Chapter 2 – The Summer Event and the Young Beasts

『"Thank you for participating ladies and gentlemen. I am Yoshino Kazuto from 【OSO】's development department."』

With that announcement, the ruckus players were making suddenly stopped as they listened to it.

『"This event is configured so that many players can enjoy it together. This time event is——【Forest Camping Game】. If we speak of summer, it has to be outdoors. You guys will spend 7 nights camping in this forest."』

From somewhere came a 'don't fuck around! This is a killing game, I'm logging out', and although such voices appeared, the announcement wasn't over yet.

『"Everyone seems to have misunderstood something. This isn't dangerous, but it doesn't consume any of your time either. The flow of time in this field has been stretched about eighty times on this special server. In other words, one week in this place will take two hours in real. That means you can level up a lot in a short amount of time. Now, you get what I mean don't you."』

That meant, the people who participated in this could secure a week's worth playtime. That's how it was. Hey, is this a special training room?[1]

『"Of course, people who want to progress the game as normal can go back by dying to monsters. In that case, the death penalty will not occur."』

Everyone went silent after they heard this part. They seemed to be motivated all of a sudden. There was an unknown forest in there. They should try leveling up in there, there was no loss in enjoying it. That was the atmosphere.

『"Now then, I will explain the rules. The camp event will last seven days and six nights.The place everyone is right now is the safety area. In this forest there are multiple safety areas. It doesn't matter if you move from the location you are in right now. This is a stray continent, it has lakes, ruins and mountains. Of course, the event's unique monsters and items are placed in each location. Believe in your own Senses and find your own way to enjoy it."』

The voice sounded as if it was said from a distant location.

『"Moreover, further in the forest there are inactive monster young animals wandering around. If you're able to build a friendly relationship with one in a week, it will become a summoning stone and your exclusive pet. If you have a 【Taming】 Sense, it will be possible for it to fight with you as your magical beast."』

Continuing, the voice came from a different place.

『"The last thing, people who have survived the entire week will be judged with a numerical value depending on their actions and the top five people will be presented with souvenirs. Moreover, you will also be able to take all the items found in this area back with you. You don't need to aim for the prize, you can enjoy yourself looking for rare materials."』

At this moment, the excitement seemed to have reached its climax. Everyone aimed for the victory and in the middle of everyone who was being motivated, I thought of something else.

I see, so the item cap was there in order for us to have a camp. It would be good if I could bring some rare plant materials to cultivate. I had completely different ideas from the normal players.

As the excitement was growing, Yoshino Kazuto poured cold water on the players.

『"However, there is a limit. All players can acquire up to one Sense during this period."』

Well, that's reasonable. It would be troublesome if players were to acquire new Senses only to use them temporarily.

『"And in case a player did not acquire the 【Survival】 Senses beforehand, it will impose a negative correction to point conversion on the final day. Don't expect to win without it. By the way, the acquisition of 【Survival】 wi

ll also count if you acquire it right now. Now, the last matter, the items that are available to for picking up in this forest can be immediately appraised. To feel its effect you need to appraise an item with a Sense corresponding to it. The appraisal information can be shared amongst each other within a party. Do not hesitate to share your field map with your party either. I want you to work hard under such limitations, but if you rush too much you will scrape your feet, I recommend you to proceed steadily without rushing."』

The announcement was over, as everyone was stunned I opened the map of this field. The place we were in seemed to be the centre of this continent. The range of hundred metres I could see with my 【Hawk Eyes】 was mapped, the rest of it was gray.

I cast a sceptical gaze at people around who went into the forest and sat down.

"Now then, shall we make a base camp? Securing food is a top priority with the introduction of the satiety system."

After hearing Cloude's words we all nodded. After discussing it we judged that with the well-balanced items we brought with us we can hold up for up to two days.

"How about we experiment first? Wait a moment."

Magi-san moved away slightly from this place, and when she came back she held several types of grass in her hand.

"Cloude, Lyly, look at this. Can you tell what kind of item is this?"

"Nope, not at all."

"Sorry Magicchi, I've no idea."

"Then, next. Yun-kun."

She showed me the grass while saying so, it was divided into three types——Medicinal Plants, Poisonous Plants and Herbs. During the current event, the items that exist in here need to be appraised by an expert, if one doesn't have a corresponding Sense, it cannot be appraised. That was the reason Cloude and Lyly were unable to verify them.

"Umm, Medicinal Plants and Poisonous Plants as well as Herbs."

"Ahh, I understand it now. That means Yuncchi has a corresponding Sense which allows him to appraise the plant?"

"If that's the case, it must be the 【Dosing】 Sense. It's the one that uses the plants after all."

Cloude muttered convinced and Magi-san puffed her chest proud of her reasoning. In other words, just like the 【Survival】 Sense which is very general, my 【Dosing】 could also pinpoint such things.

"Now that my reasoning was proven right, let's act separately. We'll divide into two squads, one procuring food, and the other making the base camp. Yun-kun and I will gather food around, Cloude and Lyly will make the base camp."

"Understood. We'll prepare the best beds there are."

"I'm looking forward to it! I'm excited about the thought of staying over for the night."

"Haa〜. I wonder what would be good for the dinner?"

I muttered and looked up at the sky. Oh, the sun was directly above me, which meant that sun would set in about six hours. At the very least, we needed to ensure food and water.

"Now then, take precautions, and check everything. Do not eat items we took with us carelessly. First of all, eat only items previously appraised by Yun-kun. And if there's not enough materials, contact others through the friends list to have them gather more."

"Haa, damn it!"

Suddenly, Cloude raised his voice. Everyone turned around to look.

"I didn't bring dyes. Like this, I can't make camouflage costumes or boy scouts costumes?!"

"...haa〜, you're the same as always aren't you, Kurocchi."

I respected him in a certain sense for not losing his nerves at all in a place like this. Though, I have no intention of wearing those clothes.

No, if you can extract the colours from natural materials you could make an indigo dye... Cloude muttered to himself. Just how obsessed with it was he.

"Well, we're going to explore and map the surrounding area. We'll return before the nightfall."

"Yup. Magicchi and Kurocchi, be careful."

We left everything to Cloude who was submerged in the sea of thoughts as well as Lyly and decided to fill the map starting from the eastern direction.

Along the way we located the places in which plants were growing in abundance and continued to collect information on collection points on map. It were very detailed notes.

"It's great to have Yun-kun with us. Look, another item."

"Magi-san?! That's Paralysis Grass! Also, this is a cluster of Confusion Grass, if you don't prepare it properly you will end up with an abnormal status."

"UWahh?! That was dangerous. It looked like spinach to me, so that's how it was."

"That horribly-looking grass over there seems like it can be eaten after its flavoured."

We steadily appraised the herbs and items that could be eaten. Among herbs, we confirmed there were Medical Spirit Grasses and Magical Spirit Grasses which could be used as material for Highpots and MP Potions.

Surprisingly, more than half of the items we found weren't edible. Just by the looks, we found a tree with fruits which seemed delicious and yet were extremely hazardous as they put an abnormal states of 【Poison 4】 and 【Confusion 4】 on the ones that eat it.

Also, fruits like apples and bananas could be collected. Although the climatic requirements were completely ignored.

Since among the only items that could be collected were wild grass and vegetables, it seemed like we will be eating healthily for a while. Although nutritional balance was pointless in a game, I wanted some proteins from animals.

"We've gathered a lot of plants, how about we try some different ingredients?"

"I'll leave it to Yun-kun. The map is also nicely filled out."

About three hours after starting the sun started to slowly set, and we have covered only about 10% of the map. The areas we uncovered had a radial shape and started from the centre.

We could see a mountain far in the north, there were two rivers flowing from it down south drawing arcs and downstream there was a lake.

Since our base camp was sandwiched between those two rivers, it would be good to look for fish in either the east or west river.

While we were filling the map we passed through other safety areas, unlike us, they were too busy looking for unique monsters rather than collecting food. I wonder if they'll be all right. I was worried about lots of things like that.

"Now then, how about we go and fish in the river."

"You're right... ah wait a moment. It seems like I'm hungry. Let's take a small break."

I agreed to Magi-san's proposal. The satiety level seems to have decreased slightly I wanted to recover it right here by eating a sandwich.

I used a stump instead of a chair and sat down, we took a break.

"You've got food don't you, Magi-san?"

"Yup. Look, hot dog bun."

"How's the taste?"

"Hmm, I can't say it's tasty."

"Then, how about you eat my sandwiches?"

As Magi-san answered with a wry smile, I made a proposal. Since retrieving food items in here would be a hassle, I activated the 【Preparing】 skill from Cooking Sense and made ten sandwiches instantly from four types of ingredients.

I took it out of inventory and held out to Magi-san.

"That seems like a delicious sandwich, its evaluation is high too. Looks like possessing a Sense makes all the difference."

"It's just ingredients sandwiched with bread, anyone can make it."

As Magi-san happily stared at the outstretched sandwich, I took out my own sandwich as well.

That moment, I felt more than a single gaze on me. I stood up from the stump quickly and looked around.

I triggered the 【Hawk Eyes】 and looked towards a place with a lot of trees, but there were too many blind spots to cover. However, combined with 【Discovery】's high accuracy I managed to find them.

"What happened?

"There's something there."

Still tense, I looked towards the grass which seemed like the source of the stares, what has left it eventually was——three small young animals.

"Hahahaha..."

"Naa—, naa—."

"…........."

The three small beasts were eyeing our sandwiches.

"Ohh, we met the young animals this fast. A dog, a cat, and a bird? Let's record them immediately. How did it work again..."

A light blue-silverish fluffy and round puppy was looking at the sandwich expectantly with a glitter in its eyes.

The two-toned kitten that had black fur and white tips of its paws has come to my feet and pressed against them while letting out sweet meowing.

The last one was the bird, it was a bright-reddish coloured chick, it had a yellow beak and slightly see-through feathers. The bird moved unsteadily desiring a sandwich. It didn't fly, it jumped and helped itself by moving its short wings.

If I were to move, I would scare them away, so I tried not to.

"Recording's on... so, what do we do Yun-kun? They look like they want the sandwiches."

"I wonder?"

As I moved the sandwich slightly to the right, their line of sight followed it.

When I moved the sandwich to the left, the three young animals' line of sight followed it——and the kitten fell over.

"...for now, let's give them one."

I brought the sandwich before the three.

First was the puppy whose nose convulsed as it confirmed it by the smell, and it opened the small mouth.

Once the puppy started eating, I was prompted by the animals stares saying 'more more' and held out another sandwich. Maybe they liked the sandwiches, because they continued to eat more and more and after eating the sandwiches I've held in my hands they started greedily licking my hands.

The chick pecked my finger sweetly with its beak, the puppy's and the kitten's gazes moved towards the sandwich Magi-san had.

"Ah, you guys. Magi-san's no good. I've got more in here."

"Kuu〜n." "Naa—." "Chirp, chi...." ——As if they understood my words, the three stared at my face strongly.

Uwahh, that look of expectation is so dazzling.

I calmly took three sandwiches out of my inventory, and put them in front of the three animals.

"Look, sandwiches. Come on, eat them."

In response to my words, the three started to eat the sandwiches innocently.

"Hey, were those little ones hungry?"

"Who knows? But there's something I found out."

"What is it?"

I looked as the little ones held down the sandwiches with their limbs and struggled to eat it. Although one sandwich was enough for me, the young animals continued to beg me for more despite the fact that their bellies already turned round.

"These guys, they want to eat my sandwich no matter what."

"That must be because Yun-kun's sandwich is delicious."

"Is that so? They might just be gluttonous."

Even though I said that, I was in a good mood and held out another sandwich to the three.

The result was that out of ten sandwiches in total seven of them have been eaten by the little ones, and since the two of us ate one each, there was one sandwich remaining. As someone responsible for the party's food supply, I was a bit worried by the unexpected consumption. I was forced to rapidly remake the plans for food.

The young animals seemed to be satisfied, the puppy exposed its stomach by lying on its back, the kitten was licking its own paw to taste the sandwiches flavour and the chick was asleep.

"How cute. Heere, *tickle* *tickle*."

Magi-san lightly stroked the puppy's belly, it moved its body feeling ticklish.

"It calmed down. I'll send a screenshot to Cloude and Lyly."

"Ah, I'll take one too."

Magi-san scooped up the chick from the grass and put it on her own palm before taking a screenshot.

I took screenshots of the fluffy hairballs which looked like they felt really comfortable after a meal.

Seeing Magi-san have fun, my expression also loosened.

"Well then, shall we go?"

"Yun-kun, Yun-kun, can't we take these little ones with us? Rather, I've been asked by Cloude just now to bring them over no matter what."

"I won't oppose it, since it's a part of the event. However, we need to get some fish from the river before that."

"I understand. Also, what will we do when the small ones get hungry and start begging us again?"

"I'll pass the last sandwich to Magi-san. Please divide it between the three of them."

When we started moving, the puppy and the kitten at my feet have responded, they understood from our conversation that I gave Magi-san a sandwich and moved towards her feet.

Kuhh, these guys only care about themselves. I couldn't help but think so.

Magi-san held the three in her arms and we moved towards the river.

"Haa〜, it's a hairball festival. So fluffy〜."

"You look really happy... I might be a bit envious."

The last words were muttered in low voice, but they seemed to reach Magi-san's ears, she had a slightly surprised expression but immediately after a smile bloomed on her face.

"Want to touch? Hold? Cuddle?"

"Ah, no, that's..."

"I don't mind. Here."

She held out the three little animals in front of her while supporting them properly. Holding them in a slightly unstable way, I received them from her.

"U-uwaa..."

Their fur was so fluffy and pleasant, when I carried them my fingers sank into their fur.

For a moment I've become so obsessed with the fluffiness in front of my chest I forgot myself.

When I stroked their ears and neck gently with my fingertips the three leaned on me very weakly. Magi-san looked at it and laughed as if she's seen something interesting, it seemed she had a good time staring at this.

The moment I noticed it, Magi-san was already all smiles.

"P-please don't tell anyone about this no matter what!"

"Yupyup, it's all okay. So, how was it? Did it feel good?"

"?!! I-I don't know. Rather than that, since I'll be going to get ingredients please look after the little ones."

When I heard the sound of water from our destination, I passed the small animals to Magi-san to cover it up and started to walk towards the river.

"Now then, I'll look for ingredients for dinner. If there's anything, please call me."

I stowed the outerwear in the inventory and went inside of the river lightly dressed.

As to reduce the water resistance I swam together with the flow of the water I grabbed the rock on the bottom and looked around.

(The fish... there they are.)

I found two fish in the shadow of a rock nestling themselves, I caught them with my bare hands.

(I appreciate the fact that I can store the caught fish in the inventory. If I think that we need a dinner for three little animals who can eat like a person, I need fifteen or more fish.)

After that, while also picking up the stones from the riverbed I went around looking for fish. Unfortunately there were no gemstones on the riverbed, but the stones were also a valuable material for me.

I surfaced in intervals that were up to five minutes long, and after catching my breath I dived again. I occasionally looked towards Magi-san, she put the little animals on her lap and spent the time peacefully.

By the time I finished the quota I set for myself, fifteen fish, the young animals fell asleep completely.

"Magi-san, I've finished over here."

"Cheers for the good work. Sorry to have you work by yourself, Yun-kun."

"Please don't worry about it. There are things that can be done because there's two of us here. But there's something we need to do before that. Please take out your weapon."

Magi-san let the young ones down and took out an axe form her inventory.

I equipped the outerwear on top of still-wet clothes and took out the bow. I calmed my breathing and turned the bow towards the woods.

"You guys stay down. Yun-kun, I'm a little anxious to be in front, but I leave the rest to you."

"I'll count on you. It's coming from on top of the tree."

I responded to Magi-san's words and sent an arrow towards a black creature that came jumping at us.

Long thin legs, covered with spiky hair, they had something like a yellow powder on its mouth, six red eyes were glaring towards us——the moment I saw the monsters name, Spice Spider, the young animals started trembling, frightened.

"Then, let's finish it all at once! Theere!"

I was speechless seeing her unexpected behaviour. She has thrown the axe she held in her hands, the axe combined its own weight with the centrifugal force, and while vertically rotating it approached the target with strong momentum. However, it hasn't dealt a fatal wound to it as the spider avoided to the right. Instead, it has cut off all of its legs on one side. Without losing the momentum the axe was stuck into the tree behind the spider.

That moment, Magi-san who was now unarmed ran in front of the spider and raised both of her hands high up.

"Now, it'll be over with this."

A sledgehammer was taken out of her inventory and appeared in her hands.

She swung down the sledgehammer using her brute strength and gravitational force on top of the spider's brain who couldn't escape.

*gugiiii*...sounded the death cries of the monster who was finished by splatter-style combat, I'm really glad that flesh and blood doesn't splash around in this game.

"That was surprisingly bland."

After saying so, Magi-san recovered the thrown axe and hid it in her inventory.

"...nonono, what's up with that combat style?!"

"What? I just normally threw a weapon by using 【Throw】 Sense."

Although she said it so casually, I knew that there's a requirement of ATK and DEX. The damage dealt by throwing could increase depending on the thrower, but it must be hard control. The crafters high amount of DEX made up for that, and also the user has to train with the weapon.

Truly, the ultimate weapon-wielding technique which can be used only by craftsmen.

"The weapons that are normally thrown are daggers aren't they."

"Dealing with such small things is tedious and I hate it. Originally I thought of using a throwing weapon."

Normally, the throwing axes were smaller, but Magi-san threw this one with both of her hands.

"That aside Yun-kun, your reaction was a bit lacking. Onee-san is a little disappointed."

"That might have been an unique mob aimed at the beginners. Rather, there seems to be a treasure chest at the spiders location."

"That's true, let's hurry and open it immediately."

I held up the still frightened three young beasts, Magi-san opened the treasure box and peeked inside.

"Yun-kun should use this unique item."

"Umm... 【Set of Magic Seasonings】?"

The description said 『The seasonings that do not deplete despite being used. The seasonings alone do not recover satiety.』.

I wonder if that was made so in order to prevent recovering satiety just by eating sugar and licking salt. So, it was made to be used in cooking only. It seemed like it was salt, pepper, sugar and curry powder, a useful item that could infinitely yield those four seasonings. It can't be, was the powder the spider blew from its mouth a curry powder?

The Spice Spider dropped unique items assisting in food preparation.

"No way, do unique mobs drop things like camping sets and barbecues?"

"Could be. The low level players wouldn't have a Sense configuration that could help them with survival, so these are the items given to assist them."

Responding to my murmur, was Magi-san's calm analysis. Well, let's use all we can.

"Now then, let's go back before night falls."

"You're right, let's limit our operations at night as it's dangerous."

I headed back towards the point we set up a camp at while embracing the three hairballs.

●

Along the way as we returned, Magi-san sent me screenshots. They displayed my feminine appearance as I held the three fluffy animals with a look of joy. When she saw my face all red and on fire as I saw it, she floated a mischievous expression and grinned.

"M-Magi-san!? When did you take this!"

"Who knows? Yun-kun's pretty defenceless, nishishi."

"Magi-san, please don't show that screenshot to anyone!"

"I know. Sometimes you're being unexpectedly cute."

"Not really... forget that."

Regarding the screenshot that Magi-san sent me, I pressed on to make sure she doesn't show it to anyone. It was somehow embarrassing. If Taku were to see it he would tease me until I'll completely admit defeat.

"Fuhh. Even so, we finally arrived at out base camp."

"Yeah, we haven't seen it for just a short while but... if my memory is correct then there should have been a lot of vacant space here..."

In front of our eyes there was a splendid log house. Although it was a bit small, it was at a perfect size for sleeping in.

"Magicchi, Yuncchi, welcome back. I did my best! It's a splendid log house!"

"No... this isn't camping any more, what is this? And what 'splendid', it looks like a holiday house."

"Indeed, praise me. I've finished the interior walls as well."

Cloude emerged from beyond the doors expressionless like usual, but then he smiled. As I saw him like that, I felt like he was handsome after all. Kuhh. When I compared his face with my own feminine one, a wound has opened in my heart.

"Come, gaze upon this! The bunk beds created by Lyly! And the generously prepared beddings! Moreover, each of the three small animals has their own fully equipped sleeping place! How is it!"

I was slightly taken aback by Cloude's high tension. In Magi-san's case, she said "Hoo, amazing." raising her voice slightly and drawing the words out.

Indeed, it seemed like it would be comfortable to spend the night under blankets and on comfortable bedding. The bunk beds were used in order to use the small space of log house in an efficient way, moreover it was equipped with a curtain. It seemed to be done out of consideration to separate men and women. Wait, I'm a man!

In addition to that, there were wooden boxes fitted with cushions, it was a sleeping place made for the three little beasts.

This was the proficiency of the best carpenter and weaver... they were reliable allies to have in this survival life. However, I felt like saying that this is a waste of talent.

"I've prepared a wooden table and wooden tableware to help Yuncchi with her cooking."

"Woahh, the table's so wide! And the tableware looks pretty solid."

Although I was in daze after seeing the absurd workmanship of the log house, I got motivation to cook when I learned there was tableware.

"Fufufufu, we have prepared a safe and comfortable place to sleep tonight. Now, it's your turn next!"

"Yes yes, here's our harvest."

I took out the fruits and plants from my inventory, I put them side by side. The fish seemed to retain their freshness, and in the end I showed them a set of magical seasonings.

"I think there's enough food until tomorrow morning, but if we're lacking, we can go for a night hunt."

"The harvest is better than we expected. But you should stop with the idea of night hunting. The visibility in forest at night is poor, it's dangerous."

Although what Cloude said was right, I had the 【Hawk Eyes】 night vision, in addition if I used 【Discovery】 it was easy for me to make them my prey. It was a hit&run tactic which focused on taking down enemy with a surprise attack before they could retaliate.

Even if the enemy was too strong for me, my survival rate should be pretty high if I used a speed enchant on myself and a curse on the enemy.

If I were to be unable to run away, it would just mean I was unlucky.

"The night is my exclusive domain. Originally, I was a solo player. You don't have to worry. Well, lets light the lights before it gets dark."

The darkness wasn't a problem for me, but for Magi-san and the others it wasn't so. Welcoming the night in a state where we have no light source like magic or lantern would cause anxiety. I made a circle with the stones I picked up on the bottom of the river and inside, I put down branches and left over timber used by Lyly to make a bonfire.

And I was reminded of a certain thing that should be prepared when cooking.

"Now then... to put the pot on the fire... ah..."

I forgot something critical. I didn't secure water. Like this I can't make a soup can I. Moreover, I couldn't distil water because all the potions I had were concentrated.

"Ahhhh. I've made a blunder."

"What is it Yun-kun?"

"Kuun."

Magi-san and the puppy she held in her arms stared at me anxiously.

"No, I just forgot about water. I'll run to the stream and get some right now."

"Wait. It's already dark and dangerous. We can have someone acquire 【Water Element Talent】 to get us some."

"But I don't want to pick a Sense like that on the first day. We don't know what will happen ahead."

As I reluctantly responded to Magi-san's proposal, the puppy twisted a little and let out a small howl. The moment it let out a voice, the pot started to shake and a rigid sound came out of it.

"He? Water?"

"Woof!"

Every time it barked, a 5 centimetres large block of ice materialized in the air and fell down with a *plop*. I watched as the ice filled the pot.

"...no way, is that your magic?"

"Woof!!"

"Ohhh! You're amazing Rickle!"

The puppy wagged its tail furiously as Magi-san held and praised it.

"Did you name it Rickle?"

"Ah speaking of which, Yun-kun was the one who won him over. Should I have asked you for permission?"

"It's fine. I have no naming sense."

The three small beasts played with the three top crafters.

Magi-san held the puppy. Cloude held the kitten and Lyly held the chick.

Each of them respectively showed an interest in the ones who were holding them, and gave off an atmosphere of acknowledgement. Admittedly, each one of them has separated from me and found their own partner.

"It's fine. As long as they're happy, for their sakes I will..."

"AHH! Yun-kun, come back to reality!"

Still feeling a bit sulky, I started to prepare the dinner. I put the pot full of ice on the fire to melt it, after it was turned into water I was able to prepare the food without a hitch.

"Heey. Dinner's done."

After I called out, three people, and three animals came over. Although it was just half a day, they must have been starving for decent food other than the standard NPC one which had a bland taste.

"Today's dinner is grilled fish, soup from minced fish, fish steamed in herbs and flavoured wild grass. I feel like there's a bit too much of fish, but it's just the first day. I intend to explore more area starting from tomorrow."

"No, it's enough. If anything, then Socks will be pleased with the fish festival."

"Socks?"

He pointed at the kitten which was waiting eagerly on the table for the moment we start to eat.

"Look, even though his entire body is black he has white paws. It's as if he's wearing socks."

"It does look like it. Hey cat, are you really fine with such a name?"

"Naa—" it squealed happily. Earlier it rode on Cloude's shoulders and rubbed its cheeks against his, how enviable. Not that, I mean, it must like Cloude a lot.

"The puppy's Rickle, the kitten is Socks. Lyly, did you name the bird?"

"Hmm. Not yet. This will be improvised, let's have it Neshias. The nickname will be Shiacchi!"

Hearing that voice, Neshias stared at Lyly and started to jump up and down happily.

"Uwahh... that surprised me?! Shiacchi, we're going to eat now."

Yeah. It seems like something important was born. Eh? Weird. Before I noticed all the young beasts left me.

"...uuu, my fluffy hairballs..."

"This is..."

"Ahh, Yun-kun. What is it? Don't get so depressed."

I thought they were willing to be tamed by me, but that was just an illusion. The young ones seemed to have found their own partners. While the other three ate a meal with their partners I was engulfed by loneliness. I decided. I will absolutely find a partner of my own.

●

"Thank you. Fuah〜. That was delicious Yun-kun."

"Thank you for the meal."

I finished eating as well, the drinking water made from melted ice Rickle provided has calmed my stomach.

As we ate dinner, it's become really dark. It was a very dangerous time to go out. Moreover, it seemed like we had a monopoly as no other party has come back to this safety area after leaving. It was very quiet.

"It was indeed delicious. I might have eaten a better meal than I do in real. The taste was pretty firm and despite eating a lot I won't get fat. That's nice."

Cloude evaluated the meal as such with a mild look as he stroked his partner. Socks too was full and looked happy being stroked, his tail was slowly wagging.

Lyly who was next to him started to sway back and forth, I was worried he might crush Neshias that was in his hand.

"Lyly, you all right? If you're sleepy then how about going to sleep?"

"Hmm. I will. Somehow I feel really tired."

He rose up from his seat and headed towards the log house in a wobbly gait. And not only Neshias sleeping in his hands, but also sleepy Rickle and Socks followed him.

In order to build this log house, unexpectedly he must have used a lot of his willpower. The biggest contributor today might have been Lyly.

"Lyly did really well."

"You're right. It might have been a recoil from excitement after being placed in an environment like this. Since we can't explore anything at night, how about we go to sleep?"

"I'll try organizing the items a little. I've nothin' to do anyway, I'll be awake until about midnight."

"And I'll try making potions from the new herb types I gathered today."

There was a large container with water Rickle prepared so the water for potion-making was secured.

At the very least, I need to dilute the concentrated potions, we will need them tomorrow.

"I see. Then I"ll go join Lyly and sleep ahead of you. Wake me up at midnight. It's a non-combat safety zone in here but it's better be vigilant just in case."

"Okaay, then I'll wake you up when I'll be going to sleep."

After saying so, Cloude disappeared in the log house.

"Hmm. Let's start our nighty night then."

"Indeed."

"Also... speaking of camp at night, girls' talk is a classic isn't it."

"No, I've told you before, I'm a man."

I retorted to Magi-san who made a cheerful smile and proceeded with my work.

The poisonous herbs-type material and the abnormal state recovery-type material, it was possible to convert them into seeds by using 【Alchemy】, I need to bring them home, I thought. The new plants I've have on hand now are Awareness Grass, Sedative Grass, and Dispel Grass, that's how they were named.

From the poisonous herbs-types there was a pair of Hypnosis Grass which caused the target to sleep and Confusion Grass which caused the target to fall into a state of confusion. I was also able to find a grass which caused curses; Curse Grass.

The same way I did the abnormal state recovering medicines up until now, I mixed two new herbs to make a potion.

The medicine I was able to create was Waking Solution, Calming Solution and a ST Potion which dispelled curses. In addition, I was only able to craft a few things from poisonous herbs.

Having the items prepared including the diluted concentrated potions, I've had a number necessary for the tomorrow's activities. Magi-san too reshaped the large weapons she brought back into ingots.

"Hey, Yun-kun?"

"What is it?"

Although there was a loud sound of the blows she made with her hammer, they didn't sound strange or unpleasant. The sound with a certain constant rhythm engraved in them reminded me of metronome, my eyes naturally started feeling heavy, to oppose the sound which invited me to sleep I chatted with Magi-san.

"Do you have any melee weapons?"

"Why ask that out of the blue?"

"Since Yun-kun has the 【Cooking】 Sense, I thought it would be interesting if you had a kitchen knife for a weapon."

"Is there any archer who would suddenly pull out a kitchen knife to fight?"

A fighting cook who hunts his prey while poising a kitchen knife in both of his hands? Quite surreal.

"Can I even use one? A melee weapon that is."

"【Smith】 allows me to attack with all the weapon types I can create regardless of the acquired Senses."

"Seriously? Isn't that a cheat?"

"Not at all. It only allows me to roll an attack, there's no weapon damage correction nor arts. That's why I use throwing tactics where the damage is left to the weapon's strength."

Hoo, unexpectedly I've heard something interesting. But a kitchen knife as a weapon huh. A knife from the cooking kit would be surely inferior to a throwing knife, I thought.

"Similarly for 【Cooking】, if I use a weapon I normally use for crafting to attack, then the attack should hit right."

"It's possible for me to make such a weapon. Ufufufu, Onee-san will make you the best cooking knife there is."

While saying that she put away an ingot melted from a weapon. and pulled out another heavyweight weapon.

And then I continued to create potion-type items while listening to the sound of Magi-san's hits on the metal.

Since I was able to gather many types of herbs during the daytime I tried adding simple materials and food to the process.

"Yaawn! So tired! But I managed to return all of it back into ingots!"

"Cheers for the good work. I've finished preparing the supplies for tomorrow as well."

Magi-san stretched her back tired and turned her shoulder around a few times.

"I'll make a kitchen knife for Yun-kun now."

"But is that fine? What about money?"

It was alarming for me who was broke. How much should I pay, how much will it take me to pay. But Magi-san waved her hand showing she doesn't mind it at all.

"Ah, I don't need money, in the end during this camp life we'll understand it sooner or later, that meaning of money disappears for this period of time."

"...you're right. Certainly that is so."

There was no restriction on the amount of money brought to the event. Although there might be people who have it with them, there is no stable supply of items from NPCs or crafters in a place like this.

And if I continued to endlessly create potions in here, I would cause inflation.

"...how much do you think the new potion types I made are worth?"

"Asking that now huh. Even though there is only space for hundred items the amount of consumables one can bring is too small to fight bosses of the equal ranking. By the way, there's a possibility people won't be able to move at all unless they repair their weapons at least once during this week."

Magi-san spoke with a tone of voice that suggested she had fun, in fact, bringing crafters together with you during an event might be terribly important, I thought. Isn't this camping event quite unreasonable too? When we walked around on the first day today, among collectible items there were a lot of malicious ones like poisonous herbs or fruits.

"Well, me making a knife for Yun-kun is something like a reward I guess? Thank you for the meal today. And I'll be in your care in future. That's the kind of meaning, also, it will serve like a charm for you."

"I see. Thank you very much."

I received it from her and honestly showed my gratitude. I peeled the skin of an apple and boiled it together with dried herbs in a pot. After some time I filtered it the same way I did for potions and poured into my and Magi-san's cup.

"Please try this."

"Hm? This potion has quite a nice smell."

"It's a herbal tea. I made it from apple skins and herbs I found today. I have 【Cooking】 after all, don't I? Well, I just made something to drink instead."

"Haa, Yun-kun's really versatile. I was right to invite you."

"Versatile huh, in a meaning that's a bad thing. A jack-of-all-trades but master of none."

While saying the obvious, I sipped the herbal tea as well.

Magi-san tilted the wooden cup she held with both hands and drank quietly.

"I feel healed. I'm relieved with this warmth. It tastes refreshing. It feels tranquil to be far away from hustle and bustle of the city, like a moment of bliss."

"That's true. Even though it's a game, the night sky is beautiful."

"One can see them well since its an open location."

While I listened to the sound of popping firewood I looked up at the sky, and agreed with Magi-san's words.

"Mmm. Thank you for the tea. It feels like I can do my best again."

"I see. Then I'll go ahead and go to sleep before you. Though first I'll pass the potions I made to you."

I passed three quarters of each potion type I made to her. I left a quarter for my own use, it weren't that many in the first place. But things like potions were only an insurance for long-range fighters.

"Thank you for everything. Now then, good night."

"Yes, good night."

I said so and entered the log house.

Inside I saw the small animals curled up in boxes and sleeping, I laughed softly.

"...good night."

I muttered quietly and fell on the lower part of the bunk bed.