?

Tenpourin Utsuru.

While we had been searching for him with the others, he had suddenly appeared before us and teleported only me somewhere else.

When I asked why he had separated me from the girls…

It turned out he was bad with girls.

Honestly, dealing with the opposite sex was difficult.

Especially at our age.

Guys who were always joking around would suddenly go quiet whenever girls were nearby.

I could understand being thrown off by the presence of the opposite sex.

Even I probably would not have become close with most of the girls here if I had not come to this deserted island.

Shouko and I might have stayed just friends, and things with Chiyu might not have progressed until college—or even much later.

“Still, that’s an incredible power. You can teleport other people too?”

On top of that, he had pinpointed a spot on Micron’s back while she was flying through the air.

Was that something the Ability adjusted for? Or was Tenpourin simply that skilled with it?

“Not as incredible as your Crafting Ability, which can save everyone on this island.”

“It’s not that grand.”

“Then my power isn’t all that impressive either.”

“Fine. We both ended up with amazing powers.”

There was no point in turning it into a contest of modesty, so I wrapped it up with a wry smile.

“...I never thanked you for that. If I remember correctly, Kuno, you were the first one to mention Abilities.”

Shouko deserved credit for spreading that information to everyone, but saying so would probably only sound like more false modesty.

“Well, you’re welcome.”

“Now for the main subject. I want you to stop tracking my scent.”

“Do you need any supplies?”

When I asked, Tenpourin considered it for a moment.

“...A trade, then. Information is the only thing I can offer.”

“That’s what I want in exchange.”

“But I do not want girls wandering around the areas where I operate.”

“Ah. I see.”

“And just so you know, it is not because I see them in that way. My type is older women.”

Come to think of it, Tenpourin was remarkably levelheaded.

Even in this environment, his clothes were relatively clean, and he looked healthy.

The thought of him discovering us while mentally unstable was terrifying.

For our party, it was probably fortunate that his tastes lay outside our age range.

Still, older women…

Did he mean college students? Working women?

No, we had Ms. Luminous with us. If he had included her in “girls,” then maybe his preferences leaned even older…?

“Then how about this? Say your information includes the location of materials we need. I’ll be the only one who goes to collect them.”

“If I teleport you there, the work will take less time as well… That is not a bad proposal.”

“Then let’s do that.”

As I relaxed, thinking we had reached an agreement, Tenpourin looked at me suspiciously.

“Why are you so eager to trade with me?”

He had a point. It probably seemed strange that I was going out of my way to search for the other students.

“Because Ms. Luminous is worried about her students.”

There was no reason to hide it, so I told him the truth.

At that answer, Tenpourin nodded deeply, as if everything made sense.

“I see. You are doing it for a woman.”

“That isn’t wrong, but phrasing it that way might cause misunderstandings.”

“There is no need to worry. In love, neither status nor age matters.”

His words made me react before I could stop myself.

“Hm? The way you say that… Tenpourin, don’t tell me…”

After hesitating for a while, Tenpourin looked at me.

“...If you are one of my kind, you will not tell anyone. Yes. I am dating our history teacher, Tense Noriyo.”

“Seriously?”

But she had to be in her forties.

That was taking a preference for older women to another level.

“Unless a woman is as calm as she is, I cannot hold a proper conversation. How can you live with that many girls? It must be difficult with all the noise.”

“It’s lively. And fun.”

“...Well, I suppose everyone is different. In any case, I will return to Japan no matter what. I have to see my girlfriend again.”

Now I understood why Tenpourin was so composed.

Part of it was probably his mental resilience, but the absence of women in his preferred age range likely

~Nоvеl𝕚ght~

played a role as well.

Ideally, I would have wanted Shion to use her Lie-Detection Ability to confirm whether he was telling the truth.

But I decided to trust him.

He did not look like he was lying.

“Anyway, I look forward to working with you.”

“Right. We will meet once every three days. When the sun is directly overhead, I will be at the designated location. The designated location is right here.”

“Understood. That works for me.”

The others would arrive here soon. Mashiro should be able to remember this place and return to it later.

“By the way, Kuno. What would you do if teachers appeared as an option again in the future?”

The mystery blackboard’s two choices at the end of each day.

Whatever we chose would be placed on the island.

Terrain, food, animals, monsters, teachers… the things that could be placed were varied.

“You mean, if I were you and your girlfriend appeared as one of the choices? Hmm. If it were me, I do not think I would choose her. I would not want someone I loved to go through something this hard.”

After hearing my answer, Tenpourin fell silent for about ten seconds.

“...I see. That is a reasonable answer. But is there not another way to look at it? By choosing her deliberately, she could share in the benefits of life on this deserted island.”

The benefits, huh.

“...That’s true. Our lifespans increase with every day we survive, and depending on our points, we can gain even more perks. If you are confident you can keep her safe, it might be worth considering.”

The deserted island offered us benefits for surviving.

If we had the strength to actively pursue them, perhaps choosing someone on purpose was an option.

The difficult part was that we did not know how the other person would feel about it.

“That is exactly it. If my girlfriend is brought to this island in the future, Kuno, I want your help.”

Tenpourin bowed his head as though asking a favor.

“Supplies and a base? I don’t mind helping with that.”

“If you grant me that, you may use me however you wish.”

A Teleportation Ability holder would effectively become an ally.

That was a considerable reward.

To Tenpourin, the age gap between himself and his girlfriend was a serious issue.

Extending her lifespan would be a tremendous benefit.

Of course, the teacher’s feelings mattered too…

But once a choice appeared, one of the two options had to be summoned.

Just as Ms. Luminous had come here through the students’ vote.

“...All right. If that happens, I’ll persuade everyone to cast our team’s ten votes for your teacher.”

“Thank you, Kuno.”

Tenpourin held out his hand, and I shook it.

“It’s nothing.”

“Not only for the trade. For not denying my love or laughing at it.”

A high school boy who liked mature women.

Sure, there were probably people who would laugh or be disgusted.

But I had no desire to make fun of him.

“Who you fall in love with is up to you.”

“——!”

Tenpourin tightened his grip around my hand.

“...What is it?”

“It seems you and I may become friends for life.”

“R-Right. I guess so.”

I did not really understand why, but apparently, I had made a friend for life.

“...Sorry, but I will leave now. Your reward will come next time.”

“Hm? ...Ah. Mashiro is getting close.”

A cloud of dust was rising from a short distance away.

Just how fast was he running?

“This time, even if it was only because I wanted to speak to you, I did something inexcusable. They may not forgive me, but tell them that I apologized.”

That was right.

I had immediately realized Tenpourin meant no harm, but what about my companions?

They were probably racing here at full speed, terrified because they did not know whether I was safe.

From their perspective, Tenpourin was a complete villain.

“Yeah… I’ll explain it as best I can.”

Tenpourin gave a small nod. The next moment, he vanished like smoke.

Then the others arrived.

Mashiro, Micron, and black-dragon Mamonaka came to an abrupt stop near me.

“So-kun!”

Chiyu leaped from Micron’s back, ran toward me, and threw herself into my chest.

Tears shimmered in her eyes.

I caught Chiyu and hugged her back.

Unlike the monster battle earlier, when I had worried them even though they knew I was safe, this time they had not known whether I was safe at all.

It must have been terrifying.

“Sousuke!” “Sousuke!” “Sousuke!” “Master!” “Sousuke!”

After Chiyu, Shouko, Shion, Minori, Roa, and Serina all leaped at me too, and I finally collapsed under their combined weight.

It was less like being hugged and more like being crushed, but seeing their tears and relief, I could not bring myself to say anything.

Tenpourin was not a bad person, and we had formed cooperative ties.

But right now, calming the girls down came first.