Chapter 170: A Big Hubbub

“Um, thanks to all of you, we were able to contact all forty students scattered across this island and establish cooperative ties with them. Thank you so much for indulging your teacher’s selfish request. You have all done wonderfully! I’m so proud of you!”

Ms. Luminous raised her cup as she gave the toast.

It was probably not my imagination that her eyes looked damp.

“Let’s keep joining hands and survive on this deserted island together! Cheers!”

“Cheers!” everyone echoed.

After that, we dug in.

“Heh heh heh, Chiyu. I challenge you to a rematch.”

Chopsticks in hand, Shouko gave a fearless grin.

“Hmph... Let’s see how much you’ve improved, Shouko.”

With her arms folded, Chiyu answered while giving off the aura of some absurdly overpowered character.

Boar meat sizzled atop the heated stone slab. At precisely the right moment, maid Roa flipped each piece as one side finished cooking.

Tension ran between the two girls.

A bead of sweat slid down Shouko’s cheek.

Chiyu, on the other hand, remained perfectly composed.

At last, the moment came.

“Now!”

Shouko’s eyes flew wide, and her arm shot forward like a thrust.

Her chopsticks stabbed through empty air rather than grabbing the slice of meat that had just finished cooking.

“Wha...?!”

Shouko let out a stunned cry.

The meat that seemed to have vanished was sitting on Chiyu’s plate.

“You got faster, Shouko. But... the meat was done one second before you moved.”

“Damn it... I lost again!”

Shouko’s shoulders slumped.

“I’m always ready for another match.”

With all the confidence of a victor, Chiyu popped the meat into her mouth.

Everyone besides those two, who had just fought their fierce battle, was able to eat peacefully because Roa kept placing food on their plates at exactly the right time.

She was probably using her Ability to Know What Others Want, serving everyone precisely what they wanted to eat at precisely the moment they wanted it.

“Thanks, Roa. But make sure you eat, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) too.”

“Thank you for your concern. I will be certain to eat an appropriate amount myself as well.”

Ms. Luminous had been served a boar-meat steak, which she was happily enjoying with wine.

For the record, making any alcohol other than wine was proving difficult at the moment.

What had been placed on the island was wheat, while barley was used to make a wide variety of alcoholic drinks.

Wheat itself could be used in brewing, but only as one ingredient. Having it alone was not enough.

We did not have rice either, so making sake and similar drinks was impossible. Since sake would also be useful as cooking alcohol, and glutinous rice could be used to make things like mirin, Shion seemed to want rice badly.

We did have some from the bonus area, but that was meant for all of us to eat...

Life on the deserted island was becoming more convenient by the day, but there was still plenty we wanted.

Something to look forward to in the future.

“Serina. When that treant caught my tail... I’m really sorry.”

Mamonaka was apologizing to Serina.

Black-dragon Mamonaka’s tail had been caught by a treant.

The impact had caused Serina to fall.

But as Serina herself had said, she had been careless, too.

It was impossible to say either of them was solely at fault.

“I’ve heard that over and over. I already told you, it wasn’t your fault. It would have been fine if I hadn’t gotten distracted by my tablet.”

“...Okay. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“I’ll put up a barrier around myself from now on, too. Then monsters will get repelled before they can even get close.”

I was glad there would be no lingering bad feelings between them.

“Hey, Class Rep.”

Urume sidled up to Minori and started whispering something to her.

“What is it, Shoubu?”

“Ah, you can call me Urume.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll do that, Urume.”

“So, um... there’s something I wanted to ask you, Class Rep.”

“Yes?”

“...How did you end up having sex with Kuno?”

“Cough—!”

Minori choked spectacularly.

“Ah, sorry, sorry. Here, drink some water!”

“Th-Thank you...”

Urume handed Minori some water and rubbed her back.

“I didn’t think you’d be that surprised. Sorry, Class Rep.”

“I-It’s fine... But why ask me?”

“Because you seem like the one who’d give the most proper advice?”

“A-Advice... Don’t tell me...”

“Well, yeah... I don’t need to explain why, right?”

“...R-Right. It’s Sousuke, after all. Fine. If I can help, I will.”

“Yes! Seriously, thanks, Class Rep!”

I probably should not listen any further.

I quietly moved away, only for someone to grab my arm.

“Kuno! Whatcha doin’ over here?”

It was Ms. Luminous, thoroughly drunk.

“Ms. Luminous... You’ll remember all of this later, so you should probably take it easy...”

“It’s fine! This is a celebration! Besides, Kuno, you’re amazing!”

“Ah, thanks.”

Ms. Luminous looped her arm through mine, and the contact of her chest against my arm made me tense up.

“I’m sorry you all had to go through this because of me!”

“No, no. We were able to bring the class together because you were here, Ms. Luminous. I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

My companions would never tell me I had to save other people.

They understood the burden that would create for me.

Still, that did not mean they were not worried about their friends.

The girls were either with us or Suou’s group, so everyone knew they were safe. But when it came to everyday life, it was obvious that my party was better off.

They might have felt guilty, without saying it aloud, for being the only ones living comfortably.

But with Ms. Luminous acting as our mediator, we had been able to join hands with everyone. Now we could distribute the things I crafted to the other students, while receiving materials and information in return.

There was no loss for us, either.

“I never noticed when we were back on Earth that Kuno was such an impressive person.”

“Haha. I was not exactly someone who stood out.”

If anything, the fact that I was close to a beautiful girl like Chiyu was probably the only thing about me that caught people’s attention.

“Maybe school life alone isn’t enough to discover a person’s true worth.”

“I guess so.”

“It is...! In that sense, I’m glad I was able to come to this deserted island.”

Ms. Luminous began to sway.

I crafted a wooden chair and placed it behind her, then sat her down.

“That kind of thoughtfulness is wonderful, too...”

After I gently settled her into the chair, Ms. Luminous reached out and patted my head.

“There, there... Such a fine young man...”

“...Thanks.”

It was strangely embarrassing.

“I-I need to repay you somehow.”

Her voice had gone a little high.

“You really don’t have to.”

“N-No... I think I do. Kuno, is there anything you want your teacher to do for you...?”

Her face was flushed from the alcohol, and it looked strangely alluring.

Her damp-looking eyes trembled as though she were afraid I might reject her.

“Um...”

“Or... are older women like me not your type?”

It felt as though this conversation about repayment had somehow turned into a discussion of my preferences in women...

“Not at all. It isn’t just me—almost all the boys look up to you, Ms. Luminous.”

I changed it to “almost all” because I remembered Tenpourin, who preferred mature women.

From his perspective, Ms. Luminous would probably be too young.

“R-Really...? You don’t think I’m an old lady compared to high school girls?”

“I think you’re more like an older sister.”

At the phrase older sister, Ms. Luminous looked relieved.

Then she gazed back up at me.

“Then... Kuno... isn’t there something you want an older sister to do for you?”

I swallowed hard.

Without thinking, my eyes drifted to the twin peaks of her chest, even fuller than Chiyu’s.

Ms. Luminous immediately noticed where I was looking.

She gave me an embarrassed glare, then smiled softly as if allowing a bit of mischief.

“I understand very well. I’ll remember that.”

As she smiled, she had shed the mask of the serious assistant homeroom teacher and taken on the allure of a grown woman. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

“Sousuke. Sorry, but could you bring out some more ingredients?”

At that moment, Shion called out from behind me.

“You don’t need to worry about Ms. Luminous anymore. Go on.”

“Okay. Ms. Luminous, please try not to drink too much.”

“Hehe. Yes, I’ll be careful.”

I turned my back on her and headed toward Shion.

Had Ms. Luminous noticed?

That somewhere along the way, she had stopped talking like she was drunk.

In other words, had she pretended to be drunk just to talk to me?

Thinking that made her seem awfully cute.