Chapter 18

"Ah, I thought the same thing."

Himenosan nodded in agreement.

"From now on, I'll call Hashibara-kun 'Kosei-kun' and Sakae-kun 'Shinobu-kun,' so please call me 'Meguru.'"

"I want you to call me 'Makoto.'"

"Hmm... If we call each other by our first names in front of everyone, won't they suspect something?"

At my words, the two of them looked convinced but a bit hesitant.

Did I misread the atmosphere a bit?

Still, I don't want to do anything that might make Taniizumi and the others suspicious.

"Kosei, you should nod in agreement here."

Shinobu said this with a hint of exasperation.

"I get it, I get it. I think it's good to feel like we're getting closer, but..."

At that, the two of them looked at me together.

It was probably a signal to start calling each other by our first names.

"...Alright. Then I'll call you 'Meguru-san' and 'Makoto-san' only when we're out together. I'll try to use your last names in front of everyone, okay?"

"Well, I guess that's fine."

"Okay!"

In this way, I felt like the distance between me, Meguru-san (formerly Hiyama-san), and Makoto-san had somehow closed.

After that, we returned the way we came, fighting monsters we could handle until our time was up. Dust may accumulate, but when Shinobu also reached level 4, it was time to return.

"Welcome back."

Hagizawa greeted us from his seat at the workshop reception.

"How was it?"

"It's dangerous to go too far in. Also, Hiyama... Meguru-san reached level 5 and got the ability 'Eagle Eye.'"

"Wow! What kind of ability is it!?"

Hagizawa understood and seemed genuinely happy for us.

It might be the second day, but a sense of camaraderie was starting to grow.

Of course, I felt the same way.

"It's an ability that allows you to see registered places from a distance. Kosei-kun can check if it's safe when he transfers corpses."

"It's convenient, I guess..."

"It's also useful for keeping watch!"

I won't let you treat me like an idiot.

Depending on the placement, it can even reveal areas that are out of sight.

"Didn't Hashibara just call Hiyama by her first name?"

"They're comrades, so it's okay to call each other by first names. You can call her too, Hagizawa."

"Really!?"

Hagizawa's excitement was met with somewhat forced smiles from the two of us.

Is this what they call a wry smile?

I feel bad for them, but Hagizawa is a guy too.

He must have some longing to be called by his first name by girls.

If he were handsome or more sociable, it might be different, but Hagizawa is just an ordinary high school boy.

"Sure, but... with that reaction, I don't want to call or be called anymore."

"Hey! Please! Let me be called! I have a name, you know! My name is Da Hagizawa! Call me 'Da-kun!'"

"Da-kun!"

"Don't you dare, you jerk!"

In this friendly manner, we took a break, and Himenosan went to the barrier user to have her barrier ability checked.

During this time, I took out the corpses Hagizawa had hidden and disassembled them.

Eventually, it was lunchtime, and we ate the meager rations provided... but there was meat here.

"Can't we use the fire in Shinobu's workshop to cook and disguise it?"

"It's possible, but the heat isn't that strong."

It's not enough to forge metal, but it's like a small hearth. The fire in Shinobu's workshop was usable.

Since it's created by an ability, it feels like it's being maintained.

Will a more advanced one be made someday?

"Then, let's have Hagizawa make preserved food."

"Actually, how about this? There's someone in the combat group who, for reasons I can't name, is worried about this situation and is secretly providing us with food."

"…Not bad. We don't want to have a falling out with the combat group, and if we frame it this way, it might be easier to mend relations later."

The problem is who we receive it from.

Let's say it's from an anonymous well-wisher.

Writing a note and placing it discreetly isn't a bad idea.

In any case, we'll have Hagizawa make the preserved food and distribute it.

That way, it won't cause food poisoning through the ability.

"Then I'll use my ability to make preserved food. Hooray! We can have a feast of meat!"

Hagizawa is so straightforward.

"By the way, Da... Hagizawa."

"Hmm? What is it?"

I asked Hagizawa, who had refused to be called by a guy, with a slightly suggestive tone.

"Can you collect mushroom spores and make items outside of your ability?"

"Hmm. It's possible, but I can't guarantee the effects."

"Of course, it's also an experiment, so it's fine."

"Actually, you guys can do that level of thing too. Don't rely on me."

If we don't rely on you and make it ourselves or have someone else make it, we'd be like Taniizumi.

"Hashibara... no, Kosei..."

Hagizawa looked at me with a slightly teary-eyed expression.

Did giving him my share of the rations today pay off?

By the way, I transferred the bento my parents gave me, ate it, and came back.

There is some... no, quite a bit of guilt, but I don't think it's right for me to consume the limited food.

"Alright, I'll make it."

"In this different world, if we can get the materials, maybe the era of Hagizawa's item dominance will begin."

There are manga and novels like that.

Thinking about how Taniizumi would react if the situation changed is a bit exciting.

"Really, it could happen!"

"Then, if it does, start the Hagizawa harem and give us special treatment."

"Even if I'm admired by a guy..."

While grumbling, we deepened our bonds in preparation for the next sortie.

"Alright, it's my turn now!"

After taking a break, we set out again.

Hagizawa was showing a lot of enthusiasm.

Ah, it starts after Himenosan has the barrier user restore the base.

"We can't go too far in based on the strength of the monsters. Our equipment is still weak."

"I know, the rule is to go as safely as possible."

Hagizawa showed us a small bag of mushroom spores he had collected.

There's an experiment too.

"For now, aiming for Metal Turtles that Kosei can handle should be good. It doesn't seem like a loss to collect them."

"True, the points are quite high, and if we can make them, they could be a trump card."

"Understood... I wanted to get Shinobu and Hagizawa to level 5 faster..."

"Kosei, what about you?"

"Shinobu, think about it. Meguru-san and I have similar abilities. That means the expansion abilities we get might be similar too."

"I don't think so."

Meguru-san negated that.

In any case, it's better not to expect too much if the types overlap.

"For example, if you got a shorter activation time, Kosei-kun would become incredibly strong, right?"

Well... I agreed.

The biggest problem with my ability is that it takes five minutes to activate.

If it could activate immediately, it would be a very troublesome ability and would have been on the player side.

I don't want to be on that side now.

Actually... isn't the cost of being able to return to Japan too high?

The possibility of such a thing crossed my mind.

Being able to return to Japan is an extremely excellent effect, so it feels like there's a corresponding negative side.

That's why I'm not expecting much from the expansion abilities.

"Either way, let's look forward to it, Kosei-kun."

"Y-Yeah. Then, let's set out again."

"Hehe..."

Makoto-san smiled at us.

It must be because things are going well little by little.

"Then, I'll teleport us. It seems there are no monsters at the destination."

Meguru-san raised her hand to create a portal.

"Try to reach level 5 before we come back!"

Hagizawa dove into the portal with high spirits and moved forward.

"Then, I'm off, Shinobu."

"Right, I'll try to cover for you."

Waving to Shinobu, we set out.

Honestly, we're still in the level-up phase... there haven't been any new discoveries reported.

It's dangerous to go too far in, and we're just managing with our equipment.

In this way, we boldly searched the area.

The encounter rate with monsters is pretty high... maybe?

We don't know what kind of expansion abilities the player group has, but our base group isn't that strong.

It would be nice if we had something like a presence detection ability.

In this way, we fought the monsters that appeared.