"Yukino!"
Kiana lunged forward with her hands clawing the air like a wild animal.
Yukinoshita Yukino instantly panicked. "You, let go of me this instant. Your hands are filthy, don't touch my clothes! Ah, my hair! Ki—a—na—"
"Ehehe, don't be mad, Yukino. Wait, you're the one who provoked me first, so we're even!"
Yukinoshita Yukino's response was an incredibly cold death stare.
Kiana hurried to apologize, "Yukino, please don't be mad. I'll give you a shoulder massage."
"So you're planning to silence the witness by killing me, then?"
"It's over, Yukino's affection for me has completely hit zero."
"That is something that never existed in the first place."
Natsuyu watched the girls' harmonious(?) interaction with a doting smile. "Is everyone hungry? Come have some water, wash your hands, and we'll eat in a bit."
With Tokisaki Kurumi's protection, there was no longer a need to continue digging traps; they could finally rest.
Kiana was pleasantly surprised. "Did Natsuyu bring back water? I happen to be very thirsty!"
Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly had a bad premonition.
Natsuyu pressed down the corners of his mouth and took out the water containers—
The wooden boots.
Looking at the row of water-filled wooden boots Natsuyu produced, the girls one by one revealed strange, dazed expressions, which eventually all turned into pure resistance.
Natsuyu held up a boot, his smile bright. "Here, Kiana, let me feed you some water."
Kiana's hair practically stood on end as she waved her hands frantically. "I'm not thirsty anymore! I'm not drinking that!"
If the scene of her holding a boot to drink water was seen by anyone else, her life would probably end right then and there.
Why on earth did Natsuyu craft such a hard-to-stomach water container!
Beautiful girls drinking boot water...
The four girls shuddered at the mere thought; even the boisterous Kiana couldn't accept it.
Eww—
Absolutely not!
Not even if they died!
Watching their warm scene of getting along and joking around, Tokisaki Kurumi felt a hint of helplessness rise in her heart:
'They actually said I'm not a bad person. Are they all idiots?'
"Kurumi, do you want some water?"
Natsuyu held a wooden boot and approached Tokisaki Kurumi, asking with gentle concern like a kind big brother from next door.
Except his mouth was clamped shut, and the smile he couldn't quite suppress betrayed the fact that he was just looking for a laugh.
Tokisaki Kurumi looked up in disbelief. Unable to maintain her composure and elegant "bad woman" persona, she looked at the approaching wooden boot with utter disgust and said irritably:
"Giving me that to drink, are you an idiot! I don't need it, take it away this instant!"
Natsuyu suppressed a grin. "Do you really not want any? You haven't had water in ages. Don't be a stranger, just drink."
"I told you to take it away right now, desu wa!"
...
Tokisaki Kurumi played dead, using top-tier psychological warfare to successfully refuse drinking the water from the wooden boot.
The girls all claimed they weren't thirsty yet; none of them touched the wooden boots, only using the water for a simple wash-up.
Natsuyu didn't drink either.
Though he'd have to drink it sooner or later, he might as well postpone it a bit.
After the water controversy ended, the girls formed a circle and sat on the ground, watching Natsuyu take out the furnace to cook.
The so-called furnace was a rectangular stone stove with an opening at the bottom for fuel and a lid at the top to put in food.
After Natsuyu stuffed a whole meter-long log into the fuel intake that was only twenty centimeters wide, a warm orange flame automatically ignited within the furnace.
The girls, accustomed to using extra-dimensional backpacks, were no longer surprised by such a strange sight.
Kiana poked the warming furnace, her sky-blue eyes full of curiosity. "Can this thing really cook food?"
Kushida Kikyo took Kiana's left hand and said softly, "Don't worry, Kiana. In games, a furnace can roast meat. It'll be fine."
With a thought, Natsuyu took out a berry, placed it on top of the furnace, and closed the lid.
He actually wasn't sure if the furnace could cook either.
But since he had the materials, there was no harm in trying.
Five pairs of eyes stared at the furnace until suddenly, the scent of caramel mingled with a tart fruit aroma wafted out.
Gulp.
Natsuyu looked at Kiana, who was swallowing her saliva, and then noticed Ema Sakuraba's face was beet red as she shyly lowered her head.
Good grief, you did it too.
Kiana urged excitedly, "Quick, take the berry out and let's see."
Natsuyu opened the lid. The bright red berry had turned a dark crimson, looking slightly flattened and round, having lost quite a bit of moisture to evaporation.
Worried it was hot, Natsuyu snapped off two corners of some twigs to use as makeshift chopsticks. He flicked the berry out and activated appraisal.
[Cooked juicy berry (freshness 99%, rots in 1.5 days): ordinary gourmet food.
Gastronomy level: 2 points.
When consumed, provides minor satiety and minor mood restoration.
Evaluation: Contains ample sugar and vitamins.]
Kiana licked her lips and leaned in. "Natsuyu, Natsuyu, let me taste it!"
Ema Sakuraba swallowed. "I want to eat it too."
"Then we'll have half each!"
Kiana's smile was enthusiastic.
Ema Sakuraba was slightly dazed. She had thought Kiana would let her eat the next one or politely give this one to her. She hadn't expected Kiana to choose such an intimate way of sharing.
Ema Sakuraba was very happy; her eyes felt a bit warm.
The girl's heart was actually very delicate and sensitive; she suffered from loneliness and yearned for companions.
From Natsuyu and Kiana, Ema Sakuraba felt that they truly treated her as a friend.
It was so nice.
"Mhm! Let's eat together!"
"Sure. Natsuyu? Why aren't you moving?"
Kiana poked Natsuyu's arm, wearing an expression of painful sacrifice. "Is it because you want to eat it too? This young lady will give up her first time to you then."
Kushida Kikyo looked over sharply, her expression fracturing for a split second.
What kind of scandalous phrasing is that!
Natsuyu looked amusedly at the heart-pained Kiana. "Here, eat it."
The reason he had been staring at the cooked berry was because he had discovered a golden exclamation mark.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on completing the achievement "Cooking Gourmet Food." Please shout the incantation "Special Grade Chef Liu Xingxing is here!" to claim your reward: Cooking Gourmet Food, Experience 10.]
It was a new achievement tree!
And the good news was that this time the incantation wasn't completely insane.
Natsuyu smiled as he watched Kiana and Ema Sakuraba share the cooked berry, unable to hide the joy in his heart:
"Don't worry, everyone, there's enough for all of you."
He took out a batch of berries, put them in the furnace, pressed his palms together, and shouted with great momentum:
"Special Grade Chef Liu Xingxing is here!"
[You received the reward: Cooking Gourmet Food, Experience 10.]
[Natsuyu: Level 7 (1/45 experience)
Free attribute points: 0.1]
A double blessing—he had actually leveled up directly!
Natsuyu experienced the dreamlike happiness of two surprises combining. Following the old rule, he put the point into physique.
The warm current reappeared, but unlike before, the improvement in physical fitness didn't seem as obvious.
Natsuyu looked curiously at the system panel.
[Natsuyu: Level 7 (experience 1/40)
Physique: 1.6 (recovery ability comparable to a hentai protagonist)
Soul: 1.3 (high level of mental fortitude)
Charm: 1.3 (hostile to all living beings)
Ability: Resource acquisition, experience gain, cooking gourmet food...]
Such terrible wording.
What on earth does that mean!
Even if my surname is Rurikawa and it's one man against four girls—a treatment definitely fitting a hentai protagonist...
But what on earth do you mean by describing my recovery ability exactly that of a hentai protagonist!
Kurumi!.jpg